THE RACONTEUR: HOW TO MASTER THE ART OF REMOTE TEAM MANAGEMENT ~ MY ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY: SERIES 1 ~ EPISODE 5

In mid-March 2023, I was subcontracted by an independent consultant to coordinate a feasibility study that would establish the economic viability and sustainability of the Dar es Salaam Tea Auction (DTA) in the United Republic of Tanzania. 

Our client was a consortium of organisations instrumental in the establishment of DTA - Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX), Tanzania Tea Board (TTB), Tea Association of Tanzania (TAT), Warehouse Registration and Regulatory Board (WRRB), Tanzania Smallholders Tea Development Agency (TSHTDA), and other Tanzanian Government agencies. 

My role started at the point of responding to the Expression of Interest (EOI) clearly outlining the Lead Consultant and his team’s technical capacity to conduct the study, detailing the scope of work in reference to the Terms of Reference (TOR) given, assurance of achieving the deliverables, and presenting the financial proposal for our client’s consideration. 

The tea industry was a new field in my area of work, but this did not deter me from taking this assignment. My father once told me when I was starting my entrepreneurship journey that “you don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going, because once you get it going, you can always get it right.”

As a professional writer, I am lucky to interrogate varied subjects, sectors and industries, in the process, accumulating knowledge and becoming a citadel. I am not yet at a level of being called a tea expert, but digging into secondary data, scrutinising primary data, synthesising discourse from Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and learning new things from Key Informants (KI) enabled me to deeply understand the tea value chain system! Courageously diving into the deep-end resonates well with Eric Hoffer’s sentiments ~ “In times of change the learners will inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. There is no such thing as a learned person. We are either learning or we are not.” 

Once the contract was signed. We embarked on the one-month assignment to conduct the feasibility study with the overall goal “to carry out a Value Chain Analysis and Market Assessment of the DTA performance and shed light on the status and viability of existing and potential markets for the Tanzania tea.” My first assignment was to recruit, in consultation with the Lead Consultant, a competent, time-conscience and result-oriented research team.

Despite the fact that the study team members, consisting of the Lead Consultant (Iran), the Technical Advisor (Dubai), the Data Analyst (Nairobi Kenya), the Research Assistants (Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi), and myself, the Study Coordinator (Kisumu Kenya) never met in-person during the entire exercise, we still delivered a comprehensive Market Assessment and Value Chain Analysis Report that was impetus to the successful launch of DTA in June 2023.

Coordinating this study, I had more autonomy working remotely while focusing on results. Remote work encourages accountability and empowers one to manage their time effectively. These are some key strategies that helped me manage the remote team successfully:

√ Communication is the foundation of remote team management. In consultation with the team, we agreed to use Zoom, WhatsApp, and Email to ensure constant and transparent communication. After Covid-19 pandemic, I became adept at using these remote communication tools. Most people did too. Therefore, I did not encounter any challenges initiating the day-to-day interactions with the study team, including convening regular meetings during the study duration. 

√ At the onset of the contract, I came up with a blueprint that clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and goals for each team member. The blueprint also outlined the assignment timeline, deliverables, and performance metrics. This clarity helped study team members understand their tasks as well as enabled me to measure their progress effectively.

√ As the study coordinator, I organised team meetings to keep everyone aligned, share updates, and encourage team bonding. It was imperative that I also schedule regular one-on-one meetings for discussing individual progress, challenges, and emerging insights from the study. 

√ Acknowledging the different time zones and individual preferences of my remote team, I was flexible to schedule team meetings, WhatsApp chat interactions, and Email responses. For example, we unanimously agreed on Wednesday 2030hrs EAT and Sunday 1030hrs EAT for our weekly Zoom meetings. 

√ I trusted my team members to manage their work independently and gave them the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their tasks. This bred intrinsic motivation towards achieving the study's ultimate goal.

√ As the study coordinator, I exhibit the behavior and work ethic I expected from my team. As a result, we all became responsive, punctual, and demonstrated a strong commitment to our work. 

