Student Startup: Why College Is the Perfect Time to Launch a Business

With college students stressing about exams, scrapping pennies to buy their weekly supply of ramen noodles and pulling all-nighters at the library, (while also trying to squeeze in a social life), starting a company may be the last thing on their minds. But it shouldn't be.

When I started my business Headbands of Hope in college, there were always reasons why I shouldn’t launch a company at that moment: I need to focus on school or I don’t have enough experience. But I soon realized ever there will always be reason in life to say, “It’s not the right time.” In fact, I’d argue that your college years are as close to “the right time” as you’re going to get.  

For students on the fence about whether to take the dive or not, here are a few reasons your college years are the perfect time to start a company.

You have resource galore. When I got the idea for Headbands of Hope, I didn't have a business degree or know anything about manufacturing a product. Then I made a wonderful realization: I'm surrounded by experts. When you're on a college campus, professors are filled with knowledge and experience to help you. The free consulting I got from professors answered all the questions I had about starting a business and taking my first steps.

Once you are out of college these experts are known as consultants and will charge you an arm and leg for advice. So make sure you take advantage of the professors and mentors you have at your fingertips.

The built-in network and support. When you're a college student, peers of your same “university breed” surround you. If you've ever been to a college football game or any kind of large school event, you'll witness a sea of students uniting behind one thing, which is pretty amazing. It doesn't matter if you know each other or not, students wants people at his or her university to succeed and do great things.

My first big market was the student body at my university. Then those students told their friends and family, and then my mission started having a ripple effect across the nation. Plus, college students are more likely to use social media for anything they find interesting, so it builds a great social-media foundation from the start.

Being selfish is acceptable. In college, you do have responsibilities. However, these obligations will probably pale in comparison to the ones you will have after you graduate and are in the "real world." Often as a college student, the only responsibility you have is yourself. You have the ability to be selfish.

Invest heart, soul and your finances into something that you believe in. When there's less responsibility for you to worry about, it's easier to take these kinds of risks. 

You have a reputation to dispel. We all know some of the blaring stereotypes of the millennial generation. We are lazy, social-media obsessed, twerking twenty-something who don't know hard work. These negative stereotypes can actually be advantageous to an entrepreneur. When a millennial does something awesome, it's a big deal.

So much of the press and attention I got when I founded my company was because I was so young. Use young age to your advantage and be proud to be a millennial. 

It's okay to fail. I like to think of our college years as life's greatest do-over period. It's okay to make mistakes. In fact, failing at anything means you're trying.

If I'm ever too comfortable and I'm not getting rejections, it means I'm not stretching myself far enough. If you mess up at something while you're in college, there's still so much room to bounce back. The last thought you want after college is regret of not going after a dream.

When things don't go as planned (which is very frequent) it's called an experience. Experiences are carried with you the rest of your life, giving you more insight to the world around you.

These ideas aren’t just about starting a company in college. They’re about using your resources available to you in those four (or five….or six) years and making experiences.

From Entrepreneur

By  JESSICA EKSTROM 

4 Critical Traits of Great Leaders

Mahatma Gandhi

Most of us strive to become leaders. We want to do something great, be respected by our peers, make more money and acquire more responsibility. Overall, we want to make a difference at our job. However, most of us simply don’t know the proper way to gain heightened respect, confidence and admiration from those whom we work with.

In reality, there is no simple answer to leadership. It takes devotion, time and patience. Most importantly, it takes knowledge.

A firm understanding of leadership

Without a firm understanding of what makes someone more influential, you cannot begin to alter your beliefs, and practices accordingly.

Though, once aware of the traits that make someone more authoritative, you can formulate a plan to improve upon lacking areas and alter the behaviors preventing you from achieving management and executive status.

Below, you’ll find a list of traits that our sales and marketing headhunters look for in leaders, along with some exercises to enhance your influence and responsibility at work.

Defining the traits of leadership

1. Strength - Begin to carry yourself with poise and confidence. People are drawn to confidence and shy away from nervousness, lack of authenticity and insecurity.

How you feel about yourself will dictate your ability to lead and command authority. Essentially, if you don’t feel you’re important and deserving, don’t expect your co-workers to.

If you have come across as anxious and unassertive with your co-workers in the past, don’t focus on these shortcomings.

Your co-workers, like anyone else will have a short memory and so should you. From now on, think of the prior experiences as a learning tool rather than a future forecaster.

