REGINA BVUDZIJENA
Entrepreneurship is very hard and can be very difficult, especially if you have no support network around you. We held a Meet and Greet event on September 14 2018 in Harare to help entrepreneurs link up and exchange ideas. It was an electric event, which drove the message home, that if you sit in your office as an entrepreneur you miss out on what is going on around you and don’t develop.
Our guest speakers were Mrs Jackie Hussein, an Accountant and Managing Consultant of July 28 and Nigel Dutiro, an energetic motivational speaker. Present at the event were entrepreneurs from different sectors such as Farming, Coding, Renewable Energy among others. The event proved that entrepreneurs need each other to develop.
Entrepreneurs Fear
As a start-up ecosystem builder, we sought to understand some of the biggest problems being faced by entrepreneurs and contrary to popular belief, money is not always the biggest problem. Entrepreneurs spoke of their fear of having their ideas stolen by bigger companies or potential partners. This proved to be one hot topic. It is clear that there is still a lot of mistrust out there amongst entrepreneurs and this is very unhealthy.
The main aim of the Tech Hub Meet and Greet events are to diffuse tensions and encourage entrepreneurs to trust each other. Our Meet and Greet event brings entrepreneurs together to encourage collaboration and co-creation. By the end of the event we were elated to see that most participants were exchanging phone numbers and will certainly be meeting again. Tech Hub remains a space where new ideas are being born and grown. Could this be the start of our very own Silicon Valley in Harare? We surely hope it is because entrepreneurs were very eager to exchange ideas and were open with each and more importantly are ready to collaborate on their ideas.
Benefits of networking
There are many benefits of networking and we thought this week we should share some of them. Here are some of the benefits of attending a networking event:
- Being visible and getting noticed
This is one of the biggest benefits of networking as an entrepreneur. If you are not doing it, you need to get out more and interact with others. Regularly attend business and social events that will help you to get you and your product known. - To generate referrals
So you go out and start to talk to someone and they tell you that they know someone who can help or who is looking for what you are offering. At networking events there are many referrals one gets from networking and in most cases there are even prequalified leads that you can quickly close if you follow through. - Opportunities
When like-minded minds meet there is often a big chance that you won’t leave empty handed. With a motivated group of entrepreneurs especially the ones we hosted last week comes a lot of opportunities such as the possibility of forming joint ventures or partnerships. - Advice
When two people meet ideas are born and developed. Having likeminded business people talking in a networking environment often leads to free advice that can help you address challenges related to your business. Networking is therefore a great way to tap into advice and expertise that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get hold of.
Turning back to our event we had a few ‘take homes’ that are worth sharing. The issue of secrecy in business ventures in Zimbabwe was openly debated and stood out like a sore thumb! Many saw this as one of the biggest draw backs in many Zimbabwean businesses. Zimbabwean entrepreneurs are scared to share their ideas because they feel that they can be stolen by their fellow colleagues.
Fear of rejection
It doesn’t end there, people are even much more scared to pitch their ideas to potential investors as they fear that once rejected by the investor (especially some big Zimbabwean companies) they will go behind their backs and implement the “rejected ideas” and take them as their own. This is not only worrying but is a recipe for disaster as entrepreneurs who are meant to be the backbone of the country’s innovation drive are shying away from developing their ideas. Many ideas therefore die before they are even born or are not executed to the fullest potential.
How then can they develop game changing start-ups? Hussein had some words of advice and pointed out that, “Your idea is yours alone, you birthed it and no one else can take that away from you. Only you can relate to it the way you thought of it and so do not lose focus; do it exactly your way and that will set you apart in this world.”
Ideas need execution
Most of the participants agreed with this view and “J.P.” Matenga founder of You Farm added that, “Sharing your idea is a chance for you to refine your idea. Every idea needs good execution and that’s where the person who came up with the idea is always passionate and often succeeds as they will do whatever it takes to develop it in the best way possible.” This in itself goes to show just how much, Zimbabwean entrepreneurs need networking events like these to renew and refine their way of thinking. We were encouraged by these exchanges and are looking forward to more such events.
Another big problem that was discussed by participants was the issue of giving away equity too early before you find the right product market fit. A lot of start-ups die due to ensuing squabbles amongst partners very early in the life of their business idea on the best route to take and so on. Although every story is unique it was pointed out that start-ups must think carefully when choosing partners or deciding to invite partners on board. If you do choose a partner in your start-up make sure you have a water tight shareholder’s agreement. If you decide to disclose your idea to a corporate get those to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement as a starting point. Readers will agree with us that these are not things you can learn in isolation! There is need to be part of a network and learn from other peoples’ experiences, chances are someone has already experienced what you going through and this can save you both time and money.
Need for mentorship programmes
The last challenge that was mentioned was that of the lack of mentorship in the country. Some participants felt insecure about mentors and held the view that some mentors could be out to steal their ideas. One participant even pointed out that people are drowning in the identities of their mentors and added that, “Find a mentor but have a trade mark”. Most entrepreneurs cannot define themselves away from their mentors therefore are not presenting anything new. Another participant also noted that in business there are ideas you can protect and some you just can’t protect so having a mentor is a risk that you going to have to take and live with. It was exciting to note that mentorship is being taken seriously in Zimbabwe. One avid mentor added, “If you lose your idea it should not crush and burn you, passion should be your sole motivator and when your mind is aligned in this manner, not even theft should stop you.”
Entrepreneurship Club
At the end of the event we launched an Entrepreneurship Club which is open to entrepreneurs who value networking opportunities the sharing of ideas and experiences. Membership to the club is free and there are many benefits which include:
- Access to Tech Hub Space and resources
• Learning and Training through Seminars, Retreats & Workshops
• Idea Assessments, Pitch competitions, Conferences, Hackathons
• Business plan reviews and assessments
• Club newsletter with news and exclusive opportunities
• Lightning Talks with prominent / successful entrepreneurs
• Discounts to partner events / products and services
• Exposure to investors and partners and much more
For those who are interested in finding out more about our Entrepreneurship Club please visit Http://cowork.co.zw or email us at sales@brieftechonline.com.
