MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF
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Inside THIS REPORT
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FOREWORDS 6 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 11
AIP 2013 in numbers We couldn’t have done it without you Our background Vision Mission Our story | Why Rwanda? Why Sierra Leone? The need Our sponsors De La Rue Segal Family Foundation
12 DREAM 13 13 14 15
What is ‘entrepreneurship’ training Phase 1 launch & business idea generation training Business idea challenge Phase 1 industry breakdown
16 DESIGN 17 17 19 20 21 21 22 23
Phase 2 launch and business planning training The business plan challenge Phase 2 industry breakdown Judging Meet the grand prize winners Kigali Institute of Science and Technology National University of Rwanda School of Finance and Banking
DEDICATE 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 34 37 38 39 39 40
Enterprise Rwanda 2013 The daily themes Day 1: Business idea generation Day 2: Market insight Day 3: Business modelling Day 4: Unique selling points Day 5: Pitching Enterprise Rwanda survey Enterprise Sierra Leone 2013 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 & 4 Day 5
41 LESSON LEARNED 42 42
Conclusion Partners
Trustees & Country Director
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FOREWORDS
Alexander Handy Co-founder and Trustee 2013 has been a remarkable year for AIP. Our programme has continued to grow reaching over 700 students resulting in a 100% increase in business plan competition entrants. The quality and potential of this year’s winners continues to impress with ideas ranging from biogas production to statistics training for students. Excitingly, the future looks even more promising. 2013 was the first year that we have added full-time hires to the team both in Rwanda and the UK and their impact continues to be seen across the organization. With plans to expand in Rwanda and East Africa, 2014 promises to be our highest impact year to date.
Julia Fan Li Co-founder and Trustee 2013 has been a brilliant year for the African Innovation Prize! We welcomed our first Rwandan Country Director – Herve onboard and the AIP community presence has expanded throughout Rwanda. We have been thrilled with the development of the Entrepreneurship Clubs at KIST, NUR and SFB with high levels of student engagement and excellent AIP Student Ambassadors. Following Herve’s leadership and work of committed AIP Student Ambassadors, the 2013 edition of Enterprise Rwanda week was excellent, culminating in the seed funding of three new student-led businesses in renewable energy, education and innovative uses of avocado oils. 2013 also marked the first edition of Enterprise Sierra Leone and we seek to support the youth entrepreneurship community and alumni from the University of Sierra Leone. We head into 2014 with enthusiasm and a view to consolidate our Rwandan business plan competition, training and mentorship – and we hope you will enjoy us on this exciting journey.
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Sarah Teacher Co-founder and Trustee 2013 has been another super year for AIP. Our key theme was to consolidate for growth, and that is exactly what we have done. Our funders De La Rue and the Segal Family Foundation have ensured that we could develop the core strength to do our work, supporting us to develop our internal capacities as well as running an enhanced training programme, and growing the volume and quality of entries to the competition. Through their visionary investment, more and more students are benefiting from our entrepreneurship work. These strengthened core operations means that 2014 is set to be a time of enormous excitement for the team: We have a wonderful presence in Rwanda, and are now in a position to register as international NGO in Rwanda, and explore East African growth. We are privileged to have a body of advisors, volunteers, partner organizations and funders that are taking this journey with us. Thank you all so much!
It is incredibly exciting looking back at this year’s AIP programme, and also hearing the feedback from the direct beneficiaries, as well as to see the developments the previous years’ participants and prize winners have made. 2013 has proven that not only are we on the right track in stimulating entrepreneurship in Africa, but more so in impacting the university students’ experiences. With the continued help of our dedicated funders, volunteers and partnering organizations, 2014 will no doubt produce more impact.
Herve Kubwimana Rwanda Country Director It is my great pleasure to report to you on a year that has been remarkable and rewarding. We had a great opportunity of helping students to improve their business ideas. As a result, we saw students teaming up with their entrepreneurial peers from different universities to achieve more. Along with the inspiring team of student ambassadors, I was very proud to organize Enterprise Rwanda 2013 where for one week, young innovators benefited from the expertise and experience of previous generations while bringing their own pioneering ideas to fruition. This synergy across generations is something that continues to motivate us to grow and reach as many students as possible in the upcoming year.
Roland Ruhumuriza Rwanda Advisor and Trustee
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AIP 2013
IN NUMBERS RWANDA
SIERRA LEONE
84 Business Plan
21 Business Plan
216 Business Ideas
05 Business Ideas
Entries
Entries
578 Students
Entries
Entries
150 Students
Trained
Trained
20 Volunteers
07 Volunteers
Engaged
Engaged
13 Judges
04 Judges
Engaged
Engaged
07 Keynote Speakers Engaged
04 Supported Entrepreneuship Clubs
09 Keynote Speakers Engaged
N/A Supported Entrepreneuship Clubs
03 Universities
01 University
03 Seed Fund
01 Seed Fund
Businesses
01 Business Service Provider
Business
N/A Business Service Provider
7 The success of this year lies in the contribution of various individuals across continents, universities, government institutions, private companies, and business leaders. Their support has been crucial to AIP’s Business Plan Competition and the African Innovation Prize’s Program in general.
