WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 009
A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
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EDITOR'S NOTE 03
HOW TO GET YOUR BUSINESS TO THE 5 YEAR MARK 04
MILLENNIALS AND MONEY MANAGEMENT 07
A CONVERSATION WITH SILAS ADEKUNLE 12
Contents HOW TO ACHIEVE PERSONAL FINANCIAL FREEDOM 18
THE DIGITAL SKILLS GAP IN AFRICAN YOUTH 20
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A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 009
Editor’s Note Hello & Welcome to White Collar! On this magazine, we’re constantly looking at entrepreneurship; Taking the model apart and trying to find out what works best. While on this pursuit we discovered that in Kenya, a country constantly praised as a silicone savannah and for its entrepreneurship culture, only 4 per cent of businesses make it past the first year. A big part of the issue lies in money management. And we decided to take the finance bull by its horns. We’ve unearthed interesting best practices that could help businesses manage their finances and assets better. We narrowed the finance approach down to the individual as well with the intention of improving personal money management practices as well. And to tie it all up we give exclusive access into our peer to peer conversation with Silas Adekunle, who is currently one of tech’s brightest rising stars and a pioneer in his field. A world class leader in robotics by creating the world's first intelligent gaming & education robot. This and so much more inside!
Contributors:
Michael Kiruthi, Esq Daniel Kathare Kyama Kivuva
A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
Kyama Kivuva
ManuKyama
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orporate dinners can be a blur of activity and conversation. Everyone’s usually looking for a chance to charm the right people and hopefully land some kind of a deal. After an evening of blatant flattery and forced laughter at bad jokes, I settled in for the meal and found myself at the same table as Farhan. He was quiet and kept to himself but I had a feeling that there was more to this individual, I mean, still waters do run deep.
The conversation started off in the almost-scripted way that they all do at these sorts of functions, with a casual “Who are you and what do you do?” However when the talks took a more organic tone, I couldn’t seem keep up with the wealth of insight that Farhan has when it comes to business and finance. See, Farhan Qureshi is the founder of Fqureshi Consulting and he’s a Financial Management Specialist with over 12 years of experience. No wonder they called him the Indian Sherlock Holmes of accounting. That level of precision is admittedly rare. He helps create and actively mentors finance teams for organizations with
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businesses rarely, if ever, make money in the first 4 to 5 years of operation. By this I mean, breaking even, let alone generating a substantial profit. A lot of people go into business expecting solid returns within the first year of operation. When the reality of business hits and they see that the returns are not what they expected, most people give up and go back to formal employment.
revenues in excess of 10 million dollars annually. “I wouldn’t say I’m an entrepreneur, an entrepreneur is someone who uses business to solve an existing problem that has an impact on hundreds of thousands of people. I’d feel better defining myself as a businessman, someone who is simply plying his trade” said Farhan. “After working for about 5 years as an auditor at a leading firm, I noticed there was a huge finance services gap for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Almost the entire market was focused on providing auditing and finance services to the industry leaders. And I struck out on my own to address this SME niche” started Farhan. Being in operation for over 7 years in Kenya’s business climate is an impressive feat in its own right especially given that only 4 per cent of businesses make it past the first year of operation. “Over time I’ve noticed a certain trend with business in that, growth happens
exponentially when the company makes it past the four/five year mark. I’ve seen cases where some companies went from making 3 million a year to 3 million in just a month and I have been trying to figure out why this is the case” continued Farhan. At White Collar we’re constantly trying to figure out how to help more businesses survive. A big part of this would be finding out how to help these businesses make it to the 5 year mark. Farhan takes us through what to look out for and what to do.
