tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57278658825004777742024-03-13T01:27:27.549-07:00Kenyan MarketerSocial Media| Entrepreneurship| People| Jobs and Careers| Start-ups| Brand TalkAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-2766984734046028152015-01-05T04:42:00.000-08:002015-01-05T04:42:16.032-08:00Vusi Thembekwayo at the 2014 Eric Kinoti Entrepreneurs BootCamp<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px;">Vusi Thembekwayo shared about everything start-ups ~from ideation, launch to managing growth + scaling a business and fundraising. Here are 10 quotes/ take aways from his awesome presentation at the 2014 Eric Kinoti </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100006121546158" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006121546158" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Entrepreneurs BootCamp</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELIGQ2s5jLvzbuOxcsrgPXmMIds4GjxanBsyvwnngxw0YLUpapuZXjRwaA05ymbduaYtfKBB1VGbffK6gC2Jwtq18JXA-y4GRLfhD5QVzvbrwbsb1udihksbuc9-t_Tf0kndW2nSc0fs/s1600/mara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELIGQ2s5jLvzbuOxcsrgPXmMIds4GjxanBsyvwnngxw0YLUpapuZXjRwaA05ymbduaYtfKBB1VGbffK6gC2Jwtq18JXA-y4GRLfhD5QVzvbrwbsb1udihksbuc9-t_Tf0kndW2nSc0fs/s1600/mara.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px;">1. F**K FIRST! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px;">You do not have to be the first mover always, you can still something that has been done, but do it better than anyone else! Most entrepreneurs</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; line-height: 18px;">, innovators and inventors can and are at times fixated on being the first in the market. Google wasn't the first search engine, Facebook wasn't the first social network, and you don't have to be the FIRST to succeed. F being FIRST <i class="_4-k1 img sp_5Em_GKHOCoP sx_de2a21" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yg/r/N74Yz5v6w2Z.png); background-position: 0px -7986px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><br /><br />2. FIND THE PAIN:<br /><br />The deeper the pain the bigger the profits!<br />Vusi on ideation and problem identification ~ finding that itch/ opportunity.<br /><br />2. A business plan is USELESS, but it helps you think through your business. Ideas are like a mistresses, they come and go. Do not get married to one, stuck with one for so long ~ it's okay to have many ideas and just like mistresses, all ideas are beautiful. Your business should should evolve to remain competitive, and keep pivoting till you get to that product~ market fit.<br /><br />4. Do not be everything for everyone. Be the BEST in something. Its the only thing customers will care about. Vusi on finding your niche in a competitive marketplace.<br /><br />5. Push up the perception of what you are selling. Value matters, not the price. If your customers ask for the price first, you are either targeting the wrong customers or you are not articulating your value proposition well.<br /><br />6. Part time effort gives you part time returns. EFFORT = REWARD......Is your business a side hustle? Remember we all have 24 hours in a day!<br /><br />7. Turnover is VANITY, profit is SANITY, cash is REALITY! Your business must be able to GENERATE $$.<br /><br />A business with sales can almost solve all its other problems!<br /><br />8. FIRE YOURSELF<br /><br />Start working ON your business not IN your business. Fire yourself and slowly get soldiers for the battle. In the early years of your business you will do almost everything from sales, accounts, admin, business dev, cleaning and etc but as you grow hire the best people and let them do their job! As a founder, you are like that general in the army, and so you should be able to lead your troops, provide tactical support and intelligence. Key thing: Don't lead from the battle front, send your soldiers!<br /><br />9. Eat more than you can swallow then chew like hell. Vusi speaking on managing growth and scaling a startup.<br /><br />10. CONSUME THE RIGHT PR:<br /><br />What do you read? Forbes? Techcrunch? Being an entrepreneur is tough, it's not as sexy or easy as it appears on stories & features on entrepreneurs and startups in the media.<br /><br />During a group Q & A session, Vusi said an entrepreneur requires to do all these 5 things to grow the business<br /><br />1. Passion: You have to love and enjoy what you do.<br /><br />2. Access to markets: How do you reach your customers or users? You must sell!<br /><br />3. Money: You need $ to invest in the business, secondly cash is king.<br /><br />4. Branding and marketing<br /><br />5. Strong admin: Running the operations and managing the business</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-16336462435188967082014-09-21T21:39:00.003-07:002014-09-21T21:44:26.617-07:00Social Good Summit 2014- #SGSNairobi Panel and Panelist Bios<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panel 1- Digital Economy<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The launch of M-Pesa in Europe for the first time has been making waves
in Social Media in Kenya recently. The potential for the export not of raw
materials but of intellectual capacity, of innovative and disruptive
technologies, out of Africa is hugely exciting and a potential source of pride
for the continent. We heard from Safaricom on M-Pesa in our first Nairobi
Social Good Summit, in 2012 and tonight we will be hearing about how the
cashless, or digital economy is now taking on a life of its own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Panelists</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b><span style="background: white;">Mark Kaigwa, Nendo Ventures:</span></b><span style="background: white;"> </span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mark Kaigwa is the
founder of </span><a href="http://www.nendo.co.ke/"><span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">Nendo</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> a strategy
& storytelling consultancy for digital Africa. He has published two of the
most influential African blogs of the past 6 years - </span><a href="http://africandigitalart.com/"><span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">AfricanDigitalArt</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (award-winning
African showcase for digital art & design) where he presently works as
Partner and Digital Strategist and </span><a href="http://afrinnovator.com/"><span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">Afrinnovator</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (leading East
African technology & innovation journal) where he served as Partner
until end of 2013. </span>Mark’s
time in new media in Sub Saharan Africa has seen him launch mobile pilots in
Freetown, Sierra Leone, direct films in Kampala, Uganda, create an
award-winning video game in Nairobi, Kenya among other pan-African projects.
His repertoire earned him the accolade as a Forbes 30 under 30 Best Young
Entrepreneur in Africa of 2013.He is a writer and professional speaker on
technology, innovation and new media in Africa having spoken in over 20 countries
across the globe. Mark is the Ambassador of the <a href="http://www.sandbox.is/"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">Sandbox Network</span></a> in
Africa - the world’s leading global network of innovators under 30 years of
age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <b><span style="background: white;">Denis Gikunda, BebaPay: </span></b><span style="background: white;">Senior Program Manager
at Google.</span><span style="background: white; color: #444444; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">BebaPay, a card that can be used
to make payments in transportation systems, makes payments easier with
technology by Google. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b><span style="background: white;">Michelle Atagana, Ventureburn:</span></b><span style="background: white;"> </span>A
fiery tweeter and digital native, Michelle Atagana has been hanging around the
internet since she was eleven, back in the days of Netscape. Later on, her
interest lead to her graduating with a Masters Degree in New Media and
Journalism, and her position as Managing Editor at Burn Media. She was named
one of Mail & Guardian's <a href="http://ysa2012.mg.co.za/michelle-atagana/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">top young South Africans</span></a> in 2012,
writes a column about technology in Africa for CNN,
judges occasional startup competitions and spends her free time
working on the final draft of her PhD. But Michelle says she's just a girl,
standing in front of a startup, asking them what their business plan
is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panel 2-Activating the Youth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the great things about Social Media is its reach and - as we saw
from the various forms of the Arab Spring, its ability to bring about rapid
change. A number of initiatives have been using Social Media platforms in
Africa in innovative new ways – particularly when it comes to engaging and
activating wider audiences – and particularly the youth – around particular
issues. One of the most profound issues is the environment. From food security,
farming in a time of rapid climate change, to fighting the poaching of
elephants and rhinos, social media is being used in innovative ways to activate
around the environment. We’re hoping tonight to hear about some of the ways in
which the youth, in particular, is being engaged and is taking on issues and
driving agendas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Panelists</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b><span style="background: white;">Julius Bett is co-founder of Mkulima Young:</span></b> Bett is a farmer
and a senior developer at a local Media house with 7 years hands on experience
managing high traffic websites.He tells the story of applying practical
technology for the social good. A co-founder of Mkulima Young (<a href="http://www.mkulimayoung.com/"><span style="color: #386eff; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.mkulimayoung.co.ke</span></a>) an organization
that integrates the use of Social Media, Radio and Website to help young
farmers access free extension services and market their produce online.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <b><span style="background: white;">Brighton Kaoma is a youth activist with U-Report in Zambia:</span></b><span style="background: white;"> </span>A 20
year old youth activist, Mr.Brighton Kaoma has been a UNICEF youth Ambassador
for 5 years and is a trainer under a program between UNICEF Zambia country
office and the Children’s Radio Foundation of South Africa which trains
children in Radio and other media production. He has demonstrated outstanding
leadership skills and passion in helping other young people in Zambia become
agents of real change. He is a co-designer and champion of the Zambia U-report
youth engagement SMS platform. He has
been a youth representative and speaker at various international events in
South Africa, Belgium, at the Hague, and
gave the keynote speech at the Maastricht School of Management 2<sup>nd</sup>
Annual Research Conference in Holland in 2012.He’s pursuing his undergraduate
degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Zambia and currently
serves as Zambia In-country coordinator (ICC) for the Voices of Youth Connect –
a UNICEF global network for in-school and out-of-school youth activists and global citizens. He’s
also co-founder of a youth led radio foundation called ‘Agents of Change
Foundation’ which aim at catalyzing a new generation ethical young leaders by
equipping them with both leadership and radio skills and tools. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b><span style="background: white;">BP Panwar, UNICEF:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #1f497d; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Chief
of IT for Uganda and an active contributor to global innovations</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="background: white;">Panel 3- Solar Energy</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Energy has become one of the most pressing needs of Africa, in our time.
US President Obama has made energy generation on the continent a central pillar
of his country’s engagement with Africa and both public and private
international capital is being harnassed to invest in and grow our capacity.
Meanwhile, on the ground, solutions to the growing need for energy are being
invented, built and developed on a much more localized scale. And the means –
in this case, using the sun’s energy as a source – tend towards happens to be
an increasingly sustainable model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Panelists</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">1. </span><b><span style="background: white;">Cindy Kerr, Sunny Money:</span></b>
As SunnyMoney’s Global Marketing Director, Cindy Kerr leads global brand
development, marketing communications, media, training, promotions and customer
care for SunnyMoney's operations. She guides strategy, implementation and
creative development in all the countries to meet the social enterprise’s goal
of eradicating toxic, kerosene for lighting by the year 2020.Cindy’s efforts
are building SunnyMoney into a powerful global brand and driving sales
increases through promotions and advertising as SunnyMoney continues to expand.
With nearly 25 years of experience in branding, communications, advertising and
retail in the U.S. and East Africa, this dynamic individual is committed to
using her skills to uplift the quality of life for people in the developing
world. Cindy is a specialist in “bottom-of-the-pyramid” marketing, and
has lived and worked in Africa for six years. She received her M.A. in
International Broadcasting & Communications from Wheaton College and a B.A.