We couldn’t have done it without you
Firstly, AIP is grateful to our generous donors, De La Rue and the Segal Family Foundation for funding all our activities and programs. We couldn’t have done this without their support, trust and vision to invest in the next breed of Rwandan and Sierra leonean Entrepreneurs. We are enormously grateful to our friends at Inkomoko, who not only provide a home for us in Rwanda, but who will be working with our Phase 2 winners this year moving forward! Thanks to Bourbon Coffee Rwanda for generously sponsoring Enterprise Rwanda 2013 networking cocktail and award ceremony. In Rwanda, the School of Finance and Banking (SFB) and the National University of Rwanda (NUR) have been helpful in supporting the delivery of trainings and campus-based activities. Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has been a crucial partner during our events. Special thanks go to The Rector of KIST, Dr. Marie-Christine Gasingirwa, Mrs Immaculée Mukabayire, Mr. Didier Nkubito and Mr Eric Serubibi. In Sierra Leone, the Institute of Public Administration and Management, Fourah Bay College and TrainingSol have also been great partners for Enterprise Sierra Leone. Special thanks go out to Ms Lola Aforo the PRO and director of Career Advancement & Professional Services (CAPS) at University of Sierra Leone (USL), the Vice Chancellor, Karim Noah, Desmond Coker, Samuel Weekes, Thomas Yormah, Winston Webber and Samuel Braima. AIP is greatly indebted to the judges who committed their time to assessing the Business Ideas in Phase 1 as well as Phase 2. Thanks to Anneke Evers, David Sengeh, James Schneider, Jay Zimmerman, Jean Claude Rwubahuka, Jean Paul Rutagarama, Jonathan Wolf-Phillips, Lydie Hakizimana, Manisha Garg, Natasha Haguma, Nikki Germany, Norbert Munana, Oscar Karekezi, Patrick Cyusa, Prosper Ishimwe, Samzu Agbaje, and Zainab Koroma. We appreciate the participation of our keynote speakers during Enterprise Rwanda and Enterprise Sierra Leone. In Rwanda, we thank Lydie Hakizimana, Serge Mushinzimana, Julienne Oyler, Roland Ruhumuriza, Emile Murekezi , Sam Barigye and Isaac Nkusi. In Sierra Leone we thank Daniel Osei-Antwi, William Conteh, Fatou Wurie, Claudette Ahiabor, Evelyn Lewis, Fatu Yumkella, Udozima Ulasi and Edmond Nonie. Finally, the stellar team of Rwandan student ambassadors and UK based volunteers did an incredible job during AIP’s yearly activities. Thanks to Aline Sine, Bernard Nkurunziza, Bosco Rusagara, Brenda Mutoni, Brian Mudahigwa, Chantal Iribagiza, David Karuranga, Domitille Akeza, Elie Nzayisenga, Emily Newton, Fabrice Niyibizi, Hannah Marshall, Jean Pierre Hodari, Joshua Ishimwe, Lucy James, Maurice Ndamukunda, Milly Hennayake ,Nomfundo Magudulela, Priya Khetarpal and Robert Karamuzi. The AIP Team.
Our Background The African Innovation Prize is a UK based nonprofit organization founded by three Cambridge University Graduates to spur student innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa, through university based business planning competitions. AIP encourages Rwandan university students to DREAM, DESIGN, and DEDICATE themselves to their business ideas.
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Vision African universities with vibrant entrepreneurship culture.
Mission
Stimulating and supporting university entrepreneurship in Africa
Our Story | Why Rwanda? In December 2008, the Rwandan President Paul Kagame delivered a public policy lecture at the University of Cambridge. He spoke of a country committed to moving forward, moving upwards and realizing its potential as an emerging economy in the African region. Importantly, he believed that “models of trade, not traditional aid” were the means by which Rwanda would heal its economic, political, ethnic and psychological scars and move forward as one country committed to making for itself, a better future. He ended with an open invitation to students to visit Rwanda and form their own views of the country today.
In the summer of 2009, inspired by President Kagame’s lecture, AIP’s founding Trustees visited a number of higher education institutions in the country’s capital Kigali. Despite a commitment to stimulating economic growth, prospects in business and entrepreneurship for University graduates in Rwanda are little within the university curricula. It was this experience that provided the final catalyst for the launch of the African Innovation Prize in Rwanda.
Why Sierra Leone? Today Sierra Leone still bears the scars of its history: 2.6 million of the country’s 6 million population are aged 15-35, and more than two thirds of these young people are under-employed or unemployed. This challenging context is in contrast with the enormous potential of the country, not only of its abundant natural resources, but also its rapidly developing institutions. There is a growing optimism in Sierra Leone, led since 2007 by President Ernest Koroma that
In 2011, with the support of De La Rue, we explored the feasibility of initiating the African Innovation Prize in Sierra Leone. We discovered that entrepreneurship is a key emerging discourse in the country, with strong government and academic interest in catalyzing start-ups and a nascent enterprise development sector. Though there are some fantastic organizations doing excellent work in Sierra Leone, none were working specifically with the soon-to-graduate
through capitalizing on its people and a tight focus on economic growth, the country can maintain its positive trajectory. It’s this energy for positive change, and focus on private sector development that the African Innovation Prize is so thrilled to be a part of.
population.
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The Need As highlighted in the Economic Development & Poverty Reduction Strategy 2 (EDPRS 2) program, in 2011 Rwanda’s formal private sector employed only 4% of the country’s labor force, and only 0.5% of firms had more than 30 employees. The small size of Rwanda’s private sector is a major limiting factor to future prospects for economic growth and economic transformation. The private sector needs to undergo significant structural transformation to be able to become the main driver of economic growth. With a number of university graduates every year, the majority aspiring to public sector jobs, AIP believes that entrepreneurship and access to finance should
We develop connections between students and the local enterprise community through seeding entrepreneurship clubs within universities, and brokering mentorship between students and local business leaders.
be considered as a high level priority. This can be done through empowering these students when still at the university to create their own businesses thus create the large number of jobs the Rwandan economy requires.
them into the social and economic development drive. AIP encourages students to develop innovative businesses especially related to the information and communications technologies. This approach will continue to bring down the costs of sharing information, increase business efficiency, and reduce communication and payments costs for consumers.
AIP tackles this issue by providing a world-class
One of the cross cutting issues of the Vision 2020 is the adoption of science, technology and ICT. It has been noticed that the integration of science and technology in socio-economic life is very low and the shortage of technically qualified professionals is visible at all levels. There is a need to generate, disseminate and acquire scientific skills as well as technological innovations, in addition to integrating
Our Sponsors At AIP, we see significant value in supporting university entrepreneurship, and are inspired by the novel ideas and opportunities that students can commercialize. We like to explore our own networks for organizations that both innovate in their own practice, and support others to do the same.
De La Rue No organization exemplifies these characteristics more than our lead funder De La Rue – an organization that has managed to sustain its technological lead in business for almost 200 years, and helps us support young business people in both Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The African Innovation Prize team, talked to De La Rue Key Accounts Director, Tony Mullen, to understand what we and our students can learn from the company’s practice.
What does De La Rue do, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa? De La Rue is the world’s largest integrated commercial banknote printer and we work with central banks issuing authorities and commercial organizations all over the world. Africa is a really important market for us and we work with a number of African nations to provide Identity Management systems including passports, identity cards, voter registration systems, driver licenses, birth certificates and software solutions.
