How women SME founders are tapping tech to scale up

From left: KEPSA Board Chairperson & CEO and Founder Melvin Marsh International Limited Flora Mutahi, Strathmore University iLabAfrica Director Dr Joseph Sevilla, Sello Designs, founder and creative director Phelesia Oketch, Keyara Botanics co-founder Terryanne Chebet, Learning Differently Limited CEO Kaimuri Karauki Njeru, Digi Path founder Melanie Hapisu, Ziwa Asili Limited founder Annette Manwa and Standard Chartered Bank Kenya CEO and Managing Director Kariuki Ngari during the Standard Chartered Women In Tech Award Day at the lender's headquarters on December 14, 2022. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NAIROBI    

By NDUGU ABISAI More by this Author

Acceleration and business incubation hubs are helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) embrace technology to scale up.

Kenya has about 50 hubs that have chaperoned the transformation of SME products and services and helped them bootstrap, not just for funds, but also other ideas that turn them into profit-making ventures.

Rob Kalin, the co-founder of Etsy, an American e-commerce company once said businesses that have gone through acceleration and business incubation hubs, “stay hungry and bootstrap.”

The Business Daily spoke to three business leaders who took part in the 2022 Standard Chartered Bank Women in Tech (WiT) programme, facilitated by @iBizAfrica business incubation hub at Strathmore University.

Read: StanChart in Sh23m search for women tech start-ups

Five female entrepreneurs were awarded Sh 1.3 million  ($10,000) each. Some run tech start-ups, others in health and fashion.

@iBizAfrica, Kenya’s longest-serving incubator provides a nurturing environment that builds on the potential of the youth to develop innovative solutions and businesses that work for the common good in society.

Winning pitches

It is said to have helped over  1,600 start-up companies get the right training, advisory, mentorship, coaching, networking opportunities, and access to seed capital and investors.

The hub prepares start-ups to be investor-ready and launch into the market through custom incubation and acceleration programmes.

This is the process culminated to the awards to the winning pitches.

Melanie Hapisu, the CEO and founder of Digipath Africa, a digital marketing company based in Nairobi that was among the winners says, “Accessing the resources in a business hub is something every start-up should try at least once in their journey. It is not every day that you get to meet strangers that challenge you to think bigger than your area of focus. You interact with captains of industries who teach you how to succeed and what to do when you fail. The experience, though intense, is worth every moment.”

Melanie Hapisu, the founder of Digipath Africa, a digital marketing company based in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | POOL

For Phelisia Oketch, also an awardee, meeting a mentor in the creative industry was her saving grace. She is the founder of Sello Designs, a fashion and design company also based in Nairobi.

Phelisia Oketch, a founder of Sello Designs, a fashion designs company based in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | POOL

“At first, I couldn’t believe that I had made it to the list. This tells you how big an impediment my imposter syndrome was. The thing I learned at the hub is that ideas are just things until they are implemented. It boosted my confidence to take on bigger challenges in my business. I have professionalised my services and expanded my vision to include a continental market, and not just my local repeat clients,” she says.

Kaimuri Njeru feels there is a great value addition to the operations and structure of a business when it goes through a business incubation and acceleration process.

Kaimuri Njeri, founder of Learning Differently, a learning management system based in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | POOL

“I now have proper structures for running my business. I saw the need to institute a board of directors to help me run the business. The prize money also comes in handy as we are in the process of building an application to help us run our business smoothly,” says the chief executive of Learning Differently, an ed-tech company that focuses on learners with various learning disabilities.

Read: Career women and the gender equity journey

She also won the WiT award.

The three business leaders agree that incorporating technology into their business is integral, in the information age that is emphasised in these programmes.

“I don’t just sell my bags to people that I know, I have a wider reach and a bigger audience that I can convert into clients with time. I am now exploring ways to expand my use of technology in not just marketing, but also distribution, managing inventory and bookkeeping,” says Ms Oketch.

For Ms Njeru, technology has always been the centre of her business.

After the pandemic, it especially became clear to her and her team that technology was not just the future of her business, it was the future of all businesses.

“Developing an application for Learning Differently remains a key area of focus for us. We’ve realised that technology can be the bridge to enable us to reach our target clients, some of whom are far flung from areas we can access. It will save us time and money. So far, our training kits are fully automated and one does not need to meet us physically to access our services.

Ms Hapisu has a similar sentiment.

“Digital marketing is a fairly new marketing frontier for SMEs and other higher-tier businesses. And for me, it goes without saying that technology is the lifeline of business,” she says.

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