from Penn State University.<span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">2. </span><b><span style="background: white;">Jon Bohmer, Kyoto Energy</span></b><span style="background: white;">:</span><span style="background: white; color: #252525; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Jon Bohmer, made
the first model of the Kyoto Box solar cooker with his daughters then aged 10
and 5 years old. It was first just a project with </span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">his children, but later won the FT
Climate Change Challenge award.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_box#cite_note-5"><sup><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[5]</span></sup></a><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> He won the first prize,
since the invention reduced </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas" title="Greenhouse gas"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">carbon
emissions</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> by
eliminating the need to burn </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood" title="Wood"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">wood</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.</span><span style="color: #444444; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">3. </span><b><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mark
Wopicho, PowerGen:</span></b> Mark Wopicho holds a B.Sc. in Energy Engineering from Kenyatta
University. He has over five years of experience in the Kenyan renewable energy
industry and has worked with multiple renewable energy companies. In 2011, he
co-founded WindGen Power East Africa which locally manufactured small wind
turbines for electricity generation and water-pumping. WindGen has since
re-branded as PowerGen and now offers complete turn-key wind and solar
solutions for the East African market. As Director of Sales, Mark forms new
client relationships and leads PowerGen into new markets. He also oversees
PowerGen's supply chain and manages PowerGen's most complex projects in both
the office and the field. Mark is passionate about renewable energy and
believes that it is the most effective way to electrify Africa. <span style="color: #444444; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panel 4-Conservation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the past several years we have experienced unprecedented pressure on
the continent’s ecosystems, with the impact on those ecosystems brought to our
attention as never before. From
long-distance forays by militias and criminal gangs in North Africa to West
African parks explicitly to machine gun elephants for ivory to finance their
activities, to a huge increase in the poaching of rhino for rhino horn in east
and southern Africa, again often by well-financed, well-organized gangs and
cartels, to the less obvious but potentially more devastating impact of growing
populations and development across the continent, to the widespread impacts of
essentially imported climate change, Africa’s the environment seems to have
been hit by the perfect storm. But activism around environmental issues is also
climbing fast, within Africa. With us this evening are a group of panelists who
are at the forefront of efforts to mobilise around the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Panelists</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b><span style="background: white;">Trezer Oguda, Save the
Elephants: </span></b><span style="background: white;">A media and communications officer
at Save the Elephant. </span>Save the Elephants (STE) works to secure a future for elephants in a
rapidly changing world. Pioneers in cutting-edge science, their research
provides vital insights into elephant behavior, intelligence, and long-distance
movement. By understanding life from an elephant's perspective, STE is able to
map out critical corridors that link up protected areas, better manage the
conflict between humans and wildlife, enthuse people about elephant
intelligence, and closely monitor incidents of illegal killing.<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <b><span style="background: white;">Mutua Matheka,
Photographer</span></b><span style="background: white;">:</span><i> </i>An artist
born and bred in Machakos and fine-tuned by Nairobi. I draw, sketch, mold
stuff, destroy stuff & occasionally create stuff… I have been drawing
and sketching since my mother placed crayons in my hands at just 3 years of
age. The art has since then morphed from Drawing, Illustration, Graphic art,
Architectural Visualization to Photography, my latest obsession. When I’m not
meeting a deadline or sharpening crayons, I love to get my adrenaline pounding
by riding motorbikes, mountain climbing, and (if I got a chance) para-troop and
ski.I am a graduate Architect from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture
& Technology (J.K.U.A.T), now fully applying my architectural eye to
capture Architecture, cityscapes & landscapes. I love photography and I
hope you can see that love by looking through my images. Together with David
‘Blackman’ Muthami and the UN Habitat, we are using my photography of urban
spaces in Africa to showcase a beautiful Nairobi and eventually Africa. Through
the ‘<a href="http://www.imacitychanger.org/imacc/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">I’m a City Changer</span></a>‘ campaign, we seek to change mindsets of people in cities especially
in Africa about their cities. Take a look at the ‘<a href="http://mutuamatheka.co.ke/imacitychanger/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">I’m A City Changer</span></a>‘ page on my website to see the images that people all over the world
are sharing to show why they love their cities. To this effect we held the
first photography showcase for <a href="http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=11243&catid=5&typeid=6&AllContent=1"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">‘I’m a City Changer’ in Nairobi</span></a> that attracted lots of media attention.I’ve been featured in
Nokia’s ‘Teddy Bears & Talking drums’, a documentary (<a href="http://www.nokia.com/global/about-nokia/company/about-us/about-us/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">view here</span></a>), ADA (<a href="http://www.africandigitalart.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">African Digital Art</span></a>), Afri-Love (<a href="http://www.afri-love.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Afri-love.com</span></a>), BBC News Africa’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17855168"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">In Pictures</span></a>,
Nation <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/1418708/-/ydx0cfz/-/index.html"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Newspaper</span></a> feature, Kiss 100′s Breakfast show with Caroline
Mutoko, Zuqka magazine (Nation newspaper). I have won the
pioneer BAKE AWARD for best Photography Blog in Kenya, as well as being
nominated for the International CSS DESIGN Award based in the United States,
putting both Kenya and Africa on the Map in photography. My photos have been
used by BBC MEDIA, CNN, African Digital Art, NTV’s PM LIVE, among other media
outlets to showcase Africa."<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b><span style="background: white;">Njambi Maingi, Hands
off our Elephants: </span></b><span style="background: white;">Education and Outreach Coordinator
at WildlifeDirect. WildlifeDirect is a Kenyan NGO and US registered organization
co-founded in 2004 by Kenyan conservationist Dr. Richard Leakey. Its flagship
campaign comprises a winning combination of expertise including wildlife ecologists,
communications specialists, lawyers, politicians, media representatives,
strategists, and linguists, making us bold, influential, and successful. This
African led initiative is supported by Kenya’s First Lady, Her Excellency
Margaret Kenyatta as patron.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panel 5- GPS/ Satellite<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you will have seen from the video introduction, the African continent
is being mapped at a pace that is unprecedented. From way points on GPS maps, to being sent
information on your mobile as your proximity to a point of interest triggers a
message, we are all being included in a huge digital map of the continent. The
potential applications are absolutely enormous and range from rescue work to
almost irritatingly commercial applications. How is this helping us? Tonight we
have three panelists who can tell us more about how their particular
applications are impacting not only humans but also the natural world around
us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panelists<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b><span style="background: white;">Lindsey West, Sea Sense</span></b><span style="background: white;">:</span> Lindsey has lived
and worked in Tanzania for the past seven years and is the Director of Sea
Sense, a community-based NGO focusing on the conservation and protection of
endangered marine species and their habitats in Tanzania. Lindsey is
responsible for the overall management of the organization including the
implementation of the <i>Indian Ocean-South
East Asia Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding</i> and the <i>Memorandum of Understanding on the
Conservation of Dugongs,</i> to which Tanzania is a signatory state. Her role includes designing and leading
species research programmes, overseeing the implementation of community based
conservation initiatives, producing technical and financial reports for donors,
liaising and communicating with stakeholders, representing Sea Sense at
regional and international meetings and conferences and securing funds for the
implementation of the Sea Sense Five Year Strategic Plan. Lindsey is a member
of the IUCN Marine Turtle and Sirenia Specialist Groups and is Vice Chair of
the Western Indian Ocean Marine Turtle Task Force. She is regional editor of the African Sea
Turtle Newsletter and a member of the editorial board of the Indian Ocean
Turtle Newsletter. Lindsey also serves
as the Co-chair of the Tanzania National Sea Turtle and Dugong Conservation
Committee and is an Independent Study Project (ISP) advisor for the SIT
Zanzibar Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management programme. Prior to
working in Tanzania, Lindsey’s passion for species and habitat conservation led
to her involvement in a diverse range of projects across the world. Over the past twenty years, Lindsey has
conducted research into the diving behaviour of harbour seals in the USA,
reviewed the use of oil spill dispersants on the Great Barrier Reef, restored
habitat for yellow eyed penguins in New Zealand, studied transmission of
tuberculosis in Cape buffalo in South Africa and surveyed movement patterns of
badgers and water voles in England. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2.<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b><span style="background: white;">Rajeev Handa, Garmin</span></b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b><span style="background: white;">Bob Koigi, Farmbiz Africa</span></b><span style="background: white;"> :</span>Bob Koigi is an
multi award winning journalist having won 6 awars 5 international and is the
editor of Farmbizafrica, a news site specializing on food security, youth and
agriculture and rural development. Bob Koigi has also been involved in a lot of
youth, women and farmer groups where he takes the information he collects and
disseminates it to the groups through farmer field schools with a view to
uplifting them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Panel 6-Reporting the Continent<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This panel could be looked at as the forgotten side of innovation,
technology and social change. The sector our panelists represent is often
maligned and usually taken for granted. Yet it’s the most common way that we
find out about the things are impacting our world. And the sector’s own innovation, use of
technology and social change that it brings about, often goes unrecognized.
They are the reporters and their reports are helping shape our continent in
ways we could never imagine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tonight, we’ll hear more about what they are doing, why and how this is
bringing about change for the better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Panelists</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b><span style="background: white;">Chloe Spoerry, Hivi Sasa: </span></b><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Chloe works with a company called
HiviSasa. It </span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">is a local news
website tailored for the mobile web. It brings county-level news to any
internet-enabled phone. It sources all its news stories from local
‘citizen reporters’ (i.e. anyone who wants to report the news) who are paid via
mobile-money for each published article. </span><a href="http://hivisasa.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">HiviSasa.com</span></a><span style="background: white;"> is one of the most far-reaching and
cost-effective media models presently available in the country.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <!--[endif]--><b><span style="background: white;">Ken Oloo, Filamujuani</span></b><span style="background: white;">: </span>Ken is the founder
of Filamujuani (films in the sun) in the an organization that teaches the youth
from vulnerable communities in Nairobi on how they can use the skills they get
to earn a livable wage, educate themselves through college and high school, get
a career in the TV and film industry. He is also the co-director of Zindua Ltd,
a social enterprise, that does television commercial, televisions shows and
communication consultancy across Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b><span style="background: white;">Michelle Atagana, Ventureburn: </span></b>A fiery tweeter
and digital native, Michelle Atagana has been hanging around the internet since
she was eleven, back in the days of Netscape. Later on, her interest lead to
her graduating with a Masters Degree in New Media and Journalism, and her
position as Managing Editor at Burn Media. She was named one of Mail &
Guardian's <a href="http://ysa2012.mg.co.za/michelle-atagana/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">top young South Africans</span></a> in 2012,
writes a column about technology in Africa for CNN,
judges occasional startup competitions and spends her free time
working on the final draft of her PhD. But Michelle says she's just a girl,
standing in front of a startup, asking them what their business plan
is. </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-5286245239545865402014-09-03T07:18:00.002-07:002014-09-03T07:18:49.480-07:00On Startups and Entrepreneurs: The misuse of tech<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">In today's digital/social / mobile / local world, startups, entrepreneurs and people in general have interesting issues thanks to the misuse of tech out here.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">Why interesting? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">1. A guy would rather set up a feedback form or survey online than going out to meet his customers- if you can't meet them call them! CTRL - ALT - DEL and step out </span><i class="_4-k1 img sp_LWp1MpKGrs1 sx_35a5d8" style="background-color: white; background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yP/r/90b8T5aM1AH.png); background-position: 0px -7986px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; color: #37404e; display: inline-block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; height: 16px; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">2. You don't believe you can make money without being o</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20px;">n web & mobile platforms- take a step back to understand what problem you're solving and for who and why they need it to survive. That's for M-watus building m-vitus <i class="_4-k1 img sp_LWp1MpKGrs1 sx_35a5d8" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yP/r/90b8T5aM1AH.png); background-position: 0px -7986px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><br /><br />2. Instead of asking users what they need or like or enjoy using, your hacker is pushing out lines of code adding new features - ask people what they want and develop just that in a month. And get PAID <i class="_4-k1 img sp_LWp1MpKGrs1 sx_35a5d8" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yP/r/90b8T5aM1AH.png); background-position: 0px -7986px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><br /><br />3. You need a responsive website, 3 versions of the app and some SMS thingy before launching this revolutionary idea - The truth is, you will never launch it and nobody will steal your idea:-)<br /><br />4. You have accounts on all SNSes but you're ever busy to post great content regularly - social media is not the silver bullet - entry is free, but you pay to play. Do much more to win! The internet is like a mall - if you want to get a slice of that digital foot traffic there's more work cut out for you.<br /><br />5. Instead of attending an event to network, entrepreneurs show up behind a desktop and follow it on Twitter - nothing will ever replace that feeling & physical presence in a room full of seemingly cool strangers.<br /><br />6. You Skype the guy seated next to you - email exchanges full of buzzwords -just talk to each other I beg ooh- to ensure you're all walking in the same direction.<br /><br />Am just trying to say this, tech is an enabler and you can perhaps do much more without it.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-13290805657567446462014-08-19T09:06:00.001-07:002014-08-19T09:06:26.873-07:00Dear Entrepreneurs, here's why you need to keep financial records.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Dear Entrepreneurs,</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
If you're thinking of raising funding (Debt, Grant or Equity Financing) for your business in future, it's wise to start keeping records the moment you start making revenue.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Simple accounting records and statements/evidence will really come in handy when interested investors/ partners do their due diligence on your business operations.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Why am I saying this? Lotsa entrepreneurs out here have viable businesses and need funds to expand but they do not have records. Why? The sole proprietor/ director/s run the entity from their wallets in cash. Nothing to show who paid for what and where the money went because over 75% of the money moves around in cash.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Have some structures, systems and guidelines - corporate governance manenos. This will save you headaches in future, get you better valuation and thus more favourable deal/s.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; margin-top: 6px;">
Ni hayo tu.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-24503533986960437932014-07-07T07:04:00.003-07:002014-07-07T07:04:52.220-07:00GrowthAfrica’s Sixth Accelerator Takes off with 13 Agribusinesses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZJaO-bkvXW8SkWsn71q-WFq5JxdgAyaTC6qpEnZOawVwcxlyUQZa6QTNXTzrQqQrDCPn9ZTpAAD6ZLmC6ZhcrFvhzI8six-sqSrsJLnArUZZRrnM056XIWvODOmsCTO6X3UdRdG1R1E/s1600/GTW.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZJaO-bkvXW8SkWsn71q-WFq5JxdgAyaTC6qpEnZOawVwcxlyUQZa6QTNXTzrQqQrDCPn9ZTpAAD6ZLmC6ZhcrFvhzI8six-sqSrsJLnArUZZRrnM056XIWvODOmsCTO6X3UdRdG1R1E/s1600/GTW.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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After such a successful GrowthAfrica Agribusiness incubator in quarter one of 2014, we are thrilled to announce that 13 confirmed start-ups joined our agribusiness accelerator which kicked off on July 4<sup>th</sup> 2014 till October.</div>