With that being said, here are some exercises on how to increase self-confidence and perceived strength:

a. Challenge the negative beliefs you have about yourself. Instead of focusing all your energy on what you don’t like about you, give equal weight to all your positive qualities.

b. Focus on past successes rather than failures. Don’t mull over what you’ve done incorrectly. It’s more productive to think about all the things you’ve done right in the past. Reinforce these thoughts repeatedly.

c. Stop always needing to be right. Understand there is nothing shameful about past work mistakes.

d. Stop looking to others for acceptance and happiness. Learn that you don’t need anyone’s approval for your own self-confidence.

e. The recruiters at KAS Placement strongly suggest that you let go of any anger that you are holding on to. Anger and resentment will prove a significant barrier to you becoming a leader at work.

2. Positive Energy - Leaders show positive energy and optimism, showering their people with a can-do attitude. This outlook draws co-workers to them and paves the way for influence, respect and admiration from others.

In terms of leadership, positive energy has a multitude of benefits and is nothing short of a crucial component.

When you’re positive, you think in terms of solutions, not problems, you inspire risk taking, tend to be more resilient and think more clearly.

Moreover, you are more assertive and your candor allows for quicker, more open communication amongst the other employees. This is the foundation of strong leadership.

3. Passion - Being passionate about your job means possessing a heartfelt, deep and authentic excitement about work. This excitement is infectious and naturally will draw others to your way of thinking.

People follow positivity, effectiveness, intelligence and resiliency. All of which are byproducts of loving what you do.

Until you learn to love work, you can’t hope to display the necessary positive energy leadership requires.

Either proactively search for the perfect employment or train yourself to become more passionate in your current job. Regardless, make a firm decision to stay or leave and follow through with it.

Here are a few ways how to increase your passion for work:

a. Increase your performance. Leaders do everything possible to increase the effectiveness of their work. They put in the extra time and sincerely enjoy what they do partly because others admire their efforts.

b. Think about what is going right rather than obsessing about your problems. Understand that no job is going to be perfect and create a reality that is more upbeat and success focused.

c. Stop focusing on what people “owe” you and begin focusing on what you can do to standout.

4. Selflessness - Leaders are selfless. They are more interested in group achievements as opposed to chasing their own goals.

By consistently pouring out encouragement, caring and recognition, your co-workers will become more drawn to you. Regardless of whether or not you are management, take every opportunity to inject self-confidence into those who earned it.

In the end

Most significant things at work and in life require work, study and most important, practice. Leadership is no different. Understand that no one is born a leader. Rather, they decide to mold themselves into one.

From Entreprenuer

By  KEN SUNDHEIM 

Women Entrepreneurs To Get 60% Of SME Fund – CBN

In line with women empowerment and entrepreneurship, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has earmarked 60 percent (N132 billion) of its N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to women entrepreneurs in the country.

Speaking at an organised workshop on the scheme in Ilorin, Kwara State; CBN Governor – Mallam Lamido Sanusi, who was represented by the Branch Controller, CBN Ilorin, Mr Onoriode Olotewo stated that “the specific objective is to reach over 2.0 million MSMEs over a 10-year period. In addition, 60 percent of the fund is targeted at women entrepreneurs.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria launched the MSMEs fund in August 2013 to provide the much needed capital for that sub-sector of the economy with the view of channelling long-term, low-interest funds through participating financial institutions.

The fund, which was launched at the 7th MSME financing conference and D-8 workshop, in Abuja last year, would address challenges of access to capital operators in the sub-sector were facing currently.

“The successful intermediation of the financial sector lies in the financial market to integrate the micro entrepreneurs, with low income earners, farmers, artisans into the financial system to improve the effectiveness of the policy” Sanusi had said during the initial launch of the fund.

As at 2012, Nigeria had about 8 million MSMEs employing about 42.4 million people and contributing about 46.5 per cent of nominal GDP.

Meanwhile, Olotewo said the sensitisation workshop was organised to educate the State government, the participating financial institutions and the organised private sector on the advantages of the funds.

He said the apex bank has developed operational guidelines for the State government’s participation in the MSME development fund with a view of reaching the peoples at the grassroots, adding that the MSME development fund has two broad objectives of performing both social and commercial functions.

According to him, the “social /development fund” will constitute 10 percent which is made up of grant- 5 percent, interest drawback, 3 percent, and managing agents operational costs, 2 percent while the “commercial fund” will constitute 90 percent of the fund- 90 per cent of the commercial component; and guarantee/refinancing – 10 per cent of the commercial component.

In his remarks, the Deputy Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Prof. Mohammed Yisa, appealed to the CBN to make the criteria for accessing the fund less cumbersome for stakeholders and also ensure timely disbursement of funds.

