Africa

What’s Your Story?

Nicole Manapol Africa, Frontier Market Scouts, Scouts in the Field , , 2 Comments

Donna Sinar_Rwanda

Written by FMS Fellow Donna Sinar 

In my circles, when we ask “what’s your story?” we want to learn about where someone grew up, what they do for a living, their plans for the evening or something similarly superficial. In contrast, when Resonate leads a workshop with this underlying question, they are probing participants to demonstrate their values through a story of struggle and triumph.

I arrived in Rwanda nearly two weeks ago and already I have enough stories to fill a shoebox. Every morning there’s a story about hailing a moto and moments later engaging the core and hailing Mary, hoping I’ll make it to the office in one piece. There’s the one where I unintentionally ordered goat guts on a stick (it was salty, crispy, and tasty) or the one where I rallied the participants of a training to sing Happy Birthday for Resonate’s Lead Trainer, Solange, though I was totally wrong about it being her birthday.

There are plenty of muzungu in Kigali stories I can tell you. But I want to tell you about the self-transformation and community building that I witnessed at the Nyarirambo Women’s Center (NWC) training in mid-July. It was a Sunday filled with revelations, both for the twelve young staff members and me – and we were not in a church nor a mosque.

NWC is a center in Nyamirambo, an eclectic and vibrant neighborhood in Kigali. The center engages local youth (up to age 35) in hospitality and tourism by training them to lead tours for visitors in their community. We arrived early to set up for Resonate’s core training on Storytelling for Leadership.

The group was insightful, disciplined, and open – different from American youth groups I’ve led. They were quick to connect with Solange, her story, and her facilitation style. One shared his story of abandoning his life as a street kid to finish his high school education and today reaches out to street kids to show them another way. Another illustrated her strong-held values of self-respect by opening up about rejecting a Sugar Daddy’s propositions. A third shared his experience as a young elected neighborhood chief and the challenges that arose when he was put in positions of contesting his neighbors and elders.

When each in the group had learned to tell their story succinctly and heard of the trials and victories of their peers, a seismic transformation occurred both individually and collectively. Evidence and testimonials of group bonding captivated the room. “I love that we are just like a family… [and] hearing from all who shared their story” proclaimed an NWC participant. While the group grew closer, each person held within them a reminder of the courage they already possessed. Resonate’s training taps into the existing well of bravery, strength, and love within each person and gives permission and guidance for participants to tell it in a compelling way. On a pragmatic level, the young tour guides learned a new way to connect authentically with tourists as well as a way to present and express themselves and their ideas in their future professional and personal endeavors.

What results from the workshop is an outpouring of love: self-love and familial love, which is ground zero for social change. Like Cornell West beautifully stated: “Justice is what love looks like in public.” Resonate’s Storytelling training lays the foundation for individuals to take on leadership, call for action in the face of injustice, and mobilize others for change.

I had the privilege to learn that storytelling is an opportunity to connect more deeply with peers and strangers alike. Through telling our stories we can build a more intimate relationship with ourselves as well as the circles we walk in. Listening and telling our stories serve as windows to the shared human experience. After all, stories are the background music to falling in love and stories can also make the dangerous mistake of broadcasting a single narrative and breed deep-seeded, yet misplaced, hatred (as we’ve seen the pendulum swing both ways here with the genocide twenty years ago and ongoing reconciliation today). For better or for worse, stories move us to small actions and great leaps of passion. Stories, and the people who tell them, hold power for change.

I hope the next time you’re asked “what’s your story?” you will use it as an opportunity to connect and express your love out loud.

About the Author:

dana_sinar_f

Donna has committed her heart and energy to the anti-human trafficking movement for over a decade. Most recently, she headed the anti-human trafficking unit at The Standing Against Global Exploitation (SAGE) Project, a survivor-centered nonprofit organization in San Francisco. Donna is an innovative and adaptive leader, a keen strategic planner and a compassionate team builder. Donna is motivated to weave mission with sustainable business practices to urge meaningful change in the areas of migration, poverty, and exploitation. She is fluent in Hebrew and competent in Spanish; a self-starter and industrious. Communication is her strong suit – she is comfortable in boardrooms and in the field alike and is at her best when she is bridging the two spheres.

