Be Your Own Boss (Entrepreneur Movement)

     The Africa Food Prize  is the preeminent award for recognizing the extraordinary individual or institution whose contributions to African agriculture are forging a new era of sustainable food security and economic opportunity for all Africans. image source: utibeetim.com

     A lot has been said about money,  like how it makes the world go round and how loving it is the root of all evil.  The thoughts of most people, most of the time,  revolve around money whether directly or indirectly.  Questions like "when am I going to pay off this debt?" "who can I borrow from? " " how do I pay the bills? " are given the right to roam free in our minds .  image source : simpleeconomist.com

     As far as business finance is concerned,  crowdfunding is a relatively new term but certainly not a new method.  Crowdfunding works with the same principle as fundraising, and it basically involves soliciting for funds, large or small, from individuals.      In recent time, crowdfunding has been made easier due to the presence of websites that help nonprofit organizations, businesses and people raise money.      Crowdfunding has become a useful tool in the hands of entrepreneurs to generate capital.  Here's how it works.  Crowd

     Rockefeller Foundation Cassava Innovation Challenge, a global competition offering up to $1 million in funding to novel solutions that can increase the shelf life of cassava. Cassava Innovation Challenge 

      Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) is a subsidiary of the National Innovation Technology Development Agency (NITDA) with the responsibilities to nurture, cultivate and expand the ICT innovation and entrepreneurship within Nigeria in line with NITDA Act 2007 and National ICT Policy. NITDA

     Failure is a terrible feeling! Forget the talk about rising up again,  being optimistic, and learning from experience , failure is a really bad thing!.  It leaves a bad taste in the mouth of anyone who experiences it and does a number on the confidence of the person affected. Photo Credit: enevada.org

     The Africa Prize encourages ambitious and talented sub-Saharan African engineers from all disciplines to apply their skills to develop scalable solutions to local challenges, highlighting the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development. 

      So,  you have made the decision to become an entrepreneur and the only thing holding you back is the idea of what business to start. It could be because you have too many ideas in your head and you cannot settle for one,  or maybe you do not have any idea at all but you are convinced the entrepreneurial road is your path. The selection process is tricky and mentally exhausting but with the right kind of guidance,  it can be really easy.  If you're struggling to decide which niche best suits you,  the post will do you a lot of good. image credit : gembaacademy.com

      The process of hiring staff can be insanely tricky.  The decision to hire a person or group of people is one of the hardest and most important as it is these people that will determine to a larelge extent how successful you start up will be and how much it will grow.  The decision should be given a lot of thought and planned out meticulously.  Who is the right candidate? 

     Apply for the  Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Center (RLC) Emerging Leaders Program  – A President Barak Obama and  USAID youth initiative !

      Having to face a panel that would leave no stone unturned when scrutinizing your business idea or proposal is not exactly the easiest task in the world. It takes an insane amount of composure and belief in your plan to make your pitching perfect.  Composure may not be enough sometimes and questions may arise that would raise doubts about the viability of your idea. The Perfect Pitch

    About a year ago I was billed to speak at a public gathering,  my first ever speech. I was sufficiently prepared, at least I thought I was,  I rehearsed with a mirror more times than I can remember,  dressed like a boss to increase my confidence,  swaggered into the hall,  grabbed the microphone like a corporate Michael Jackson and stuttered for half the time allotted to me. I was sweating in an air conditioned room as I  prayed to God for time to fly and the crowd to disappear.  It was pathetic,  and I'm putting it mildly.  Stage fright 

   Somehow in our present version of reality,  the word 'Entrepreneur' has become more fashionable than it used to be a couple of years back, largely because of the scarcity of well paying jobs the world over.  More and more people want to run their own businesses,  some even have fantastic ideas but cannot get it out of their head because of the lack of necessary funds to bring these ideas to life.  Photo Credit: viconsortium.com