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Entrepreneur Stories

Pitch Demo day poster

The August 2021 Pitch Event

The pitch event happens as the last module (Module 10) of our Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. 

On 31st August 2021, the Zidicircle Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (Spring cohort) got to pitch to our pool of investors and partners for a chance to get funding or commercial networks. This was part of completing the training.

Our entrepreneurs came from an array of sectors, including:

  • Digital Media Creatives (IAMNATIV)
  • Human Resource Services Digitalization (EssentialPeople)
  • Green Economy-Solar powered cooling system (Kibanda Poa)
  • Fintech- Small Businesses Financial Management App (Kuungana Technology)
  • eCommerce (Bendera)

Pitchers and company logos

The Pitch

Every pitcher (entrepreneur) was required to create a pitch deck highlighting important aspects of their business. Here are some of the topics that the pitch decks had.

must-have topics in a pitch deck

With a succinct, well-thought-out and engaging pitch deck, the pitchers were able to explain their businesses’ concept and value to potential investors. It took each pitcher a maximum of three minutes to dive in and give a clear picture of their businesses and what they intend to do.

The goal of a pitch is to tell the company’s story in a short, engaging way that will pull in the investor to want to know more about the company, but still give enough information for the investor to make a buy-in decision.  

Clarification and Grading

Once the entrepreneurs make their pitches, the judges take them through a Q&A session to clarify investors’ interest points to make the buy-in decision easier. The judges on the August Pitch Demo day had a host of questions for our entrepreneurs.

These were the August 31 Pitch Demo Day judges:

judges photos

One crucial point to note though is that it’s a huge misconception that the only reason startups pitch is to get funding. Although this is mainly the case, some entrepreneurs don’t necessarily need funding. Some entrepreneurs may need commercial networks and partnerships instead.

So, if you need market entry and penetration networks or even international distribution channel networks, you can still pitch for a chance to get them.

Once the judges got the clarification they needed, they had enough information to grade the entrepreneurs. On a scale of 1 to 10, the judges graded the entrepreneurs based on the:

  • Attractiveness of the business idea
  • Clarity when pitching
  • Entrepreneur’s presentation skills
  • Economic logic of the business
  • Ease of implementation and
  • Quality of the value proposition

The average grade pointed to the entrepreneur’s skill set. So, the entrepreneur with the highest points got first place and with first place came amazing awards. 

The Winners and Awards

To us, all our entrepreneurs were winners because they put in considerable effort to understand their businesses and they were also willing to share their stories to get the ask they needed.

Here are the awards each pitcher won:

Caroline Kamya, the founder IAMNATIV

Caroline Kamya, the winner

After an excellent pitch, Caroline, the founder of IAMNATIV scooped the following prizes:

  • Zidicircle Conditional investment of 5000 Euros
  • Volition Advisor session in Digital Marketing Strategy, Content, and Advertising.
  • An investor readiness program by Fledgerr and then conduct fundraising on Fledgerr’s main platform
  • A complete product prototype designed by The Bhub with a value of up to 3K USD, go-to-market tools through The Bhub’s partnership with AWS and Mixpanel, and early user acquisition support, including a data science consultant, 2 years of free AWS hosting credits worth $5k and Mixpanel hosting credits worth $10k.

Olivia Decker, the founder Bendera

Olivia Decker, the first runner up

Olivia, the founder of Bendera and Kenya Hub took second place after an amazing pitch, leading her to scoop the following awards:

  • A potential consideration for investment by Zidicircle
  • Free digital marketing for a month by HT Media

Caitlin Seandel, the founder Kuungana Technology

Caitlin Seandel, Second runner up

Caitlin, the founder of Kuungana Technology took third place after her wonderful pitch, leading her to get the following awards: 

  • A potential consideration for investment by Zidicircle
  • A five-day co-working pace pass at Nairobi garage Karen

Aggrey Anduuru, the founder EsentialPeople

Aggrey Anduuru, Eunique Award

Aggrey, the founder of Essential People got:

  • A Free 1-month digital marketing by HT Media

Faith Obange, the founder Kibanda Poa

Faith Obange, green economy award

Faith Obange, the founder and CEO of Kibanda Poa scooped:

  • A potential consideration for investment

These awards were made possible by the collaboration of our partners:

Partners logos

The Next Pitch Event

The next Zidicircle Entrepreneurship Bootcamp pitch event is set for 27th January 2022, where our Autumn cohort from an array of sectors will pitch to investors. These entrepreneurs come from different sectors, including:

  • Ecommerce
  • Accounting
  • Agriculture

Learn more and join us here.