10 De La Rue is also involved in the production of national currencies, the manufacture of cash processing machines and revenue protection and product authentication systems, including tax stamps and track and trace technology.
You have been working in sub-Saharan Africa for decades, and have witnessed some highly turbulent times. With that long-term perspective, do you share in the new optimism around the future of the continent? Yes. Africa has a growing, vibrant economy and all the factors are currently pointing to enrichment of the continent and its people. In particular, we have seen countries such as Rwanda and Sierra Leone entering a stable phase in their history and we would like to help them to continue to achieve this stability. How have you tailored your products to cater for the Rwandan / Sierra Leonean market? Every product we produce is bespoke to the individual country as no two countries are the same. With national documents such as passports and currency we are able to produce intelligent and striking designs which offer the highest levels of security whilst also demonstrating iconic designs which represent the nation. What innovation in those markets has De La Rue led, that you and your team are most proud of? Several of our products have been modified so that they can operate in harsh environments with unstable electricity supplies and little or no access to the internet. This pragmatic approach to the manufacture and issuance of our products has ensured that we can combat any environmental challenges! In regard to products we are in the process of implementing Rwanda’s first ever national eID card and support system which is the latest phase of the Rwandan National ID Project. This document is at the cutting edge of technology and innovation and will allow citizens easier access to services whilst providing improved levels of security.
With almost 200 years of operation, how does De La Rue stay ahead of the competition? As a company with such heritage De La Rue is proud to be able to lay claim to a number of enduring customer relationships with our longest partnership spanning over 150 years. We place a huge amount of value on our customers and it is by listening to their needs, understanding their requirements and producing value for money products which allows De La Rue to continue to deliver excellence. It is also through the support of schemes such as the African Innovation Prize which allows us to show our commitment to the progress and development of the countries we work in. De La Rue is a huge multinational corporation, but students that the African Innovation Prize is working with are embarking on start-ups. Is there any advice you would give from a 200-year-old to a start up? No matter what kind of business you want to develop make sure you’ve done your research. Having a sound understanding of the market you are entering, the challenges you will face and developing your own unique selling points will be invaluable. Another key element is the development of your customer base. Customer loyalty can make or break a business so it really is worth taking the time to nurture your working relationships, listen to your existing customers, establish best practice to deliver to future customers and make sure you are offering a product or service which your customer not only needs but also loves. Why is the company interested in supporting the African Innovation Prize in Rwanda and Sierra Leone? Rwanda and Sierra Leone are both long standing customers for De La Rue and by supporting the African Innovation Prize we are able to give something back to both counties, proving our long term commitment and intention to create a lasting footprint. Both Rwanda and Sierra Leone are making great strides towards stability and through the encouragement of an entrepreneurial culture, private sector development and innovative thinking we believe that schemes such as the African Innovation Prize can really start to make a tangible difference.
11 Segal Family Foundation The Segal Family Foundation is one of our generous funders in our work of inspiring students in entrepreneurship. We spoke with Andy Bryant, the Executive Director of the Segal Family Foundation. He oversees the foundation’s team and implements its vision. What is the mission of the Segal Family Foundation, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa? SFF’s mission is to partner with outstanding individuals and organizations that improve the well-being of communities in Sub Saharan Africa. What is your long term perspective on the future of entrepreneurship in Africa? There is a growing ecosystem of support for African entrepreneurs. The impetus has often come from abroad but there is increasing African ownership of these incubators, ideas, competitions, & even funding. The journey taken by AIP in bringing on strong local leadership reflects this evolution. What is the SFF’s approach in supporting entrepreneurship in Africa? We are interested to find the minimum viable package of support services that will empower African entrepreneurs to build successful enterprises (both for-profit & non-profit). There are a lot of well-intended capacity building services that are not necessarily worth the opportunity cost of participation by entrepreneurs. We need to identify what services are a net positive for them & eliminate others that are superfluous. What advice do you have for aspiring student entrepreneurs in Africa? The most important components of a business plan are the Today & the Five Years from Now. How will you sell your first fifty units right now & do you have a product or service that is valuable enough to your consumers that you can sell fifty thousand of them in five years? Everything in between is fiction.
Also, if you are at a very early-stage & just have a great idea, try to be strong enough to avoid taking on debt or equity investment before you have a sense of your revenue & valuation. (Research is risky & unprofitable. It should be grant-funded). In addition to the African Innovation Prize, what other resources and initiatives would you recommend to student entrepreneurs? Unreasonable Institute- East Africa is run by some young Ugandans based in Kampala. They will be building a truly African incubator in the next few years. Ashoka East Africa is always looking for more fellows & they have a wide & deep network to tap into if selected.
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What is ‘entrepreneurship’ training The entrepreneurship training launched AIP’s activities in 2013. The training, led by AIP advisor Roland Ruhumuriza, gathered 75 students from the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, the National University of Rwanda, and the School of Finance and Banking. During this training the students learnt why entrepreneurship is needed in African countries and the characteristics of an entrepreneur.
Phase I Launch & Business Idea Generation Training
This training marked the official launch of AIP’s Phase I Business Idea Challenge and it took place at the three different universities, KIST, NUR and SFB on March 6th, March 9th and March 12th respectively. The trainings were well attended by the members of the entrepreneurship clubs especially at NUR, where we saw an incredible number of 105 attendees. KIST and SFB entrepreneurship clubs registered a turnout of 39 and 54 attendees respectively.
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The big turnout at Nationa University of Rwanda (NUR) was driven by support from two student associations; the Junior Chamber International (JCI) and the Students Association for Graduates Integrated into Private Sector (SAGIPS). This shows how student entrepreneurship can be increased at the universities once the right associations are chosen to spread the news. For instance, in KIST and SFB the Entrepreneurship clubs should approach other relevant associations to have partnerships and involve them in the activities. By doing so, the message is conveyed by different associations and reaches a bigger number of students.