The Ice-Bucket Challenge and Giving in America

jonathanwaldroup Africa, Jonathan Waldroup, Scouts in the Field

This week my Facebook feed has been bombarded with friends doing the Ice-Bucket Challenge. I’ve seen some pretty interesting adaptations (including a traveling friend who had no bucket, so jumped off a 60 foot cliff into the ocean instead – kudos Rob). I’ve also seen a number of what some people might call “haters” questioning the merits of the whole endeavor. With feelings running strong on both sides, I couldn’t help but join into the fray. What should we make of this fad?

The Results

I think the first thing we should notice is just that: it’s a fad. That said, it’s a fad I wish I had thought of. Working for a small non-profit myself, I would be the hero of the century if I could increase our revenue by such huge percentage with a random viral challenge. So I think the first thing we should recognize is: There is absolutely nothing wrong with using crazy marketing stunts like this to raise money for a worthy cause.

With the exception of the many who seem to have trouble dumping water on themselves, there is no harm in the challenge, and it will hopefully do significant good for the state of research for ALS.

So before I move on, I want to emphasize the importance of the outcome. The outcome is very positive, so from that perspective, the ice bucket challenge is great. And I applaud anyone who has participated with the goal simply of increasing funds going to this research.

Everything Else

But regardless of the outcome, why has this particular endeavor been so successful? And what does the answer to that question tell us about American society? Anything that goes viral tells us something about the deep desires of the society hosting the “virus.” What is this “virus” exploiting so effectively in our society?

A Google search tells me that, among all taxpayers (not just those who itemize tax deductions), charitable giving in the US averaged between 2 and 2.5% of income in 2008 for all those with income less than $500,000 (the most recent I could find for this total population data). With a median income in the US of $51,000, 2% would amount to just over $1,000 per year given to charitable causes, including religious organizations. Why do we spend so little on causes we claim to care about, when we are willing to spend so much of our income on frivolity (consider the hordes of low-salaried young people who will spend $100-200 in a single night on alcohol, and that multiple times per month)?

The rather obvious fact is, people want to spend money on themselves, regardless of what they say about their beliefs or goals. That is why it takes a gimmick to bring out donations in any sizable amount from the population at large. That doesn’t make the ice bucket challenge bad; it makes it savvy.

But there have been other gimmicks. Why has this particular gimmick been so effective?

Some of the response is chance – the right influencer dumps water on his head at the right time, and it takes off. But it never would have gone viral if not for the fact that we all want to appear as good, generous people online. No one is going to applaud my generosity—or my well-apportioned swimsuit physique—if I am asked to give money for ALS research and I just do it, privately.

An immediate clarification is needed – I know that many people who are participating in the challenge are extremely generous, and give regularly to all sorts of good causes. Even if the truly generous join in, the reason something like this goes viral is, sadly, because of appearances. Requests to privately increase support for any cause will never be as effective as requests to increase support for a cause that also bolsters your image, even if the generous donate in both instances.

But I would argue that private giving is what counts, especially because it is often more durable, not being motivated by social performance. Very few of those who give $10 for ALS research will continue supporting the cause on an ongoing basis, simply because of the lack of any continuing social payoff. But sustainable change only happens with sustainable support, most of which does not afford the opportunity for Facebook posting.

The wild popularity of the ice bucket challenge is sad evidence that as a society, we have missed the whole point of generosity, which is not really generosity if the goal is self-aggrandizement. There is a good reason that the ideal of Christian generosity is captured in Jesus’ command to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing when you give to the poor.

Wait – I can’t see your abs!

My Challenge to You

The world is full of problems, and the world is full of people trying to solve those problems. To make any sort of sustainable impact on those problems, more is needed than generosity only when a viral trend demands it.

So instead of challenging you to dump water on your head and give two Starbucks lattes worth of money to ALS research, I challenge you instead to pick an organization that you think is making a lasting, positive difference in the world, and commit to support it for at least a year, with at least $100 per month, or whatever amount makes it hurt just a little.

And don’t tell me about it.

 

 

 

Filed under: Life and Culture Tagged: ALS, charitable donations, generosity, giving, ice bucket challenge

Fellow Impact: FMS Fellow Madelle Kangha takes on Africa’s Youth Unemployment Challenge

Nicole Manapol Africa, FMS 2014, FMS in Action, Frontier Market Scouts, Scouts in the Field, Uncategorized , , 0 Comment
Madelle Kangha_Profile
FMS Fellow Madelle Kangha

This post was submitted by MPA student and FMS alumna Nicole Manapol

Madelle Kangha may have just completed the FMS Training in June but this budding social entrepreneur (and aspiring leader of Cameroon) is already having a big impact on one of Africa’s most complex challenges – youth unemployment.