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Meet Aggrey Anduuru; Building Future work places

In one of our entrepreneur’s stories, we feature one of our spring cohorts, Aggrey Anduuru, the proprietor and CEO of Essential People.

We asked Aggrey a series of questions, whose answers we hope you, our Zidicircle community, will find enlightening, insightful, inspiring and motivating

Q: What is the name of your venture?

A: Essential People… trading as Essential Business Advisory Services Limited

Q: What does Essential People do?

A: We are a people business. We are into recruitment, selection, placement, compensation, learning and development services. Following the change in the workplace following COVID 19, we strive to build workplaces of the future… that value human capital as an asset and not as a liability

Q: What is the history of your business?

A: I have been in the family business for close to 30 years, but formally got involved in HR in 2008, following my graduation from USIU. In 2014, my mum and company CEO passed on following a long-term illness. I took over the leadership of the family business in October of that year. In 2020, in response to new challenges and opportunities in human development such as Digitalization, Biometrics, AI, Cloud computing…remote working: I took a look at the position of the business in this changing world and realized if we don’t pivot then in 5 years we would have lost our position in the market to agile competitors. We conceived Essential People to reflect a new focus on people-process engineering as opposed to just hiring to fire when the fit isn’t right…

Q: How did the idea for Essential People come about?

A: Essential People…is a tribute to the legacy of my mum. The family business is called Essential Management Consultancy Services Limited, but that is a mouthful and I wanted something that was easier to say…so Essential People was born. We also desired to repurpose ourselves, especially after COVID 19 broke out. New challenges arose such as Safety and Health at work, supply of manpower during the pandemic, and working from home. All these created a different business environment from that which we operated 20 years ago…and with that the realization that change was here

Q: What would be your 3 key pieces of advice from your journey to fellow entrepreneurs?

A:     

1) Never walk alone…and I don’t just say that because I’m a Liverpool fan ?

2) Seek advice and seek partnerships that will grow you and test you. Secondly don’t be afraid…

3) Thirdly be humble enough to say sorry when you mess up

Q: What triggered you to take part in the bootcamp?

A: I wanted to start afresh…and was looking for energy and ideas from the start up space. I also really want to work with Bhub to build a killer cloud based HRNIS system

Q: What have you learnt so far from the program and how have you applied the lessons learnt?

A: Pain points. I learned to listen to customer and client pain about my service delivery and it was humbling. Two clients; I’ve already written letters of apology for performance that was below expectation, and devised action plans to correct behaviour

Q: Where do you see your business in 3 years’ time? And what will it take for you to get there?

A: I want to build a business that provides solutions to human capital challenges such as recruitment and selection of talent that is the right fit, performance management systems that bring out the best of the employer-employee collaboration, learning and development opportunities that will empower all employees regardless of rank or position.

I want Essential People as a PEO that can be counted on to maximize the full potential of everyone… To get there we need assistance in putting in place systems and processes. We also need mentorship and partnerships more so to assist in the move to ultimately attain International Certification

Q: Would you recommend the program to other entrepreneurs?

A: Yes

Q: Do you have any advice for other starting entrepreneurs?

A: Don’t be afraid to explore new opportunities and relationships.

Q: How can interested parties find you? A: Our website is www.ebas.co.ke  Our physical address is Jogoo Rd Plaza, 2nd floor, Door 09.

Email:aanduuru@gmail.com

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Meet Caitlin Seandel, The Founder of Kuungana Technology

Today, we feature one of Zidicircle’s entrepreneurs, Caitlin Seandel, the proprietor and CEO of Kuungana Technology.

We asked Caitlin a series of questions, whose answers we hope you, our Zidicircle community, will find enlightening, insightful, inspiring and motivating.

Q: What is the name of your business?

Kuungana Technology.

Q: What does your venture do?

We help micro-businesses operating in the informal sector in East Africa grow while uniting a fragmented financial sector. We do this through our value-added and scalable technology.

Q: What is the history of your business?

