The first edition of the EB Connect came off successfully with about 9 early-stage startups participating. On the 7th of October,2022 Enterprise Bureau rolled out its initiative dubbed EB CONNECT to bring together stakeholders of the Startup Ecosystem in Africa to discuss and proffer solutions to some issues faced by the Startup community that needed urgent solutions. This is geared towards making enough resources and opportunities available for players to maximize their chances of success.
The first session, Time with The Expert, had a resource person in the person of Mr King Kojo Sarfo, the Managing Director of Firstcode Management Services, speaking on the topic, Turning Ideas into Profitable Businesses. He identified five points on how to go about this.
The first being, identifying a problem. One cannot find a solution before looking for a problem to solve, he said. You would need to have identified a problem first, then now look for a solution to that problem.
Also, after one has identified a problem, the individual needs to locate or identify their target market. Knowing ones’ target market helps you know where to focus your resources, he said.
One would then need to build a team. No man is an island or can do it all; So, there is the need to have a support team to assist in carry out the dream.
Then, one would need a business model or plan. This would help simplify what you are doing into profitability. It was said one can start a business without a business plan but it might end up failing. A business plan is like a road map; it guarantees sustainability of the business.
When all these have been put in place, then one proceeds into raising the needed capital for their business. It was advised to start raising such capital from your friends and family.
The brainstorming session came in when participants were made to make mention of their business ideas and the problems it seeks to solve. Discussions occurred and suggestions were given to help straighten some of these business ideas.
A question was posed to participants on some of the doubts or fears they have as entrepreneurs. Which they shared and some suggestions were made to help them overcome such fears.
Some of the Participants were Mr Gibril Yakubu (Tanko’s Enterprise, a winner of the just-ended Zongo Shark Tank Competition), Miss Khadija Osman (Oskhalim Food Processing another winner of the Zongo Shark Tank), Mr. Samuel Agyei (an entrepreneur), Sally Ahmed (a football entrepreneur), Mr Nyanueke (Village Farmers Hood in Akropong), Yussif Bawa (Kuruhub), Mr. Joseph Tetteh (an entrepreneur) and Mr Harris Kumar (Glico Insurance).
Some key insights noted were the need to focus on the local market before thinking of going international, if the problem you are trying to solve originated locally. Also, the fear of ones’ idea being stolen when shared was discouraged. It was noted that everyone has a different passion and drive and ideas would continue to be ideas if one does not act on them.
Participants expressed how insightful the session was and were thankful for being able to take part.
Source: enterprisebureau.org