So what are the reasons behind why local businesses/start-ups, fail? I’ll start by saying one thing, over the period I’ve been consulting for businesses, I’ve been involved in the day to day management of finances and that affords me a lot of insight on how many different businesses handle their cash-flows. I noticed that
A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
You should also realise that when you start a business, for the following period of time you’ll be playing catch-up to the existing players. This will put you at a disadvantage. You may be competing with organizations that are more experienced and more efficient when it comes to service/product delivery. This makes them a good alternative for better quality customers. If you don’t adapt to this by finding a niche that works for you and your company then you won’t be around for very long. Another thing to also look out for as a business person is ‘financial shocks’. Look at a scenario where the client you were depending on to pay defers payment because of cash-flow problems for the next 3 or 6 months. As a young business or start-up do you have enough of a financial cushion to guard against such a shock? Most young businesses do not and if a similar event happened 3 or 4 more times they end up closing shop.
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Lack of trust is also a huge contributing factor. While I was employed I saw the auditing firm I worked for get awarded huge corporate and government tenders. This is because the clients were sure that these guys wouldn’t close up shop and disappear tomorrow and there was someone who was liable in case of anything going wrong. When I left employment and set up shop, I thought that the same trust would be present because of my history with the firm but I was wrong. Everyone looked at me as a new and untested. There was very little trust. I would talk to the same potential clients over and over again and it wasn’t until the third year where they started to believe that I was serious and dedicated. With trust it’s all about time, there is no shortcut to building trust. A lot of entrepreneurs have a kind of ‘lack of focus’. What I mean is, they want to implement so many things at the same time. Maybe it comes as a part of their creativity but what you need to understand is every new venture requires a lot of investment. You have to invest both time and money. If the existing venture is not well established it will suffer because of an attention deficit and chances are the new venture won’t work out and that way you lose out on making both ventures work.
What would you advise? How do we get more businesses to the 5 year mark? There are quite a few ideas I have, but they are tied to specific business models. But in a more general sense, I’d say no matter what business you’re in you should only start after you’ve saved enough to get you through the starting phase of the business. This is a very tough time for companies that are starting out and they need all the financial security that they can get. Having enough capital to make it through this phase is one of the biggest deciding factors on whether a business will make it. If you haven’t saved enough you could consider bringing financial partners on board. The capital that comes with these partners will enable the company to have a better financial footing.
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I’d also advise that you don’t diversify until your first product/ venture is successful and to go a step further, ensure that you’ve hired well enough such that its systems function independent of your involvement. Like I stated before diversifying too early can be a business killer. However, if the first venture isn’t working at all and there is zero growth then consider trying out something else and make sure to consult and be methodical about how you make the change. Be as frugal as possible! In the first years of business hesitate to spend on anything that isn’t directly tied to generating more sales. This allows the business to have ‘rainy day’ fund in case of anything. The first 4-5 years of business should be more inclined towards savings and ploughing back earnings to secure the business. Your ability to get and service clients isn’t tied to the fancy office or car. You’ll get clients if you’re better than the next guy at performing your job. Clients don’t care about whether you have a nice office or not. They care about whether you can deliver! And from a finance perspective I’d advise every entrepreneur to always have about 6 months’ worth of expenses saved in the account. Working like this has a wide range of benefits. First of all financial security gives you the freedom to work without pressure and perform optimally. It also allows you sustain the shock of delayed payments from clients. It’s a safe move. ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
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he spirited debate around the financial habits of millennials is a cauldron of mixed opinions. On the one hand, critics describe millennials as a spendthrift generation, which would rather live an unsustainably lavish life than learn the most basic money management skills. Others go so far as to say that the situation is much worse than we think. On the other hand, pundits are of the opinion that millennials’ money management skills are not as bad as critics paint them out to be. In fact, they credit some aspects such as their spending habits for sustaining whole industries; which can either be a good thing, or not depending on how you look at it. This article gives a succinct analysis of both sides of this raging debate, and aims to dispel some of the extreme notions regarding millennials and money without delving into the financial technicalities of money management.