Since launching the JumpStart Academy Africa in 2013 with her Nigerian friend, Omotola Akinsola their venture has trained 220 young people from Cameroon and Nigeria in ethical leadership, civic engagement and entrepreneurship. JumpStart also provides employment opportunities to 30 young people.

One of their scholars from Ndu, Cameroon recently became one of 50 young people across Africa selected to join the inaugural class of the Yale Young African Scholars program. JumpStart Academy was also recently nominated for the Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition, an international contest sponsored by the Goi Peace Foundation, Stiftung Entrepreneurship and UNESCO.

Madelle and her team have big impact goals – their plan is to reach 17,000 young people over the next 5 years.

In this interview Madelle talks about what led her to establish JumpStart and how the Frontier Market Scouts Program can help social entrepreneurs accelerate their impact.

Tell us a bit about your background – what led you to establish your own social venture?

Growing up amidst challenges in Cameroon lit a fire in me to create a more equitable society. I also benefited from strong role models, like my parents and siblings. This inspired my mantra and daily motto: “Setting the sky as your limit is overrated – Set the sky as your base. For in doing so, you soar to new heights and define the boundaries of what is possible.”

Beyond my personal experiences, I also had a very rich and unique education, which is at the core of my work as a social entrepreneur – especially with regards to Jumpstart Academy Africa. After 7 years in an all­girls boarding school, I learnt the possibility and value of female leadership in society. At the African Leadership Academy, I learnt firsthand how to design and implement solutions, business principles and new languages like Swahili.

During my time at the London School of Economics, I immersed myself in extracurricular activities such as helping pupils with their school work and raising their aspirations for higher education, running free law clinics, participating in Moot Courts, serving as Marketing Director for the LSE Entrepreneurs Society, Events Officer for the LSE Catholic Society, and study abroad with the LSE UN society at United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Beyond academics, I was fortunate to undertake challenging internships and work experience programs with leading organizations such as Clifford Chance, Oliver Wyman, ICAP Plc, Standard Bank, Shearman and Sterling LLP and Teach First.

With these experiences, I set out to implement my ideas to create a better world; first with Youths4Change and then with Jumpstart Academy Africa.

What do you love most about your work?

My work as a social entrepreneur is all about creating value in a way that changes lives and advances society – this is what drives me.

I love that every day presents a new learning curve for me but my most important lesson has been managing the triple bottom line – People, Planet and Profit. My business can’t sustain itself without profits, and the world can’t be sustained without my business.

Managing multiple bottom lines can be a challenge but a combination of a well thought out model, a clear set of operating principles, deep passion and sufficient attraction of capital taken altogether, can allow a social entrepreneur to have both mission and margin.

Tell us about the JumpStart Academy – how did this all begin?

I enrolled at Watson University in 2013. It was at Watson that my path crossed with Omotola Akinsola, a groundbreaking changemaker from Nigeria. Aside from the fact that we both hope to someday lead our respective countries, we also had the same theory of social change – so we joined forces and Jumpstart Academy Africa was born.

The idea behind Jumpstart Academy Africa is simple ­ using the principles of ethical leadership and entrepreneurship; students can learn the skills needed in today’s transformed and transitory world. Beyond acquiring skills, students receive training that enables them to innovate across different sectors – to be job creators as opposed to the old rhetoric of job seekers.

Why does this matter? Currently, Africa is the most youthful continent in the world. At least 35 per cent of its more than 1 billion population is between the ages of 15 and 35. Experts estimate this could double by 2045. Africa is home to the world’s fastest growing labor force, which by 2040, is expected to grow to 1.1 billion people. With an ever-increasing youthful population, the challenges are ever increasing, more complex and more urgent. Most pertinent is the fact that Africa is home to seven of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, yet 70% of the working­age population is unemployed.

This means reaping the demographic dividend of Africa’s youthful population is not a given. It requires immediate and urgent substantial investment. Africa’s largely youthful population makes up the next generation of workers, politicians, teachers, parents, entrepreneurs and leaders. I firmly believe that harnessing the untapped potential of Africa’s youthful population is key to achieving economic growth and prosperity for the continent.

