Our
main role as a partner was to place 10 Grow Movement remote volunteers with
individual entrepreneurs and supporting them throughout the week. It was an
amazing opportunity and a mutual benefit for everybody who participated!
 |
| Teta pitching her business, Inzuki Designs |
“I didn’t have plan B, this is what
I have to do for a living!” Says Teta
In Africa, for every one single job in the formal
sector, there are over 50 people struggling for it. In each country in
Africa for example Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi thousands of new graduates compete
with peers who completed earlier for few jobs available each year not
mentioning the old age bracket group people in these countries who never want
to retire from their formal jobs due to a
lot of insecurities in their lives.
A young lady Teta Isibo, the
founder of Inzuki Designs, a local Rwandan company specialising in African jewellery, accessories and
interior décor, is an indomitable woman that inspired the jury during the Real Business Accelerator last month. She was Born in Nairobi but raised up in Uganda, the third born in a
family of six returned with her family to Rwanda in 1996 after the genocide where she studied and
managed to complete her Bachelors of Science degree.
While talking to her I learnt she is passionate about designing “I am doing
something that I chose to do, something I am passionate about and naturally
good at. Although the decision to open my own store was radical, I have not
regretted it even a single day. I have a clear vision of what I want to
accomplish especially supporting talented rural women and this is what drives
me every single day and I have found hope”, she says.
Like many of us, she didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do as a child but she was always
interested in anything creative and always had an eye for design and always
waited for opportunities to enhance her dream. Like any other youth in Rwanda, Teta was looking for answers relating to survival after school. However,
she has found hope in her
business and she has been able to create employment to fellow young women as
young as she is. She hopes to be supporting over 90 women in the next one
year.
Grow Movement is committed to supporting the
Rwandan entrepreneurs like the 10 real business accelerator to realize their
dreams and help create a great social impact in Rwanda a help form our partners
like Educat. Among others, Teta is working with Mimi Ng her Grow consultant
based in Canada focused on supporting her develop Logistics of selling
internationally, Marketing, branding the business to stand out from its
competitors and strategically planning for her business…
 |
| The 10 RBA candidates supported by Grow Movement |
It was amazing to have 10 Grow Movement international volunteer
consultants willing to work remotely supporting 10 candidates on Global Entrepreneurship week (4 based in UK and 5 from Kenyan, Tanzania, Afghanistan,
Canada and India.) They held a few sessions during the
week to support the candidates throughout their endeavors. They have
continued working with their clients for about 3-5 months to help contribute to
and promote entrepreneurship development in Rwanda by supporting Rwandan committed
entrepreneurs in equipping them with proper business practises and accelerating
their businesses.
A lot of talented young people are willing and have the capacity
to make a change in their lives and to support their communities if given a
chance. The 10 candidates I worked with during the GEW week are very ambitious,
motivated and willing to venture into private enterprise and walk the road of successful
people. Grow Movement together with its partners, volunteer business
consultants and sponsors are committed to support the start-up and existing businesses to Grow with the ultimate aim of making more money, create
more jobs and keep their businesses sustainable. It is a low cost,
collaborative approach to development where both clients and consultants learn
from one another.
 |
| Working out at a piggery and chicken farm |
Entrepreneurs in Africa depend largely on household
resources, individual efforts and grants from well-wishers to get started in
business. However, despite achievements, the challenges faced by the entrepreneurs
range from mindsets to enterprise to
lack of business skills to efficiently run successful businesses.
Traditional
script has always been that to succeed in business, you must get a lot of
capital and it has to come from outside. All the greatest business stories have
always started with what one had with humble beginnings for example of
a chicken project, piggery, a garage as a factory or a road kiosk as a shop
location.
Grow Movement teams both locally in our countries of
operation, volunteers and its directors combine efforts meant to cause prominence
and visibility of entrepreneurship as a MOVEMENT
in addressing today’s challenges poverty, unemployment and sustainable
development.
No comments:
Post a Comment