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Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy and provides livelihood, employment and generates income for over 75 % of the Kenyan population. The sector is among the key drivers envisaged to deliver the 10% annual economic growth stipulated in the Economic Pillar of Vision 2030. Currently, agriculture directly represents 26 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and another 25 percent indirectly through its linkages with manufacturing, distribution and service industries in Kenya.</div>
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However the growth of the agriculture sector is slowed down by huge challenges faced by small holder farmers, large businesses and key actors in the agriculture value chain that require sustainable solutions through scalable for profit enterprises.</div>
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The 13 start-up teams will get the chance to work with a carefully selected group of experienced facilitators, successful mentors and access to investors from all around the world for a chance to raise funds for investments, network with peers and key industry players.</div>
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Apart from the 16 in house workshops at our hub on different aspects of the business, we will also host experienced professionals to share their expertise on topical issues to help the entrepreneurs grow their enterprises and scale to the next level.</div>
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“The accelerator program has a particular focus on growing operations of the start-ups and scaling the impact of social enterprises,” said Patricia Jumi, the Managing Director of GrowthAfrica. “ This is really an impressive crew of Kenyan entrepreneurs building for profit enterprises solving challenges in different agriculture value chains across the country and East Africa.”</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-47675517669863911872014-05-24T07:27:00.001-07:002014-05-24T07:27:35.139-07:00Call for Applications: GrowthAfrica Agribusiness Accelerator Programme 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Are you an entrepreneur in agribusiness? If yes, then this is a great opportunity for you to get investment and mentorship. The growthhub is running a program called the agribusiness accelerator program where it targets entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector looking to grow/accelerate their businesses. The growthhub has had previous such programs which have been successful with entrepreneurs raising over $30 Million deal flow.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrtLS5W1QHFSHUAYBO5NWHEAfa0WaODZu4N9K4I_7IpazkH3lvDVUFw5Hk216TgjBUMwx6SHEKArkojY-M1DuXAKfD4OpqC6I-upgp4T5nFo5GxG8WLb0eCDBoGHNV7_UavrinT4EyG0/s1600/GGGGGHERE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrtLS5W1QHFSHUAYBO5NWHEAfa0WaODZu4N9K4I_7IpazkH3lvDVUFw5Hk216TgjBUMwx6SHEKArkojY-M1DuXAKfD4OpqC6I-upgp4T5nFo5GxG8WLb0eCDBoGHNV7_UavrinT4EyG0/s1600/GGGGGHERE.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, what is the program all about? The program is an 18-20 week long program that seeks to bring together entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector, train them on ways to improve their businesses (supply chain, market analysis etc) as well as get funding.</div>
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Who should apply? Entrepreneurs in agribusiness should apply. There are several categories businesses should fall under. This does not however include farmers who only plant and sell produce, some level of value addition should be available.</div>
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The core team should be working full time in the company</div>
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The product should be already launched and have customers in Kenya and revenue generated. The amount does not really matter. So ideas do not qualify. Having customers shows proof of concept.</div>
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You are in need of venture capital and resources to grow and scale your business to the next level.</div>
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The cartegories include:</div>
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<b>Companies that increase income generation for farmers</b></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">As suppliers to their value chain (out-grower components)</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">As agents/distributors of their products/services</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">As employees (seasonal or part-time)</li>
</ol>
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<b>Agro-processing businesses</b></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Where value addition locally/regionally is increased/improved</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Where uptake from local/regional farmers is increased or done at better unit prices</li>
</ol>
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<b>Agriculture Tech Start-ups</b></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">That improve farmers access to information, inputs, services and markets</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">That improve farming efficiency and output of crop yields, livestock etc</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Improved services and products (farm inputs) for farmers</li>
</ol>
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<b>Training & education</b></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Financial solutions (credit, insurance, mobile transactions) for farmers</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Improved quality or affordability, e.g. to agronomic practices, extension services</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Agribusinesses that improve the logistical infrastructure towards farmers</li>
</ol>
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<b>For improved efficiencies in distribution of farm inputs and products</b></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">For easier uptake by markets of farm outputs</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Adoption of “modern” farming practices & products</li>
</ol>
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<b> Businesses in the Agriculture Value chain that improve food security</b></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Encouraging use of new crops or new applications of traditional crops</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Business ideas that focus on improved nutrition and a healthy food culture</li>
</ol>
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<b> Innovations in Agribusiness</b></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Organic products</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Fair-trade schemes</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px; padding: 5px 0px;">Irrigation technologies & solutions</li>
</ol>
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For the 2014 program, the deadline is on the 31<span style="font-size: 10px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">st</span> of May. After closing date, applications will be reviewd and those who have made it through the first stage will be contacted for a one on one interview to discuss the business in detail. A total of 15 startups will be admitted into the program that will run for 16-18 weeks where they will be helped to develop their businesses in many ways including getting mentors and funding. Entrepreneurs ill however have to be present for all the sessions except when really necessary. A team can have upto 3 team members attending the sessions. This Is to ensure commitment of the entrepreneur to his/her business Businesses. A lot of emphasis is made on commitment. A commitment fee of KSH 30,000 is charged to entrepreneurs. This catters for curriculum materials, and meals which are provided during the program. The money can be paid at a later date or over a long period of time. This is strictly a show of commitment. They can raise funds from other investors worldwide so funding opportunities are limitless.</div>
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I would advice everyone in the agribusiness sector to apply. Remeber the deadline is 31st May 2014</div>
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Check out some of the agribusiness ventures that got funding <a href="http://www.thegrowthhub.com/start-ups/" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;">here</a></div>
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Interested entrepreneurs can apply <a href="http://www.thegrowthhub.com/agribusiness/" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;">here</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-47056242656026568532014-05-08T04:26:00.000-07:002014-05-08T04:26:10.809-07:00Marriage Bill: Are polyandrous unions are a good idea? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;"><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u>Should ladies fight for this?</u></span></span></h3>
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<span style="background: white; color: #37404e; font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Women should also be allowed to have two husbands- if the second one is
over 40. If that was to happen, the number of senior bachelors in this
neighborhood and my village will drastically reduce. I said 40 not 25 or 65-
for purposes of getting some support from a section of the church, a nod from
Maendeleo ya Wanaume and a pat on the back from other feminists- the media too
won't see the big story so there will be no buzz around that wedding!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="textexposedshow">Back to our plot| where I live and there's a straight guy~ mid
40s, still does his laundry, dishes and makes his chapatis~ so eligible. The
dude doesn't drink, leaves early and is always in the house before 9pm. I would
recommend this guy any day to any unhappily married woman out there. Def the
guy deserves a single lady but at 40 he has seen them all and perhaps just
wants to be with his teenage sweetie who left him and got married to another
guy.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="textexposedshow">However this would really complicate issues~ who
moves in or out? Who will have the remote during prime time news? What if one
says the salt was too much while the other asked for the salt shaker? How much
sugar is okay for them? What about the different size, colour and look + feel
of the boxers in the bathroom wall? Ugly! Who sits where? Who gets to slaughter
the chicken and have the thighs? If one of them is Luhya sijui itakukuwaje!
Choma that mbuzi over Xmas? Both guys? No! One will burn the ribs and pin it on
the other one. Sunday outings? The mlevi one wants a place with a bar, the
other one thinks snacks in the arboretum is a great idea~utaenda wapi! Watoto
je? Come to extended family relations~how will you manage two mother in laws
and keep them happy? Most women can't handle one so why add another one?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="textexposedshow">There's a Swahili saying that goes like
"Fahali wawili hawakai zizi moja" so the woman has to split days
between the guys~ two homes.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="textexposedshow">Think of a situation where one of the guys is
explaining to the kids why their mum is with Uncle| Baba X for the weekend~ how
about the telling yo kids unaenda holiday na yule mwingine just baba yao hana
pesa?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="textexposedshow">Now I will leave the ladies to decide if
polyandrous unions are a good idea. Should you fight for that?</span></span></span><br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-87667394076669831742014-04-16T04:37:00.001-07:002014-04-16T04:38:07.184-07:00My new friend from China: Work, Fun and getting to Know my Friend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; color: #37404e; font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I get to work with people from diverse backgrounds and learn new,
sometimes weird things about other cultures. My newest friend is from China and
over the past few weeks here's what I can say~</span><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">1. In ancient China
men were attracted to girls with small feet- you can Google why but my new
friend doesn't rate women by their shoe size. He needs more<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">2. Still on girls~
the guy tells me in China, the<span class="textexposedshow">y prefer to keep those with flat or PROPER things~ not big, round and
really there. I haven't showed him pics of Vera Sidika, Risper and Corazon but
definitely those aren't his type. He's a gentleman, doesn't stare at these
things so I can't tell which one he likes in the office and I cannot ask him
that--not yet<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="textexposedshow">3. We've tried different dishes for lunch~I started
him on junk~ chips and chicken, then to Ugali and beef, some Nyama choma,
...rice etc but since the guy tasted Chapatis he's been having them daily. I
have told him he can prepare kadhaa over this weekend, carry them to work next
week and they can stay fresh for 3-4 days if kept properly...my guy is very
HAPPY now. We're making chapatis for next week this weekend</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="textexposedshow">4. But the stuff that really drives him crazy and
makes him so happy is Facebook. It's banned in China but accessible in Kenya.
If he'll remember anything about this beautiful country, the time he spent on
Facebook will be in his top 5. Soon you'll get a friend request from him.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="textexposedshow">5. The guy is a Buddhist, and their religion
doesn't allow him to take alcohol or smoke. So he asked me about my beliefs and
I told him I am a Christian, the Bible says it's wrong to drink but I take cold
ones on Fridays. From that statement my guy decided to try Brew Bistro last
weekend, and loved it so much. He now wants to know my plans for Easter weekend
and what I will be doing on Friday evening. Twende Kazi</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="textexposedshow">5. Finally my guy doesn't have any martial arts
training, not even basic Kungfu skills. I really wanted to know if he can kick
some ass when we go out and chokoza that guy who brings 2 or 3 girls to the
club and wants to dance with all of them.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="textexposedshow">He is harmless~usimchokoze lakini, he's a cool guy
and he's here to send make new friends. Ukipata friend request~ kubali yaishe.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="textexposedshow">6. Finally he is not into animals, wilderness and
such mzungu stuff. So he's definitely not a part time poacher~ don't blame him
for the elephants and rhinos we've lost in the past weeks. Forgive me for
saying that about my good friend. Back to work friends.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-2159469402692739072014-04-16T04:36:00.004-07:002014-04-16T04:36:30.010-07:00There are 4 ways of building a Start-up in Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over time I have come this conclusion: There are 4 ways of building a business~routes to success in entrepreneurship. Or basically 4 types of founders. </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do your stuff quietly, innovate and build things people
need, sell massively, do ONLY things that improve your bottom line and focus on
just that. And if you do that consistently money then comes. This kind of a
person| agency| business is good or the best at what he/they does/do. His story
is not frequently told, neither are there many case studies on the work he has
done. He is rich or makes his money quietly but he will not let things like
appointments to a seat in private sector ‘lobby’ committee, a board, part of a
Government or NGO think tank or such things take his focus from doing what he
enjoys doing. He simply fixes what he has total control over and leaves the rest
for others to sort or screw up. This is the story of Kamal~Craft Silicon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2. Build your thing as you share your story:~ This is
the entrepreneur who is in the office for 3 days a week and spends the
remaining four days in conferences, meet ups, panel sessions, talk shows, doing
interviews etc. This guy knows one thing….to tell a good story and back it up
with the work he does~he has a great team to fix issues while he’s away. I
don’t want to give names here. But if you want to scale a social enterprise, raise
funding, get partners and attract good talent this is the person you have to
be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3. The story teller: This is the entrepreneur who
mastered the art of great story telling. His decks are so cool, flawless
presentations full of case & use studies and full of quotes from reports
and great people. He knows what’s happening around and people making it happen
so he has no problem knowing where to go share his story. If he’s not speaking
in a session, he’ll be the guy asking the questions. He doesn’t have a
permanent residence~if he has the kids haven’t seen him for a while now, stays
in hotels and checks into JKIA quite often. He tweets ruthlessly and will never
turn down an interview request~he has a pile of business cards collected from
his trips. Any publicity is good publicity for him. He uses that publicity to
attract funding, recruit, sell his stuff and scale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The only problem here is, only a few guys can pull this
off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">a) Wazungus~ you have some donors and friends back home
to support your mission in Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">b) You’re a rich kid or a who is who kinda network~
Your dad was a Minister in Moi’s govt, you’re from money, your uncles are rich,
your siblings are doing big things, you know people and these people KNOW YOU!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">c). You have 15 yrs + work experience in a specific
sector and some deep respect from your peers. This guy has worked so hard to
get the credentials. A PHD here is an added advantage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">d). You have your ‘Africa rising story’ and you can
tell it properly~perhaps in a TED kinda set up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4. Be your own man kinda founder. These are guys who
are doing things their way. Making mistakes and fixing them, they don’t talk or
overpromise & under deliver. The get it done. They don’t follow rules or
read about tips to be successful and rich. They have no manual. So they don’t
know what the lean start-up methodology is, the haven’t used a business model
canvas, they don’t know much about the 10~20~30 rule. Or all the new things out
here. They don’t want outside money|VC capital, some partner logos and such
kinda things. They do their stuff and sell it. They only care about the
customer. And they’ll do anything to keep that guy happy. They respect the
customer because he’s the only guy who can fire them all by spending his money
elsewhere. They don’t fuck around. Most Wahindis, Kikuyu’s and Kalasinga’s fall
here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So what type of a founder are you? Or what route are
