We've now been in Kenya for over four weeks working with our
respective entrepreneurial groups and time seems to be flying by at an
alarmingly quick rate. The main aim of the first couple of weeks with our
groups was to introduce a few tools designed to help them be creative and
innovative with their business and map out every aspect to help minimise risk.
Moreover, a huge emphasis has been placed on extensively testing a chosen idea
in the market because the best validation for any idea is someone actually
paying for it. This highlights ...
September 12, 2013
September 11, 2013
A Hopeful Vision
In a small alley behind the main street of Nakuru town, you’ll find a group of young budding traders selling clothes, shoes, printing services, fruit salad, and more. One can walk through this smoke-free passage without fear of being harassed by desperate or drunk hawkers, and customers are never under any pressure to purchase.
These disciplined traders are all part of the Hope & Vision co-operative, awarded ‘Best Managed Sacco in Nakuru’ in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and ‘Best Youth-Run Society in Kenya’ in 2012. Hope & Vision originally started ...
September 10, 2013
The Kenyan Way of Life
The Kenyan way of life is an intriguing phenomenon to behold.
I can’t emphasise enough the laid back manner of Kenyan life. If I arrange to
meet a Kenyan at 1pm and they arrive at 2pm, they would see this as being on
time and find it perfectly acceptable. It’s a little difficult to adapt to
because in the UK if you arrange a meeting for 1pm it isn't uncommon for all
attendees of this meeting to arrive by 12:50pm. This cultural difference
regarding time has affectionately become known as “Kenyan time or Mzungu time”-
Mzungu being ...
The Business Model Canvas
The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is the main tool we are using
with our Kenya groups to help them map out their business and understand how
they can create, deliver and capture value.
The BMC was created by Osterwalder & Pigneur and they
propose that a business model can be described through nine basic building
blocks that outline how a business intends to make money. The nine blocks cover
the four main areas of a business: customers, offer, infrastructure &
financial viability.
The BMC is encouraged as the most useful tool ...