From Ventures Africa

By: Oluwabusayo Sotunde

‘Age is nothing but a number,’ says the young CEO behind the Helvetic Group

Patrick Ngowi is the 29-year-old entrepreneur and CEO behind Helvetic Solar Contractors, a company that supplies, installs and maintains solar systems in Tanzania. Having started with an initial capital of US$1,800, the company has grown rapidly in recent years and, according to Forbes, the company reportedlymade $6.8m in revenue in 2012.

Patrick Ngowi, CEO of Helvetic Solar Contractors

Ngowi first started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 15 while still in high school. Mobile phone operators had only just established themselves in the country and distributors of top-up vouchers for airtime were still scarce. Ngowi started buying airtime vouchers from large dealers in Arusha and supplying his community, making a small margin on each sale.

After school he started another business supplying inexpensive mobile phones and accessories from Chinese manufacturers in the Tanzanian market and, at just 18 years old, he had an annual turnover of $150,000.

But it was during his trips to Hong Kong that he learnt about the potential of solar power, and saw the opportunity to start the Helvetic Group. Now, seven years later, he says the potential is still huge for solar power in Tanzania, and African countries in general.

“Energy and power distribution in Tanzania is no different from other African countries. In East Africa we have less that 20% power distribution, and Tanzania is no different with 22% power distribution. It’s our hope that with Obama’s Power Africa initiative, launched mid-last year in Tanzania, it will double the figures but [it] still leaves more the 50% in most rural areas without power. In my opinion solar can bridge the gap for the time being,” Ngowi told How we made it in Africa.

“Of course, financing remains a key challenge. Recipients in rural parts do not have the capital to invest on the high initial costs.”

In 2012, Ngowi started the Light for Life Foundation to help light up rural areas. His company also launched the affordable Helvetic Solar Kit to cater to the electrical needs of rural customers. Helvetic has since sold 12,635 units.

Ngowi added that he has proven it is possible to have a social enterprise in Africa that positively benefits many lives, and still makes a high turnover.

Respect is earned

“Age is nothing but a number, what matters is content. One should stick to what they know best; do what they know. Respect is earned,” said Ngowi when asked how he deals with discrimination in business associated with his young age.

Ngowi believes that his success has come from discipline, trustworthiness, focus, and working hard but smartly. He added that he has faced many challenges as an entrepreneur, and made a number of mistakes, and says that he often has to evaluate the decisions he makes on a day-to-day basis as a result.

However, according to Ngowi, it is the love for what he does that keeps him going through the challenges he faces. For example, when the company’s warehouse was robbed in 2009 – an event Ngowi describes as “heart breaking” – the team had to change its model and start from scratch.

“Find a passion that you can run with for the short term and long term, own the rights to it and work as hard as one can towards fulfilling your goal,” Ngowi advises other aspiring entrepreneurs. “Anything worth having doesn’t come easy.”

Ngowi’s plans for the future include building solar power plants and adopting an African expansion strategy, with which he would like to reach more African countries in the next few years.

From How We Made it in Africa

By  KATE DOUGLAS

‘Business is not a short sprint, it’s a marathon,’ says baby product maker

Carol Ngige, founder of Beauty Bee

Entrepreneurs should be patient and make “continuous investment” in their businesses before expecting rewards.

This is according to Kenyan entrepreneur Carol Ngige also runs Baby Banda Fair. The annual event brings together health professionals and firms specialising in baby and pregnancy products and services to train and advise parents in Kenya.This is according to Kenyan entrepreneur Carol Ngige. For the last seven years Ngige has been running Beauty Bee, a company that locally manufactures mother and baby related products such as breastfeeding pillows, nursing covers, maternity briefs, changing mats and travel neck pillows for babies.

“Business is not a short sprint, it’s a marathon,” says Ngige. “It’s for the long haul. You need to be patient with yourself and take time to nurture whatever business you have and grow it. There are projects we have done that did not translate into money immediately but we have kept at it. In fact, we did not break even in the baby fair until the third year.”

Ngige started Beauty Bee in 2006 after seeing a breastfeeding pillow at a friend’s house. The product was not available in Kenya and most mothers imported it or used ordinary pillows for breastfeeding.

Ngige borrowed a sewing machine from her mother, hired a tailor and started manufacturing at her home. She says she continued operating the business from her home for three years because she did not see it as a serious business.

“It was always something I did part time because I had another business that was occupying my time. I was really hustling. I had my hand here and there. I had a networking marketing opportunity that I really believed in and pursued with all my heart. This was always a nice to do side job. I never really focused on it,” says Ngige.

When Kenya plunged into the 2008 post-election violence, the network marketing business floundered, as did the pillow making venture.