you on? Did I leave anyone out? Talk to me…leave a comment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-67883528363198426202014-04-08T09:48:00.005-07:002014-04-08T09:48:39.346-07:00Dissecting GSMA’s Digital Entrepreneurship Report on Kenya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Varela Round', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I read the recently released GSMA Digital Entrepreneurship Report in Kenya and I’d like to break it down and add my perspective, one that is relate-able to those of us starting out. Or at least explain the scenes or realities behind the numbers and the well worded report.</span></h1>
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<strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Getting STARTED:</strong></div>
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The barriers of entry to tech today are lower with an internet connection and a laptop you’re in. Running a start-up is a different story, it’s not prestigious yet, and not close to epic in Kenya.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />If you’ve considered building some app, developed a m-kitu, recently launched a portal or run an e- something am sure you keep tabs on the latest reports showing how mobile money is faring, Africa’s rising, the huge potential in the country and all that stuff.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />Truth is we will always get data, insights, reports and predictions on the internet to back up our assumptions or show the good times ahead. But it’s good to be informed anyway.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />However people that hack major things weren’t motivated by a Mc Kinsey, Gartner or a CCK report. Those that stick together for long don’t do it because of some encouraging findings from a survey. I am digressing already, so back to our valuable GSMA report:<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" /><a href="http://www.jobhunter.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ju.jpg" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: all 0.3s; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f59221; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s;"><img alt="ju" class="aligncenter" height="366" src="http://www.jobhunter.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ju.jpg" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 5px auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="600" /></a><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />From the above, here’s what you need to know:<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />Find a way to SHOW UP on this scene with a prototype backed by a cool sensible deck. This is also a good time to apply to join an incubation program and meet other teams in this stage.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />Assuming you’ve got that sorted or way past there, let’s move to the common assumptions we make and use.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />1. Of the 16 Million Kenyans with internet access 99% of those are mobile net subscribers. Around 49 % access of that access net on feature phones. The other rapidly growing 51% use smart phones in the Ksh 8,000 to 12,000 ranges. Choose whether to go USSD or web based depending on what you want to do, for whom and where. A good percentage of that 99% live on 2.50 dollars a day [they won’t pay to download anything or buy stuff regularly off your site. However they’d love to use your thing if they can MAKE MONEY off it or SAVE BIG by buying stuff off your site or app. If it helps them feel better [music, quotes, wallpapers, entertainment], know something [news, information or new knowledge] or [ease some form of hustle while saving money then they’ll take a second look at what you show up with]. Over 80% are on 2G networks so ensure your content loads fast and optimize it for their smaller screens. Look for data on the operating system they use [iOS, Symbian or Android] so you know what to go for first.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />2. I have seen decks where an entrepreneur takes the 16M uses another report showing over 60 % of those are young people where over 50% of the 9.6M have android devices. That comes to 4M devices. With that the developer assumes worst case scenario he can get 20% of those guys to download his thing or use it in year one. Don’t take these huge numbers, multiply by a % to identify the market you’re going for.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />3. Realistically the 16M do not use internet daily and most of them are late adopters. Meaning they don’t neither follow nor jump on the latest trends so making it free for them first won’t get them on it and a good number of these peculiar Kenyans find tech too complicated for their simple lives.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />4. So from No. 2 and 3 build your thing and pilot it with the first 100 who show up , learn from them and refine or build on new features to make them happy meet some of them in person. So FOCUS on attracting new users and keep them regularly using your stuff.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />5. Avoid distractions after launch and early celebration. So after your launch don’t walk out looking for partners, having coffee with investors and meeting receptionists to book appointments with guys who ignore your emails. It’s also not the time to enter contests and other awards. Two things: Product development and user acquisition.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Managing Growth OR Slow Death</strong><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />Time to spruce up that pitch with metrics and data from real usage, if your developer has been consistent fixing the bugs and you’re helping him get new users the people will write about your new thing. With you on the papers and blogs every so often, some important people, brands, partners might call you just to promise you big things and ask you to keep in touch. If the product is well designed interesting-easy to use or in some way solves a problem for a larger group, positioned for a diverse market then more will sign up and stay. Happy huh?<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />So far so good. You had a good idea, you’ve developed it, launched and got coverage and there’s some organic growth but now things seem to be slowing down. You’re now ever swamped with work, meetings and presentations to make, so you need another developer to help you push out features faster, fix your buggy code, a marketing guy to talk about the product to your users and a sales person to get the product to customers. Whatever the revenue model is, the few users you had aren’t paying/ the target customers are still trying it out for FREE and you don’t have the numbers to sign in an advertiser. You’re still pivoting this thing and changing direction every so often.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<a href="http://www.jobhunter.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Capture.jpg" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: all 0.3s; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f59221; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s;"></a>Assuming you are self funded, from a middle class Kenyan family you’ve run out of savings from the last job you had. The little money from those free lancing jobs is just enough to cater for your upkeep and survival so you can’t afford to hire the guy with the skill set, experience and expertise you need so you’re surviving on intern/s.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />In Kenya giving equity, a big title and no salary won’t get you the talent you need, even your skilled co-founder doesn’t want to go full time with you yet things are slowing down remember. The cheaper freelancers won’t get it done on time, your colleague from the last job now helps you in the evenings or over weekends but yeah when he’s busy your stuff has to wait! By now your folks seriously need you to get another good job like your cousins, your brother is perhaps tired of having to sort your emergencies and chip in on your rent. And some of your college buddies now employed catch up with you facebook because you can’t afford the night long raves anymore. By now that relationship is strained because you never have time for her and you’re broke so you’re helplessly watching as it crumbles. But you’re in this for the long haul. 8 to 12 months into this you’ve read and applied everything on Lean start-ups, used that business model canvas to pitch and all you could read on start-ups and growth. However you know lean neither means SMALL nor SHODDY but you still need to push stuff on time to the users. Bootstrapping doesn’t mean scrapping lunch from your meals but anyway you can’t afford it it’s Ngong road. If you have to eat you’re now a kibanda guy you’ve forgotten about the little pleasures of life as you watch your expenses. But the friends in the other startup working from the hub where you’re based told you if it’s late and it’s WOW then that’s fine too! So there’s HOPE!<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />You’ve talked to the few angels around~ <em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">WE LIKE IT BUT</em> ~applied for grants~ <em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">THIS IS GREAT BUT WE’RE SORRY~</em> emailed prospective partners~ <em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">THIS IS INTERESTING BUT~</em> and tried doing lots of other things NOTHING YET check emails zero inbox spam folder junk! I feel you man!<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />From the above a good percentage of the promising early stage companies led by guys in their 20s die or stagnate due to lack of business angels in Kenya.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />For those that get some $ from the above, have that killer team intact & so motivated still working on a huge idea and got the energy to take on the challenges then that growth continues. Mentors, joining an accelerator program and keeping the faith can sustain this growth.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Scaling</strong><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />Pre revenue start-ups and most businesses in Kenya that get past this stage of death tend to have the following;<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />1. Experienced Founder/s: VCs and Funds can bet huge on guys who have worked for over 10 years and have a strong network, some reputation and a deep understanding of the industry they are in. It’s easier for such founders to access grants, sign in partners, backers, customers early on and such. These guys also have some savings to keep the ship on the high seas and build a team around the idea.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />2. ‘MNC start-ups’. These are start-ups backed by bigger companies and can afford to give cars + prizes to encourage users to sell their stuff on OLX!<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />3. The Returnees: These are people who studied abroad, probably have an enviable MBA, worked there for a while and have some money to come do start-ups here. For that international exposure, their resume, and sound business; investors can bet huge on them early on. Their global network also helps in getting stuff done and opens more doors. They also tend to attract good talent.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />4. Foreign Co-Founder or Expats Founders: I have seen them get funded much easily, get more help and access to big people early on.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />5. Fellows and Graduates: This group comprises of Ashoka, Acumen, etc etc fellows and companies that have graduated from incubator and accelerator programs locally.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />6. Rich founders, they can get funding from their family pre revenue.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />7. The lucky few local, young and very hardworking Kenyans. These ones defy all odds but have great teams, great idea, viable business, consistent growth and persistence. They are focussed and never quit.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">‘What Happens Next’?</strong><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />After all that hustle, initial growth and traction some of the guys above screw up, competition is nasty so die, or a Telco runs them over with a M-kitu similar to theirs. Others don’t turn revenue positive even after a series of investments so it’s wise to shut down.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />Those that keep their word and their numbers look good raise more funding, get a bigger head office; enter new markets in neighbouring countries. With that kind of growth, big brands come knocking ready to sign partnership deals. This is your YEAR 3!<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />Some choose to sell off their stake while the valuation is good and EXIT. Such stories are rare here!<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />However some of those start-ups that missed out on angel financing early on and persisted may get a second chance either through paying customers, advertisers, maybe a partnership with the big brands, some grant money or funding from a VC.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />But for this ecosystem to churn bigger success stories more often, for the promising silicon savannah to give everyone a better shot at greatness a few things have change otherwise we will keep on re-telling the now tired story of Mpesa.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />We should all play our parts</div>
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Until that happens a recent graduate with a great app may just not make a BIG EXIT to live happily ever after! Sorry but I REST MY CASE.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-67006566698944801752014-04-08T09:22:00.000-07:002014-04-08T09:22:03.668-07:00The Story of Garrett Morgan and Edward Bernays: Inventor and Propagandist<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Lessons for a First time Founders</strong></em></div>
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In November 1923, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Morgan" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: all 0.3s; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f59221; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s;" target="_blank" title="Garrett Morgan">Garrett Morgan</a> invented the traffic light…..can’t help but ask myself what his inspiration for the idea was back then? What problem do you think he was solving? Did he think his stuff would become so huge some day? What was on his mind then? Did he also know <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: all 0.3s; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f59221; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s;" title="Edward Bernays">Edward Bernays</a> [a crowd psychoanalyst + pioneer in PR and propaganda]?</div>
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In the 1930s Bernays lied to men that cars were a symbol of their sexuality & status and went ahead to teach big corporations & bankers how to connect their products to our emotions to ensure people buy things they not only need but desire like cars.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5em;">In 1929 he organized the Easter Parade showing female models smoking in public [His press release said they were carrying "Torches of Freedom']. After that historic public event, women started lighting up more and smoking socially acceptable for the ladies.</span></div>
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<em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">In short, Bernays convinced industries that the news, stories, ‘content’ etc, not advertising, was the best medium to carry their message to an unsuspecting public.</em></div>
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<strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Why tell this story:</strong><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />If you’re the nerd, inventor+ dev + creator type of guy you need people like Bernays. [They're the writers, marketers, bloggers, politicians, lobbyists| crusaders~[influencers], sales people, customer service saints].</div>
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To do their job well, most of them are LIARS but their work helps a few people and industries run this world and decide like in Gareth’s case who goes first.</div>
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<strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">So what do you do if you’re starting out:</strong><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />You don’t have to hire them at the beginning but you can build something together:~ or maybe just watch them, listen to what they say, buy them beer and keep them posted…….then make it cool so they’ll be happy to talk about it or endorse it. When you think of starting something, focus on spotting key trend lines, rather than getting distracted by current headlines dictating what the hot opportunities are. Think in terms of where things are going in the near future, rather than get stuck on where they are, who is doing what and how.</div>
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<strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">What can these fellas really do:</strong><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />People who understand & deploy Barney like tactics mercilessly recently got Kenyans into Quail farming and were the among first to make fun of the birds + their eggs, write about the dwindling fortunes and analyse the quail-economics on talk shows. In short when these guys talk….some of us make or lose money, win or lose, scale or grow, close or lose a deal–somehow.</div>
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<strong style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Bottom line:</strong><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" />If you’re Garett kinda person, don’t get another Gareth to be your co-founder…..look for these other guys who complement your skill set, externally look at what industry stakeholders are doing and what your key publics are saying about it.</div>
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The idea that ‘Build a cool thing that users| customers need and they’ll come doesn’t work always~ someone has to talk about it, make them want| crave for it, proud to be associated with it and make it available to them and ensure it works properly.</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/MuthuriKinyamu" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: all 0.3s; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f59221; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s;" target="_blank" title="here">MuthuriKinyamu</a> writes for <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHuntersblog" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: all 0.3s; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f59221; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s;" target="_blank" title="@TheHuntersblog">TheHuntersBlog </a>and Tweets while on the grind.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-50981244720586960132014-03-13T08:33:00.001-07:002014-03-13T08:33:16.399-07:00TOO MANY ACCELERATORS – BUT IS THERE ACCELERATION?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First appeared on <a href="http://www.techcabal.com/many-accelerators-little-accelerating/">Techcabal</a></span></div>
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I hardly have time for my usual bullshit (even this, but I thought it was important). I just have a few points of advice for fellow founders looking at accelerators</div>
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Don’t be a guinea pig.</h3>