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While we are on the topic of millennials and money, a little bit of perspective on this fascinating group is important. Millennials are the generation that is sandwiched between Generation X- the individuals born between the 60’s and 80’s- and Generation Z. Also known as Generation Y, they are individuals born roughly between 1981 and the late 1990s. As such, they form the majority of the young adults today. For many millennials, the conundrum does not begin with the vilification of their personal financial skills. Rather, it is rooted right at the very characterisation of this ill-understood generation of individuals. Often described as lazy, the older generations view millennials as individualistic, even bordering on the narcissistic side. With the majority now entering the workforce, millennials appear more materialistic, placing an emphasis on extrinsic values such as money.
The Mistakes Personal finance classes are not really a part of many education systems. As such, financial literacy is not a forte for many young adults. Once such individuals start earning a living, the lack of a foundation in the key concepts of managing credit, debts, and even filing taxes clearly shows. This situation often leads millennials to make poor money management decisions. The most common first mistake, which many are never even aware of, is the lack of a budget, a proper budget. Millennials really value their freedom and actively avoid anything that threatens to curtail it; and this is exactly what budgets do. They help an individual control their spending by focusing on where the money is spent. The average millennial would rather not have such a restrictive element in their life. The very thought of limiting their spending puts off even the most prudent young adults. “Why limit when there’ll
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always be a source of income?” This optimistic mind-set discourages many millennials from prioritizing their money because they always believe they will earn more. Budgeting and saving are two sides of the same coin. It is, therefore, not surprising that millennials fair just as badly, if not worse, at saving as they do at budgeting. While saving for retirement or a rainy day is one of the most prudential financial decision that an individual can make, it is not that big of a deal for millennials. If you ask the average young adult, everyday might as well be a rainy one! Granted, some of the most recent economic declines have affected this demographic. Nevertheless, this is no excuse not to save. So, just how dire is this situation? A 2018 survey by LendEDU, an online financial marketplace, showed that 27% of millennials spend more on coffee per month than they set aside in savings. In their defence, no millennial has retired yet. So how bad can it be if they actually never save? While there is a lot to learn from history, only time will tell. Another study by the Navy Federal Credit Union and Forrester Research showed that only 26% of millennials could manage money to meet their monthly financial goals. Other insights from the research as shown in the following chart:
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Aptly named “living in the moment”, this imprudent characteristic defines young people today. They would rather experience life as it happens than save or budget for whatever reason. You can blame it on popular mantras such as “You Only Live Once” and “Live fast and die young”. Millennials like to think that they know exactly what they want and when they want it; like that sleek and expensive looking shoe they just saw while walking down the street! So what’s the point of budgeting when you know exactly what you want? Why would you put money in a savings account when you could spend it today to have the lifestyle that you want? These questions may seem rhetoric, but they may just point to a generational mind-set that has finance professionals worried.
leveraging the lifestyle characteristics of millennials, manly the desire for excitement, extravagance and risk, to develop lucrative investment vehicles. According to research by Bentley University, many millennials getting into the workforce are already in heavy debt, particularly student debt. In Kenya, the digital borrowing craze has become a phenomenon of its own. It is no wonder that the advancement of technology, particularly internet availability, proliferation of cheap smartphones, and reliable money transfer technology, has coincided with this problem. Together, these factors have made the access to quick and unsecured loans all too easy, and financial sector has taken note. According to SimilarWeb Limited, a
...this group of young, highly ambitious & skilled people has proved to be a lucrative market for debt creation Debt Across the globe, financial institutions are targeting the youth with cheap and unsecured loans. Coupled with the lack of financial literacy programs, this large group of young, highly ambitious and skilled people has proved to be a lucrative market for debt creation. Financial institutions are
500 to as much as Ksh 70,000 within minutes. Young adults have been especially susceptible to these loans. With limited financial knowledge and enchanting advertising taglines such as “Unlock your potential”, it has been a losing battle from the getgo. The result has been a pileup of unserviceable loans on millennials since the majority spend the money on daily expenditure.
