Uganda Innovation Week: Day 2 Summary

 

Laying the groundwork.

The second day of the event was directed towards the contribution of women in the ecosystem and filling the gaps that exist. 

The first Keynote was about the NSSF Hi-Innovator Story as well as the story of Young Africa Works in Uganda. Adrian Bukenya the country director of 

Mastercard Foundation delivered a good keynote and talked about the role of women in innovation and the greater development of the economy. A good amount of time was spent sharing the stories of women entrepreneurs who have made some inroads in the creation of businesses. 

The next session was the introduction of the role of Entrepreneurial support organizations in the support of businesses to scale. This was delivered by Richard Zulu of Outbox Hub. Richard also manages the association’s work as well as the coordination of a host of programs that run with various industry players and policy leaders. His talk was about the technicalities of application to the varioys programs but specifically the NSSF Hi-Innovator program. 

How NSSF works.

There was another keynote by Patrick Ayota, the deputy managing director of NSSF. He talked about how the NSSF makes money. First by investing saving that members have with them and then secondly by leveraging the money that new members bring in when they join. He noted that there has been a growth from 1.7 Trillion to 18 Trillion which is about 36X times. He talked about the fact that there are about 600,000 graduates every year. Out of these only 70,000 get jobs. Mr. Ayota was explaining the fact that we are not creating enough jobs to fill the gaps in the industry and country. So far NSSF has invested in 105 Startups with an understanding that there is a population of 52% women although the sustaining power that our businesses have is not very strong. 

The advantage that those who have taken part in NSSF programs have is that NSSF begins with a stake of 6% in every company they work with. This means that everyone that has the opportunity to work with NSSF actually get a chance to have a partner with a worth of 18 Trillion! 

An inspiring session with Vusi Msweli.

Vumi was received well by the attendees. She comes with a lot of experience having started a company that runs in over five countries. She challenged those present to be Catalysts. People that positively affect their environments. She really covered a lot of ground with ideas about how to increase and make your brand more visible. She explained the difference between that which is valuable and that which is perceived as valuable. The difference between a diamond and water. The difference between the price of a Ferari and a local brand where you have to talk about discounts for products and giveaways. 

She emphasized the importance of creating a space where you are a local hero. The challenge many of us face is that in the next 100 years 40% of all the world’s population will be African. This means that after a while those who think that they have the conrer of the market will soon be displaced. 

Vumi also shared that when she moved to Nigeria she had to make sure that she adjusted to the needs of that locality and that she builds relevance. 

We were also challneged to understand the rules of the game. 

Tip Earn in a currency that is stronger than the one in which you spend. 

She also talked about a bank in Zambia that came up with an innovative solution and released it in the time of covid. The bank is called Zanaco. We have to be change agents. The importance of Mentorsand Sponsors. 

The women were also asked if they were developing businesses that are global in scope. She emphasized the importance of intentionality and best practice. The attendees were also advised to make sure that they have the necessary technical skills and foundational knowledge needed to run business. 

We were encouraged to be intentional, seizing opportunities, to speak up, be our own ambassadors and to take on a mind shift (mindset change). 

Masterclasses and Panels.

Mkazipreneur Impact Awards

Masterclass: Tips and tricks on unlocking investment from NSSF Hi-Innovator women accelerator. 

Women Founder mindset and workplace wellbeing

Masterclass: Financial Management support for women-led business

Masterclass: Fundraising 101 for women entrepreneurs-addressing myths and misconceptions 

Masterclass: Succession planning for family owned businesses

Masterclass: Capacity building on gender mainstreaming for entrepreneurship support organizations. 

Special mention: Masterclass on fundraising 101 for women entrepreneurs-addressing myths and misconceptions.

This was perhaps the most interesting session of the day. Here the goals of Day 2 and Day 3 sort of merged. The goal of Day 2 was to deal with gender while the goal of Day 3 was to deal with the issue of funding. David Nahabwe of Shona Group did a fantastic job demystifying the whole subject of fund raising. He broke down the whole process in the eyes of the founder from the idea part of the development to the product stage and helped identify who the key players are for each phase. He also went on to deal with some important terms like Venture Capital, Angel Investing and Limited Partners. He also spoke about the time restrictions that normally come with funding rounds. The session was split into three broad sections. Understanding how investors think especially those who are targetting women, the second section dealt with the types of financing that are available while the third section was about having a fund raising plan. 

Above from idea to prototype to Beta Version to Product to the point of Paying Customers to Scaling.

Idea to prototype to early beta is referred to as Seed Stage and at this stage you are dealing with competitions, savings, Friends and Family, Bootstraps, Tech Hubs and concept grants. 

From early beta to product to paying customers is the stage where you sre dealing with accelerators, Angel Investors, Seed Stage funds, Grants,Innovation Funds and profits. 

From paying customers to scaling is the Later Stage where you are dealing with Banks, Private Equity and Profits.