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If you can, WAIT and talk to the first group of founders that graduate from these accelerators. They will tell you the good, the bad and the ugly. These accelerators will invariably make mistakes with the first set of companies and the type of mistakes they make will tell you whether you want to risk your baby with them or not.</div>
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It isn’t wise to work with an accelerator that wishes to own 20% of your company</h3>
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<a href="http://www.techcabal.com/leadpath-launches-accelerator-invest-100000-nigerian-startups/" style="color: black;" title="Leadpath Launches Accelerator to invest up to $100,000 in Nigerian Startups">Leadpath</a>, I’m looking at you. An accelerator is supposed to get you started. Your series A which should come immediately after the accelerator will take another 30%. So just when you are starting to hit your stride, 50% of your company is gone. Harsh. How will you stay motivated? (You won’t). Personally I think 10% is a lot set but given this is Africa, I think it makes sense to stick with accelerators that will take below 15%.</div>
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It is all about the demo day</h3>
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An accelerator is supposed to be a high leverage moment in the life of your startup. You literally have 3 months to create the most value you can because you are in the spotlight and everyone is watching. Every move you make matters. But no matter how hard you work in an accelerator, it will not matter if the right people are not there at demo day. That is just the fact. “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”. Your accelerator needs to be able to get top investors (not prospectors) to come to your demo day otherwise your 3 months of handwork will just be a fucking waste.</div>
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Accelerator owners might not want to be straight with you about their investment connections but there are a few ways to find out if they have serious connections to growth money or not:</div>
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<strong>Ask who their LPs are</strong></div>
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If their LPs are funds, they probably have good connections with them. I think <a href="http://savannah.vc/" style="color: black;" target="_blank">Savannah</a> can be trusted in this regard.</div>
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<strong>Find out who is in their mentor network for startups</strong></div>
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If an accelerator owner thinks he can teach you everything about your business without reaching out to subject matter experts, he is a joker. Accelerator owners with good mentor networks will be able to connect you to money.</div>
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<strong>Are they operators?</strong></div>
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Accelerator owners who are operators that have raised and successfully exited from a previous company are much better than a bunch of ex-bankers thinking an accelerator can make them a quick buck. The previous have the backing of investors they have made money for before and who trust their judgement. The latter are useless to you until you IPO (which is a long way away).</div>
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There are a lot more key things to note for those looking to join accelerators but this is all I have for now.</div>
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Key thing to remember is that whether you accelerate or not in an accelerator is largely in your hand. Remember that an accelerator is the highest leverage period of your startup’s history – it will make or mar your startup. You can take advantage of it and build a quantum of value in a short period or you can waste your time and go slow for the rest of your life.</div>
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Your decision.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-17084040299210306602014-03-13T08:30:00.001-07:002014-03-13T08:30:05.929-07:00What to look out for before applying to join an Incubator in Kenya.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Hubs, Open spaces, Incubators and accelerators are now a common thing in Kenya. More are sprouting up in universities and a few more from India will set up base locally by end of 2014.<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5em;">They have a role to play in nurturing early stage and accelerating growth for startups which is a good thing for innovation.</span></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.jobhunter.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Entrepreneurs-at-Growt-Hub.jpg" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-transition: all 0.3s; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Entrepreneurs at Growth Hub" class="size-full wp-image-2276" height="405" src="http://www.jobhunter.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Entrepreneurs-at-Growt-Hub.jpg" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="720" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px;">
Entrepreneurs at Growth Hub</div>
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<em id="__mceDel" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Hubs, Open spaces, Incubators and accelerators are now a common thing in Kenya. More are sprouting up in universities and a few more from India will set up base locally by end of 2014. They have a role to play in nurturing early stage and accelerating growth for startups which is a good thing for innovation.</em></div>
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With all the options around, every so often you’ll see a ‘call for applications’ inviting entrepreneurs with innovative and startups to join. Just because there’s free space, shared resources, the bonding, sharing expertise doesn’t make you successful. The ping pong table, free internet, comfy seats and all the amazing people that pass by are all good things. Look out for opportunities that advance your prototype. There are certain places where the blind lead the dumb so hanging out there for years doesn’t get you anywhere.</div>
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Well I’d like to share a few points to help those starting out on what to look out for while choosing which one to apply to. These are solely my opinions and you should absolutely make that decision on where to apply and go hang out.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">1. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Their Target:</b></div>
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In a call for applications the hub or institution defines the program, criteria of selection and eligibility. If you’re an early stage startup applying to join an incubator look out for their key focus<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: line-through;"> </span>If they have one. Do they need agribusiness ideas, edtech, renewable energy, Consumer mobile & ICT or just anything idea that sounds innovative and cool. I’d recommend you to apply to those focused on a particular sector around what you’re doing. In a cohort of 12 to 18 companies in different sectors you’ll probably not gain much from the program if you’re all mixed up. The facilitators may not have expertise in all these sectors, the hub may not attract enough mentors with great sector experience for all these startups. However the reason most hubs prefer a mixed cohort is the difficulty of getting 14 or more fresh startups with good ideas in one industry to join a class. Another thing is some of them will tend to be working on almost similar stuff so you don’t need to be in the same environment learning with your competitor.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">2. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Look out for the Facilitator bios:</b></div>
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The facilitators are the people who will take you through the program, the sessions and workshops. Look out for their bios, dig them up on LinkedIn to see what they’ve done and accomplished. Also look out for their experience around the industry you’re start up is in. This will help you decide whether you need to commit the next 14 weeks into a program.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">3. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Core Strengths| Focus</b></div>
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Are you building a consumer mobile application? Are you into renewable energy? Health? Agribusiness?</div>
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Whatever it is you are working on look out for an hub that sort of focuses on that or has a good history and some success in that field. Go into the About us section of their website, ask around what they are really good at and use that to decide if they’re a good fit for your startup or idea.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">4. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Their Connections| History| Network</b></div>
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Some of the local hubs locally are run by foreigners or guys with strong connections to some regions, countries or industries. These connections and history will tell you the kind of mentors they attract, investors who check out their graduates and more important their ability to introduce you to these people and partners. Check out their past programs, see the Impact Fund or development partners who have supported them. That will give you a better understanding of who they are well connected to and where.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">5. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Look out for their successes:</b></div>
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Go to their portfolio, check out the logos there. Go to their blog and see the companies they’ve written about. Check other blogs and Google those companies and see if they acknowledge or mention that particular hub/program for their success. Ask around for the successes, and companies they’ve incubated or accelerated in the past and where they are now. That should tell you about the value of their programs. Certain startups will get incubation in one hub, acceleration in another, get some funding from another contest or on completion of another program elsewhere so all these institutions will overlap somewhere on the big successes. However look out for consistency.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">6. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Talk to the Graduates:</b></div>
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Google the startups in their past program/s, talk to the graduates about their experience in the program, the value and gains realized. Talk to both investees [companies that received some funding after graduation] and those that didn’t. This should tell you something about what they look for and the kind of training and mentorship received.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">7. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">The Mentors| Speakers and Investors:</b></div>
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Say your application was successful and you’ve been invited for an interview. After that session be free to ask them of who the mentors in the program will be. Or some of the guys who have mentored startups in past programs. That done, you may ask for angels who have attended their demo days in the past. This is important information, because I have heard of stories of people being mentored by competitors and pitched to entrepreneurs masquerading as investors. Just ask. Most of these places promise access to mentors but really do not deliver that, or manage a few to be shared among the whole cohort.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">8. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">The Source of Funding:</b></div>
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These programs are all funded by institutions or backed somehow by private companies. Look out for these partners and understand their history, what they do and the bottom line. Why did they support this particular program? Are they an impact fund? Are they a consumer electronics company? A mobile operator? Who are they and what do you think their expectations are from the program. Why is this information important? At the end of the day the hub has certain deliverables and promises to meet for the sponsor of the program. In certain cases, the people with the money dictate what their money should do or be put in. So just ensure your startup is helping the sponsor or partner deliver more value to their customers, raise more funding from your success or earn bragging rights. There’s nothing like FREE, understanding WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM will help you pitch, and position your company for funding or more support.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">9. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">The Extra Benefits:</b></div>
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Are they giving you free space during and after the incubation for your team of 3? Is there some money for top 5 startups to develop a better prototype or carry out a pilot? Access to meeting rooms? Eeer refreshments and snacks? And anything else they’re offering on top of the workshops.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">10. </b><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">The Cohort</b></div>
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Assuming you’ve been accepted into a program. Before signing that offer letter ask for other companies selected and what they are doing. Or better still attend the first session and find out. Entrepreneurs really help each other out and fix issues . It’s also a good place to network and make some new friends, partner with or even date L</div>
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Just ensure you’re in the right company. It’s really nothing much, but if you’re committing 14 weeks into something at least be around people who challenge you, are smarter and interesting too. Look out for problems they’re fixing, the products they are building, who they are, what they’ve done in the past and studied. This really helps you identify who to talk to during the snack breaks and seek help from.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-11638806493663839362014-03-13T04:09:00.001-07:002014-03-13T04:09:55.248-07:00 How we tell our stories in Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobYIurD5BepUn8pfRi2rGxg1ZPmEaU1HMh7bTo15-pzYziyIoq4FbmQ8XOrAnPsS8Aa-jfep4fAqe3l5S2jyKJIg7k-UonMhrdk0uMSw7lvFilyBJdyBojWtke2vDmzSig2rymhkwcrY/s1600/162bfc8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobYIurD5BepUn8pfRi2rGxg1ZPmEaU1HMh7bTo15-pzYziyIoq4FbmQ8XOrAnPsS8Aa-jfep4fAqe3l5S2jyKJIg7k-UonMhrdk0uMSw7lvFilyBJdyBojWtke2vDmzSig2rymhkwcrY/s1600/162bfc8.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></div>
We have big problems and massive challenges in Africa but we need to re-package that 'African story' to read huge opportunities.<br />
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We cannot portray small holder farmers as poor people and expect more people to take up agriculture. Young people won't #Doagric with that 'poor for the unemployed in the village' association.<br />
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We have sanitation issues and waste management problems but we still talk of them 'garbage challenges' and dirt. Let's tell the stories of those recycling and showcase their products. Maybe even have policy in place to give incentives to those doing it and adopt + promote their products as customers.<br />
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We cannot have more B corporations if the consumer is not conscious enough to ask where the product/s is manufactured and how the raw materials are sourced. Because we glorify the good numbers + profits and huge turnovers not stories on values, ethics and quality work/products.<br />
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We need a more technical workforce yet we think of polytechnics as places for failures and blue collar jobs as juakali. <br />
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We think of the upcountry as 'mashinani & ocha' and the city + towns as 'places of great opportunity' then push guys to go back explore opportunities in the village.<br />
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The society views entrepreneurship as an “exit plan” or a "last resort" when there are no jobs, Instead, of preparing + encouraging + supporting+ mentoring+ investing in young people from an early age to think of entrepreneurship as a viable career option then tell & re-tell their stories.<br />
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We want to tell the world on Twitter whenever shit happens in Kenya but we don't want to #tag and trend the good stuff happening locally.<br />
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And the result is a mzungu lands in JKIA straight to a conference on Africa, tells the 'African story' better than us and raises more money to go fix our small holder agric problems deep in Bungoma. <br />