The Good Many critics choose not to conform to the blanket stereotype used on millennials based on the shortcomings of a few individuals. In fact, as it turns out, millennials may be one of the most prudential money managers out there. According to the Better Money Habits Millennial Report of 2018 by Bank of America, 1 in 6 U.S millennials has a minimum of $ 100,000 in total savings. The report indicates that they may even be better than, if not equal to, other generations at managing their personal finances:
market intelligence solutions provider, there are up to 50 micro-lending mobile applications operating in the county today. With so many platforms competing against each other as well as against major financial institutions, the bar of borrowing requirements is as low as it could ever be. This means that anyone with a functioning phone number can borrow as little as Ksh.
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Discussing the report with Fortune. com, Andrew Plepler, a manager at Bank of America, said that millennials are becoming better at managing their finances faster and earlier than previous generations. Indeed, several studies attest to the fact that young adults are saving more than had been earlier thought. However, the majority do not invest at all, while those who invest do so conservatively. Many prefer to hold their savings in cash or low risk investments such as bonds rather than stocks.
21st Century Reality Many psychological and practical aspects go into good money management. While it is commonplace to acquire such
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skills through formal study, they can only be mastered through experience. It is, therefore, hypocritical to single out the perceived poor money management skills of millennials while the same could just as easily be said of any other generational demographic. Millennials, unfortunately, grew up through periods of economic uncertainty and financial instability for the better part of their lives. As they enter the workforce, these financial difficulties make it that much harder for them to save early in their careers. A study by Young Invincibles, an advocacy group, placed the income, assets, net wealth, home ownership, and retirement savings of millennials at half of what their parents where worth at the same age. Therefore, they should be afforded more time to find their level as far as personal finance is concerned. Millennials are redefining several aspects of life-as-we-know-it, and money management is simply one of these aspects. This generation is changing the way money is traditionally earned, spent, saved, and invested. Critics should not spell doom for an entire youthful generation simply because it is rewriting the rules of personal finance. Lessons learnt from economic uncertainties experienced by millennials at an early age are no doubt the major influencing factors. As such, older generations should expect to see further profoundly sweeping changes in wealth management, not only at the personal level, but also globally in the coming years. ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
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A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
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icture this, a group of men huddled behind the bar at San Francisco’s Four Seasons. The air is charged with muffled conversation, the tone of which betrays a sense of interest and child-like wonder. “It’s got character,” one voice cuts across the buzz. It’s Ron Okamoto, Apple’s Head of Developer Relations. He was talking about the Mekamon, a small robot designed to look like the mechanical step-child of a crab and Spider. At the receiving end of this suppressed complement was Silas Adekunle, the founder and CEO of Reach Robotics, the company that brought the Mekamon to life. What started as a 15 minute question and answer session between Ron and Silas spilled over into an hour long conversation. Ron knew for a fact then, what he rest of the world is only starting to find out, now; the team from Reach Robotics is onto something disruptive, and that he had to bring them back with them to Apple Park in Cupertino, California. It has been over a year since that Interaction with the development team at Apple. In that time the Mekamon has evolved and grown
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into an Augmented Reality console that combines both AR gaming with simplifying computer Code for all ages. What’s incredible though is how much personality the little Robot has. It gives a stunning and emotional performance. You can tell exactly what the little bot is feeling any moment; from how it trembles when it’s scared right before a battle, to how it pushes it’s chest out right after a victory. We’re not sure when Silas really started to make strides in robotics because he’s been at it for such a long time now. Though one thing is for sure, he’s come a long way from his pre-teens back in Nigeria, when his first prototypes would cause blackouts across their entire Apartment. We spoke to Silas about his journey and it went something like this:
What was your childhood like? Did you enjoy it? Who were your role models? I had a pretty magical childhood. I grew up in Nigeria, Osun State and Yoruba. This meant a lot of exposure to the natural wild… for both animals and plants. My dad was a biochemistry a teacher, my mother was a medical nurse and so I was exposed to science from a young age. I loved reading, loved studying, and a valued my family. I wasn’t that sporty as a young child. At that time I hadn’t really grasped the concept of role models. I remember looking up to celebrities. But when it came to people who I wanted to emulate I thought about all these scientists I read about; from Newton to Einstein.