 Let me tell you why I found remote team management easy-peasy. My entrepreneurship journey has been dominated by remote working where at www.techinvakeny.org, I serve clients virtually from any part of the world especially on training, coaching, mentorship, virtual assistant services, and professional ghost-writing. I'm also part of several agencies, clubs, associations and organisations that are purely coordinated remotely/virtually. Besides, I regularly work remotely with freelance writers, web & graphic designers, and virtual assistants to meet my clients' deliverables.

The outcome of using these key strategies to manage the remote team effectively was the successful completion and presentation of a feasibility study report that identified a potential demand for a Tea Auction Centre in Dar es Salaam, given the city's strategic location, existing infrastructure, and growing demand for tea in the region. 

#feasibilitystudies #daressalaam #dta #remotework #teammanagement

THE RACONTEUR: HOW TO WRITE A GRANT PROPOSAL THAT WINS MY ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY: SERIES 1 ~ EPISODE 4

 It’s long been said that the person who stops studying merely because they have finished school is forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity, no matter what may be their calling. The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge. Therefore, in the morning of a Sunday August 2022 within the serenity and ambience of my hotel room near Petite Barrière in Gisenyi, Rwanda, I made an application for the Circular Economy Catalyst (CEC) Workshop. I was in a two-week visit to Rwanda, sub-contracted by IPaid to coordinate a Study that was sponsored by Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) on the “Interlinkage between Unpaid Care Work and Gender Based Violence and Its Implication for Women’s Participation in Cross Border Trade.” 

The application process was a thought-provoking session that required a combination of analytical and critical thinking skills, so much that it took me the better part of the morning to finish and submit. Before then, I had only scratched the surface on Circular Economy Taxonomy. Therefore, it was herculean task diving deeper to come up with a concept during the application. What kept me going was W. H. Murray’s famous quote, ‘whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.’ Whereas I had planned with my tour guide to visit that day some of Rwandan cultural and tourist attraction sites like Bisoke Hills Volcanoes Nature Park, Congo Nile Trail, Kigali Genocide Memorial, Lake Kivu, Iby’inglu Cultural Village, and Nyungwe Forest National Park, she gave up on me when it was apparent that I was not leaving my hotel room until I completed the application. I had to do a solo tour in the afternoon, and due to time constraint, I limited my excursions to Lake Kivu, Grande Barrière, and Kigali Genocide Memorial . 

In September 2022, I received good news that my efforts had paid off, my start-up Urban Organic Farming - Caryle Enterprises was selected to participate in the Circular Economy Catalyst Workshop! The Starter workshop took place in October 2022 and subsequently, the Refine workshop in November 2022, both at City Blue Creekside Hotel & Suites, Mombasa. The CEC workshop was supported by IKEA Foundation, and implemented by adelphi, in collaboration with SEED. Approximately 20 Start-ups in various stages of applying circular economy principles: to eliminate waste and pollution; to circulate products and materials (at their highest value); and to regenerate nature (ibid), participated in the CEC workshop, each composed of a team of 3-4 members.

Knowledge acquired from the CEC workshop was only potential power then. I think that the CEC Organisations knew that the collection of knowledge, training, and education from this workshop, by itself was useless and expensive if we didn’t specifically and deliberately apply what we had learned. Therefore, a closed Call for CEC Starter Grant Application was opened in December 2022 strictly for the CEC workshop participants to help us turn our business ideas into reality. Then, knowledge became absolute power.

The good news in March 2023 that my application had won the CEC Starter Grant, followed by disbursement of the funds to our bank account in April 2023, proved that knowledge has no value except that which can be gained from its application toward some worthy end. Attending the CEC workshop and subsequently submitting a winning CEC Grant application was the worthy end. Even though there was no stiff competition due to the fact that the Grant application was not opened to the public, not every Start-up who applied for the CEC Starter Grant was awarded. 

Most Grantors rarely fund start-ups at ideation stage. Because having an idea for a business is just a “sparkle” that takes little time and requires almost zero effort. The actual execution of that idea is what really matters. It was therefore refreshing that the CEC organisers took a leap of faith to award Urban Organic Farming - Caryle Enterprises the Grant as seed capital towards establishing a demo farm and fruits/medicinal tree seedling nursery, as well as to construct a composting facility for recycling food waste into organic manure, and in the process, enabling us to adopt sustainable economic models that prevent global environmental degradation. Afterall, ideas with much less merit have been the seedlings from which great fortunes have grown. 