“This was a very definitive period for me. I needed to decide what I wanted to do with my life. The two businesses were both not working,” she says. “One night I had a dream and I saw an event, very clear and vivid. When I woke up I knew what I needed to do.”

As the violence subsided and business picked up, Ngige visited a local shopping mall and began organising the first Baby Banda Fair.

The fair provided her with a platform to market her pillows and build the Beauty Bee brand.

“It became an opportunity for me to actually relaunch the business in a very serious way. I began to focus on the brand and our products. After the event we moved out of my home, rented a small office and I hired my first full-time employee.”

The company has since expanded its product portfolio, hired more staff and moved to a bigger office space. Beauty Bee products are stocked by leading supermarkets in Kenya, as well as baby shops and hospitals. Ngige says she had to “knock doors tirelessly” to get her products stocked by supermarkets.

“[A local supermarket chain] took three years before they agreed to stock our products. We were patient, we kept knocking for three years [and] made a compelling case on why they needed to stock us,” says Ngige. “These days they call us when the stocks are depleted. When they open a new branch they ask for our products. Times have changed but it has come with hard work and investment in the brand.”

Another challenge Ngige has faced is accessing good talent and retaining staff.

“Getting skilled workforce for our production department has been a challenge. Quite unlike the other personnel, tailors and artisans don’t develop their CVs. You don’t have a pool to choose from. Therefore being able to ensure that whoever you are hiring is aligned to what it is you want to do can be quite hard.”

Growth markets

Beauty Bee’s flagship product, the breastfeeding pillow, retails for KSh. 1,650 (US$19).

A study by Transparency Market Research shows the global baby care product market was worth $44.7bn in 2011 and is expected to reach $66.8bn in 2017.

Developing countries are seen as growth markets due to their large baby populations, increasing numbers of women joining the workforce and an upsurge in the disposable incomes of parents.

“Today’s mother is more informed. We have access to various channels of getting information and people want to find things that make life easier and more comfortable. You can’t ignore the fact that we have a growing middle class, people have a bit more disposable income and that places products such as [ours] in the considerations set when one is doing purchases.”

The lessons

Ngige’s seven-year journey in entrepreneurship has come with many lessons. She says she honed her skills in the IT industry where she worked in the marketing department of a leading firm. This background has helped her utilise technology to improve her business operations.

“Technology is an enabler… It levels the playing ground for the big and small alike because it is relatively more affordable in terms of marketing communication. I may not be selling online solutions but we use technology a lot to uplift this business.”

She advises other women entrepreneurs to build relationships with their peers and improve their professional competency by advancing their education and reading widely. Nginge went back to school in 2010 to study an MBA in order to improve her business management skills.

“Sometimes I wonder to myself, did I really want to be a CEO? It’s a tough job. The buck always stops with you. When things are not working it is up to you to fix them. I think it is important to invest in yourself professionally and also as a person. Professional competency is important if you are looking to be a business leader.”

From How We Made it in Africa

By  DINFIN MULUPI

E-commerce site connects craftswomen to global market

“I love challenges. When someone tells me I cannot do it I work even harder and prove them wrong,” says Kenyan entrepreneur Catherine Mahugu. 

Catherine Mahugu, co-founder of Soko

In 2012 Mahugu partnered with US entrepreneurs Ella Peinovich and Gwendolyn Floyd to startSoko, an online store that enables craftswomen in developing economies to become global entrepreneurs. Through the e-commerce platform, artisans can sell their handcrafted jewellery to consumers worldwide using basic feature phones.

Soko has attracted funding from investors and won numerous awards internationally for its efforts in helping artisans participate in the global marketplace.

Mahugu co-founded Soko while she was studying Computer Science at the University of Nairobi. The young entrepreneur attributes her interest in sciences and technology to her upbringing. Her father had an engineering background and “was always fixing things in the house”.

Mahugu has been involved in a number of ICT development projects including Stanford University’s Nokia Africa Research Centre Design Project building mobile applications that target informal communities.

She notes that although “being a young woman in a male-dominated industry can work against you”, she chooses not to allow her gender and age to stop her from accomplishing her dreams.

“I just ignore all the noises in the background and do what I enjoy.”

Mahugu says Soko was inspired by the challenges artisans in developing countries face which limit how much they earn from their trade.

“If you go to most informal settlements you will notice the majority of the women do beadwork but they don’t really earn a lot of money. There are so many economic discriminations they face. We wanted to transform these micro-entrepreneurs into global entrepreneurs by giving them exposure and visibility through the Soko platform.”

Soko works with 200 artisans in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. It is also piloting in Latin America and India, a project made possible by the USAID Development Innovation Venture grant.