Looking back, were there any personality traits in your early life that signalled a career in Tech and business? I wouldn't say so. I wouldn't say there were traits that signalled a career and tech a business but I was always curious. So, definitely, the curiosity had been there from a young age, which then helps you to look around the A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
world and try to create something interesting or try to solve problems. So curiosity has always, kind of, been my north star.
Were you a good student? Do you feel education adequately equipped you for life, work and business? I was an okay student. When I worked hard I'd pass really well but there was this time when I had a failing streak in math and then I had to give myself a pep-talk. I set a study schedule and everything and pushed myself. From the next paper onwards my luck changed, hehe. That was a strong lesson for me from a young age, that if I put the time in then I’ll succeed. But work and business are different from academic school work. I don't think anything can adequately prepare you for the business world per se. I mean, each business is so unique! Plus the market conditions are different for different places. Also different industries have their own different sets of rules. You just learn on the go! With a bit of curiosity and thirst for knowledge as a foundation, you can go pretty far.
How did the internet affect the way you learnt about robotics? I really got into the internet when I moved to the UK. It's a cheat code for knowledge. I mean, you can basically learn so much online. You can go out there and find information that you might not have access to by yourself. Then use that to your advantage.
You have studied both in Africa and in the United Kingdom. In what ways would you advise African policy makers to adapt the local education systems? II'd say in terms of advice; reward curiosity! That means giving students the opportunity to have extracurricular activities, things that can develop and nurture their interest and allow them to become the best version of themselves.
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Nurture curiosity. The internet and access it should be an infrastructural aim. The second is; STEM education is so important. Not just the theory, the practical implementation as well. Without an opportunity to implement what you’ve learnt, you won’t have much context! Also you're not being prepared for the real world if you don't have the opportunity to actually implement.
You’ve always had a passion for reaching out and inspiring children especially about engineering. What drove this passion? I suppose, for myself, it's a combination of all the different elements of science. Also the ability to observe the world around us and using that to create as well. Those things combined together is what's created the passion. Now, sharing that knowledge… that passion and seeing other people being affected by it is a whole other thing,
especially when it’s used to better the lives of other people. It keeps me driven, motivated and very passionate about what I do.
What was the gap between expectation and reality in the robotics field when you joined University? When I joined University, the gap was huge gap between what I imagined and what I found. It’s a gap that’s still there today. Everybody goes online and they see Boston Dynamics with their robot doing a backflip and they think robotics is much further than it is. Back then, I had a similar feeling. I went into robotics wanting to create amazing technology I saw in science fiction movies. You know, humanoid robots that could help us in the homes and things like that. Then, you know, you’re hit in the face with reality, which is; there are still lots of opportunity! Don’t get me wrong that makes this field that much more exciting. There's lot of opportunity for development when talking about robotics technology,
You come up with new ideas by exposing yourself to new situations.
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especially in things like battery technology. This is one of those things that grounded me a bit and gave me a kind of wake-up call which is; robotics isn't quite there yet despite it being very advanced. It's not yet at the ‘everyday use’ level that we all see in science fiction movies.
What were you trying to achieve with the first prototype that you created in your college dorm room? So the very first prototype of Mekamon was just to show people the proof of concept on what my robot could look like. It had four legs. It had the components of a game-bot… It could react to touch. It had some app control. This was one reason I did it but more so, I did it to prove that this thing could be made. I always prefer an approach of showrather-than-tell. It's much easier if I just show you. That was the thinking behind the prototype!
Describe the Mekamon. (What early influences inspired it?) Think of Makamon both as an entertainment platform that's embodied by robots and a tool for tech education. It’s a four-legged robot controlled by smartphone or tablet. You can play with it in various game modes. You can upgrade it with various accessories. The more you play
A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
with your robots, the better it gets. We're constantly improving the robot, deploying new firmware to make it to give better value for the customer that’s entertainment value. You can also learn to program… to code with it. It's an all-in-one entertainment platform. The name Mekamon means ‘mechanical monster; I’ll admit there's some influence from pop culture here. I really enjoyed the Pokémon series. That’s one strong… early influence.