I won this Grant because I formulated my responses according to the questions and items requested, and demonstrated a more significant effort in producing the application, as a result, I had a better chance of being selected. Here are the reasons why I scored better in the Grantor’s evaluation: 

√ I carefully read through the application form and accompanying instructions and understood the purpose of each section and the information I was required to provide.

√ I collected all necessary documents and information before I started filling out the form. This included developing a bankable Business Plan and partnering with a local Agronomist to prepare a quotation for establishing the demo farm.

√ I Provided accurate and up-to-date contact information for myself and my Start-up.

√ I wrote a concise and compelling summary of my project and highlighted the key points on the problem, solution, goals, and anticipated outcomes.

√ I explicitly provided requisite information on: key results; resilience strengthening; strategic outlook; financial sustainability; expected social & environmental impact; and CEC workshop experience.

√ I filled out the budget section accurately, detailing all expenses associated with the project, and provided explanations for each budget item, demonstrating how the funds would be used effectively.

√ I emphasized my Start-up’s expertise and capacity to successfully carry out the proposed project.

√ In the end, I reviewed my responses for accuracy, clarity, and grammar and ensured that my answers were concise and aligned with the application's word/character limits.

√ I submitted the application form before the deadline, following the specified submission instructions. I double-checked that I had included all required attachments and documents.√ Finally, I made note about the confirmation of receipt that I received after submission.

Remember, the goal of writing and submitting a Grant Proposal that Wins is to present a clear and compelling case for your project. Next time you are submitting a grant proposal, be thorough, organized, and attentive to detail in your responses. Tailor your answers to showcase how your project aligns with the grantor's mission and priorities, and how it will create a positive impact.

#grants #grantwriting #grantfunding #circulareconomy #cec #urbanfarming #organic #organicfarming #environnement #environmental #environmentalsustainability #climatechange

THE RACONTEUR: HOW TO WIN A GRANT WITHOUT WRITING A PROPOSAL MY ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY: SERIES 1 ~ EPISODE 3

When opportunities begin to come, they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years. In a remarkable turn of events, the year 2023 unfurled with an astonishing array of opportunities, each arriving in swift succession. The JAMII Femmes Initiative, the Somo Africa Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, and the IDEA Africa Initiative Pitching Bootcamp all graced my path within the span of a single January. It was as though the universe had gathered its most promising ventures and presented them to me on a silver platter. In this convergence of opportunities, January became a pivotal chapter, marked by a whirlwind of growth and professional transformation. The year had barely begun, yet its opening act was already a testament to the boundless potential that awaited.

This story is about receiving a grant without going through the rigorous process of proposal writing. That is how JAMII Femmes, an Initiative started by Women In Africa (WIA) and The Coca-Cola Foundation in 2022 to support 20,000 African women entrepreneurs over the next three years, enrolled me in their 3-month program and awarded me a Grant last month (July 2023). 

The JAMII Femmes initiative aims to increase the impact of African women entrepreneurs on the African economy and support the creation of innovative solutions for sustainable development that will contribute to positive change in Africa by improving the quality of life of tens of thousands of people. 

The Call for Application criteria set forth by JAMII Femmes seemed custom-tailored to harmonize with my aspirations as an emerging Climate Action Champion and devoted advocate of the Circular Economy. I had this an unwavering zeal to intertwine circular pathways with initiatives that strive to get the most value of the resources we have by keeping them at their highest utility, for as long as we can. 

My business, Urban Organic Farming - Caryle Enterprises is a smart-climate agriculture initiative that recycles food waste using aerobic composting into organic manure for the production of African green leafy vegetables (ALVs) and fruit/medicinal tree seedlings.

Reducing food loss is our overarching goal. We are building a robust food waste collection and segregation system whereby we shall collaborate with local restaurants, hotels, vegetable vendors, and households to collect their food waste regularly for composting. Our demo farm is being established in the heart of Kisumu town, Western part of Kenya, to actively promote sustainable farming practices among the urban households by training and encouraging them to practice kitchen gardening and organically produce their own ALVs for consumption.