Artisans who want to work with Soko register with the company and upload photos of their products on the e-commerce platform. When a purchase is made, Soko uses its boda (bicycle operators) system to collect the items and handle the shipment. Products often reach the consumer within 10-15 days.

Mahugu says Soko has been “making some good sales”, noting that the company began selling in Kenya to meet growing demand for high quality, handcrafted jewellery.

Changing business model

The major challenges Soko faces are power interruptions and unreliable internet which makes communication and coordinating activities among the company’s global team difficult. Soko has also had to change its model along the way to attract and retain customers and ensure efficiency in its operations.

“When we started out we knew we were a technology company. However, in time we developed a service layer to ensure that we have the stickiness of the consumer and artisan. We had to be creative enough to provide other services other than just being a technology company. That was a shift in our model but we have been able to tackle it very well.”

The Soko team plans to expand the company to Latin America, Asia and other parts of Africa.

Despite the many challenges the team has faced, Mahugu says giving up has never been an option.

“As co-founders we are in this for the long haul. Giving up is not an option. I know most people in the world who have made it went through failure but that did not stop them. I would say some of the challenges we have faced have made us stronger and more resilient.”

Be proud of your achievements

Running a startup, Mahugu says, is a great learning experience and entrepreneurs should be open-minded and willing to learn from others and their mistakes.

“I have learnt skills ranging from finance to government policies that relate to opening a new business and even legal issues.”

She advises other women in male-dominated industries to believe in themselves and surround themselves with mentors and peers they can learn from and lean on when the going gets tough.

“Women don’t give themselves credit for their successes. Instead they attribute it to external factors versus men who say: ‘I did this.’ Women should be proud of their achievements.”

African youth, she adds, should overcome their fears and plunge into entrepreneurship, adding that investing in an area one is passionate about, working hard and taking calculated risks eventually pays off.

“I know most people would prefer having job security because running a startup comes with a lot of ups and downs. But when you take the risk you get the gains. So people should just be open-minded… and take the deep plunge. Africa is the next economic frontier and entrepreneurship will drive economic growth.”

From How We Made it in Africa

By  DINFIN MULUPI

‘You have to risk it to make it,’ says Kenyan fashion designer

Kenyan entrepreneur Wambui Mukenyi studied accounting to appease her parents, but her real passion has always been fashion.

Wambui Mukenyi

While in school she interned as an assistant for a designer for two years and got to see how the fashion business works. When she graduated, then aged 24, Mukenyi started her own business using her personal savings and financial support from her family.

“I just love making beautiful outfits out of simple fabric,” she says. “When I was an intern I would get fascinated watching how the tailors were able to translate patterns into something awesome. It really made me curious to learn more about fashion.”

Mukenyi initially rented a small studio in 2009 and worked on her first collection “which was received well”.

“I was very afraid going into business at such a young age. The accounting background came in very handy but even now making big decisions is always scary. You have to risk it to make it.”

As demand for her fashion brand, Wambui Mukenyi, grew, she moved to a larger store. The company currently operates one store in Nairobi and another in Kilifi on the Kenyan coast and plans are underway to open a third outlet in the capital city. Its products also sell online on various ecommerce platforms.

“We want to open more branches in Kenya but we do not have enough money to finance that. We are looking for funds because opening in a shopping mall is quite expensive,” she adds.

The Wambui Mukenyi label is targeted at corporate women and bridal parties. The fashion house uses local celebrities such as news anchors and actors as brand ambassadors, and social media channels for marketing.

Mukenyi says the biggest hurdle she faces is accessing talent. “Getting a good team in place is a challenge,” she says.

Finding some fabrics locally is also difficult and this has prompted Mukenyi to import from China.

The soft-spoken entrepreneur attributes her success in business to persistence and creativity.

“As an entrepreneur you will always face ups and downs. You cannot throw in the towel. You have to learn to hold on when things are not working right because usually they get better in just a short while. Business can be very difficult at times, you just have to hold on.”

The self taught designer warns other entrepreneurs against trying “to be a Jack of all trades”.

“You need to surround yourself with people who can help you in different fields in which you are not competent. You may have a good product but if you get the marketing wrong your business will fail.”

Don’t give excuses

While women in Africa continue to face challenges in accessing financing and being accepted in the business world, Mukenyi says they should not dwell on the negatives and use the challenges they face as excuses to not pursue their dreams.

“I believe what a man can do a woman can do. It is just about business acumen and the drive you have to succeed in whatever you are doing,” she says. “It is a matter of being aggressive. If you want it, go get it, don’t give excuses.”

