WRITING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN: 6 STEPS TO DEVELOP A VALUES STATEMENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

A values statement is a set of beliefs and principles to guide your company’s activities. 

Clearly stated values can help your company react quickly and decisively when the unexpected strikes. 

You may not have the luxury of spending weeks or months to develop a values statement, so we show you a quick way to create one to set your company on the right track. 

Follow these steps: 

1. Select three or four representative groups of employees, including a mix of people from all levels and functions in your company. 

2. Have the groups meet on a rather formal basis over a two-to three-month period to come up with values that should guide the behaviour of every employee in the firm. 

3. Ask group members to create a short list of the values that they think are most important. 

Encourage them to back up this list with their reasons, reminding them that values are often the tiebreakers when it comes to tough management decisions and difficult choices. 

4. Bring the lists together and create a priority ranking of all the values suggested. 

5. Compose a statement, motto, or credo that includes the most significant and widely held values, along with compelling reasons for those values. 

6. Have the groups review and ratify your values statement. 

If your company is small, you can follow the steps yourself or with one or two of your colleagues.

AVAILABLE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN KENYA

Here is a list of open funding opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Kenya.

1.   United States Africa Development Foundation

Deadline: 25/02/2022

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF), in partnership with the Stanbic Kenya Foundation (SKF), invites applications from small and medium enterprises, cooperatives, and producer groups for grant financing and local support to help them address gaps in their internal systems and capabilities to 100% meet investment requirements by commercial investors.

Applications will only be accepted from registered private entities operating in Kenya.

Maximum Award US $50,000

For more information, visit https://www.usadf.gov/apply

 

2.   Right Sharing of World Resources - Kenya 

Deadline: Cycle of May 31 & November 30

RSWR is a Quaker organization supported primarily by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States. RSWR has two main goals: 1) Provide grants for women in the developing world to begin small income-generating businesses so that they may help themselves and their families out of poverty. 2) Help Quakers in the United States learn about the negative effects of poverty in the developing world and the negative effects of materialism in North America. 

RSWR focuses its funding in Kenya in the districts of: 1. Siaya County, 2. Kisumu County, 3. Homa Bay County, 4. Migori County. 5. Kisii County. 6. Nyamira County, 7. Vihiga County, 8. Kakamega County, 9. Bungoma County, 10. Busia County, 11. Nandi County, 12. Trans Nzoi County, 13. Uasin-Gishu County. 

Up to US $5,500 for a one year project. Each group may receive only one grant. 

For more information, visit  https://rswr.org/sites/default/files/Guidelines%20for%20Proposals%20-%20KENYA-new%20criteria%20(1).pdf

 

3.   AFDB: Transitioning Women Entrepreneurs from the Informal to the Formal Economy

Deadline: 25/02/2022

The African Development Bank (The Bank) plays a catalytic role in accelerating efforts to address gender inequality and drive inclusive economic transformation for women across Africa through mainstreaming gender in its operations and implementing targeted initiatives dedicated to African women. To further push forward the agenda of gender equality and women’s empowerment across the continent, the Bank is also investing in targeted initiatives through specific projects specifically designed to impact women such as the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), a flagship initiative that specifically focuses on increasing inclusive finance for women entrepreneurs on the continent. AFAWA’s primary objective is to bridge the $42 billion finance gap for women entepreneurs in Africa and to unlock their entrepreneurial capacity and full potential.

For more information, visit https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/call-proposals-transitioning-women-entrepreneurs-informal-formal-economy

5 ELEMENTS OF A BANKABLE BUSINESS PLAN

Every business needs a business plan, a statement of business purpose, with the consequences of each element of that purpose spelt out in financial terms. To avoid catching the ‘common cold’ of small businesses (underestimating the amount of start-up capital you need), A business plan helps you to:  

a) Describe what you want your business to do: Who are your potential customers? How much are they likely to spend? Who are your suppliers, and how much do their supplies cost?  

b) Translate those plans and projections into cash: How much does your business need? How much do you already have? How much do you expect ‘outsiders’ to put in?  

Many people have never prepared a business plan, they don’t know how to start and they need new knowledge. Our objective as Business Plan writers is to help you focus on the big picture, guide you whenever you need a little perspective on where you stand and where you’re headed, especially if the road ahead starts to look a little bumpy.

Before getting down your business plan on paper, here are 5 Elements you need to consider. 

1. Determining Where You Want to Go 

When putting together a business plan, you have to decide where you want to end up in the future. This involves establishing a mission for your company, along with business goals and objectives,  through examining your company’s values and your vision for the future. 

2. Sizing Up Your Marketplace 

To make a useful plan for your business, you have to know something about the market you’re going after. This you do by examining your industry and figuring out what it takes to be successful while identifying where your opportunities and threats come from. You also need to analyse your customers, so that you can understand who they are, what they need and how you can group them to better serve them. In addition, you need to scope out your competition, trying to determine exactly what you need to win. 