At Jumpstart Academy Africa, we are tackling this challenge via Leadership and Entrepreneurship. The model is simple. JumpStart Academy delivers a two-year Leadership and Entrepreneurship curriculum to students aged 15 – 18 across partner secondary schools, through trained university students and graduates. Currently, we serve over 220 students in 15 schools across Cameroon and Nigeria. Ourgoal is to reach over 17,000 young people across 10 countries in the next 5 years.

Tell us about your FMS Experience – how did you first learn of the program and what were the most valuable aspects of the training for you?

I first learnt about FMS at the Net Impact conference in San Francisco last year where I was fortunate to meet Yuwei Shi – the founding director of the FMS program and Dean of the Graduate School of International Policy and Management at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He told me about the program and encouraged me to apply. Less than a year later I was attending the June training in Monterey.

My FMS Experience was great. I was impressed with the caliber of the fellows, the mentors and trainers. The content of the training was very well tailored and relevant to my work with the JumpStart Academy. I particularly liked Ross Baird’s session on the Fit Framework, which looks at the Investor’s perspective in the Social Impact Space. This has been a very useful tool as it gives me insight as a social entrepreneur into what investors are looking for when considering whether or not to fund a venture.

As a social entrepreneur the training is invigorating – you get to bounce ideas off of others working in the space, collaborate and in my case – recruit talent for my enterprise!

Any advice for other aspiring social entrepreneurs?

Yes – Fail often to succeed sooner!!!

Learn more about the JumpStart Academy and how to get involved: www.jsaafrica.org

Vote for the JumpStart Academy Africa in the Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

Keep up with Madelle and other fellows at http://www.miis.edu/academics/short/frontier-market-scouts/fellows/currentfellows

For more information, visit www.fmscouts.org. Read our blog at blogs.miis.edu/frontier/. Follow us on Twitter @FMScouts and on Facebook at facebook.com/frontiermarketscouts.

Featured FMS Partner: Ayla Schlosser, Founder and Executive Director of Resonate

Nicole Manapol Africa, Frontier Market Scouts, Scouts in the Field, Uncategorized , , 0 Comment
Ayla_Training_1.jpg
Ayla Schlosser, Founder and Executive Director of Resonate

This post was submitted by MPA student and FMS alumna Nicole Manapol

Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign,but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story (TED)

Stories are transformative – whether it’s the “official” story of a despotic regime, a beloved myth or the self-destructive narratives we sometimes play in our heads.

No one understands this better than FMS Partner Ayla Schlosser, Founder and Executive Director of Resonate – a startup teaching leadership skills to women and girls through a training course rooted in storytelling. Launched just over a year ago and based in Rwanda, Resonate was founded on the principle that stories matter. Through her background in community organizing and communications consulting, Ayla saw firsthand the importance of storytelling as a tool for affecting change and building leadership capacity. As Ayla often remarks – a compelling story can mean the difference between having an idea about how to fix a problem and actually leading the charge for community-based solutions.

Seeing the potential of narrative-based leadership training in other contexts outside the US, Ayla began looking for organizations where she could use her expertise to catalyze work already being done with women internationally. When no such organization materialized, Ayla (in true entrepreneurial fashion) decided to start her own company…in a country (Rwanda) she had never visited. When asked about the risk of traveling halfway across the world to test a market in which she had no prior experience – Ayla responded – you’re never going to have all the information – at some point you’ve just got to dive in and see what happens…

 In October 2013 Ayla was off to Rwanda.

Why Rwanda? Although Ayla had no prior experience in Rwanda, there were a lot of reasons that made it an ideal place to pilot Resonate’s training. Over the past 20 years Rwanda has been working hard to rebuild its economy. Women’s economic empowerment has been a central feature of the government’s recovery strategy, creating a favorable environment for women’s leadership initiatives. Rwanda also has a strong tradition of oral leadership making the training a good cultural fit.

Resonate training
Resonate Workshop

But perhaps the most compelling reason to launch in Rwanda was a strong partner – the Akilah Intitute for Women, an East African women’s college. As a graduate of Smith College, an all women’s school in the US, Ayla felt a natural affinity with Akilah. Her first training at the college with a group of female journalists still counts as one of her best moments since launching Resonate. Prior to conducting the training, Ayla worried about how participants would receive it – would it make sense? Would it fit the culture? The outcome is something Ayla still proudly recalls. The women got it…but not only did they get it – they were transformed by it. For most of the women at Akilah and also at subsequent trainings that was the first time they had ever told their story, felt how their personal narratives could resonate with others – how they could affect and inspire change. One of the women in a Resonate training later related to Ayla that she keeps the video clip of herself telling her story on her phone to remind herself of that moment – the moment she truly recognized her own strength and what she had to offer others.

