STARTUP ETHIOPIA FORUM
On the 8th of June 2019, GrowthAfrica took part in the biggest startup pitch event in Addis Ababa dubbed Startup Ethiopia as partners. The event sought to build and grow Ethiopia’s emerging startup ecosystem and showcase the country’s potential to the world. The event had 3 Pitch Stages, 120 Semi-finalists, 50 Investors and a 1,000,000 Birr prize.
Startup Ethiopia
The objectives of the event were:
- To identify and showcase dynamic startups from all over Ethiopia and across all sectors, organized according to the SDGs;
- To position Ethiopia as an emerging vibrant startup ecosystem;
- To create a platform for startups to connect to investors; and
- To raise early-stage and impact investor interest in Ethiopian startups.
Our very own CEO, Johnni Kjelsgaard was a panellist discussing the topic “From Starting Up to Scaling Up: Where the Magic Happens”.
KOMBEZA FOODS IN NAIROBI
One of our ventures Kombeza Foods is a dairy processing business based in Malawi that specialises in the production of yoghurt. They recently visited Nairobi, Kenya on a mission to learn how dairy production is done in the country. They visited various production plants in the city to further understand the best practice they can implement to take their product to new levels.
Kombeza Foods visit Nairobi
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS
On the 20th of June 2019, we hosted yet another masterclass where entrepreneurs got to learn one of the most important things in business, that is how to engage with customers well for business success. This class was delivered by none other than industry expert in customer experience, Pauline Warui, she is the founder of EA customer service. The house was jam-packed with entrepreneurs who were eager to learn how best to engage and retain their customers especially in this digital era, where we see customers being more discerning than before.
Pauline Warui founder of EA customer care addressing entrepreneurs
She shared key take-homes for the businessmen and women that can be put into practice immediately:
- Customer experience is the emotions businesses elicit from their customers so that they can build relationships
- Business owners must identify who their customers are, they must have a niche they are serving
- To get quality customers, businesses must use their valuable networks
- Value addition, businesses must prepare the product/service the way the customer likes it
- Entrepreneurs should never ignore the most complacent customer