It starts with my background. I have work experience in teaching English abroad in Phnom Penh, tech sales experience for a start-up in San Francisco, and worked as a program manager for a CBO microlender in rural Eastern Uganda. It was there that the idea for Kuungana took hold.

Q: How did the idea for Kuungana Technology come about?

Kuungana is Swahili for unity, which is exactly what we do; unite business owners with their business’s earning potential and through doing this we will be able to unite a fragmented financial sector.

Q: What would be your 3 key pieces of advice from your journey to fellow entrepreneurs?

1) Don’t doubt your vision.

2) When speaking with potential partners/investors/customers and they question you, don’t take it personally. Understand that this is a perfect time to learn. If there are misunderstandings in what you are trying to accomplish chances are you are not presenting your vision and process clearly.

3) Joy, fun + self-care are important. There are great times of uncertainty make sure that through everything you are taking care of yourself and finding joy even in the stress.

Q: What triggered you to take part in the Zidicircle Bootcamp?

The mentorship really intrigued me as well as having the opportunity to interact with other entrepreneurs.

Q: What have you learnt so far from the program and how have you applied the lessons learnt? Give examples.

Understanding how to identify early tech adopters and your angel users. This has helped Kuungana really hone in on who our ideal user is helping out with our sales strategy and product development.

Kungaana’s past training session

Q: What‘s your highest business need at the moment

I am in need of an experienced banking industry professional in Kenya and East Africa. We are also shopping for a good mobile app developer

Q: Would you recommend the program to other entrepreneurs? Why?

If you are feeling stuck or having questions about what your technology should look like/do this is a great program for you!

It will help bring clarity to your companies’ vision and mission as well as what is needed from your service to make that happen!

Q: Do you have any advice for other starting entrepreneurs?

If you are excited about your vision and believe, just keep going. Even if you have to take a break, get back to it.

Q: How can interested parties find you?

Email: caitlinseandel@kuunganatech.com

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Digitalizing African creatives: Meet Caroline Kamya

Today, we feature one of Zidicircle’s Spring 2021 entrepreneurs, Caroline Kamya, the proprietor and CEO of I AM NATIV.

I AM NATIV ( NATIV for short) is a platform and organization that focuses on unleashing the talent of African creatives with the use of SaaS via the global internet. They are connecting buyers from all over the world with top-end media crew and related professionals in Africa. NATIV is a freelance service platform curating a network and marketplace for professional African media crew and associated creatives. With Africa in mind, NATIV is a place where creatives sell their services and content to buyers in an environment that is: Safe, secure and mobile-ready. NATIV is located in Kampala, Uganda & Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

We asked Caroline Kamya a series of questions, whose answers we hope you, our Zidicircle community, will find enlightening, insightful, inspiring and motivating.

Q: What is the name of your business?

I AM NATIV

Q: What does your venture do?

IAM NATIV brings talented media creatives (such as crew members) and buyers of services together on one platform to buy and sell freelance audio and visual services from Africa.

As I have worked on both sides as a seller and buyer of media services for the production of media content such as documentaries and TV commercials, I have a wealth of knowledge and awareness of some of the opportunity and pain points that are involved in this market.

Customers who want to sell their services globally will find great benefit in signing up and subscribing to the platform and buyers who are searching for a reliable space to access services and content from media crew in Africa will find it in one location and be able to pay them directly.

There is a huge need for African creative services and products such as film, tv, documentaries and promos filmed on the African continent for domestic and foreign markets. With mobile money becoming the preferred banking method, we overcome this barrier by making it fast and efficient to work with and pay for these services on one space.

What we are selling are freelancers services and content from media crew working and residing in Africa to a local and global market.

Q: What is the history of your business?

I am an award-winning filmmaker. I have run and owned a production company since 2004 which is based in Europe, with an office in Africa.

Having been trained at the BBC and HBO, I have over 17 years of work experience in making tonnes of content, e.g. promos, commercials etc. I have done this for brands, ad agencies, NGO’s and so on, in Africa and Europe. Some of these companies include drinks companies, telecoms, airlines as well as making the first feature by a Ugandan woman that helped to open some doors to the burgeoning industry.

Q: How did the idea for I AM NATIV come about?

I AM NATIV came about due to timing, my work in Europe and Africa, trying to find crew to work on Projects fast, and being proud to be a “native” of Africa.