Solange
Resonate Workshop

With less than a year since launching programs on the ground in Rwanda – Resonate is poised to expand into Kenya and potentially other countries in the Region. Ayla attributes much of her success to her staff on the ground –in particular lead trainer Solange Impanoyimana who came to the project with a strong background in community development, storytelling and radio and who has already taken ownership of the enterprise. Friends, family and professional networks were also incredibly helpful to Ayla as she sought points of contact within Rwanda, developed marketing and communications strategies, fundraised or just simply needed advice.

Ayla recognizes programs like Frontier Market Scouts, which provided her with the talent and human resources to support operations. As a busy entrepreneur, traveling between Rwanda and the US and trying to launch a business, having the time to recruit and screen candidates is a major challenge. The benefit of working with FMS is having the program vet top candidates for you. Through this process Resonate was able to hire Donna Sinar, an MPA candidate at the Monterey Institute of International Studies with significant management experience in the non-profit sector. As a startup, priorities are constantly changing. What Ayla likes best about Donna and her FMS preparation is her ability to be flexible and respond to whatever new priority may arise on a daily basis.

Moving forward Ayla is considering different business models to generate revenue to sustain Resonate, including crowdfunding and a one-for-one training model with corporate CSR programs. There is a lot of interest and demand for Resonate’s Storytelling for Leadership training. The challenge now she says is being strategic about what she pursues given the size and capacity of her team. Other challenges involve fundraising – as many entrepreneurs know you need a history of funding to get funding.

But Ayla is undeterred – my approach is collaborative, I don’t want to re-invent the wheel. This is an exciting time for Resonate – particularly for anyone interested in Resonate’s work. As a startup we are constantly evolving. People who get involved with us now have the unique opportunity to shape what Resonate will be…

Interested in Resonate’s work? Learn how you can get involved: www.resonateworkshops.org

Interested in becoming an FMS Partner? Apply here

For more information, visit www.fmscouts.org. Read our blog at blogs.miis.edu/frontier/. Follow us on Twitter @FMScouts and on Facebook at facebook.com/frontiermarketscouts.

 

Corey arrives in Nairobi

Erina McWilliam Africa, Alumni Stories, FMS 2014, FMS in Action, Frontier Market Scouts, MIIS Updates, Socent, Uncategorized, Updates from the Field 0 Comment

FMS 2014 Fellow Corey Stout  landed in Nairobi recently to begin her field assignment as a Project Manager for  One Degree Solar.  Corey, whose Kenyan nickname is “Mac Truck,” shares her most recent adventures in the field: 

Corey Stout, FMS 2014 Placement: One Degree Solar
Corey Stout, FMS 2014
Placement: One Degree Solar

What is an SQ?
My move to Nairobi is official: resident of Trafford Court in Kilimani, two minute commute to work, and occupant of our home’s SQ. What is an SQ, you ask? Wise question, I tell you. And wise question that I did not ask. Although you may think that SQ stands for square feet, which makes complete sense (at least for some…or one), it is in fact the abbreviation for Servant’s Quarters. Needless to say, I was in for a treat when I moved into my “room”, the SQ or Servant’s Quarters of our house. While I have a knack for small rooms, I am getting used to the world of the tiny. The SQ’s 7x7x7 measurement does not take into account the 8 car batteries, which take up 1/3 of the room, and serve as the backup power for the rest of the house. Fortunately, a metal cage surrounds the batteries (they can electrocute upon touch…this finding may or may not have been from personal experience), so I have created a makeshift closet/clothes steamer by placing hangers around it. And to think that everyone thought Sophie was the crafty one in our D.C. apartment. DIY has basically become my middle name.

During my first night in the SQ (apparently you do not even refer to it as a room…let alone your room; while it may be a faux pas to say “my SQ,” I have no qualms about reminding my roommates that I hold the keys to our backup power), I decided to test the shower in the adjoining bathroom. The “bathroom”, which is attached directly to the SQ “bedroom”, consists of the basics: a toilet, sink, shower head and facet. There are no floor or wall dividers around the shower head or facet to separate the “shower” from the rest of the bathroom and the rest of the bedroom is only divided from the bathroom by a door. Confused? Just picture a minimalist’s heaven. While I am not new to the concept of shower heads in a bathroom without a shower, I am new to double checking that a drain exists prior to exfoliation.

