THE RACONTEUR: HOW TO ATTEND BUSINESS MASTERCLASS WITHOUT GOING TO HARVARD ~ MY ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY: SERIES 1 ~ EPISODE 9

Having strong business skills can make a big difference in the growth of your entrepreneurial venture and your overall economic empowerment. I've personally benefited from more than ten entrepreneurship training programs in the last two years, and they've equipped me with a wide range of skills like planning, managing finances, marketing, leadership, and adaptability. These skills have been incredibly valuable in helping me overcome the unique challenges I face as an entrepreneur.

There are numerous organizations that offer free programs specifically designed to empower female entrepreneurs in Kenya. These programs aim to help women make informed decisions, efficiently manage resources, access markets, and run their businesses effectively. Unfortunately, not all women who could benefit from these programs are taking advantage of them.

Some women might see these opportunities but never apply. Here's why every entrepreneur should consider applying to these programs:

√ Some programs require you to have certain legal documents like a registered business, Tax PIN & Compliance Certificates, bank accounts, and necessary business permits. If you've been running your business without these legal requirements, applying for these programs can serve as a motivation to get your business in proper legal shape for future opportunities.

√ Certain programs ask for specific business documents such as a Problem Statement Canvas, Customer/User Persona Template, Lean Canvas, Business Model Canvas, SWOT Analysis Template, Impact Statement, Capacity Assessment Tool, Psychometric Tool, Pitch Deck, Board Charter, Team Profile, and more. Preparing these documents can help you learn and improve your business as you research and practice.

√ Some programs, once you're accepted into a cohort, provide extensive training in various aspects of business practices, including strategy, innovation, planning, marketing, operations, finance, and talent management. After completion, they continue to support you through mentorship, networking events, and potential funding opportunities. They often connect you with other valuable opportunities from their organization or other partners.

If you're looking for business masterclass programs, follow social media handles of the following and be on the lookout when they announce openings:

1. SOMO Africa Entrepreneurship Bootcamp & Accelerator Programme

2. C8 Ignite Entrepreneurship Programme: Wadhwani Foundation/StartUp Savanna/GrowthAfrica

3. HerMeNow (HMN) 2023 Bootcamp: Bloom

4. RevUp Women Initiative 2023: WISE/Visa Foundation/AfriLabs

5. Building Resilience Against Climate and Environmental Shock (BRACE): African Food Changemakers

6. JAMII Femmes: Women in Africa & CocaCola Foundation

7. Grow Your Business (GYB): African Management Institute (AMI)

8. SHE Stars-See Her Empowered Program: Yunus Environment Hub/GiZ/Absa

9. Circular Economy Catalyst (CEC): Adelphi, IKEA, & SEED

10. Road 2 Growth (R2G): Cherie Blair Foundation for Women

11. XcelHERate Entrepreneurship Challenge: SNDBX International/ Bizell

12. Catalysing High-Impact Entrepreneurship in Africa: Jasiri

13. 2023 MEST Africa Challenge: VC4A

14. She Wins Africa: IFC/ World Bank

15. The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE)

16. African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP)

These programs can be game-changers for your entrepreneurial journey and help you unlock your business's full potential.

THE RACONTEUR: THE DON'TS OF BUSINESS PITCHING. MY ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY ~ SERIES 1 ~ EPISODE 1

A day to New Year Eve, I received the most pleasant news that my application was selected as one of the top 20 finalists of the IDEA Initiative Africa Program and I was invited to participate in a 3-day bootcamp training which took place from 3rd January 2023 and later, I pitched in front of the jury panel on the 5th January 2023. 