From How We Made it in Africa

By  DINFIN MULUPI 

iROKO enters the South African DVD market

iROKO Partners is launching 10,000 new Nigerian movie DVDs in South Africa and celebrates the launch with the help of Nollywood superstar Mama G

iROKO Partners, Africa’s largest source of Nigerian entertainment with its platforms iROKOtv and iROKING, announces a major strategic development via its entry into the South African DVD market and the launch of 10,000 new Nigerian movie DVDs.

 Nigeria’s movie industry, colloquially known as ‘Nollywood’ is the second largest film industry in the world, producing around 2,000 movies a year. 

The launch announced today represents the first foray for iROKOtv, ’Africa’s Netflix’, into the sizeable South African DVD market and is responding to demand for even more Nollywood content in South Africa.

It is also a brand new distribution channel for iROKOtv as historically the company’s content has only been available online,, but now the DVDs will be selling in local shops in Johannesburg.

To mark the launch, Nollywood superstar Mama G, who has starred in more than 500 movies, will be touring Johannesburg to sign the new iROKO DVDs. She will be the star attraction at a meet and greet event at Bara Mall in Soweto from June 14-16.

Jason Njoku, founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: “iROKOtv revolutionised the video-on-demand (VOD) industry for African entertainment when we launched, bringing thousands of movies online to Nollywood lovers around the world. In a short space of time, we were able to connect with the online African community but, in reality, the majority of Nollywood fans are offline and watch Nollywood on DVDs.

 “Access is the immediate challenge for VOD companies here. Until Africa comes online, DVDs will continue to be the primary platform to consume content, which is why iROKOtv has now entered the DVD market.”

 Almost 50 percent of iROKOtv’s traffic comes from the UK and US, as Diasporan communities have access to cheap and reliable broadband; something that cannot be said for the vast majority of Africans on the continent.

 Nollywood is increasingly popular in South Africa, but audiences struggle to access high quality, low-cost, legal content online, which makes the shift to DVD sales both exciting for iROKO as a new distribution channel and perfect for South African consumers.

 Genevieve Dumourne, Head of iROKO South Africa said: “The South African market entry is evidence of iROKO diversifying its offering and broadening its reach across the continent.

“When we launched www.iROKOtv.com 18 months ago, we gave Nollywood a home online, providing the content loved by so many with a well-deserved beautiful platform. With the launch of the DVD business, we have taken exactly the same approach, producing top quality discs in beautifully designed boxes that really stand out from anything else on the market. It’s an extremely exciting market and we have high expectations for growing this part of the business”.  

From African Business Review

By: Sheree Hanna

More than a million reasons to engage with social media

Travelstart, the Africa's largest online travel agency, has managed to secure a massive Facebook following through a focused, well-thought out and proactive marketing campaign.

One of Africa’s leading online travel booking companies, Travelstart,  is celebrating a huge social media marketing success after taking its Facebook fan base from just 200,000 to one million in less than a year.

The company hit the milestone million in October 2013 and then proceeded to add another half a million by the end of the year and today boasts more than 1.6 million.

It also has 10,000 twitter followers and around a 50,000 Google+ following thanks to its forward-thinking marketing strategies. It also has a presence on other channels such as YouTube and Pinterest.

Social Media Manager Nick Paul said: “As a travel company which conducts the vast majority of its business online, social media has proved invaluable in providing us a place to present the human face of the company and make our brand more recognisable and approachable.

“Oftentimes, Facebook is the first place that a user will learn about Travelstart and with advertising on Facebook in the developing world still being very cheap in comparison to developed nations, it’s a channel which makes obvious sense to exploit.”

Online operations

The company which has its global headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa, currently has online operations in 10 countries, including Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey (where it trades as Geziko), Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

It also has a generic Africa site for travellers in other African countries to book flights online and offices located in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Lagos, Cairo and Istanbul employing some 150 people.

Paul explained that getting to 1.6 million Facebook fans been no small task and in fact has taken years of dedicated work on the platform to grow its fan base from just 2,000 when he first took it over.

He said: “It required broadening our efforts not just in South Africa, but to numerous African countries where we have a business presence.

“It also required us creating a mix of effective advertising and the generation of useful, interesting content.”

Mobile phone use

The proliferation of mobile phone use in Africa, and the fact it is often the first tool through which many Africans engage with the web and use applications such as Facebook and Twitter, has played a major part in Travelstart’s decision to utilise social media.

Consequently, the company began to focus on growth through advertising, to increase the reach of its content.

“Facebook is not just another email newsletter or a billboard service and we realise that when working on social media, we are effectively guests as somebody else’s party,” said Paul.