3. Weighing Up Your Company’s Prospects 

This is where you objectively look at your capabilities and resources, identifying the strengths that you can count on and the weaknesses that you need to deal with. You zero in on what you do best, enabling you to figure out the real value that you provide for your customers and the true advantage that you have over your competitors. You also need to look into your finances and put together a financial forecast and a budget. 

4. Looking to the Future 

The main reason why you make a business plan in the first place is to get ready for what lies ahead for your business. Preparing a business plan helps you look into your future and prepares you for change. Therefore, you need to come up with strategies and directions that you can take as your company grows bigger. 

5. Executing the Business Plan

Your business plan is no good if you can’t put it to work. After developing your business plan, you need to align your company to be as efficient and effective as it can be. You also need to prepare the people in your company so that they have the skills they need to accomplish the goals set out in your plan. 

Best of Luck as you start the journey to your business growth! 

A GUIDE TO BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITIONS

Business plans have been gaining popularity because they can be extremely effective tools for allocating funds to small businesses that show potential to scale. Business plan competitions are effective because they help governments, Corporates, Foundations, and NGOs decide which firms to “bet on:” 

Even though governments and donors have resources and good-will to invest in enterprises, they often lack the means to pick the highly efficient ones. Therefore, business plans can help them do that. At the same time, contenders who participate in these competitions are more likely to be successful employers.

Below are reliable entities/sites that regular call for/host Business Plan Competitions:

 

1.     MbeleNaBiz 

The MbeleNaBiz business plan competition (“MbeleNaBiz”) is an initiative of the Government of Kenya, under the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP). MbeleNaBiz aims to expand new and existing youth-led enterprises by providing them with grant funding and/or business plan training. MbeleNaBiz is implemented by the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) and the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs (MPYG), with support from the World Bank. KPMG has been contracted to manage MbeleNaBiz.

https://mbelenabiz.go.ke/about-competition.php

 

2.     Somo Africa

Somo is the root of a Swahili word meaning "lesson". Somo is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and pledges that 
100% of donations go to funding visionary entrepreneurs from marginalized communities around the world. 

https://www.somoafrica.org

 

3.     Sinapis

Sinapis has annual Business Competition showcasing some of the strongest companies that emerge each year. Finalists prepare for weeks to distill their dreams for their business into an 8-minute pitch. An independent panel of distinguished Kenyan investors and entrepreneurs ask probing questions to assess each opportunity. 

https://www.sinapis.org

 

4.     Growth Africa

GrowthAfrica accelerates ventures in and into Africa - and across the continent by assisting companies seize and develop business opportunities in Africa.

https://growthafrica.com

 

5.     TechnoServe 

TechnoServe helps people lift themselves out of poverty by harnessing the power of the private sector. A leading nonprofit organization operating in almost 30 countries, they work with hardworking women and men in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, they have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.

https://www.technoserve.org

 

6.     Invest2Impact

Invest2Impact is a program created with the aim to provide women entrepreneurs in developing country markets with improved access to leadership opportunities, quality employment, finance, enterprise support, and products and services that enhance their economic participation. The program emerged from 2X Challenge, a commitment to formally mobilize USD $3 billion in capital towards women economic empowerment from key Development Finance Institutions (FinDev Canada, CDC, UK Aid Direct, PROPARCO, OPIC and Mastercard Foundation) committed to a reducing gender inequality.

https://invest2impact.africa

 

7.     African Germany Entrepreneurship Academy - AGEA

As part of its mandate, the AGEA network collaborates with dedicated academic and business partners in Africa and Germany to promote practice-oriented entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship promotion and developing business start-ups for Africa. One of the flagship products that AGEA delivers is its annual AGEA Business Idea Competition (ABIC). ABIC is organised to reach out, identify and support innovative entrepreneurial solutions to African challenges by African students, entrepreneurs, academics and researchers within the AGEA network and beyond. 

https://www.ageacademy.de

 

8.     Hult Prize!

With a $1,000,000 global startup prize as its anchor activity, the Hult Prize has brought impact focused programs and training to over a million students globally, creating a pathway for youth everywhere to build a better world.​

https://www.hultprize.org

 

9.     D-Prize

D-Prize supports new entrepreneurs who distribute proven poverty interventions.The world has already invented products and services to end poverty. Yet there are dozens of proven interventions with large delivery gaps. Millions of people still don’t have access. 

https://d-prize.org

 

10.  Other relevant sites to subscribe to include:

i.   https://www.advance-africa.com

ii.  https://www.opportunitiesforafricans.com

iii. https://fundsforcompanies.com

iv. https://totalenergies.ke

v.  https://www.uwezo.go.ke

vi. https://www.wef.co.ke

PLEASE ADD IMPORTANT ORGANISATIONS / SITES THAT CALL FOR / HOST BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION OPPORTUNITIES OMITTED FROM THE ABOVE LIST.

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