Business Idea Challenge The Business Idea Challenge was open to students from all three major universities in Rwanda. All the entries were submitted exclusively online using the ISTART Platform: http://africaninnovationprize2013.istart.org. During this phase students were required to submit a profitable business idea in less than 250 words. It took place from March 1st to March 31st. Phase I of AIP’s Business Plan competition saw a considerable increase of entries compared to 2012. The student entries more than doubled during the year 2013 and again the National University of Rwanda (NUR) recorded a high number of entries compared to KIST and SFB. The following table shows the evolution of Phase I entries from the year 2010 till the year 2013:
YEAR
KIST
NUR
SFB
TOTAL
2010
36
n/a
n/a
36
2011
18
n/a
n/a
18
2012
25
33
16
74
2013
40
135
41
216
The improvement in entries has primarily been driven by increased presence and activity on the ground. The implementation of a full time secretariat supported by engaged student ambassadors has been central to this effort.
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Phase 1 industry breakdown
Challenges do, however, remain. Students continue to find the ISTART platform difficult to use. Previously, students submitted business ideas by sending an attachment to AIP’s email address. We noticed that some students continued using this way, but remedial action was taken by giving them feedback and pointing them in the right direction. Three different workshops on the use of the istart platform to submit business ideas were organized at the universities. Now students are getting more and more familiar with the use of istart and the student ambassadors are always there to help the students in their respective universities. During this same period, judges for the competition were recruited to assess the business ideas. In total the business ideas have been assessed by 13 judges, 4 international and 9 from the local enterprise community. The judging period took place from April 1st to April 21st and each business idea has been reviewed by 2 judges separately to allow the process to be as fair as possible.
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Phase 2 Launch and Business Planning Training This training marked the official launch of Phase II of the competition and took place in Kigali at KIST on April 27th 2013. Generally the training gathered around 85 students from the three major universities. Most of these students had participated in the Business Idea generation training as well as Phase I of the competition.
A total of 84 entries were received into this phase from the three major universities as follows:
Phase 2 entries
The training was about giving an insight on why a business plan is needed, what to put in a business plan and what make a successful business plan. It ended in a question and answers session.
The Business Plan Challenge The Business Plan Challenge was open to students from all three major universities in Rwanda. This phase demanded a more rigorous analysis, writing a full business plan in under 1,500 words. Successful participants needed to clearly identify and quantify a market niche, as well as build a team to make the idea happen. It took place from May 1st to June 15th.
This year marked an improvement in both the number and the quality of applications as compared to the previous competitions. This can be attributed to the number of training sessions and workshops geared to improve students’ skills in business planning. The table below shows the evolution of the number of the entries from 2010 to 2013.
Entries
YEAR
KIST
NUR
SFB
TOTAL
2010
25
n/a
n/a
25
2011
26
n/a
n/a
26
2012
16
10
9
35
2013
28
35
21
84
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All the entries were submitted exclusively online using the ISTART platform. Every university had a personalized platform as follows: • • •
KIST: http://africaninnovationprize2013kist.istart.org/ NUR: http://africaninnovationprize2013nur.istart.org/ SFB: http://africaninnovationprize2013sfb.istart.org/
All the personalized platforms had forms where students had to fill in details of their business plans. This was done in order to harmonize the submission process as well as making sure the entries were brief and concise.
The following table shows what the required sections were:
Business Name
Business Name Name of the business
Executive Summary (250 words)
Provide a brief and comprehensive summary of your business plan which highlights its key points such as the product or service, why the product is needed, the customer, the management team, etc.
Business Model (400 words)
Describe how your business will be making money, What are your products and what value they create to the customer, Who will be your clients and how many of them are you targeting, who are your competitors and what is your competitive advantage, etc
Marketing (250 words)
Describe how you will communicate your products/services to your target customers; How your products will reach your customers, what are your strategies to reach as many customers as possible?
Product Development ( 150 words)
Describe how you will manufacture/deliver your product/service. What are the needed resources and who will provide those resources to your business?
Financial Considerations (200 words)
Discuss in general financial considerations i.e. timings of business start-up, the nature of fixed and variable costs, budget of the business and how it is spent, product/service pricing strategy, working capital requirements and financing strategy, Budget and its source
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Budgeting
Upload a document showing all the needed funds and their intended use i.e. purchase of equipment, salaries, rent, etc.)
Balance Sheet
Upload a document showing your Assets, Liabilities and the Owner’s Equity
Income Statement
Cash Flow Statement
Management Team (125 words)
Economic and Social Impact (125 words)
Upload a document showing your expected revenue in the first year, Taxes, Bank Loans, Net Profit, etc) Upload a document showing cash inflows and outflows in your business Describe the management team that will be running your business and the skills and knowledge necessary required to make the business profitable. You can also indicate any possible partners and their roles Indicate the local economic and social welfare of the business in the place it will be located i.e. number of people employed, tax payments, etc.
Phase 2 industry breakdown
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Judging The judging of the Phase 2 took place from June 16th – July 10th. 9 judges participated in the 2nd phase of the competition, 3 judges per university. Every business plan was assessed by 3 separate judges to ensure 100% fairness of the competition. The judges followed the following judging criteria: Question
Ranks
Does the business plan demonstrate clarity of market?
0 None 1 Vague unsubstantiated assertions about market size and growth rate. 2 Adequate description of market, size and growth rate with limited factual support 3 Thorough fact-based description of market, size and growth rate based on direct experience
Does the business plan capture competitive position?
0 None 1 Poor description of existing competitors. No obvious reason for continued growth. Not sustainable 2 coverage of existing competitors, some issues on competitive edge, defensibility/ sustainability. 3 Existing competitors described. Clear competitive advantage for the proposed team. Defensible
Does the business plan describe product or service reality ?
0 None 1 Unclear how product will work or what value it gives customer. 2 Convincing story on how product will work but limited idea of future generations. 3 Convincing story of how the product will work and capability of diversifying into new areas.
Is the business plan well presented?
0 None 1 Rambling structure, missing information, typographical errors. 2 Clear and does not include irrelevant material. 3 Well-organized. No irrelevant sections, no careless errors, all superlatives are supported.
What is you general feedback to the participant?