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We need and must change how we package, tell and share these stories. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-33513211080981433322014-03-11T07:10:00.001-07:002014-03-11T07:10:14.591-07:00Got an Idea? Then what? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">My neighbour has an idea, my friend has an idea, his colleagues have an idea too---everyone has idea---we talk about them. But an idea is not a business. And an idea doesn't make anyone an entrepreneur. So let's work on these ideas.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-24875833177558401882014-02-27T01:29:00.002-08:002014-02-27T03:31:55.754-08:00Boda Boda Rules and Regulations: What Next? What's the Impact?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsT4IFmmv-HuJakU6qw1vI8mqx8369u5nS3KRiDgMwUvuxtbsV51IkJw3PTgSUbGJzDrpIixhJdYmz-cta0jNukSxvgIeqeN3wEGvEegpGWZIWmr2U331ZSAI52Ls25rNsTxhR_JDVY8c/s1600/Captureass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsT4IFmmv-HuJakU6qw1vI8mqx8369u5nS3KRiDgMwUvuxtbsV51IkJw3PTgSUbGJzDrpIixhJdYmz-cta0jNukSxvgIeqeN3wEGvEegpGWZIWmr2U331ZSAI52Ls25rNsTxhR_JDVY8c/s1600/Captureass.JPG" height="257" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">The people who banned night bus transport have also decided watu wa boda boda pia walale mapema. Good. That was really easy to pass because a guy who hasn't used public transport for over a decade wouldn't understand why anyone would ride in a bike at night + in the cold + all the rain with all these cabs in Nairobi. FINE!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"><b>Argument: </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">1. Boda bodas are used to ferry thugs from one place to the other. NICE! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">2. These riders cause too many accidents & they are careless. YEAH! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">3. CBD is a mess, these guys shouldn't operate even during the day! AMEN! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">4. Boda bodas are to blame for the rising cases of infidelity & teenage pregnancies. The riders even lure young school girls with free rides and impregnate them! WOW!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"><b>What next?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">1. The hardworking young guy who took a loan from the chama or MFI or bank to buy a bike to hustle, provide for and feed his family now has to go home early. The bank doesn't care what Kimaiyo said. Bike repossessed, house hold goods auctioned. Guarantors pia ndio hao! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">2. The guy who used his savings on a motorcycle now has to ride it for fun? </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">2. Those who leave their casual jobs late in the night wangoje tu asubuhi ifike wapande Ma3? Kwani mbona leave work late? What is this you do at night? </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">3. The guy who has to make a few more deliveries past 8pm to make some extra $ past akalale! Kesho iko! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"><b>What next after that? </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">More unemployment, more crime, more gender violence, more homeless guys, more thugs in the city. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-22349111069022459942014-02-26T04:41:00.000-08:002014-02-26T04:41:14.622-08:00Story Telling for Entrepreneurs in Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">The stuff out here nowadays tends to romanticize the concept of entrepreneurship too much but this thing isn't meant for everyone! You even need to prepare for it! Moving from idea--launch--scale--exit is a process. Not an event. The thrill is in the journey not the end result. It's nowhere close to epic, cool or awesome! But it's worth the pursuit. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">We need more authentic stories shared and less of early celebration of ideas. As it is today we read read & s</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">hare stuff with announcements, plans to, outcomes [acquisitions + funding], the numbers [users + sales], wins, the awards, metrics and the rankings. Even being on a '5 Startups to watch' list is prestigious and worth bragging about <i class="_4-k1 img sp_acb80g sx_ecde95" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/ym/r/niU6oZtmDmn.png); background-position: 0px -222px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><br /><br />We cannot tell stories through a press release with some facts, projections, figures and quotes. That's not what the customer| users deeply care about.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px;">Tell the stories you'd like to listen to, about the impact your product had on a user, the transformation and value add, not just some one liners of testimonials. Got pictures? share those. Can you get a video with a customer sharing his/her experiences? Upload them on Youtube and tweet the link. Have a simple WP blog, write short stories and blogs that add value to readers. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-77842066106635451692014-02-24T06:28:00.003-08:002014-02-24T06:28:28.463-08:00Embryo transfer technology. Is kenya and the region ready for the next big thing in dairy?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">INTRODUCTION</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Have you wondered where you can source for good dairy animals? Chances
are as a dairy farmer you have had to search far and wide to find a good
replacement animal or just another animal to increase you herd size? If you succeed to get a good one in a
reasonable time then consider yourself as a very lucky person. A great number
of farmers have had to make do with long waiting list or at have to content with
low quality animals as such replacement animals are rear to come by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The situation is no better also among the breeders of dairy animals. The
high demand of dairy animals is such that such breeders have to turn away
farmer wanting animals on a regular basis. The few animals that become
available have to sell at high prices as potential buyers compete against each
other for the best offers. This has seen the prices of dairy animals rise
periodically from less than Ksh 100,000 in the early 2000 to prices of over Ksh
200,000 currently. The good milk prices being
offered by the milk markets, the availability of credit to purchase animals
have combined to push the demand for animals in Kenya.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The regional markets have also placed a significant role in the price
increases. As many of the regional countries settle to undertake more development
the dairy sector has being revived and the considering the potential that dairy
could impact on their farmers, priority is being placed in dairy development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Whereas Kenya has the largest population of dairy animals compared the
regional countries the factors favorable dairy production locally combine to
make it even harder for farmers in the region to buy dairy animals in
Kenya. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The above challenges named above along with those inherent in the
breeding of animals by way of artificial insemination is forcing dairy breeders
to look outside the box is an answer to the ever rising demand for dairy
animals have to found.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">WHAT IS
EMBRYO TRANSFER?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One such solution being considered is Embryo transfer. Also called Multiple
Ovulation and Embryo transfer (MOET) this is </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif";">Process which involves hormonally
stimulating a donor cow to produce many ova from its ovaries. The ova are then
fertilized by Artificial insemination but instead the resultant embryos being
allowed to develop they are flushed and transplanted to heat synchronized
recipient cows to carry the pregnancy to term. The process makes it possible
for the selected donors to produce over 30 embryos by extension as many calves over
a period of one year as compared to the natural process where a dairy animal
produces only one calf in a year. The
process is superior to artificial insemination in that whereas with AI the superior
genetics being multiplied is limited to the bull, in embryo transfer the
genetically superior female also gets its superior genes multiplied. The
process enable a fast built up of superior dairy animals in period as short as
fast year compared to over fifteen years if one is to go the upgrading process
that is feasible using AI. The fact that
animals of low quality genetic value can be used as recipients or surrogates
makes the process feasible among farmers who do not have good genetics to start
with. Although the Boran animals are the
preferred choice as recipients for the dairy embryos, crosses or in extreme
cases the small East African Zebu can be used as recipients. Animals which can
been used as recipients are borans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">HOW DOES IT
TAKE FOR FARMERS TO ACCESS THE SERVICE?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The service is currently being offered under the auspices of the East
African Semen and Embryo transfer Association (EASETA) and is being supported
by the regional World Bank Project East AFRICAN agricultural productivity
Project. (EAAPP). The association which was formed in the 2006 is spearheading
the adoption of the technology not only in Kenya but in the region as a whole.
Whereas the technology has available locally since the early 1990’s the lack of
support and poor success rate contributed to its low adoption. The
association which formed by Corporate
and individuals has been finding ways and means to make the adoption a reality
by pooling resources and enabling Embryo transfer personnel to train on a
regular basis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Association has now competent personnel are available for farmers
wishing to undertake embryo transfer in their farms. The farmers wishing to
undertake ET are first assisted to access their facilities situation for the
suitability for Embryo transfer. Secondly the farmers are assisted to identify
suitable animals both donors and surrogates for the embryo transfer work. An ET
program tailor made especially for the farmers is then developed and availed to
the farmer complete with the financing options available for the farmer. The association recommends that at least
three donors and five recipients be availed by the farmer for an Embryo
transfer program. Whereas the average yield with every flushing of donors is
about 5 embryos, up to three donors are required to take care of cases where a
donors may not respond to the hormonal treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">WHAT DOES IT
COST?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The minimum package of Embryo transfer is about Ksh 320,000/=. The
package allows for the harvesting of embryos from at least three donors and the
transfer of embryo to a minimum of five surrogates. The farmer can chose to
avail upto fifteen recipients in the same package to reap maximum benefit from
the package. Where the farmer cannot avail all the donors or recipients he can
choose to team up with neighbors to get necessary the numbers. Alternatively
where the farmer does not have donors the association is in a position to link
with breeders who are willing to avail their animals for embryo flushing. The
cost of embryos in this situation will be higher as the breeders would normally
add a mark up to the cost of production.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The arrangement also works out well where the cooperative members chose
to work as a team to undertake embryo transfer. The cooperative would then
enter into an understanding with the Association and the technology will be
availed to the members. The numbers in a
cooperative situation make the technology to be cost effective and good
successes are achieved with the numbers involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">IS IT COST
EFFECTIVE?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The benefits and returns availed by the technology is second to none.
Whereas the investment on the side of the farmer appears high initially the
returns are good. The cost of producing embryo for a farmer who undertakes the
same on his farmer ranges between Ksh 15,000/= to 20,000/= per embryo, the same
would cost no less than 25,000 to buy or sell.
Although the conception rate foe embryo transfer is lower at 50%
compared to 75% for AI the resultant pregnancy is of a higher value. A well
selected Embryo transfer calf at birth go for prices of not less than Ksh 200,000/=
each although currently farmers who chose to have calves by way of embryo
transfer do not avail the same as they attached a much higher value than the
amount quoted. If fact it is common
practice for farmers who produce embryos to utilize the same on their farm
rather than avail the same for sale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The waiting associated with embryo transfer is considered reasonable by
most farmers as even in situation where breeding animals are being sought many
have had to content with a waiting period of up to two years before being
offered to buy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">HOW SUCCESSFUL
HAS THE TECHNOLOGY BEEN SO FAR?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">From the year 2010 When EASETA was able to receive support with the EAAAP
it has been able to flush more than 300 donors and in the process obtained more
than 80 calves. These were undertaken at ADC and also at individual
farmers. The deliberate use of sexed
semen on the production of embryo is what resulted in the high number of unfertilized
ova in the program so far. Sexed semen usually is lower in volume and spread to
effectively fertilize ova is usually poor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the back drop of this is the fact that Kenya host one of the largest
quarantine facility in the region for the production of embryos. The facility
which is located in Ol Pejeta Laikipia County is used to produce Boran embryo
for export to South Africa. The facility has been producing over 1000 embryos
annually and serves to show that the technology which is working for beef can
also adopted to make an impact in dairy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The technology although it is at infantry in Kenya as far as adoption in
Kenya is big business for dairy farmers in the developed world. In fact the
production of embryo for export is the dairy component with the highest
returns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In is important to note that the Embryo transfer offspring which have
been born intermittently since the late 1990 has some progeny at the Kenya
Animals Genetic Resource Centre where the bulls has done well in local semen
sales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">WHAT S THE
WAY FORWARD?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">With the support that EASETA has been receiving for EAAPP the Association is seeking to use the technology to avail
dairy genetics not only to the Kenyan farmers but to the region as a whole. The
association which is currently working with individual breeders and also Cooperatives
is at an advance stage in acquiring Embryo transfer materials and equipment for
use in the program. The materials will see the up-scaling of its operations with
an aim of producing at least 500 embryos for local use and sale in the region. For the purpose of improving the local
genetics pool the association is seeking to work closely with breeders and
KAGRC to see to the importation of embryos with the intention that the
resultant bulls will be taken up by the bull station for purpose of semen
production.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-53378535798449507072014-02-20T08:00:00.001-08:002014-02-20T08:00:32.925-08:00Your Huge Bargain on the WhatsApp Deal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">If it's online & FREE then you are the product: Here's why you're info & activity on WhatsApp is worth that much to </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=111158228912347&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Zuckerburg/111158228912347" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Mark Zuckerburg</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">1. WhatsApp logs time spent on various pages, cookies that identify you, numbers you talk to and when. This will now be shared with Facebook. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">2. WhatsApp logs your IP, browser info, URL of the site you were on before and the one you're moving to. This will now be shared with Facebook.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">3. WhatsApp periodically checks your mobile address book to locate phone numbers of other users. This will now be shared with Facebook. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Even if ads aren't coming to WhatsApp, FB will gain a lot from the 450M WhatsApp users esp in Asia and Africa. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Ni hayo tu kwa sasa.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-24518242988617344942014-02-17T22:49:00.002-08:002014-02-17T22:52:38.640-08:00How To Deal With Creative People<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><u>Tips For
Approaching the Most Volatile Department in the Ad Agency</u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvA3TUQYQorTXYkmuc3AYAD6ZvrLS7DBQNikqYdEU5EZ_ktplJB-9TX7YEW7cpxXUi52D48fde6giWNoHwxhQKjihwjvB_bITXmAaX5QkTjI4tPBZ9yUt8ctPoS9O3t4_Gno2aWFnFbI/s1600/MV5BMTI2MDcxMzk0Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzcyNDg3Mg@@._V1_SY317_CR6,0,214,317_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvA3TUQYQorTXYkmuc3AYAD6ZvrLS7DBQNikqYdEU5EZ_ktplJB-9TX7YEW7cpxXUi52D48fde6giWNoHwxhQKjihwjvB_bITXmAaX5QkTjI4tPBZ9yUt8ctPoS9O3t4_Gno2aWFnFbI/s1600/MV5BMTI2MDcxMzk0Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzcyNDg3Mg@@._V1_SY317_CR6,0,214,317_.jpg" height="400" width="270" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It’s no surprise to
anyone working in advertising that the creative department is a tough one to
handle. Many see creatives as petulant children, usually because they have a
tendency to act like that at times. Sometimes, it’s entirely justified. Other
times, it’s attributable to an over-zealousness for the work.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s important to
remember that like musicians and other artists, being a designer, copywriter or
art director is not simply a job. It’s a passion. It’s something that goes
beyond the 9-5 office hours. Creatives will live and breathe the brand, and
think about the project day and night. Many of the best ideas have come from
midnight brainstorms and 5am showers. It’s not the kind of thing that can be
shut off.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, it takes
time, energy, and an incredible amount of deep thinking to birth a genuinely
creative advertising campaign. Anyone who thinks it is easy has not been on the
receiving end of a blistering WIP (Work In Progress) session with a fuming
creative director. This is, in no uncertain terms, a tough job.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another important
aspect of the creative department is this: there is no correct answer.
Creatives are not accountants. There are no specific numbers to produce. There
is no definitive solution. So judging the work will always be subjective. A
great campaign to one creative director could be a mediocre one to another.
This leads to incredible frustration. And with frustration comes venting, which
leads to dramatic outbursts and inappropriate behavior. It’s also the reason HR
is very different in ad agencies that most other professions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, if you’re not
in the creative department, chances are you’ll have to deal with these ticking
time bombs sooner or later. From account services and production, to senior
management and even clients, there are ways you can handle creatives that will
get you better results.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1: Share Their
Passion For The Work</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you work in a
good advertising agency, you should be driven to produce outstanding creative
work. If you don’t feel that way, then you will not be helping the cause, and
eventually you’ll be filtered out. But even if you are not 100% sold on the
idea, if it’s the choice of the creative director and the creative team, it’s
your job to back it like it’s your own.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you’re in
account services, find out everything you can about the idea. This will help
you sell it in if the creatives aren’t going to be in the presentation. If
you’re in production, get inside the heads of the creatives. Understand their
vision. And if you’re the client, have a little trust. The team has spent weeks
falling in love with your brand, and doing everything they can to make it look
amazing. They are not looking to be selfish, they have not got a hidden agenda.
It’s all about you.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2: Give
Constructive Feedback</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The worst thing you
can say to any creative team is something non-committal and completely lacking
in direction. “I’m just not feeling it” or “try again” will pour fuel on the
fire of a team that knows they have to go back to the drawing board. Provide
clear answers, and explain what you didn’t see in the first round.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="background: white;">3: Have Some Empathy</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">Imagine you’ve
worked nights and weekends on a project. Your last thought before your head hit
the pillow was about a tagline. Your first thought as you rubbed the crust from
your eyes was the social media extension of the campaign. This is your life.