Undoubtedly, the timing of my acceptance into the JAMII Femmes program couldn't have been more opportune. As a wise soul once expressed, “the expanse of our knowledge, extending deep and wide, serves as fertile soil for cultivating innovative blooms, even within meticulously planned endeavors.” Despite my acquisition of masterclass business acumen through diligent study, relentless practice, and participation in diverse entrepreneurial ventures, the Honoris United Universities (HUUs) training, in collaboration with the JAMII Femmes Initiative, epitomized an unparalleled upskilling journey. 

With unwavering commitment, I dedicated approximately 37 hours and 37 minutes to conquer the trifecta of transformative modules encompassing behavioral intelligence, critical thinking, creativity and design thinking, communication, collaboration, and the art of entrepreneurship, all accomplished well before the deadline. Apart from earning 3299 points and 6 badges, I also deepened my faculty and expanded my horizon beyond expectations. 

So, how did I win a grant from JAMII Femmes without writing a proposal. Of course it wasn’t easy! As they say, “you can’t win if you don’t play.” I navigated through this program alongside the many tasks in my in-tray - the 1-hour every weekday Somo Africa Entrepreneurship Bootcamp program; the weekly 3-hour Violence Against Women (VAW) prevention essentials training; an intensive 30-day feasibility study consultancy in the month of March; training, facilitation & documentation for my clients who were pursuing the realisation of their respective career, business, & community goals; and day-to-day unpaid care work at home. As Zig Ziglar once said, “you were born to be a winner, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, expect to win.” Planning to win this Grant is exactly what I did from the onset of this program. 

Seated alongside a young woman of remarkable intelligence and beauty during an illuminating JAMII Femmes Women in Agribusiness network session in April, she admitted to me her failure to complete the HUU courses. With one day to the deadline, I thought she was pulling my leg until the following day, a screenshot of her assignment conundrum landed in my inbox, asking for my assistance.

It made me wonder how one could truly lack the drive to embark on a journey laden with promise, one that beckoned rewards for simple tasks. The condition to win the Grant seemed straightforward: complete HUU courses within three months, actively engage in the WIA social network, and amplify the JAMII Femmes programs within the digital community. In the eloquent words of David Wood, echoing Michael Korda, "your chances of success are directly proportional to the degree of pleasure you derive from what you do." If winning a grant wasn’t her ultimate goal, then what was? 

JAMII Femmes was such a cut-throating competition that less than 10% of the participants in cohort 1 & 2 from the 3 countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire): received grants to support their business development and increase their impact on communities (600 entrepreneurs); benefited from a bootcamp to improve their skills and get coaching (60 entrepreneurs); and received a prize of $10,000 to support their projects (3 laureates). This means that hundreds of women who participated in this program were cut off. Reminds me of a poignant say – “if you hesitate to cross the stream, perhaps it's best not to wade in at all.”

Winning a Grant from the JAMII Femmes program was an achievement with a unique distinction – it was orchestrated without the customary ritual of proposal writing, a testament to the sheer potential that awakens when vision, determination, and unwavering dedication unite.

#proposal #womeninbusiness #JAMIIFemmes #entrepreneurship

THE RACONTEUR: HOW TO QUALIFY FOR AN ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACCELERATION PROGRAM. MY ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY: SERIES 1 ~ EPISODE 2.

After a successful application, I was accepted for the Somo Africa Buruka Entrepreneurship Bootcamp January Cohort 2023. Somo Africa supports micro and small business owners with everything they need to grow, be sustainable, and create more jobs in their communities. Somo envisions a world where local entrepreneurs are provided the resources - knowledge, financing and markets - needed to create real change.

The 12-week training program supported over 60 women entrepreneurs from Western and Coastal Kenya to acquire skills for growing their businesses. The classes took place online via zoom - 1hr every weekday, with in-person classes twice a month. Key areas covered included: communication, growth mindset, stress management, customer focus, and persistence. At the 12th week, entrepreneurs submitted their Business Plan and presented their Pitch Decks for acceleration program and funding. 