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Meet the grand prize winners Three students scooped our Rwf 2 Million seed funding each as the Grand Prize Winners of the 2013 Business Plan Competition. The Award ceremony took place on 12th July 2013 at KIST. These winners impressed our judges and emerged as the top scorers of the assessment. And the winners are:
Kigali Institute of Science and Technology: Bosco Nyandwi, My Village Heat Bosco Nyandwi along with Jean Bosco Nzayimana’s Business Plan is to build of a simple household biogas plant in their home village in Kitabi sector in the south province to address the village’s problem of lack of electricity. This biogas plant will be powered by collecting wastes from households, cow dung in order to use them in feeding the biogas digester which will in turn allow the plant to generate more gas to all people in the village. Did you have any experience in business before the competition? So far, this is my first business initiative. What are other competitions have you participated in and/or won? I have participated in several competitions with different prizes. I am still waiting for feedback from some of the other competitions I’ve participated in. There are others which don’t reward money but training and workshops. In the past I have participated in Educat as well as UN workshops. How did you meet your business partner (if any)? Bosco and I were born and raised in the same village. How did you approach writing your business plan? My motivation to writing the winning business plan in AIP was to provide a source of energy for efficient cooking and lighting in my village. Now that I’ve won I am working with experts from INKOMOKO to help me finalize all the details.
How do you hope to develop your business in the future? My business is for my native village’s interests, I expect not to stop until I make something of great importance. I will achieve that objective by working hard and using new technologies. What do you think of entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is a key to development for every nation. If this spirit starts from youth, the world will be safe and many people will flourish economically. I hope that my business will be a way to earning money but the more importantly, contribute to people’s welfare by proving jobs. What are you excited about being a young entrepreneur? Starting while I am still young gives me confidence to achieve great things in my life. I will be proud when on my graduation date, I will not be thinking of applying for jobs but rather providing them!
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Dream What would be your message to other young entrepreneurs out there? If you are thinking of doing something great, you are in the right way. So, just be you and move ahead. The world will be bettered by our ideas and we have to be the ambassadors of the change. We have to shape our future because now is the right time to do it.
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How do you hope the prize will help you achieve your business goals? The AIP’s prize is the most interesting and motivating seed fund which will help me to get many other opportunities. Many banks require the business owners’ contribution when applying for a loan. Because of this prize, I think I will secure a loan. This is also an important part of the capital needed and I hope that with it I am able to achieve my business goals.
National University of Rwanda: Elie Nzayisenga, Data Ltd. Elie’s Business Plan is to establish a company that provides training in statistical software. Their training will be focused on Statistical software training, Questionnaire design, data collection and entry, data analysis and report writing and will be targeting students conducting research projects at NUR.
Did you have any experience in business before the competition? No other business experience before winning the competition. What are other competitions have you participated in and/or won? No other competition but this is my second year in AIP business plan competition. How did you meet your business partner (if any)? I met my business partners at school at the National University of Rwanda. How did you approach writing your business plan? As I am a graduate in statistical studies, I used some books. Participating in some business planning workshops organize by AIP as well as other organizations also helped me in writing my business plan.
How do you hope to develop your business in the future? I hope that in the next few years my business will be profitable and generate more money as a big statistical consultancy company What do you think of entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is essential in general as the demand of public jobs exceeds the supply. Therefore, it is better to create our own jobs to fill that gap and also provide jobs to others.
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What would be your message to other young entrepreneurs out there? We have what others lack: ambition, time and energy. So, let put together our efforts and share our business ideas and be the solution for our problems.
How do you hope the prize will help you achieve your business goals? I believe this prize will help me to achieve my dream of establishing a statistical consultancy company that I was expecting to start after five years. Now that I’ve won this prize, I am going to start this year.
School of Finance and Banking Dieudonné Dusengumukiza, Kigali Oil Company Dieudonné’s business plan is to process oil out of avocadoes. Avocadoes are a very common fruit in Rwanda and they are grown in almost every part of the country. Avocado oil helps to reduce cholesterol levels as well as protect the heart against diseases. It can be used for baking, preparing salads and dressings etc. This oil can be used as an alternative to olive oil which is very expensive as it comes from Europe.
Did you have any experience in business before the competition? Before AIP’s training and competition, I didn’t have any other business experience What are other competitions have you participated in and/or won? Apart from winning the AIP business Idea Challenge, I haven’t won in any other business planning competition. How did you meet your business partner (if any)? Till now I don’t have a business partner. How did you approach writing your business plan? First off all I found there’s an untapped avocado supply in Rwanda that can be diversified in other value added products than just fruits.
With that in mind, I participated into the competition by writing about exploring how to make oil out of avocadoes in Rwanda. How do you hope to develop your business in the future? I am confident that my business will grow by my efforts and having partnerships in the future. I am continuously searching for an efficient way of producing avocado oil and I am confident that in the future I’ll be selling avocado oil. What do you think of entrepreneurship? In my point of view, entrepreneurship is the best way of creating and designing my own job as well as employing other people. This helps in exploring an entrepreneur’s individual potential.
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What are you excited about being a young entrepreneur? It’s a great achievement and it helps to unleash my full potential by contributing to my personal development as well as the country’s economic development in general. What would be your message to other young entrepreneurs out there?
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My message would be that they should be confident, believe in themselves and work hard to achieve their goals no matter how difficult or challenging the road seems to be. How do you hope the prize will help you achieve your business goals? The prize will be helpful as it will be the foundation of my business finances. It will help to do more at the startup stage as buying some of the assets needed.
Sierra Leone Sunah Keili, Mabel Fatu Mabel Fatu will be a bag assembling outfit that utilizes raffia, decorative canes and African fabric stems and the decorative arts to create beautiful accessories. Design will focus on traditional African fabric and kontri cloth which may be colored, tie-dyed, hand painted or hand finished giving a unique fusion of color coordination to create “in style” products.
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Enterprise Rwanda 2013 After two successful editions, the 3rd edition of Enterprise Rwanda took place from July 8th-12th at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology. This weeklong interactive training and workshop for budding student entrepreneurs from universities across Rwanda gathered on a daily basis around 140 students.
The main theme of this year’s edition was DEDICATE. Students were given the opportunity to dedicate themselves on their business plans and network with their entrepreneurial peers. Each day, local business leaders came to share their experiences and provide to students with advice and frameworks to consider for each key phase of starting a business.
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The Daily Themes DEDICATE was the overall theme of the 3rd edition of Enterprise Rwanda. However, each day had its own theme. During this time, a group of students volunteered to do a write up of our sessions as an essential summary of the presentations as well as their impression of Enterprise Rwanda 2013. This was aimed for fellow students who couldn’t make it to the conference.