As I worked in Europe focusing on content in Africa, I noticed that my business formula could be duplicated to scale to unleash the talent in Africa and use fintech to make this streamlined.

Q: What would be your 3 key pieces of advice from your journey to fellow entrepreneurs?

  1. Keep positive, any idea has its ups and downs
  2. Keep distilling your vision -the more you work on it the tighter it is before you build it
  3. Take on constructive critiques, listen more than speak to your target group

Q: What triggered you to take part in the Zidicircle Bootcamp?

The Bootcamp has a focus on Africa and Africa diaspora and my project focuses on African talent, the mentors have a strong track record and background so I can access advice. Opportunities for funding is also attractive to me as a startup.

Q: What have you learnt so far from the program and how have you applied the lessons learnt? Give examples.

So far, all areas have been very useful from concept – to pricing. Using Miro as a virtual board has been quite helpful as well as interactive aspects to the session sharing with other entrepreneurs.

Q: Where do you see I AM NATIV in 3 years’ time? And what will it take for you to get there?

In 3 years, my business will be a global go-to platform for African creatives. At least 1 million creatives in Africa will be using the platform to earn and collaborate successfully and over 6 million sales from customers buying their services and content. I see it as the GO TO PLATFORM for media companies who want virtual services from top-end crew from Africa.

Q: What’s the greatest need for your business at this moment?

At the moment we have a funding need of $250, 000 that will help in Operations, Marketing & Advertising, Pre- Onboarding Training of creatives Scaling, Maintenance, Customer & Client acquisition, Regional Scaling, Continuous R&D and App development.  We have been very lucky to have 3 early-stage investors on board already.

I am also looking for a mentor.

Q: Would you recommend the program to other entrepreneurs? Why?

Yes, I do recommend it. It has good facilitators and experts with a strong background, it is also interactive.

Q: Do you have any advice for other starting entrepreneurs?

My advice for other starting entrepreneurs: Do it if it’s your passion and you will do it even when the journey gets hard, get advice and mentorship.

Q: How can interested parties find you?

Email me – caroline@ceekayfilms.com  / caroline@iamnativ.com / caroline.kamya@gmail.com  

For any other correspondence about our programmes email contact@zidicircle.com

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Syrian healing solution: Introducing Gharna Halabi

Nowar Rahmouni is a Syrian diaspora and the founder of Gharna, a venture that sells traditional, natural, and organic products with handcraft designs. Nowar is part of the Zidicircle Diaspora Entrepreneurship Bootcamp 2020

The story behind the venture name

Gharna Halabi, is also known as Aleppo Soap. Aleppo is an Arabic word that means Halab, Gharna Halabi means the Laurel, which is the natural product used, is Aleppean.

What the venture does

Gharna produces traditional, natural, and organic Aleppean products with special handmade packages. They provide value through making special limited packages as natural and eco-friendly gifts.

Gharna’s primary audience are Syrians in Exile facing issues with contacting other natives. They buy traditional gifts from Gharna Halabi to help them start the journey in their new communities. These packages remind them of home and its memories.

Our markets are in Lebanon, the UAE, Europe, China, and now looking to go into the USA.

All our products are 100% natural and so famous in Syria and the world such as Aleppo soap, we craft them manually and pack them into eco-friendly handmade packages.

Gharna’s background and history

Nowar was in her senior year when she got stress-induced eczema. She told her parents about it, and they sent her Aleppo soap which helped with the conditions.

She was broke and needed money to survive and finish her school projects, that’s where the enterprising spirit developed from. Facebook was popular, and Nowar decided to open a page with some images of the soaps she had.

There was a lot of interest, and we got direct calls for orders, which we sold and got more to sustain the increasing orders. My father laughed when I told him we were selling and he sent larger quantities as people kept asking for our products, packaged for the holidays as gifts.

How the name and idea was born

The name Gharna was from one of our products, while we gave the online page a name that was aimed at bringing people closer to Aleppean products.

They later changed the project’s name to Gharna Halabi,

because people saved the product name instead of the company’s. When we chose Gharna, my partner asked about the name, and I answered that it is our Laurel, which triggered Halabi, to make it easy. It is our Laurel from Aleppo city.

Gharna Halabi, because it was relatable and simple for customers.