The Innovations selected from various countries in Africa were those that are addressing some of the most pertinent sexual and reproductive health issues in Africa. The modules of the bootcamp training included: engaging with and using a Human Centred Design (HCD) approach for idea generation and development; engaging with the business model canvas/lean canvas to help the innovators clarify and communicate their business idea effectively to potential partners, investors and customers; and building a community of actors that could be problem solvers in the SRH ecosystem

My business, Dignify Her - Caryle Enterprises, perfectly aligned to the objectives of IDEA Initiative Africa Program, and I was excited to participate in the bootcamp training. Dignify Her - Caryle Enterprises is a waste-to-value initiative that applies circular pathways to try and get the most value of the resources we have by keeping them at their highest utility, for as long as we can. We are addressing period poverty of adolescent girls by providing easy access to affordable, hygienic, and environmentally-friendly reusable sanitary pads made from textile waste, so that they can go through their monthly menstrual cycle with dignity towards a successful retention, transition and completion of their education. By recycling textile waste, we are helping in the reduction of greenhouse gas emission towards climate adaptation and mitigation.

~My Pain~

Unfortunately, I was not selected to receive the grant after the pitch competition. Lessons learnt after a thorough introspection, are as follows:

√ It was my first time to pitch in front of a panel of judges. Therefore, my pitching skill was raw and blunt.

√ I was not ready for the pitching. I remember preparing my slides for the better part of the night, leaving no room for rehearsal prior to presentation. 

√ My PowerPoint looked like a word processing document, too wordy and very ambiguous with little clarity on finer points that I needed to drive home. 

√ During the presentation, I was edgy and nervous despite the fact that the pitching was virtual – I simply did not bring my A-game to the pitching. 

√ I failed to respect the time allocated for pitching. One of the judges reminding me that I had 2 minutes left when I was not even halfway in my presentation threw me off guard completely and I panicked, I can’t remember what else I said after that. 

√ My team composition and capabilities did not inspire confidence and one of the judges was worried that my proposition to outsource too many services was simply impractical.

√ My competition analysis and the differentiation strategies that could bring out my Unique Value Proposition was not convincing enough.

√ My “ask” was exaggerated and unrealistic with little proof about my Enterprises’ capacity to manage such colossal amount, neither could I justify the impact for such an investment.

√ Of all the days, my internet became unstable and at some point, during the presentation, I lost connection.

At the end of my presentation that took close to 6 minutes, I knew it was a lost endeavour. However, it was not the end of it all. I was not going to abandon my creative idea at the first whisper of rejection. I intended to persist long enough to give it a fair try at survival. 

~My Gains~

Even as I clapped for the selected 3 winners amongst us, I and the other participants were winners too in the context that we got an opportunity to participate in this program. In my current profession as a capacity building trainer and a facilitator on women empowerment, I treat every training that I participate in as Training of Trainers (TOT), because it gives me an opportunity to learn, unlearn, and relearn; a chance to up-skill, de-skill, and re-skill. Therefore, I always commit myself 100% to the programs. Because the commitment is the spark that ignites the fire, commitment is the key that starts the engine, commitment is my business and my business is commitment.

I didn’t leave empty-handed at the end of this program. I acquired new knowledge, skills and attitude specifically on:

√ Co-creation and co-design space to fine-tune great sustainable ideas for the most pertinent sexual and reproductive health challenges. 

√ Value Chain Mapping & Human-Centred Design - Empathize-Define-Ideation-Prototyping-Testing-Implementation.

√ Business Model Canvas – I learnt how to categorize the building blocks of a business into Desirability (heart), Feasibility (engine), and Viability (money), for a deeper understanding WHY I’m in business.

√ Pitching best practices – Innovation, Scalability, Financial Sustainability, Team Composition, and Impact.

This initial pitching was the door that opened several pitching opportunities, leading to some successful ones that I will be talking about in the coming Episodes of this Series. Someone once said “failure is an opportunity to start again with more wisdom!”

From this program, I have gained a network of nontraditional SRH actors including but not limited to entrepreneurs, tech, media and communications, and creatives that are creating and innovating ideas into solutions for the sexual and reproductive health and rights challenges in Kenya and Africa. I am part of an interactive WhatsApp platform where we share and exchange SRH ideas and opportunities. I want to thank IDEA Initiative Africa, Billinow, and Nailab for accelerating my journey to become a better social entrepreneur as well as a capacity building consultant on women empowerment.