Cytonn Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) arm of Cytonn Investments, held the Cytonn Entrepreneurs Hub (Cytonn eHub)
Discussion Forum that brought together a panel of distinguished entrepreneurs
to share their perspective of what it takes to start and grow a business. In
attendance were over 100 budding entrepreneurs looking to learn from one
another and the distinguished set of panellists.
The panel comprised of Elizabeth
N. Nkukuu, CFA - Senior Partner and Chief Investments Officer (CIO), Cytonn
Investments, Eric Kinoti - Founder and CEO, Shade Systems, Michelle Ntalami –
Founder and CEO, Marini Naturals, and Kamal Budhabhatti – Founder and CEO,
Craft Silicon. The panel discussion was moderated by Terryanne Chebet -
Founder, Keyara Organics and Scarlet Digital.
Speaking
during the forum, Cytonn’s Elizabeth said that in order to be successful
entrepreneurs should be ready to give their all and sacrifice for the sake of
the business. “As an entrepreneur, the only thing that people can bank on is
your dream and you should believe in it, give it your all and work every day
towards achieving it. It is your passion that will keep you going when you face
challenges especially during the startup phase of your business.”
Nkukuu
further noted that there are always opportunities that are untapped and any
entrepreneur should take advantage of them adding that many investors are
always looking for viable ideas to invest in. “Access to funding is only
perceived to be a challenge faced by many entrepreneurs in Kenya. Before an
entrepreneur seeks funding, they ought to establish the point that
differentiates their idea with what competitors in the same industry offer, and
as well fully commit themselves and all their available resources to the
business,” she explained.
Erik
Kinoti, Founder and CEO of Shade Systems, emphasized the importance of putting
up structures and policies early in the business to avoid paying the cost of
remedying them when the business is established. He also advised entrepreneurs
to focus on one idea and pursue it with passion rather than trying to implement
many ideas that end up straining their resources and time. “For a long time I
was running more than four businesses at the same time. This significantly reduced
the amount of time and energy I could dedicate to one business. When I finally
settled on Shade Systems, that is when I experienced growth because I could
then dedicate my time and energy,” said Kinoti.
Mitchelle
Ntalami of Marini Naturals emphasized on the importance of branding and
marketing the business even at the very early stages in order to establish a
top of the mind awareness among potential customers. “In this digital age, you
ought to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the digital space. Social
media is a space where you can market at a very minimum cost and still grow your
customer base,” said Ntalami. She also advised the entrepreneurs to develop
their personal brands to ensure that they are brand ambassadors who can lead
the brand to thrive.
The Cytonn eHub Discussion Forum is the first activity
of the year under Cytonn Foundation’s annual initiative, Cytonn eHub, which aims
to promote and improve entrepreneurship in Kenya. The
initiative themed ‘Start Sharp and
Thrive’ is in its second year after inception and has four main activities;
i) the Cytonn eHub Discussion Forum,
ii) eHub Training programme; an
intense 12-week training and mentorship programme for young and upcoming
entrepreneurs that seeks to enhance knowledge and capabilities on how to run
and grow successful enterprises, iii) Cytonn eHub Investors Forum, which brings
together a panel of distinguished entrepreneurs and investors with the agenda
of having successful Cytonn eHub Training Programme graduates
and budding entrepreneurs, drawn from different sectors, pitch their businesses
and business ideas to investors with the goal of securing funding, and iv) Cytonn
eHub Business Support, an initiative to ensure continued follow up and
support for Cytonn eHub training programme participants.