Nowar’s 3 key pieces of advice from her journey to fellow entrepreneurs

  1. Start small and grow with time
  2. Listen to your customers because they are the reason behind your success
  3. Ask for help from professionals when you attend entrepreneurship training

What triggered Nowar to take part in the Bootcamp

I was looking for more connections and a different point of view.

What Nowar has learnt so far from the program and how she has applied the lessons learnt

I learnt how to create a persona of my customer, that helped me understand who they are, what they do, and how to find them.

The Gharna Halabi we hope to see in 3 years

Gharna products getting known in Europe and the USA.

Experience with the Bootcamp

The Bootcamp contains lots of essential contents, especially the financial part. I have attended a lot of entrepreneurship programs, and none of them went through the finance topic into details, which is what most of us entrepreneurs struggle with.

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Access to quality African products abroad: An Introduction to Bendera

Olivia Decker is a Kenyan living in the Netherlands. She is the founder of Bendera, an E-commerce platform that specialises in African products. Olivia is part of the Zidicircle Diaspora Entrepreneurship Bootcamp 2020

The story behind the venture name and idea

Bendera means flag in Swahili.  A time for African products/expertise to fly high.

With so many quality African products coming to the market with no common platform to find them, it was time.

What the venture does

Bendera is an E-commerce platform that specialises in African products. To the seller, Bendera provides a more targeted audience for their products. To the customer, Bendera is a one-stop shopping site for reliably sourced quality African products. 

Some of the product categories are:

  1. Organic Tea/coffee
  2. Superfoods (Moringa, baobab etc.)
  3. Art and Home Décor
  4. Accessories (jewellery)
  5. Clothes.

Bendera’s history

Olivia as the founder of Kenya Hub, a community platform that supports start-ups and East African Entrepreneurs in The Netherlands, Bendera will give them a common platform to sell their products, giving them more visibility and accessibility to their products.

Olivia’s 3 key pieces of advice from her journey to fellow entrepreneurs

  1. Put the right structures in place for your business.
  2. Find the right people (with integrity) to work with
  3. Be open to constructive criticism.

What triggered Olivia to take part in the Bootcamp

I was especially interested in product costing & pricing and Financial administration.

Learnings so far from the program and how Olivia has applied the lessons learnt

To immediately apply what you learn.  I came to class with a business idea that I now hope to launch before March 2021.  I am actively speaking to Entrepreneurs to source the best products for Bendera based on feedback I got from the Market research class on what customers actually want and are willing to pay for.

The Bendera we hope to see in 3 years

Bendera being the No. 1 website for buying quality African products in Europe. Working with reliable African businesses and ensuring the supply chain to the customers works efficiently.

Experience with the Bootcamp

The program offers the foundation of running a successful business through topics that will cost you money, time or your business when ignored or not properly managed. I highly recommend this program to other entrepreneurs.

Advice for entrepreneurs in the diaspora

Interact with other Diaspora entrepreneurs and build a network that works for you.

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Financial access for SME’s in Ghana: Meet New Africa Impact Fund

Kwabena Owusu-Agyeman is a Ghanaian living in the Netherlands. He is the Managing Director and founder of New Africa Impact Fund. Kwebena is part of the Zidicircle Diaspora Entrepreneurship Bootcamp 2020

What the venture does:

New Africa Impact Fund (NAIF) is a diaspora led fund providing the diaspora with the opportunity to take ownership of the biggest problem facing SMEs in Ghana, which is affordable funding. In line with their values of trust, integrity and honesty, NAIF identify and manage the fund winners to ensure the investors get a return on their investment.

How the business idea and venture name came about:

Kwabena’s passion for ownership and business development was the genesis of the idea.

I believe there has to be a shift in our mindset from “what do you do” to “what do you own”.

In order to promote ownership through business development, the venture was set up to give people living in the diaspora the opportunity to be owners, investors, problem solvers and be part of the entrepreneurial success story of SMEs in Ghana.

3 key pieces of advice from Kwabena’s journey to fellow entrepreneurs:

  1. Right people + Right environment

Engage and build relations with positive people in an environment that challenges your ideas and dreams. It makes you a better entrepreneur.

2. Learn from your passion

We often hear, follow your passion, but I say learn from your passion. Sometimes your passion may not be commercially viable but take lessons from it and apply it to your business. 