What were some of the challenges you faced when making the Mekamon a reality? The reality in itself is a challenge. How do you make this as accessible as possible? Do you make it cheap enough that everybody can access it? And then you realize you have to look at manufacturing and mass manufacturing. So one of the big changes was to making one, initially, in the early designs, one that was supposed to be small enough to fit in your hand. Then it turned out that actually it couldn't be that small. And we had to scale up the size just a little bit. You got hit with all of these different challenges at once. We started when we were looking at battery technology. We initially started with the battery in the leg and then
moved it into the body due to centre-of-mass. Basically, the same challenges that anyone that’s doing product design would go through.
A big part of the way you design has to do with motion. Why did you focus so much on this? I think motion is important because that’s how you communicate that something is alive… that something has a personality or behaviour. I learnt this from observing nature all around me when I was growing up. Motion is a critical element in that. So especially when you're looking at consumer robots; you can either have a robot that’s inviting, that has huge eyes and invites users to come in, or you can have a robot that's very expressive. A robot that's very expressive allows for you to have a bond with the robot, just like a gamer does with a console. We wanted to make sure that when using interactive Makamon, they see a creature that's alive. I want all the Mekamon users to feel as though they have a little ‘a partner-incrime’.
The emotional component is a big motivator with Reach Robotics’ products. Will they eventually become pets or are they best reserved for gaming? I mean, what do you get in a pet? You get some companionship. I think we're going to get more or more value into our products in general, in terms of the robotics landscape.
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That's one way. So either you have an existing solution in a different context or different industries, or you create something new and try it somewhere new. So they've just lots of opportunities. For myself, I try to have as many eclectic interests as possible, from dancing to sports to anything in between.
What is AR (Augmented reality)? Why incorporate it with robotics? Augmented Reality basically means you are, for a lack of a better word, augmenting, adding information to a world that exists already. In a way, augmented reality allows you to bridge the gap between the physical and the virtual world. So when you have a physical robot that's for entertainment, you can add a digital component to it by using augmented reality and open up whole new worlds.
What are the next steps for Reach robotics? You know people don't want to buy a product and then leave it on the shelf the next day. People want something that amazes, challenges and responds to them. So by introducing more and more of a companionship element; something that has a life of its own; that's interesting; that can wow and constantly amaze; that's unique; that's got personality. I believe people will see more value because they will connect to it. So while I think products should have a purpose; which in this case is gaming and education, we shouldn’t overlook the companionship elements as well.
Is there a process to your creativity? How do you come up with new ideas? I wouldn't say I'm the most creative person but I think you come up with new ideas by exposing yourself to new situations. You can still be creative by taking the working solution and looking at it through a lots of different lenses.
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The next step would be, first of all, making our product more accessible! We always try as much as possible to reduce price points and widen our reach. We're currently looking at the African market and Asian market. If you look at the three things that we want to focus on is; to entertain, inspire and educate people. We always have this goal where our products must also, in one way or another, leave people better than they were when they first interacted with it. We want to make sure that we stick to this vision as we as we proceed. So that means any product that we create will have education, a sense of community among the users and a sense of companionship with the bot at their core.
Have you invested in any other companies so far? What qualities would you/do you look out for? I think when you invest you should also be very accessible to advice. Because of the focus on Reach, I'm currently not in that position. But, from interacting with many world class investors, I think the most important thing is the people that
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you invest in. Again, they say; give me a B Team with an A Idea and you most likely see failure, give me an A Team with a B Idea and I'll turn it around. So it's always about the people at the end of the day.
What do you still wish you were better at? I think time management is always going to be a struggle. Because, I think in life almost everything designed to shift your focus. So you have to go out of your way to manage your time well and focus on the essential things.