Meeting the Roommates
Halfway into my ice cold shower, I heard a loud thump. Luckily, I did not have to waste any time dealing with shower doors (serious feng shui) and quickly opened the door of the bathroom to see that the SQ was completely flooded…and my only clean outfit for my first day of work had fallen from its “closet” and was drowning. I had not yet had the pleasure of meeting my five roommates nor was I aware that they were all male (again, who would have thought to ask such questions?), but I made my presence and estrogen known. With a neon pink towel, soaking wet hair, and a trail of soap suds, I ran to the main house (since the SQ is obviously separate), startling Mark, David, and Andrew, who were just about ready to dive into their Indian takeout. Alas, as the true gentleman that they are, they abandoned their chicken masala and instead dove into the SQ pond, rushing to get towels, switching off the backup power (opps), and helping to mop up the water, which had begun to rush out of the SQ into the driveway. Night and SQ saved. Note to self: always make sure that your shower has a drain (and use any SQ flooding as an excuse to shower in the the main house, which has hot water…très luxurious).

Despite my first night’s mishap, I have gotten used to the SQ, settled into my job, and fallen in love with Kenya. I am working for One Degree Solar, a solar energy company that brings power to households, schools, and business without access to electricity, and overseeing our plans to scale within Kenya and across East Africa. As cheesy as it sounds, I still have to pinch myself each morning that I am actually here and working for such an exciting company.

The Making of the “Mac Truck”
Finally, five short, but essential, updates to get you fully up-to-speed on my life (whether by blood, water, or beer, this is what you signed up for, after all):

  • My boss has coined me the “Mac Truck.” He claims the nickname is from my abrupt body rotations and tendency to bump into anyone/anything in my path (i.e. I still have not regained horizontal head/neck movement), but I have stopped throwing out my chocolate wrappers in his trash can.
  • Up until yesterday, my brother thought I had moved to Accra, Ghana (and we only discovered this because he had looked up flights to come visit…I still have not decided whether the points for a visitation attempt negate this “mistake”).
  • I have already signed up two customers to purchase One Degree Solar’s BrightBox, our flagship solar kit that can power four lights, 10 phones, any USB device, and a radio for up to 24 hours (cue “wowza!”): Sudanese refugee camps on the Northwestern border and Mark, the mango seller outside of my office. I made the sale to the refugee camps by pitching our product to an international aid organization and I made the sale to Mark by convincing him that my mango consumption will pay off his BrightBox in a month. Though the pitches and quantities purchased differed, I am equally proud of both.
  • I have already set off the fire alarm twice in our house (popcorn burns so easily), broken our living room speakers (re: Mac Truck bullet above), and woken up the next door neighbors with my persistent use of snooze in the morning (our security guard had to knock on my window to kindly ask me to “please wake up, Miss. Query”), but fortunately my roommates are forgiving and have accepted me for the liability that I am (I wish I could say the same about my neighbors).
  • The amazing Elyse Lipman came to visit last weekend. We took motorcycles to Karen (a beautiful suburb named for Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa), fed giraffes at Nairobi’s giraffe sanctuary, bonded with orphaned elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and safaried in Nairobi National Park (black rhino spotting included!). Am I rubbing my new backyard in your face? You betcha.

Any and all visitors are welcome!! Miss you all!

xoxo, Corey

 

Green Breakfast Club at iHub.

munyuac Africa, Catherine Munyua, Scouts in the Field

I am so glad I attended the inaugural Green Breakfast Club event in Nairobi last Friday. The keynote speaker for the event was TMS Ruge, a social entrepreneur who also works with the World Bank as a Climate Change Project Strategist. He is also the founder of Project Diaspora. Given my interest in environmental issues, I found the talk to be very timely and very informative. Climate change is real and it is here with us, whether we like it or not. Agriculture still remains as the sole source of income for many Kenyans, and our GDP relies heavily on agriculture. With that said, I believe that technological advancements have placed us (emerging markets) at a very good place. We can develop, and avoid the huge environmental mistakes that western countries have made in the process of developing their economies.