“So it’s important to remain social and personable as a brand and refrain from traditional mass marketing messages in favour of generating and engaging in meaningful conversations with customers.

“As such we use Facebook a lot for customer service as well as a tool to gather information to produce useful content for our customers. For example, we identify common questions so as to be able to produce informative content which answers these questions for existing and potential customers.”

Terms of engagement

Travelstart has found Facebook to be its most rewarding channel in terms of engagement, lead generation and booking.

A recent study has indicated that Facebook’s latest changes to its algorithm and post formatting have increased the lead it has on its competitors, in terms of generating website visits, which is something Travelstart has observed with its own business.

In terms of tangible results, Travelstart’s Facebook strategy has worked well to inspire customers to travel and investigate its services, and helped enormously in building trust in the brand.

It has also proved to be an excellent customer service and reputation management tool. Paul said: “For us we have been able to measure the role Facebook has in being a distributor of our content and in being a customer service tool.

“It is probably more helpful to look at Facebook’s business value rather than the traditional marketing metric of direct return on investment.

“This means looking at the number of customer queries handled there or the reach our content has on an audience who has not yet heard of our brand.”

Evolving strategy

Needless to say, Travelsart’s social media strategy is still evolving and Paul anticipates it will continue to do so and the company will be increasingly open on Facebook and the other sites it uses.

He said; “We are also looking at producing more online video content to maximise the exposure Travelstart has on multiple platforms.”

He also believes that other African companies could equally pull off a similar coup as long as they have their shops in order to start with.

“You have to ask some fundamental questions: Am I prepared to listen and respond positively to every customer? Am I 100 percent confident of my product? Is my existing customer service impeccable?

“If the answer to these three questions is a confident yes then you are ready to get involved with social media.

“That being said your brand is already being discussed on social platforms, every minute you are not facilitating those conversations is a minute lost.”

From Afrian Business Review

By: Sheree Hanna

Top 10 Business Apps

The ingenuity of Africa's software developers is celebrated in this list of apps, many of them award-winning, which have emerged in just the past few years and are already playing an instrumental role in boosting economies.

10 SlimTrader - Allows users to carry out e-commerce transactions such as buying or paying for goods and services via SMS or WAP, effectively shopping by text messages and is the first platform in Africa to do so. Founded in 2009, the service operates in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, SlimTrader links directly into the inventory, ordering and payment databases of participating businesses.

9 Lightstone Live – This app won the 2013 MTN Award Best Android enterprise app category and has revolutionised South Africa’s car sales industry by allowing car dealers to instantly validate both a vehicle and a potential buyer within seconds. The VVi app, a first-of-its-kind in South Africa, generates instant vehicle verification reports by scanning the barcode encrypted VIN number on the vehicle’s licence disc using a smartphone.

8 Box.net – allows the busy executive to work from wherever they are on their mobile phone. Box offers six native mobile apps and has more than 30 mobile partners and says its website, more are on the way. It provides simple, secure content sharing meaning you can assign edits, monitor changes and view documents will on the go.

7 Evolution Mobile Sales – A winner in the 2013 MTN apps awards, this ERP solution gives a sales force the ability to extend business borders by transacting anywhere, anytime. Sales executives and management can view customisable dashboards and real time information on customers, inventory, expenses and other key business information

6 MarkitShare - is an application that claims to modernise the entire process of listing real-estate to an end-point or client environment such as a real-estate website. It allows real-estate agencies and agents to move information around within a social platform, maximising the day to day performance of the industry itself. It won the Best Android app Enterprise in the 2013 MTN app awards.

5 Minishop - the app which aims to improve the way small and medium sized enterprise keep financial records by proving them an affordable and user-friendly accounting package, was developed by Tanzanian software engineer Eric Mutta, who successfully secured $328,000 in funding for the app. Better financial records make it easier to apply for loans that can be used to grow the business, increase employment and contribute to government revenues.

4 Icow - An innovative mobile app powered by Safaricom which enables dairy farmers in Kenya to keep tabs on their cows and enjoy tips on best practice. Data has shown farmers who used It for seven months begin to realise an increase in milk output of between two and to three litres a day which translates into an average increased income of KSh 25,000 to Ksh 30,000 a year per animal.

3 M-Farm - Launched in June 2012, M-Farm is aimed primarily at Kenyan farmers who can get up-to-date information on crop prices and farming-related matters. The SMS-based service, which has won many accolades and received Samsung backing, allows users are also able to request prices for five major towns in Kenya.

2Prowork - Empowers businesses by bringing project management and collaboration together on one platform. It is easy to use has low entry requirements zero migration costs and a cloud centric approach. It is available on the most popular mobile platforms making it five times more appealing than its competitors. It was the Apps4Africa 2012 Challenge winner.