Marshall Thurber once said, “God does not give a lick of an ice cream cone without wanting you to have the whole cone.” Committing to the 12-week training, respectfully putting every learning into practice, developing and refining my business -Dignify Her - Caryle Enterprises Business Plan, and writing a Pitch Deck that I finally presented to a panel of Judges in the presence of my fellow entrepreneurs at the Somo Kisumu Hub on 1st April 2023, was the licking of an ice cream from a cone. In June 2023 when I received the pleasant news that I’ve graduated to the Somo's two-year acceleration program, it was like eating the cone too! 

~The 2-year acceleration program means that~

√ I am now a member of the Somo Community, a networking group of over 300 African entrepreneurs who interact daily through a WhatsApp platform. They say “It takes a village to raise a child,” but it also takes a village to grow a business. The Somo entrepreneurship network is a village that is going to help me forge ahead into entrepreneurship. Even Napoleon Hill agrees in his book “Think and Grow Rich“ - that no two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind. Therefore, insights and contributions from the Somo Community is that intangible force that I’m going to rely on, to build and grow my business. 

√ I am going to receive financial support through a loan from Standard Chartered Foundation, facilitated by Somo. The funding is going to help us kickstart "Dignify Her" by employing young people to work in the collection and processing of textile waste, manufacturing of reusable sanitary pads using recycled textile waste, and distribution of the reusable sanitary pads to adolescent girls from poor and vulnerable communities through the support of our customers who are alumni of the schools where these girls go to, as well as corporates, organsations, and Kenyan government agencies/ departments & institutions that support sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programs.

√ I am privileged to access business coaches and accountability partners from Somo. In Celestine and Faith, I have official mentors, business coaches, and marketing consultants rolled into one. Celestine, Faith and I mesh very well. We built a great deal of rapport and trust back in the days when I was attending the bootcamp training program, working in the accelerator program will only strengthen our mentorship relationship that we are very keen to build together. 

√ “Dignify Her” will be published in the Somo Invest website (https://www.somoafrica.org) for enhanced brand visibility. Branding, as Susan Baroncini-Moe aptly puts it, requires a certain je ne sais quoi that most entrepreneurs don’t have. Personally, I get insecure when I start thinking about branding because I’m never sure if I’m doing it right. Somo coming to my aid on this one task that I consider difficult and a murky territory to wade in, is such a relief.

√ As a capacity building consultant on Women Economic Empowerment, through my company www.techinvakenya.org, I will be able to curate the training content by sharing with other women entrepreneurs who are keen to build and grow their businesses. Furthermore, I got more clarity and a deeper understanding from Somo facilitators on topics such as calculating market size – the TAM, SAM & SOM (Jacob); calculating financial feasibility (Steven); and the art of storytelling & pitching (Jason & Collins). I am now able to competently articulate these topics when facilitating an entrepreneurship training.

If a small win is a concrete, complete, implemented outcome of moderate importance. Then a big win looks like all the things I am going to gain from the 2-year acceleration program. I know it is by grace, because out of the 60 participants in our cohort, less than 10 entrepreneurs qualified for the acceleration program. This could only mean that the Somo team and the pitching judges who evaluated my business saw a promising, scalable, impactful business that was worth supporting, or rather saw a dedicated innovator in me who gave it her all during the 12-week bootcamp for the ultimate goal - mentorship, coaching, networking and funding - the Somo Africa 2-year Acceleration Program. Isn’t that what every entrepreneur dream of? Yes! Because trying and striving doesn’t get you brownie points, only achieving does, and that is how to qualify for an entrepreneurship acceleration program! 

I want to thank Somo Africa for walking with me through this journey of addressing period poverty, while preserving girls dignity during their menstrual cycle, at the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by recycling textile waste towards climate change adaptation and mitigation.

#entrepreneurship #accelerationprogram #bootcamp #financing #dignifyher #caryleenterprises #periodpoverty #menstrualhealth #srhr #emissions #emissionsreduction #ghgemissions #climatechange #climateaction