Ruge’s talk hit on various topics, but for me, two things stood out:

a)      The need to push for market-based solutions to address climate change; and

b)     The urgent need to focus even more energy and resources on value-addition in agriculture

Within the Connect4Climate, the World Bank has brought together partners who are working in African countries mainly in climate-change related work. The project is providing a platform for knowledge sharing where people, especially the youth, are able to share how climate change is affecting their day-to-day activities. It is my hope that within this exchange, solutions to mitigation and adaptation can be cultivated. This also presents a unique opportunity for startups to think of ways that they can use to push products and services that address these issues and also keep in mind the lifecycle of the product/service and how each stage can be greener and more efficient.

Climate change will continue to affect the extent to which agriculture can continue to serve as the major source of income in emerging markets. Access to international markets and export of mostly raw materials has meant that the income from exports remains low. Ruge is currently working with Moringa farmers in Uganda, through Uganda Medicinal Plant Growers, Ltd, whereby he buys the produce from the farmers, processes it and exports high value products. In this way, the farmers are able to get a higher income. The key point in this project, for me, is that it has created a local solution to a local problem, using a market solution as opposed to aid. It was a great talk and I hope those who are in Nairobi can attend the second talk which will happen in April.

To learn more about Green Breakfast club and to locate one near you, click here, and to learn more about TMS Ruge and his work click here.

 

Narrowing the financing gap: Safaricom launches mShwari

munyuac Africa, Catherine Munyua, Scouts in the Field

 

It has been a week since Safaricom launched a new service mShwari. This is not a new service in Kenya. Jipange kusave had a similar approach whereby users were encouraged to save and could also borrow via mPesa. Pesapata has been providing emergency loans by using the many small shops where people buy products they need daily as the main distribution channel. In this case, a borrower obtains a scratch card from their local shopkeeper, the customer uses the code on the card to load money on mPesa, and it allows the user to access the loan. mPepea is also another startup offering emergency loans via mPesa. While all these small startups have to worry about the distribution channel, Safaricom obviously has an advantage since the mShwari platform is easily accessible under the Safaricom menu options on the phone. Airtel’s Kopa Chapaa, a partnership between Airtel and Faulu Kenya has also been around for a while. Airtel still has a very small market share, so their emergency loan service has a long way to go before it reaches the volume that Safaricom currently enjoys.

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Image source: Safaricom

mShwari is a partnership between Safaricom and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA). CBA owns the mobile banking platform, mShwari and as a bank, it is able to accept deposits and give loans. Safaricom was the best partner for CBA, especially because Safaricom has over 15 million mPesa users. Some of the metrics that Safaricom uses to determine the credit worthiness of the borrower include voice usage and the user’s repayment rate for outstanding loans. The new service will continue to address the financing gap that is often felt by the rural poor. mShwari distinguishes itself from other existing services in that the subscriber does not need to go to a bank and open an account; rather, they are able to access the service on the phone. I cannot use the service yet since I have been a subscriber for less than 6 months, but I have talked to some people who have been able to use it, and they have all said it has been mostly easy to use.

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Intellectual Property in Kenya: Do startups have access to the info they need?

munyuac Africa, Catherine Munyua, Scouts in the Field

A few months ago, iHub Research published this great infograph on Innovation Spaces in Kenya. The infographic shows that there has been an increase in the number of places where entrepreneurs can get nurtured and really improve their ideas. It is also impressive to see the diversity in terms of sectors that are addressed and also the participants in the industry. Involvement of public institutions is especially impressive and it will be interesting to see what comes of the university incubators.

While this warrants excitement, I am left wondering what is being done to develop the entire ecosystem. For instance, what has the government done to ensure that the legal system is covering this new field? The patent application process requires the inventor to disclose all the aspects of the innovation. This is however useless if the people this is explained to do not understand the technology. The process will often be long, and unfruitful. So, to what extent has Kenya Industrial Property Institute educated itself on the different new technologies to ensure that intellectual property is protected? Do the entrepreneurs know of the resources available to them in these matters?

To patent or not to patent…..that is the question.

Strathmore University’s Law School has taken up this challenge with the opening of the institution’s Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT).  The training institute

“Provides practical courses and seminars initially targeting lawyers, business professionals, venture capitalists, media houses, and start-up incubators in areas of IP law, with a particular focus on issues unique to ICT. Example training topics include IP portfolio management, IP valuation, patent drafting and filing, and effective IP licensing.”

They also run a free IP Clinic for entrepreneurs, individual inventors, and start-up companies. To find out more about the IP Clinic, please contact the center.

It is great to see such progress and I hope there will be more of such centers and a greater involvement from the legal field, the government, innovation hubs, startups and other relevant stakeholders.