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Day 1: Business Idea Generation by Bosco RUSAGARA
I was among the student that had a chance to volunteer as a student ambassador during Enterprise Rwanda 2013. I first participated in AIP’s activities in 2012 when I was invited with a friend of mine to participate. I really liked the organization and decided to be part of team that will coordinate the next edition. The sessions were developed into various daily themes spread over the week as the business idea generation, business modeling, and market analysis and pitching. The first day started with opening remarks from Tony Mullen, De La Rue’s representative which is the major supporter of the African Innovation Prize. He emphasized on their choice of supporting the organization as part of De La Rue’s term commitment and intention to create a lasting footprint in Rwanda.
The first Keynote Speaker Roland, explained about the first influential steps in business idea generation were viewing a problem, thinking of an idea, writing it in details, and interacting with local business leaders or friends for more support and insight. The second Keynote Speaker, Lydie, Managing Director of Drakkar Ltd, inspired the students by telling the way she started her business of writing books out of her reading passion and advising them to not be afraid of following their dreams and passions. The session ended up with a question and answers workshops where students asked questions and expressed their gratitude to the speakers for their motivating sessions.
Keep on bringing more entrepreneurs, the training was inspiring and full of innovative entrepreneurs. NGENZI Elvis
Bosco RUSAGARA is a 3rd year student in the Faculty of Economics and Management at the National University of Rwanda. He is planning to start his business in Green and Service sector.
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Day 2: Market Insight by Fabrice NIYIBIZI
The second day of Enterprise Rwanda was about Customer Insight. Knowing who my customer is and acquiring skills on this topic is one of the reasons I applied to attend Enterprise Rwanda 2013. As a successful local entrepreneur, the speaker begun by explaining concepts regarding knowing the personality and behavior of your customers. Basically one should try to understand his/her clients even better than they understand themselves in terms of the particular need. I felt that in order to achieve this, I have to understand them deeper and jump into their feet and try to see things from their perspective. The 2nd speaker, Serge, the Managing Director of Bourbon Coffee Rwanda, who is another successful local entrepreneur, also, stressed on the importance
of knowing and understanding your customer as a very crucial step in developing business relationships. Serge quoted Gandhi that “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him�. He also talked about the importance of doing Research and Development for product development and updating prices to match with customer needs. Personally I have found the sessions to be helpful and important to any aspiring entrepreneur in equipping them with the basics any one would know if they are to venture into business.
The training was very important and inspiring. Plan for many trainings within one year. MURENZI John
Fabrice NIYIBIZI a 3rd year student at Kigali Health Institute (KHI) in the department of dentistry and planning to start a business in the field of Dentistry- Iwacu Dental Clinic!
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Day 3: Business Modeling by Elie NZAYISENGA
The session that I am reporting on, was about Business Modeling by Julienne Oyler, the Managing Director of Inkomoko Business Development. She spoke on the importance of knowing all the components of the business (customers, cost, revenues, competitors and suppliers) and how they fit together when making a Business Plan. She also emphasized that we have to take the time to know our customers, who they are, their needs and using this information to start something that we are passionate about. In business, more people do the same mistake of focusing more on the products rather than the customers that will buy those products. We do not give them the chance to participate in our price strategy. I was so interested by the lean canvas which I considered as the perfect format for brainstorming possible business models, prioritizing where to start, and tracking ongoing learning.
I was thrilled to know the difference between the product and the market, where many of us start up entrepreneurs, always focus more time on product and forget how it will generate money. Here I have learned that first I have to know my customers and their needs and come up with solution for their problems.
I find this training most important and full of knowledge related to business. I`d like to continuously be attending all the next sessions even though I am about to graduate. UMUHIRE Liliane
Elie NZAYISENGA, is graduating in Applied Statistics at National University of Rwanda. Winner of AIP 2013 Challenge and Start-up entrepreneur in statistical software training & management consultancy.
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Day 4: Unique Selling Points by Domitille AKEZA
The theme of the fourth day of Enterprise Rwanda was about Unique Selling Points in a business. It was a perfect combination from Business idea generation until the time you know what will be the unique selling points of your business. The First speaker, Emile Murekezi, Co-founder and Head of Operations of Igihe Ltd started by telling us their Unique Selling Point as a business which is the first Rwandan news website that uses Kinyarwanda. He told us that it requires effortless experimentation of activities you find appearing in your business and that you’re good at. It also requires identifying your market opportunity by knowing the customers’ needs, finding what is lacking and addressing it in the most efficient way. The training inspired me to innovate my own business. The customer care session was amazing. NGABOYISHEMA Olivier
Sam Barigye and Esperance Umulisa from Workforce Development Authority came after to talk about the customer care services in Rwanda. Sam begun by introducing the state and the quality of customer care in Rwanda. He told us that in a much globalized world with market saturation, rapid technology advancement and increasing competition, no one can succeed without satisfying his customers. He added that a satisfied customer will more likely become a partner and bring more and more customers to your business. He ended with a Maya Angelou quotation saying that “People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, But people will never forget how you made them feel”. Personally I felt that as an aspiring entrepreneur, I really have to make my future customers feel like partners instead of treating them as outsiders because without them the business will not be.
Domitille AKEZA is currently a student in Bio-medical Laboratory Sciences in the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at the Kigali Health Institute.
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Day 5: Pitching by David KARURANGA MWIZERWA
The fifth and last day of Enterprise Rwanda 2013 started with the largest number of participants in the week. The large number was due to the fact that it was the last day of Enterprise Rwanda with everyone eager to know who will eventually become the Grand Prize Winners of the 2013 Business Plan Competition. Isaac Nkusi, the managing director of the East African Reference was the first speaker, with a very active and participating audience. He interacted and gave key important notes on how to present a business to potential investors or other people who may be willing to offer help, and he also hinted on pitching due to the interest of one of the students who wanted to know the difference between presenting a business and pitching. Isaac gave his experience which spurred a wide interest from students who started asking him different questions. He insisted that being passionate at what you do is important. “However much you see yourself below others, you should struggle in order to progress” those were his inspirational words.