Now imagine after hundreds of hours of work, someone says “hey, it’s just a
job, stop getting so worked up over an idea.” It’s not just a job. Serving
burgers in McDonald’s is just a job. Handing over the correct change in a
tollbooth is just a job. This is way beyond that. It’s a painful soul-sucking
process.</span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">Remember, if you
have bad news for the team, sit them down and empathize. Explain how strong the
work is. Tell them they did a fantastic job. Then, gently lay the bad news
down. If they feel you’re coming from a place of support, they’ll happily help
you re-imagine the campaign. Well, happily may be a slight exaggeration.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><b>4: Show An Interest</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">Remember that
feeling you got when you showed someone the photos from your last vacation, or
maybe a picture your newborn baby, and they looked about as interested as
someone watching grass grow? It’s not pleasant. The same applies to creatives.
The work is their baby. They went through a lot to birth it. If you show no
interest, or appear annoyed by the very idea that you have to try and sell this
in, you will quickly make enemies in the creative department. If you’re a
client, remember that the team has sweat blood over these ideas. A cold,
soulless reaction is like a knife through the heart. Similarly, ask questions.
You shouldn't pander, but if you’re asking legitimate questions about the work,
the creatives know you are actually engaging with it.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><b>5: Cater To Their
Strengths</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">Some teams are
better at some types of jobs than others. Some love to work in the online
space. Some love television more than others. Some thrive with automotive
accounts, others with the service industry. What’s more, you’ll see certain
teams sniffing around accounts like a dog with a bone. They want them. You will
get better work from a team who is enthusiastic about working on the project,
than a team who is being forced to work on it. It can’t always happen, but when
you can cater to the strengths of the teams, everyone’s a winner.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">C</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">redits: </span></span></span><a aria-haspopup="true" aria-owns="js_4" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=719578746&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A60444974251%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/pat.okoth" id="js_3" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17.940000534057617px; text-decoration: none;">Okech Okoth Patrique</a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-39500610683650024462014-02-14T07:26:00.003-08:002014-02-14T07:26:50.719-08:00#DiaperMentality Cyber Protest and Why it's a Terrible Idea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVdsLWlBrL0t1PiKNF0RUY-BKcaKuP7-WBXTLaAB5W98qrBypB8AkfszLvxjOGi44_9eTYN7sMek3KoWOhjDMM0QNNrEKdtbZBbKz5qlGTEh5aSSnIt_GrtYLYzmGgBKw7wL8RotrIW0/s1600/IMGL0396-Edit-Web-1140x641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVdsLWlBrL0t1PiKNF0RUY-BKcaKuP7-WBXTLaAB5W98qrBypB8AkfszLvxjOGi44_9eTYN7sMek3KoWOhjDMM0QNNrEKdtbZBbKz5qlGTEh5aSSnIt_GrtYLYzmGgBKw7wL8RotrIW0/s1600/IMGL0396-Edit-Web-1140x641.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Diapermentality.com/uhuru-butchery/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/diapermentality" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">#DiaperMentality</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">'cyber protest' is squarely targeted at the 'influential and economically able' growing middle class who represent the bulk of social media users in this country. The content shared is meant to agitate, annoy and make them feel sorry about this nation for a moment, maybe for a while--the weekend---a few days maximum.</span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />The keyboard ninjas behind <a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/diaprementality" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">#DiaperMentality</a> are servi<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ng blow jobs on huge discounts to middle class Kenyans who missed the Feb 13 protest hoping they'll demand for the real thing immediately, take action soon, spread the message offline and push for change off the internet. The question is does this help get anything done? Does it deter corruption? Does it empower the kawaida Kenyans? Yes and NO!<br /><br />The challenge is KE's middle class doesn't genuinely care about the problems of the common mwananchi because they are buying cars, houses and nice clothes to mask their real struggles and drown sorrows. After the tear gas these guys drove home to fairly upmarket areas, enjoyed a hot shower and relaxed with family while watching news and tweeting about the days drama! There was even USAID $$ to cater for their fuel & what I'd call a 'disturbance allowance' after a long day in the streets.<br /><br />And as the number of Kenyans continues to grow as the internet’s tool of choice, the smart phone, makes astronomical inroads in this country prepare for more cyber protests---The Hashtag economy!<br /><br />Above all I still feel there's a better way to pass this message 'ethically' for everyone to understand and feel the need to change.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-59948773025162865412014-02-03T07:27:00.001-08:002014-02-03T07:27:32.919-08:00Attracting and Retaining Great Talent in your Startup.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslMRHGdT7Xwt7-BOw2nnHK8FznmyzwX4FUYGYVU8qIn4YOh2wgZKN-UPI_0S57XAyT3FYEHGkriHL93MlVM_cdF_1fG7pB3FvOjrRtzunIN0zMU8v7qNQd_zBGqieAzXWq4A-uAOgp5Q/s1600/2013-10-29-WhyWorkataStartUp-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslMRHGdT7Xwt7-BOw2nnHK8FznmyzwX4FUYGYVU8qIn4YOh2wgZKN-UPI_0S57XAyT3FYEHGkriHL93MlVM_cdF_1fG7pB3FvOjrRtzunIN0zMU8v7qNQd_zBGqieAzXWq4A-uAOgp5Q/s1600/2013-10-29-WhyWorkataStartUp-thumb.jpg" height="322" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It takes many months to find
the right, skilled, reliable and determined talent and bring them on board your
hot new startup idea or company. And it’s not going to get any easier. The
competition for good talent is so fierce right now and attracting great talent
to a startup can be a nightmare. You want specific candidates who care about
your startup, your products, your customers, and most important your job.
People who understand the industry you operate in and the requirements of the
job.</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Besides the great idea you
have, the big market you’re after, if you’re going to hack it huge you need to
focus on the people you hire or attract to your startup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>1. Character over skill set</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So for example how do you hire
a good developer if you're not a programmer? Find a good programmer to help you
hire a developer. Right? But if you can't recognize good programmers, how would
you even do that? This illustrates a common challenge in recruitment in
startups. How can a CS guy pick a smart marketing guy in a batch of smooth
talkers and liars? Referrals? Share the vacancy on job boards? Should you hire
character then train skill? Or pick skill, education and experience over
character and culture?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Don't hire or work with someone
you dislike because they have some skill you need and worry you won't find
anyone else to get the product ready on time. Look out for people who show some
focus, the discipline to complete projects on time, the determination to see
things through and resilience. Smart guys are also bad procrastinators,
creative designers are perfectionists they critique their work thus take longer
at it, great developers new tech superstars are a little weird there’s also ego
to massage there </span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 13.5pt;">J</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Talk to the candidates about
what they’ve done. Ask them about their most impressive projects and biggest
wins. Specifically, ask them about how they spend their time during an average
day, and what they got done in the last month. Evaluate guys on work they’ve
done in the past, review their skills based on what they’re working on/at the
moment and pick them based on the work they can do in future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>2. Your Culture</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Culture is your competitive
advantage while attracting talent. It’s about you, your people, culture,
leadership, core values and vision and basically what people external to the
organization think of you. The culture of a startup really matters a lot to the
success of the entity. Great people attract other great people in just about
any company startup, SME or Multinational; as soon as you get a mediocre person
or a few in, this entire phenomenon can unwind. In the grind of a startup, it
is very easy to hire someone that is not quite smart enough or a culture fit
because you really need a specific job done. Hire people who are a natural fit
to your culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>3. The Friends and Relatives
Blackspot</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The friends and family help a
lot in getting the work done at no cost especially in the early days. If most
of your employees are from one tribe, family, race then this may hinder your
chances of attracting new talent or retaining great personnel. You need to have
a balanced multi talented team for the greater good of the startup, so don't
include your wingman because he'd feel left out. The people are the most
important ingredient in a startup, so don't compromise there not even with
friends & relatives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>4. Be firm but not horrible</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">People will soon forget what
you did, but will never forget how you make them feel especially when they are
on the receiving end. Be firm with your judgment; let your team know what is
acceptable and what isn’t. Be a cool but ensure work is done, timelines met and
work is never compromised because people feel they can get away with anything!
Disputes can be avoided if you’re more careful about who you go into business
with and whom you work with. Most disputes are not due to the situation but the
people. It's much easier to firmly fix issues early. Let your employees
understand the black and white of most processes, procedures and approach to
issues. Don’t be a jerk or a control freak though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>5. Have Job Descriptions</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It’s advisable to have job
descriptions to ensure people understand their scope of work and what is
expected of them. JD’s are important for funded startups or those that have
been in existence for over six months and have over five employees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">However if having JDs is too
boring for your cool startup then at least have ‘deliverables’ for everyone,
call them targets, timelines, expectations, clear assignments and tasks. This
helps identify who to recognize, reward, promote, fire, demote or transfer or
rotate. As you implement this in an early stage company encourage collaboration
and teamwork to ensure employees assist others in areas of their interest, have
skills or knowledge in.Remember that in a growing startup, anyone you hire is
likely to be doing a new job in three to six months. Hire guys who are
adaptable. People who have great appetite for bigger challenges, excited about
learning new things, people who are willing to do one more thing for the team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Do check out this interesting Infographic by Deloitte too.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfasfgyvUBaF8hkhxQIpxu3BNB6CTnav96ijD4NQh4P9gTYEpfJIoDoyT_edNRMgGeDSKC5bIGxeMyx_snfkmhJNop_foHfL490PYv8BrmPA2tD6aBiKnoq-rPTTzyFvNCJN8XmGxWvA/s1600/BfjW_I1CQAAxErC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfasfgyvUBaF8hkhxQIpxu3BNB6CTnav96ijD4NQh4P9gTYEpfJIoDoyT_edNRMgGeDSKC5bIGxeMyx_snfkmhJNop_foHfL490PYv8BrmPA2tD6aBiKnoq-rPTTzyFvNCJN8XmGxWvA/s1600/BfjW_I1CQAAxErC.jpg" height="640" width="310" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>Side Note:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“A programmer is most
productive with a quiet private office, a great computer, unlimited beverages,
an ambient temperature between 68 and 72 degrees (F), no glare on the screen, a
chair that’s so comfortable you don’t feel it, an administrator that brings
them their mail and orders manuals and books, a system administrator who makes
the Internet as available as oxygen, a tester to find the bugs they just can’t
see, a graphic designer to make their screens beautiful, a team of marketing
people to make the masses want their products, a team of sales people to make
sure the masses can get these products, some patient tech support saints who
help customers get the product working and help the programmers understand what
problems are generating the tech support calls, and about a dozen other support
and administrative functions...” (Source)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-49611897376037089792014-01-30T00:37:00.003-08:002014-01-30T00:37:24.622-08:00The Agribusiness Buzz: Identifying Opportunities from Trends not Headlines.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There’s a lot of buzz
around agribusiness, food security in Africa, why it’s cool to farm that even </span><a href="https://twitter.com/JulianiKenya" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">celebrities</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> want to do it, </span><a href="http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/eblog/2014/01/09/agriculture-can-create-a-million-jobs-for-the-youth/" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">government
officials</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/juliegichuru" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">media personalities</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">,
</span><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEsQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarcfbellemare.com%2Fwordpress%2F2012%2F03%2Ffree-download-of-calestous-jumas-the-new-harvest%2F&ei=9P3pUrOYBuSr0QWLroCIDg&usg=AFQjCNH78c0W1rVUiOb-5mCOVL" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">professors
in academia</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/CKirubi" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">seasoned entrepreneurs</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
are all talking about it</span><s style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </s><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Agribusiness&src=hash" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">tweeting a lot
too</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. But do you want to get on it because everyone is doing it? I guess no!