3. What is the worst that can happen? Go for it!

Why Kwabena took part in the Bootcamp:

I was looking for direction. In addition, I wanted to challenge and test the feasibility of my idea to see if it was commercially viable. Lastly, I wanted a reputable facilitator to mentor my journey.

What he has learnt so far from the program, and how he has applied the lessons learnt:

Through the Bootcamp, I have developed a mindset of helping customers solve their problems rather than falling in love with an idea and imposing it on customers. My interactions and findings made me continuously review and update my business model canvas.

The New Africa Impact Fund we hope to see in 3 years:

In three years, the fund should have invested in at least five SMEs in Ghana.

Experience with the Bootcamp:

The Bootcamp was a rewarding experience for me. The sessions were of a high standard, the facilitators were experienced, and successful entrepreneurs in their own ventures. The participants were motivated and eager to learn. I will encourage entrepreneurs to join the next edition.

Advice for entrepreneurs in the diaspora:

COVID 19 taught us the importance of having entrepreneurship skills such as flexibility and adaptability to changes in the market. Do not give up, ask the right questions and support the community.

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The black don’t crack experts – Meet FaceFirst Cosmetics

PerfectFaces is a diaspora based venture inspired by real-life experiences. The venture name PerfectFaces came from the challenges People of Colour face.

The name PerfectFaces is an encouragement to that person of Colour who’s self-esteem is low or shaken because of society’s ideologies. The name is a visible stamp of who we are; a protruding forehead, high cheekbones, thick lips, a broad nose, every face shape – we’re perfect.

Stephen Duncan

PerfectFaces has created a range of cosmetic make-up that bridges the gap between suitable, affordable, and durable foundations and powders for Dark Skin. Europe has a very large Dark-Skinned migrant population (approx. 12 billion), and even though the Cosmetic Market is worth €79.8 billion, it still lacks suitability, choice, and affordability for People of Colour.

The skin needs of people of Colour (POCs) vary from that of Caucasians. The PerfectFaces’ range addresses these needs by supplying make-up that provides immaculate coverage without being heavyweight. With colour specific formulations to even skin ones, paraben-free & eco-friendly to protect health and the environment. Making available both matte (not dry) and dewy (not oily) formulations while ensuring availability and easy accessibility.

PerfectFaces founder, Stephan Duncan, is a trained professional make-up artist with a degree in International Business Management. His immense passion for Dark Skin fuels his drive to enhance the beauty of POCs. Having worked in the cosmetic make-up industry for big brand names and indie brands, he constantly had to offer ‘the next best thing’ to his clients, and that was a pain point. It pained him to see the same observations he had as a child growing up in the 80s in Trinidad and Tobago were still affecting POC in Europe in the 90s and now in the 2000s.

Stephen Duncan

“I got sick of saying, ‘yes this looks nice on you!’ Every time I tested a foundation or powder on a person of Colour to meet my sales targets, and I repeated this lie. My passion and love for POC would no longer allow me to do so. Determination to do something about it, listen and continuously improve for our POC is why we’re here today”.

Stephen Duncan

In 2013 he began working with a chemical engineer to formulate and create a brand by POC for POC.

With an aim to growth FaceFirst and reach more POCs who need the brand, Stephan Duncan, joined the Zidi Circle Entrepreneurship Diaspora Bootcamp 2020. A programme aimed at supporting business growth for diaspora led ventures through business coaching, mentorship and investment readiness.

I joined the Bootcamp wanting to learn how to improve PerfectFaces and get it from where it is to amazing. I’ve learnt a lot from the programme, but the main things that stuck are I must know every part of my business, even if getting help to understand it is needed. There is more to being investor ready than having a business plan and a product.

I’ve also learnt the importance of aligning the business strategy with what one wants to attract. I continue to apply these learnt lessons by readjusting and updating PerfectFaces’ Business Model and Strategies.

Of course!!! I would encourage other entrepreneurs to take part in this programme. Where else does one receive such a gift of knowledge, guidance and a boost to move their business from A to Z!!!? This is an opportunity that must be shared.

Stephen Duncan

Stephen Duncan’s 3 key pieces of advice from his journey to fellow entrepreneurs.

  1. Don’t sit on your idea(s). Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back. Just get up and do it! Try it.
  2. Entrepreneurship is a constant learning journey. Be open to fall down and get up, listen, take critique and feedback, learn and improve.
  3. Your belief in your vision must be known/seen/felt for others to believe in it too. That responsibility is yours.