Do you feel that your career and entrepreneurship have made you a better person? If so, how? I would say so. I think we’re all on our own paths and as long as you strive to be the best that you can in whatever you're doing, you will always come out better for it. I think entrepreneurship and robotics ground you. They give you a context for how our technology in the world works and how the socio-economic factors work as well. When you're making a product or building a business, you have to learn to deal with people! From the team you work with day-to-day, to the customers that you're selling to, and everywhere in between the partners that help you get to the market. So you get this whole holistic view of how the world interacts with each other.
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How to achieve
PERSONAL FINANCIAL FREEDOM E arning a living in Africa has been described online as an ‘extreme sport’. Most markets are very competitive meaning that companies are becoming more and more frugal in an attempt to not only survive but also demonstrate growth. Where does this situation leave you as an entrepreneur or employee? In most cases companies aren’t able to compensate their employees above the industry standard, so for the average employee every cent counts.
The cost of living is steadily increasing but very few employers are adjusting their compensation to match the rate of inflation, which means, that same cent you’re spending loses is losing a bit more of its purchasing power while having to do a lot more. In a situation like this financial freedom seems like myth. Financial freedom is a goal that everyone wants to achieve but instead of looking at financial freedom as a destination think of it as process.
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1. Define Your Goals & Establish Your Timeframes: Some people save because it’s good to have a rainy day account. Others save to purchase an item that they want whether it’s a flashy sports car or the dream vacation/wedding or starting a company. Regardless of your goal, you need to be honest with yourself about how attainable they are and the steps that you’re willing to take to achieve them. First of all the goals needs to be realistic and attainable meaning that pursuing these goals will not disrupt the necessities that you would need to function. Having realistic financial goals will allow you to perform optimally and without unnecessary pressure. Once you know what you’re saving for, you need to set a possible timeframe within which you hope to achieve the said financial goal. This action roots your goals in reality and allows you to think critically about them. If you need to have a given sum of money in your savings account within the next 18 months you start to ask yourself questions like ‘will savings from my salary be enough to achieve this?’ ‘What other revenue streams could I use to get to my goal?’ and so on.
2. Actively review your spending habits: “Take care of pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.” Getting to know your spending habits is good next step. You need to be honest with yourself for this to really work. A good exercise, that we recommend, is to note every single one of your expenses for the duration of two weeks, no matter how small. At the end of the said week take a stock of everything you’ve been spending. When done for the first time it can be a sobering experience because it wakes you up to all the unnecessary things that you spend money on. You could decide to carry on as usual or you could try to slowly cut back on these frivolous expenses. If you choose to cut back, do not do it all at once. Shed these habits one by one. I mean, stop impulsive spending. Try and have every single purchase rooted in ‘need’ not ‘want’. If you see something that you really want to buy, put
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in probation for about 5 days. If at the end of this period you still need it then purchase it. It’s the little things like these that matter the most. Things like carrying a packed lunch and eating out less often are encouraged as well. If you’re willing to take things a step further you could save the small amounts of money that you would have spent on the foregone activities and before you deposit it as part of your savings at the end of the week or month, use about 10-20% to treat yourself. A bit of positive reinforcement helps to make the financial change of pace easier.
3. Get your safety nets in place: As you save it’s prudent that you consider how unpredictable life is. A random event could end up making you empty the savings account that you have worked so hard to create. A smart and safe move is to assess your risks and figure out how to protect yourself from them. Insurance premiums can be a nuisance, but you’d honestly rather have insurance and not need it than need it and not have it. There’s also a peace of mind that comes with having financial security and safety nets. Another safety net to consider, though this is not for everyone, is additional revenue streams. If there is something that you’re good at that has the potential to be monetized or see a venture that you comprehensively understand and hope to support it, you could go ahead and invest. Multiple streams of income offer financial security, and the chance to achieve financial goals ahead of schedule. They also provide enough of a financial cushion in case you need to withstand any shocks that may be caused as a result of delayed payments or defaults.
4. Constantly review and re-adjust: As you change and grow so does the nature of your priorities and expenses. It is up to you to evaluate your expenses regularly and determine which expense is valid and which is frivolous. This process or different versions of it is an ongoing pursuit and if meticulously done could offer financial freedom.◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 009
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A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 007 9
The Digital Skills Gap In African Youth: How does Africa catch up to the rest of the world?