1 M-PESA – The African leader in mobile money apps it allows users to deposit, withdraw and transfer money using a mobile device, which is a breakthrough in African countries where banks are characterised by long queues and lower number of staff. The award winning app has 17 million users in Kenya alone and there are also additional markets in South Africa and Tanzania. It was launched by telecommunications company Safaricom and enables businesses to collect from customers anywhere they operate. It also allows for flexible transactions and mobile banking as well as conducting transactions after normal banking hours.

From African Business Review

By: Sheree Hanna

Top 10 wealthiest people

Here is Africa's top 10 wealthiest people according to the latest statistics published by Forbes in November 2013. However, the list remains one of the most fluid as the continent's economic surge is rapidly producing more wealth-driven entrepreneurs.

10 Othman Benjelloun (81) worth $2,800 million - He is a Moroccan businessman who made his money from banking, insurance, telecom and through inheritance. His father was a large shareholder in an insurance company that Othman took over in 1988 transforming it into banking enterprise the BMCE Bank, which now operates in at least 15 countries. However, his largest asset is RMA Watanya, an insurer.

9 Mohammed Mansour (65) worth $3,100m – This self-made millionaire is based in Cairo, Egypt, and together with two brothers runs Mansour Group’s Caterpillar tractor and equipment sales in eight African countries and Russia. He was born into one of the most prominent business families in Alexandria and gained an engineering degree from North Carolina State University in 1968.

8 Issad Rebrab (70) worth $3,200m – He is an Algerian entrepreneur and CEO of CEVITAL industrial group which is the biggest private company in Algeria employing thousands in four main sectors: steel industry, food, agribusiness and electronics. His first step to becoming one of Africa’s richest people was buying shares in metallurgical construction company Sotecom.

7 Isabel dos Santos (40) worth $3,500m – The richest woman in Africa and its first female billionaire is the daughter of long-time Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. She has interests in a variety of businesses including telecommunications, media, retail finance and the energy industry both in Angola and Portugal. In an interview she was reported as saying the future of telecommunications in Africa focuses mainly on connectivity.

6 Christoffel Wiese (72) $3,800 – This South African retail magnate owns one of the country’s most successful food chains Shoprite, which has stores in 17 African countries. He also owns Pepkor a clothing company that operates different discount fashion brands. He attended Stellenbosh University and is married with three children.

5 Mike Adengua (60) worth $4,600m – Nigerian business tycoon, Adengua made his fortune in both oil and telecommunications and is largely regarded as one of the richest black people in the world. His companyGlobacom controls Nigeria’s second largest telecom operator and he also owns a stake in Equatorial Trust Bank and oil exploration company Conoil. He is the second wealthiest Nigerian behind Aliko Dangote.

4 Nassef Sawiris (52), $5,900 – Based in Cairo, Egypt, he is the CEO of Orascom Construction Industries. He is the youngest of three sons of Onsi Sawiris, the other two being Naguib and Samih. The business founded by his father is Egypt’s most publicly traded company. He is also a member of NASDAQ Dubai and currently sits on the boards of Besix in Belgium and NNS Holding in Luxembourg.

3 Nicky Oppenheimer (68) worth $6,600 million – is a South African businessman and the chairman of the De Beers diamond mining company and its subsidiary the Diamond Trading Company. In November 2011, the Oppenheimer family sold the entirety of their 40 percent stake in De Beers to Anglo American. He also jointly runs a venture capital firm, Green and Partner Investments, which has funded a diversity of projects within South Africa and Africa.

2 Johann Rupert (63) worth $7,900m – In 2010 he was voted South Africa’s most admired Business Leader, although he rarely gives interviews and shuns public events. He is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and chairman of the Swiss-based luxury goods company Richemont as well as the South Africa-based company Remgro. He is also CEO of Compagnie Financiere Richemont.

1 Aliko Dangote (56) worth $20,800 million – Chairman of Dangote Cement, this self-made millionaire continues to hold on to the top slot with aggressive plans to develop and grow his business interests.

 He is looking to build new plants in Kenya and Niger and recently said he would build a $9 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Nigeria. The Dangote Group started trading as a small firm in 1977 and today it is a multi-trillion naira conglomerate with many of its operations in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.

In Nigeria today, the Dangote Group dominates the surger market and refinery business and is the main supplier to the country’s soft drinks companies. Dangote Group also owns salt factories and flour mills and has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles, oil and gas employing more than 11,000 people.

From African Business Review

By:  Sheree Hanna