The second presentation of the day was about Pitching in details. Herve, AIP’s Country Director presented the importance of pitching for entrepreneurs since it acts as a basis to capture investors’ interests and get you a second meeting to discuss in details on whether they are willing to offer their support or fund your business plan, depending on how convincing you are. Toward the end of his presentation questions were asked and answered and then followed pitching session where different students pitched their Business ideas in one minute. After a short break the awards ceremony kicked off around 6.30pm with an increased number of students plus various guests who were judges of the competition, government officials, and academic staff and AIP partners. Amongst the guest of honors was the Rector of KIST Dr. Gasingirwa Marie Christine whose remarks were an encouragement to all students who had attended Enterprise Rwanda as she pointed out how fortunate they are to obtain such knowledge on how to write and make their own business plans which they obtained in a week-long training provided by AIP.
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During her closing remarks, the guest of honor, Rosemary Mbabazi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and ICT also emphasized on the importance to participate in such training and also reminded the students that the government of Rwanda is always ready support youth initiatives through various institutions and programs that are established to support creative and innovative entrepreneurs
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With the award ceremony coming to an end, all the invited guests and university students enjoyed the networking event which portrayed how important it was to students who were eager to learn and know how other entrepreneurs view business development in Rwanda. Finally, Enterprise Rwanda 2013 came to an end at around 9:30pm.
This workshop revealed the ability we have to run businesses in us. Now I feel ready to set up my own businesses. Great work done by AIP. UMUTONI Jasmine
David KARURANGA MWIZERWA is a 3rd year student in Monetary Economics at the National University of Rwanda. He is the 2012 AIP Business Plan Competition winner at NUR.
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Enterprise Rwanda Survey At the African Innovation Prize, we value the opinions of the students our program is dedicated to. As they are the main reason AIP exists, we seek their suggestions on ways of improving our program by taking into account their experiences and asking them what they would expect from it. This is why during Enterprise Rwanda we distributed daily feedback forms to the attendees to learn from their experience. Everyday students rated the quality of the sessions and gave their own comments on how they think we should improve generally the program. Here’s what our students suggested to improve:
• Most of the students suggested that we increase the time for the speakers to allow them to ask more questions and have longer interactions with the speakers. This is true because most of the keynote speeches lasted for an average of 55 minutes followed by 15 minutes’ questions & answers sessions. This was done to make sure that we had at least two different speakers as well as a group session at the end of the day. • The time for group sessions proved also to be very limited. An hour was allocated to the groups’ interactive sessions at the end of the keynote speeches during the last hour of the daily program. This proved to be very short. Students in their comments suggested putting group sessions in the middle of the program after each session. This would help them reflecting on the session and concealing it with their own experiences.
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• A certain number students also suggested that we should bring more speakers during Enterprise Rwanda. These students in their comments also suggested that AIP should think of a way of running the sessions the whole working day and provide lunch to the attendees to make an optimal use of the week. Some students said that having lunch and spending a whole day with their peers would be a great opportunity to network with their peers • We were thrilled to see that attendees advocated for other students who were not able to attend the conference. They suggested to us to allow other students from both public and private higher learning institutions in Rwanda to participate in AIP events. Managing logistics and expectations is the main reason to limit the number of the students that can be allowed to the conference. • Students also requested that AIP should at least provide some transportation fees to the attendees to allow them to be on time and increase the number of turn up. The venue of the conference was at KIST which can be considered as the centre and most convenient venue for the majority of the students. Unfortunately providing transportation fees as a way of motivating students proves to be an inefficient strategy. Students need to take ownership of the conferences. However, AIP is exploring a way of organizing the next edition of Enterprise Rwanda on two different venues to be as close to the student as possible.
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As shown in the figures above, students learnt a lot from the keynote speakers invited during the workshop. With the guest speakers sharing their experiences on various business skills and concepts as human resource management, business financial management, teamwork, etc. students improved their skills consistently as shows the trend going from very poor skills to excellent skills. We also asked students to tell us more about their overall experience of the whole week and to rate it.
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Enterprise Sierra Leone 2013
To round-up the end of the first post-pilot year of running the African Innovation Prize (AIP) , Enterprise Sierra Leone 2013 took place from the 2nd – 6th of September at the Sierra Leone Library Board. The week of interactive training and workshops drew about 40 budding student entrepreneurs daily from Freetown. This inaugural week of training in Sierra Leone followed the structure, format and contents of Enterprise Rwanda; itself a workshop with three years’ track record.
Below students share their experience of Enterprise Sierra Leone, either of individual sessions, or the entire week itself.
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Day 1 I am thinking of starting my own business upon graduation from University, and Enterprise Sierra Leone 2013 helped me greatly with the knowledge on how I could fulfil my dream in starting my own business with little or no capital. The workshop was a wow from start to finish, especially with the presence of young successful local business enterprise men and women who spoke on different topics. They covered issues including how they started to get to where they are which helped me greatly to get an insight into the opportunities and constraints of starting and running a business. Successful entrepreneurs who constituted speakers for example Daniel Osei-Antwi, Managing Director of Splash awakened the Entrepreneur in me on the first day, the young Harvard Masters holder in Business Administration did not only mesmerise me with his ideas and achievement but also with his young age. This was backed up by the great presentations from the rest of the speakers. Studying for a Bachelor of Arts Degree with very little business background I can today boast of knowledge in understanding entrepreneurship,
drawing a business plan, generate, develop and refine my business idea, market insight or research, idea generation to business planning and financial management and customer strategy amongst many others. A big thank you to all those who made it possible for the Enterprise Sierra Leone 2013 with a special kudos to the AIP Country Volunteer Milly Hennayake for her time and hospitality, and the African Innovation Prize and the University of Sierra Leone.
Hassan Sannoh is a Final Year student at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He is planning to start his own business in Cocoa Production upon graduation. I was attracted to Enterprise Sierra Leone to help me to be creative and innovative in going into the business and to build my business plan to be an entrepreneur. The session on the first day was about awakening the entrepreneur in you and the speaker, Daniel OseiAntwi, taught us that inspiration without perspiration is hallucination. The experience was relevant to me because it helps me to become a job creator. An example being Bill Gates, Brian Scudamore, Shane Pannell etc. and how to build up my business plan as an entrepreneur.
I learnt to: • Make meaning- build up your desire to make a difference in the world. • Make a mantra- think big and work towards it. • Make the move- surround yourself with people who will inspire you to act. • Make money- make sure you have a business model and how you are going to make them transfer that money into your pocket. What interested me is to be an Entrepreneur and the most important thing I learnt is to be become a job creator and to improve my idea. I learnt that I need to create winning mentality that will help me become successful.