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he digital economy is intangible and constantly changing, just like smoke. In order to discern its benefits you need to be familiar with its building blocks and this means you need to focus on the ‘digital’ part the phrase digital economy. Technology has helped solve so many problems around human interaction, and since human interaction is a key feature in business, tech has ended up creating value and generating incredible amounts of wealth. As a result of disruptive technology that connects people companies in silicon-valley have achieved billion dollar valuations in a space of 2 to 3 years. Prior to the tech boom this was unheard of. The world woke up to the potential that tech companies had. However as the rest of the world enjoys the benefits of a booming tech industry, Africa’s start-up scene can’t seem to keep
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up. There a lot of factors contributing to the gap between first world start-ups and local African start-ups but I believe the issue starts at the beginning with the creators of African tech companies. A lot of the founders in local African start-ups are expatriates who understand business and the utility of the product their creating but not the African business ecosystem. Despite this disconnect at first, they are able to adapt their businesses for the local climate. However imagine if local African talent had the ability to create software solution to problems that they have known intimately for a long time. It would be a perfect fit for the local business climate. Before I go on, this is not to say that foreigners can’t adapt projects for the African business climate, but to say locals can too and when they rival even Silicon Valley giants. Case in point, it was a young Kenyan with a strong tech background that developed a moneytransfer model which grew to become the World famous Mpesa and as a result Safaricom, the parent company, is currently at the $ 10 Billion valuation mark. If a lot more African locals had similar tech and business backgrounds as the founders of these silicon-valley giants, I believe they could find relevant and creative ways of solving problems however there is a huge skills gap in Africa when it comes to tech. So what is the right way to give more African youth the skills that they would need to compete globally or at least create solutions to their own problems? The first step required to enhance the skills of African youth
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WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 009
for the digital economy is and will always be education. The to still be at a bit of a disadvantage because the average African youth need to know the building blocks of modern African youth still lacks proper digital infrastructure. A technology, then understand how they works and in turn consistent supply of electricity and a strong connection to grasp how value can be created from them. There are the internet can be difficult to come by and when available organizations throughout America that focus of teaching can be fairly expensive. We haven’t even mentioned the children from the age of 7 years old and upwards, about high cost of cutting edge devices that are essential for software and how to code. They are inspiring the next creating software. generation of coders. For African youth to have a fighting chance, the If local African talent had the ability to create software same head-start should be offered solution to problems that they have known intimately locally to African children. They for a long time. It would be a perfect fit for the local should have a working knowledge of business climate. both hardware and software. African youth above the age of 18 years old should also be given a chance to learn the fundamentals of software, hardware and business. Looking at the current education system it is difficult to gather these skills at the same time. However, classic education is being disrupted by newer models that have sprung up online which offer Microcredentialing, or the certification of specific skills or competencies, has the potential to focus training offerings, reduce time spent in training, and respond to market demand so that young people can attain skills required by employers, transition to work more quickly, and develop additional skills over time. This cuts the training time from years to a matter of months and delivers the exact combination of skills needed to pursue given objectives. This method of learning is common in even in Silicon Valley and Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates has stated openly that despite him not completing college, he has taken multiple mini-courses that have helped him understand how to manage his company better with respect to the quick changing pace of tech.
One way to go about solving a majority of the problems facing the African youth, with respect to the digital economy, is by creating ‘hubs’ where they can have access to world class hardware, learn new skills and practice them until they are good enough for the industry. These hubs can then transition their best into formal employment, think-tanks and accelerators where the skilled young people can innovate and contribute to the digital economy.
This radical new way of delivering education is incredible and can do a world of good however there are a few barriers to entry for the average African youth/child. They happen
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A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 007
A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
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WHITE COLLAR | ISSUE 009
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A MAGAZINE FOR THE CAREER-PERSON AND ENTREPRENEUR