His Advice to entrepreneurs in the diaspora

Their intention to hold us down comes from the fear that we’ll succeed. Our emancipation can ONLY be achieved by our unity. Hold each other’s hand, support each other, trust each other, build each other. Emancipate our community!

The team at PerfectFaces are working relentlessly in order to see their vision come true, to see PerfectFaces in every Afro Hair Supply Store on the European mainland. We are delighted to be part of this journey.

Find out more about the Entrepreneurship Diaspora Bootcamp.

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Diaspora Entrepreneur stories: Meet ERNEST N. AKURGO from Ghana

What does your business in Ghana look like?

We are creating access to friendly health care services. Our health center is creating affordable and friendly services, where clients enjoy care without frustrations such as slow care and unfriendliness.

What are the assessed needs for your business?

We need to train our own staff, and setup our new building with all the equipment. We have a strong partner in the Netherlands stichting Awinbono (you can read more about our partner: www.awinbono.nl)

What impact does your business make (to local communities/creating employment/environment/economic development?

The impact is access to affordable and friendly health care, where the people can have a one stop access to essential services such as consultation, laboratory, available medicines and an ultrasound clinic at reasonable costs. We are also creating employment through employing local non clinical staff.

How does your business benefit the country of implementation -Ghana?

Health care services in general is provided by the government and the private sector. Rural areas where we have setup up need more in terms of creating access to health care. Therefore, we are contributing to the development of access to health care which Ghana needs to accelerate universal health coverage.

How does your business benefit the Netherlands?

Our partners and everyone who work with us to achieve our goal would be very happy to see it come true. A lot of people have worked hard to raise funds for us. Some of the equipment come from the Netherlands as well.

How did the startup boot-camp help you?

Yes, all what is taught here is very essential to how we should run our clinic. We are going to scale up using all the tools , for example the business model canvas helped us fill in the gaps .

If you would like to partner with Ernest send us an email to info@zidicircle.com and be on the lookout for his funding round that will soon be posted on our platform

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Diaspora Entrepreneur stories: Meet DAVID BOATENG from Ghana

What does your dream business in Ghana look like?

Working with both local and external partners to deliver quality and affordable Solar power systems for both residential and commercial use, with an ideal rate of 50 installations of varying sizes each year.

What are the assessed needs for your business

A strategic financial partner is needed to make the product affordable for the customers. With good funding secured, a very reliable post-implementation support to deliver a high customer experience for such a long-term investment. Achieving a quick customer response time, proactive monitoring and customer training tools (website self-service) are some of the key performance indicators (KPIs) to be adopted. Specialist equipment and tools (both hardware and software) are required through the various stages of the implementation cycle (e.g. Transport, PV design software, monitoring tools, Electrical power tools etc.).

What impact does your business make (to local communities/creating employment/environment/economic development

Employing and training local people within the community improves the living standards of these employees and their families. Buying locally needed materials also adds and enhances local commerce. The installation of Solar energy system directly improves the environment by reducing the amount of fossil fuel pollution in the air, noise pollution and high energy cost; all of these being a contributed by existing heavy use of petrol/diesel generators.

How does your business benefit the country of implementation -Ghana

Reduced reliance on the already limited national grid electricity supply; Reduced unemployment; Improved productivity (GDP); General improvement of living standards (studies show families in developed countries who have access to electricity tend to have a higher quality of living and are more productive than those without).

How does your business benefit the Netherlands

To adhere to our set quality standards, we would be working with suppliers from the Netherlands for key components (like batteries, Inverters and solar panel). Working with such businesses in The Netherlands opens further opportunities for these companies. With an improved standard of living and reduced unemployment, The Netherland’s (EU) overseas development fund/contribution will be reduced annually.

How did the startup boot-camp help you

I am a very technical person and I do not have any experience in business or finance management and the bootcamp has greatly improved my confidence and knowledge. I am now more realistic with expectations (MVP is very crucial and you learn to fail and pivot!!). Not to mention meeting so many like-minded people to network with! Having met other entrepreneurs has boosted my confidence and instilled more believe in my ideas!

If you would like to partner with David send us an email to info@zidicircle.com and be on the lookout for his funding round that will soon be posted on our platform

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