Do you want to do it because it will </span><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=agribusiness+to+create+jobs+in+Kenya&oq=agribusiness+to+create+jobs+in+Kenya&aqs=chrome..69i57.12366j0j9&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">create
more jobs for our unemployed youths</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Or do you want to tackle the </span><a href="http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000103524&story_title=hunger-situation-to-worsen-warns-famine-agency" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">famine
in Turkana</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and feel good about it?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrPlitN1Gh4yQ0ZpIsbCqDkGuEMnIpDA_rdPjFXRKhfR1DM-p_W22B_cv2aX9wrDMbzVZRbGN6Tc-yrOqjtjoXbsn2avdSj2iUM5GIBRqZYsYSgAVxSooch8v4wPu7ucbmq30eqAEStk/s1600/TURKANA-107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrPlitN1Gh4yQ0ZpIsbCqDkGuEMnIpDA_rdPjFXRKhfR1DM-p_W22B_cv2aX9wrDMbzVZRbGN6Tc-yrOqjtjoXbsn2avdSj2iUM5GIBRqZYsYSgAVxSooch8v4wPu7ucbmq30eqAEStk/s1600/TURKANA-107.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So as usual, everything
starts with an idea. What do you want to do? What will make me money and in
what duration? What doesn’t require so much time, isn’t labour intensive, maybe
costs to entry are low are some of the things one considers before choosing an
agribusiness venture. However agribusiness isn’t just leasing land and doing
some farming there, it’s not buying a greenhouse and doing some vegetables on
your idle plot, it’s also not just about quails. It’s neither about what the
media reports portray it</span><s style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </s><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">not
sexy, cool for the softies reading this but actually a lot of work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So here's my two cents on agribusiness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When you think of starting
an agri-business venture, focus on spotting key trend lines, rather than
getting distracted by current headlines in the media dictating what the hot opportunities are. Think in terms of where
things are going in the near future, rather than get stuck on where they are,
who is doing what and how. If the late entrants to the quail craze thought about that, they'd be safe! </span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The quail bubble for
example was fuelled by media reports which showed great potential, handsome
returns and great opportunities. Late comers, motivated by positive press then dived into quail farming without further analysis of the opportunity,
demand and supply forecasts, and how big the market was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you focus on headlines
as an entrepreneur, you’re already behind the curve, because you’re reading
what’s happening already<s> </s>what’s
making money. Zeroing in on trends, data, valuable insights and where they intersect, and
determining where they breakdown, will help you identify smart agri-business
opportunities. Finding success and scale means ensuring your next agribusiness idea
not only has merit, but can address a large enough market opportunity---unless you just want to do it to feed your family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Kenya’s agricultural
sector is still not achieving its potential and growth targets. Despite the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Doagri&src=typd">buzz</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Doagric&src=typd">huge campaigns</a>,
<a href="http://storify.com/onecampaign/d-banj-twitter-chat-do-agric">celebrity
endorsements</a>, the
agribusiness sector –which comprises all businesses involved in agricultural
production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals,
farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing and retail
sales has not taken off, well maybe on the runway at the moment.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRiiur0OmZEh6hMVIjH7lR3LUBRwRYQRoeKiqB457xI3qBKvmZPY4AE9BqATkbpS2EnP4sYlxMkk6yVYzevbCs2fAfPqYtSlZFdUUxJ8hG8W5JNvy4MfsssSX193TFjHm3C2CBEx0G3k/s1600/DNMARIKITI1804A.JPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRiiur0OmZEh6hMVIjH7lR3LUBRwRYQRoeKiqB457xI3qBKvmZPY4AE9BqATkbpS2EnP4sYlxMkk6yVYzevbCs2fAfPqYtSlZFdUUxJ8hG8W5JNvy4MfsssSX193TFjHm3C2CBEx0G3k/s1600/DNMARIKITI1804A.JPG.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: grey; font-family: Georgia, 'ITC Century W01 Light'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; text-align: start;">Garbage strewn near the entrance to Wakulima market in Nairobi.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lets focus on some of the problems that we
need to solve to address food security in Kenya. Think about that for a moment. Viable businesses must fulfil a need in the market, serve it well consistently to remain profitable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Back to agribusiness, the good thing here is you can do
it as proprietor, meaning you don’t have to do the actual farming--KYM kazi. You also don’t
have to do the tier one in agriculture which is primarily growing fruits,
vegetables, cereals or coffee e.t.c, keeping animals, insects or birds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">So what are some of the
opportunities for </span></span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">hard-working agri</span></span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">preneurs around?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Candara; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Candara;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> 1. </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Value addition through agro-processing. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The amount of post-harvest
losses incurred by farmers are quite often at high and devastating levels due
to poor storage, preservation and transportation. Due to that farmers sell cheap
when there’s surplus and buy high when there’s shortage. Value addition could help
farmers get higher returns on their farm harvest through market linkages with
agro-processors. So instead of when there’s a milk glut we can convert our milk
to powder or any other product, sell at better prices and redistribute again
when there’s shortage. A cooler in village helps just as much to preserve milk
before delivery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2. <b>Technology innovations</b> that improve farmers access to information,
inputs, services and markets that improve farming efficiency and output. The
opportunities here are immense. Can
mention a few examples here, <a href="http://mfarm.co.ke/">m-farm</a>, <a href="http://sokotext.com/">sokotext</a> and more <a href="http://ventureburn.com/2013/09/here-are-some-game-changing-health-and-agritech-startups/">here</a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">3. <b>Improved services and products</b> (farm inputs) for farmers. Think
along “How do you cut out the middle man (regarding agricultural inputs) and
pass on the discount to farmers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">4. <b>Training & education:</b> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC783UWZq9WIusYvs08Y4gDkrQcTFvRTSFWHqmKOScH4-IpTlJxigTJKs_FsIRx5GsR0IRcOdJ7OI8d1amJuvHMQj-EgF0BuEQ17tbmAT6AvsLmVPzXQAxWLbVkzfwzFNG_7n_nBqdJA8/s1600/1390593_10151927337068186_763155441_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC783UWZq9WIusYvs08Y4gDkrQcTFvRTSFWHqmKOScH4-IpTlJxigTJKs_FsIRx5GsR0IRcOdJ7OI8d1amJuvHMQj-EgF0BuEQ17tbmAT6AvsLmVPzXQAxWLbVkzfwzFNG_7n_nBqdJA8/s1600/1390593_10151927337068186_763155441_n.jpg" height="125" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I love the discussions, sharing of
knowledge and insights on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/farmingkenya/" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">farming kenya</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Facebook
page. We also have iCow doing education in partnership with Safaricom but there
are opportunities here especially in the counties. There's also Shamba Shape Up [TV Program on Citizen TV]. </span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I feel that what people need
more than anything else is some unbiased guidance, advice and some knowledge to steer their agribusiness ideas ahead. It's not just a capital challenge that hinders participation in this sub sector but also lack of knowledge. If you can think of something hybrid [Virtual and offline] to create, publish or distribute agribusiness education then make it available people will pay. Just make it
locally relevant, rural based if possible and do something. </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/thegrowthhub.com/agribusiness" style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thegrowthhub.com</a><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">is running an incubator
for agribusiness startups. Think….think. Got knowledge you can share? Can you package it nicely and maybe in local languages? In multimedia ? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">5. <b>Financial solutions </b>(credit, insurance, mobile transactions). This
is another huge opportunity for micro lenders, insurance and mobile solutions
offering farmers and buyers an easier way of transacting. There was also this brilliant idea of <a href="http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/campus/usiu-student-creates-unique-agribond-business-promises-food-security/">agribond</a>s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">6. <b>Business ideas that improve the logistical infrastructure towards
farmers.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B8ba7lq7FKks8xEcYkAcbmuYsGlRLn4HI6QA0d9YVXQrzL-3PhY9dXKT9Tn6Pj3PKCsfXFNHztpP6gvZdYcF9uxa2mqvwlhSEOY40JMxywc0MYCXQTm9vzP2m5CT1NsZ_6QL_Z8mvg8/s1600/TURKANA-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B8ba7lq7FKks8xEcYkAcbmuYsGlRLn4HI6QA0d9YVXQrzL-3PhY9dXKT9Tn6Pj3PKCsfXFNHztpP6gvZdYcF9uxa2mqvwlhSEOY40JMxywc0MYCXQTm9vzP2m5CT1NsZ_6QL_Z8mvg8/s1600/TURKANA-9.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How about a fleet of
refrigerated vans to transport fresh produce or perishables to markets on
behalf of farmers? Can they pay for that bearing in mind fresh fruits and
vegetables rot on transit to markets thus fetch lower prices? How about coolers
that fishermen can keep their catch overnight? Would people lease that to preserve
their fish?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">7. </span><b style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Improve efficiencies in distribution</b><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> of farm inputs and products
for easier uptake by markets of farm outputs at affordable prices, adoption of
“modern” farming practices & products, organic products? Can you do
anything around that?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">8<b>. Irrigation technologies</b> & Innovations that improve food
security whilst encouraging use of new crops or new applications of traditional
crops and those that improve soils. How about biotech? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-39405861052790969062014-01-20T02:35:00.000-08:002014-01-20T02:35:04.308-08:00Weighing on the Quail Farming Business: My Unsolicited Opinion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Five Competitive Forces That Shape
Strategy</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Quail money or the
idea that some wild bird<s> </s> a poor feeder that lays eggs with great health
benefits from week 6- 8 for the next two or so years could be the reason this
new business is booming or at least very attractive to anyone who wants to make
some good money fast & easy. But let’s take a closer look at where this
quail money is heading and at the end of this article you’ll have some points
to ponder on before starting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But you may ask, why do I
care to write about quails and their money? Well, financial stability ranks
high on my ‘Must haves’ thus any idea that makes me or my friends money legally
& ethically is definitely worth looking at or listening to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So as a blogger<s> </s>armed with an opinion and some
internet connection wrote this unsolicited opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">To make my post more than
just an opinion I weighted the quail business against the five Cs, the forces
that shape competitive strategy by Michael Porter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Awareness of the five
forces can help you<s> </s>the guy who
wants the a piece of the quail money<s>
</s> understand the structure of
this new industry and stake out a position that is more profitable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Idea in Brief <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">You know that to sustain
long-term profitability you must respond strategically to competition. And you
naturally keep tabs on your established rivals. But as you scan the competitive
arena; are you also looking <i>beyond </i>your direct competitors? As Porter
explains in his update of his revolutionary 1979 HBR article, four additional
competitive forces can hurt your prospective profits:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1. <b>Savvy customers</b> will force down prices by playing you and other
quail farmers against one another. Due to the popularity of quails, their eggs
and all that chances are the eggs will settle up at around 15- 25 shillings per
egg range. When the market is flooded with these eggs & birds the price
will definitely go down. So if you go into this business now chances are you
might not sell your eggs at 75-90 shillings range. Think about that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2. <b>Powerful suppliers</b> may constrain your profits if they charge higher
prices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As quail farming gets more
popular people are moving up the value chain. Some are now making ‘Quail Feeds’
& selling them at a fortune, these birds will need supplements to lay daily
for two years so somebody can fill this gap, somebody will also form a
cooperative or some distribution/marketing agency to sell quail products. When
everyone has these eggs & birds these brokers/exporters/suppliers will buy
the products at bad prices. There will be ‘Quail Farming Consultants’, some guy
will start selling DVDs or handouts on Quail farming<s> </s> education. To visit some quail farms one has
to pay up 100 to 500 per trip to get some advice on quail farming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">3. <b>Aspiring new entrants</b>, armed with new capacity and hungry for
market share<s> </s>people like you<s> </s> can ratchet up the investment required for existing
players to stay in the game. This really isn’t a big factor in the quail
business now. All you need is a KWS license, the sheds and the birds. However
in the next few months the big<s> </s> the bigger<s> </s> the biggest quail farmers will keep the bulk
of the quail profits. So if you want to do this, do think of keeping 20 birds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">4. <b>Substitute offerings</b> can lure customers away. The demand of quail
products will also come under attack by cheaper or better substitute products.
I am told that for the health benefits doctors are prescribing the quail eggs
to terminally ill patients. For that some of the farmers are selling their eggs
through pharmacies & chemists, hospitals, clinics and supermarkets. The
thing here is should the prices remain high or at least out of reach from the
kawaida mwananchi chances are people will look for alternatives. Think of that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By analyzing all five
competitive forces, you gain a complete picture of what will influence
profitability of your quail business in the next few months. You identify
trends early, so you can swiftly exploit them— or even reshape the forces in
your favor. Key thing here is you don’t need to rear these birds to have a
slice of the quail money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Think of getting up in the
value chain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5727865882500477774.post-89679100833851773112013-12-16T02:47:00.005-08:002014-07-08T02:18:56.412-07:00‘Things’ I Hope to See in Kenya: 14 Social Media Predictions for 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Let 2014 to be the year we focus on how to be social not how
to do social not about the management,
reporting and analytic tools and all that makes us sound smart?</li>
<li>I know guys who want to know more about social but not from trends
published abroad, not from gurus blogging from the west, Europe or India, not
from sponsored reports, not from shady stats that make beautiful info graphics
but from people locally who understand a thing or two about social media. Let’s
have more of meetups, talks and mini conferences to share knowledge and
insights.</li>
<li>I hope to see reports published here with local stats,
insights and recent data in 2014. I am not a big fan of these popular
international reports and social media trends that don’t seem to make much
sense here.</li>
<li>Am also optimistic there could be a social media major in
one local University maybe a few units
on new media in some MBA course. There’s need to address the talent shortage
& get some form of credentials to this industry.</li>
<li>In 2014 can we also form a professional body for social
media people to add on to that Facebook group, maybe offer certified training
to its members, have events? Anyone?</li>
<li>Can the leading digital agencies blog more often? Share
their lessons? Tricks & big hacks? What ideas worked and for who and why?
What failed and the lessons? Are we ready for that kind of transparency? Are we
there yet? Let’s just not brag about awards we’ve won for our work and showcase
the agency culture!</li>
<li>2014 will be the year when we see more integrated marketing
programs & well executed campaigns in Kenya combining social, mobile,
traditional media and experiential.</li>
<li>The coming year we’ll witness brands out of social media
puberty hit their social maturity; they’ll be more specific about where they
allocate budgets within social media
use fewer channels, do less but bigger campaigns and more targeted
social media efforts.</li>
<li>How about an end to the #SomeoneTellXYZ bullshit?</li>
<li>I foresee multinationals setting up regional hybrid social media command centers, recruit more in-house social media guys.</li>
<li>To pause and reflect on where this social media thing is heading the impact & threats and what else we
can add to it.</li>
<li>Let this coming year be the year we tweet things we’d like
to read, to publish blogs we’d love to read and share with friends, to share
stuff we’d find helpful It’s that
simple.</li>
<li>Can brands post less to listen more and respond timely? Taking a break from social media over the
weekend or holiday is unacceptable in 2014. Brands also need to start ‘talking
with’ consumers not ‘talking at’.</li>
<li>Can the president also start engaging netizens? A bit of
replies on your tweets, comments on our questions?Make the presidency a lil bit
more social?</li>
</ol>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10499806135360736784noreply@blogger.com1