Stanbic Business Incubator hosts first Pre-selection Bootcamp as the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme moves towards decentralizing its implementation model

• 20 women-owned businesses today gathered at the Stanbic Business Incubator to get an understanding of areas of concern to address before the investment committee, learn to communicate their revenue drivers and growth plans, and?decide whether the Hi-Innovator initiative is suitable for their growth ambitions.??

The NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme seeks to support Ugandan Entrepreneurs by extending catalytic seed funding, entrepreneurial learning and business development support so that they can become more competitive, high-impact businesses. The Programme works with Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (ESOs) that provide a good pipeline of businesses that are supported in the accelerator program, act as relationship managers to businesses selected to join the accelerator and collaborate on ensuring entrepreneurs enroll and complete the business foundational course.??

As the Programme moves towards decentralizing the Programme Activities to ensure utilization of the full capacity of the current ESO network, select ESOs including Stanbic Business Incubator will hold the Pre-selection Bootcamps and Pitch days within their premises.?

Speaking on behalf of the Stanbic Business Incubator leadership, Sheila Agaba, Business Manager at the Incubator encouraged the women entrepreneurs to participate fully in the bootcamp as it will open them up to what most eligibility criteria look like for most accelerators and programmes within the Ugandan business ecosystem and even at the Incubator. ?

During a panel discussion that was meant to encourage the women entrepreneurs aspiring to join the accelerator, business owners that have been part of the Hi-Innovator Programme shared their experience to receiving financing.?

Tibenda Zununa, the Founder and Managing Director of Zunie Agri Consultancy Ltd, an agri-business consultancy that trains and profiles farmers in the horticulture value chain, and links them to markets in the EU and UAE said that the NSSF Hi-Innovator was a process that helped her understand the problem her business was solving.??

I didn’t know the problem I was solving. I thought I was solving the problem of Youth Employment. However, this is the same problem that the Government of Uganda has been solving for a long time. How sure was I that I was hitting any achievements??

When her ESO partner shared that feedback, she was biased and almost gave up. She then realized her ESO partner was not working against her, they were her partner.??

When she decided to adopt the feedback, she was able to articulate the problem her business was solving to the Investment Committee on 1st June 2023 who evaluated her business and found that she was eligible to receive the $20,000 seed financing.??

Before joining the NSSF Hi-Innovator Women Accelerator Window 2, she was renting a small space, but has now bought a packing house where produce from farmers is packed for export. She has grown her team to 14 employees, 8 of which are permanent employees.?

This was her advice to the women entrepreneurs in the room today;??

1. Be open to receiving?feedback: The?ESO partners are competent and experienced to support any entrepreneur?in their Hi-Innovator journey.??

1. You need partners: As a business owner, you can’t keep struggling alone, you need partners like the NSSF Hi-Innovator. Partners help you to identify things that will help your business grow which you might miss if you go at it alone. ?

1. Put systems in place: If you are ready for financing, have systems in place. ?Are you compliant? Do you know what?problem your business is solving? Have you empowered your team to speak about your business even when you are not around? The pack house is now running even when I am not there. Do you have a bank account? You can’t have been in business and not bank. No one will give you money without systems.?

1. Learn to differentiate between your problem and the opportunity: Initially we found out that farmers didn’t only have access to knowledge but also lacked market and needed to expand beyond their localities. There is where we plugged in.??

The financing from the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme is real and has helped me achieve so much as I work to grow my business.??

Doreen Jean Nsasiirwe, the Managing Director at Westlink Delicacy Api Group Limited that offers a variety of 100% organic health products, carries out trainings in apiculture emphasized that while she had heard about the NSSF Hi-Innovator a little earlier, she kept on postponing the opportunity.??

“I am thankful that I didn’t delegate doing the course to anyone else as I learned so much from it that I hadn’t known before”.?

Constantly delegating people to do the business course for you denies you the chance to learn new tactics and concepts for yourself and your business.??

The Pre-selection bootcamp offers so much information from business experts. She encouraged the women entrepreneurs to maximize this time, take whatever information that is being shared because they will need it when they pitch to the Investment Committee.??

One of the challenges that Doreen faced post pitch-day was planning activities before she had received money. She therefore spent money to stalk up on honey for her business before she had gotten financing. The NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme advises against this.??

She encouraged the women entrepreneurs to grow their revenues and teams – “the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme will ask for an organogram – will you just submit yourself as an MD because you haven’t hired anyone else?” she implored.??

Speaking about what the women entrepreneurs needed to do as they prepare for the pitch day, Zununa encouraged the women entrepreneurs to do their pitch practice with their ESO partners as it helps them receive firsthand feedback about what to say and not say to the Investment Committee. ?

By end of the Pre-selection Bootcamp, the women entrepreneurs will be able to assess their business’ growth plan, technical abilities to meet customer demand; assess their commercial viability to generate revenue and, assess their financial readiness to meet their business objectives and will have gained a better understanding of equity investment.

The Hi-innovator is an initiative of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) supported by the Mastercard Foundation and implemented by Outbox.

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