Challenge Hack 2: Solving One of the 8 Challenges of High Impact Entrepreneurship

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GES 2015 in Nairobi
Challenge Hack 2: Solving One of the 8 Challenges of High Impact Entrepreneurship
Sunday, July 26, 2015

Estimated number of participants: 55 people

Overall challenges and barriers to scaling:

  • Access to finance and capital 
  • Need more resources (skilled personnel, information technology) to ensure that businesses have what they need to grow 
  • Cultural barriers
  • Need prioritize and focus, in order to increase productivity 
  • Lack of a growing market 
  • Some believe that should keep business small for ease of management
  • People have businesses to survive but not necessarily to grow and expand
  • Solutions/ opportunities:
  • Focus on gradual growth
  • Networking with individuals and businesses in the same business line
  • Look for markets where business can expand (regional markets) 
  • Join efforts with others to gain new ideas, resources and support
  • Outcomes/ conclusions:
  • We can get to a solution by thinking in many different ways

Addressing cultural challenges/ barriers (such as traditions, language, and religion):
Solutions/ Opportunities:

  • Research to ensure your business’ logo/ slogans/trademarks are not offensive to the markets that you target—case of Exxon spending millions of dollars to find the right name and logo for most of the trading regions
  • Change the dress code to fit market 
  • In case of a scarf company in the Muslim world, diversify product around the scarf by making: student scarfs, veils for adults, wraps for Africa etc.
  • Outcomes or conclusions:
  • Use culture to your business’ advantage, by understanding it and offering products that fit and are profitable

How to execute an idea:  

Where does an idea come from?: 

  • Solve a problem or challenge
  • Meet needs of other people
  • See an opportunity to make money 
  • Prevent a problem from occurring , e.g. in Egypt, a platform was developed to post messages to discourage people from going to dangerous locations
  • Can be spontaneous, arise out of a current situation, and be based on passion
  • Executing an idea:
  • Use partnerships  as they are critical to success
  • Believe in your idea
  • Do not overthink – or let the perfect be the enemy of moving forward