Amadu Bangura is in his 2nd year of a Bsc. Business Administration at IPAM, USL. He is planning on starting business in Palm oil.
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Day 2 I was attracted to ESL by the advertisement and the way it was made. The most catching word was entrepreneurship. On this note, I applied because I want to have more knowledge on entrepreneurship. The Tuesday session was very exciting to me because it was about how to generate ideas for the success of business and how to start a business without a capital.I enjoyed the two presentations made by both Fatou Wurie of MamaYa Campaign and William Conteh of Capitalism Without Capital as I was able to learn a lot from them. The experience gathered would serve as a kind of motivation and guide to start up my own business. From the session, the thing that interested me most was the experience gained about strategic branding and steps involved in it.Amongst the things I learnt, the most important thing was that in a business,one does not necessarily need to start big, you start small and grow big. As a result of this session, I can endeavour to start my business irrespective of the size of my capital and I will never give up.
Joseph Koroma is a final year student at FBC, USL. He wants to start a business in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Day 3 & 4 First of all, I would like to say a thanks to the African Innovation Prize for giving us the opportunity as University Students in Sierra Leone to be able to be part of the training they provided in order to help us widen out brains and encouraging us not to be afraid of the dreams we have in making a difference in the lives of our fellow Sierra Leoneans and even beyond. The 3rd day of the training was also an awesome one. Two presenters with different topics both aimed to inspire us as students not to be afraid to choose the path of entrepreneurship. Presenter Evelyn Lewis, CEO of SBTS Group and TrainingSol and Claudette Ahiabor, of SMILE enterprise. Claudette is currently a mentor to me with my business ideas and she is a great supporter of young entrepreneurs, it was great to see her inspiring others.
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The 5th of September marks the 4th day of the training. Fatu Yumkella, from Dallan Consulting, was very wonderful with the presentation on market insight and competition Analysis. Many of us never knew how to analyze the market before starting out businesses so we learnt a lot and I definitely will put it to action. The other motivating thing also that we were fortunate to meet with the last year’s winners of AIP, Edmond Nonie and Udozima Ulasi, who shared their experiences with us and letting us believed that we are no different from them and that we can do it. On the 5th of September Leah Mansaray, from AFFORD, taught us about Business Plans and Pitching,
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which was also an achieving one as many of us use to have problems with writing business plans. The most beautiful part of all the sessions is that we were free to ask questions and answers were given to us as we have as, also, for each session, a group work was given to us by Milly, which she carefully explained how to go about it and at the end of the day each work was presented successfully.I gained so much knowledge on how to become a successful entrepreneur. Thank you once again for AIP for giving us the road map to success.
Zainab Nasiru, a third year student in Business Administration, IPAM, USL. She is planning to do a business. Zainab also volunteered during the week of training and her help was invaluable!
Day 5 On Day 5, after an inspiring presentation on business pitches by Leah Mansaray from AFFORD, which emphasised the need for students to use simple, approachable language to communicate their ideas and how to sell them quickly. The students then practiced this in groups on the ideas they had been working on throughout the week. Although the session had to be cut short for the prize giving, it was great opportunity for the students to give feedback to each other and highlighted the importance of establishing entrepreneurship clubs and learning from and giving feedback to peers. The feedback from the students is resoundingly positive and overall the main of inspiring and encouraging the students has been achieved. Students mention how they feel encouraged to pursue their ideas, think big, create employment and make a difference in their community. One student mentiond that AIP should: “Always continue using speakers who have made positive changes in entrepreneurship in SL for students to see the reality of entrepreneurship.”
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In addition to the successes outlined above, we have experienced challenges which have helped us to learn and grow as an organisation. Here are a few things we learned in 2013:
• Planning our activities and events calendar to align with the academic year is of paramount importance. In 2013, we started with an introductory workshop in January and phase 1 in March while the academic year had started in September. This deprived us of a precious time to start engaging the students way ahead of the competition and running other activities.
• This same lack of alignment with the Rwandan academic year also led to average success in engaging university staff in charge of entrepreneurship. With the beginning of the introductory workshops in March we made sure to correct this. • The adoption of an online platform in submitting the business ideas and business plans caused a few challenges to the students who had previously submitted their ideas/business plans as an email attachment. We recognized that—while iStart was organizationally beneficial to AIP as it provided one single platform for all competition-related matters—students would need to be better informed in order for everyone involved to reap its benefits. Our response to this issue was to organize campus-based training sessions for students. They were then able to use the platform to engage effectively in all stages of the competition—from the call for entries in Phase 1 to the final judging round of Phase 2, providing them with more functionality and taking up less of their valuable time. • Students have repeatedly requested that we open the competition to all higher learning institutions in Kigali—public as well as private. As we currently work with the main public universities, students from other universities had let us know that they felt left out. While we are aware of this challenge and would like to make our training and competition accessible to as many students as possible, we provide a full package within our budget and are not able to include all the universities. We are, however, proud to be reaching over 20,000 students within our current partner institutions.
Conclusion As we gear up for 2014, we can look back and acknowledge that 2013 has been a fruitful year for our organization but, most importantly, for the students we have impacted. Our presence within the universities has never been as visible as it is now and for that we thank all the students, faculty members, business leaders, donors and everyone else who has supported us throughout the year. As 2013 draws to a close, we are excited to see that this year’s grand prize winners are already far advanced with their business plans and are enjoying the support of our dear partners at Inkomoko. We are looking ahead to 2014 with enthusiasm and a view to consolidating our program, engaging an increasing number of strategic partners and making sure that our hearts and minds are fully prepared to effectively support ever more university students in dreaming, designing and dedicating themselves to their business ideas.
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Published by African Innovation Prize Rue du Lac Ihema T2000 Building 4th Floor, Suite 514 Kigali, Rwanda Tel. +250-788-580-310 info@africaninnovationprize.org www.africaninnovationprize.org Copyright Š African Innovation Prize 2013. All rights reserved. Copyrights and all / or other intellectual property rights on all designs, graphics, logos, images, photos texts trade names, trademarks, etc. in this publication are reserved. The reproduction, transmission or modification of any part of the contents of this publication is strictly prohibited.