Seed Funding and effects of grants on business practice.

The two podcasts (interviews) which I devoured with glee both have interesting perspectives regarding business. In the first there was a question regarding the difference between a project that is entirely designed around investment on one hand a project that seeks to merge an successful enterprise (in this case Safaricom) with others to seeking partnership not really innovation for innovation's sake. 

On the local scene you will find a few innovation hubs that operate under similar models. 

The passage of time allows a small businesses in this case hubs some level of trust which leads to a partnership with foreign group for funding opportunities of groups of four covering whatever buzz areas ring true of that season. Education, Business, Health, Climate Change. 

Two working spaces examined and dissected. 

Examples of these are Demo Africa (which has worked in the last few years in collaboration with HiveColab-a working space created by Jon Gosier), Pivot East (which has worked for about the same amount of time with OutboxHub located in Kampala). The aforementioned working spaces have different audiences and have attracted a different set of enthusiasts. The former is located in a business cluster (Ntinda) that attracts NGOs, Computer Firms while also being conveniently located near an affluent area of City. The latter on the other hand sits pretty close to the city business centre and has attracted varied interests from google to Intel and Firefox as well as Stanbic Bank. They both bring together experts who are given a chance to showcase their talents after which deals can be made. Youth driven, these have organized themselves into geek nights which take place once a month and ate designed to sharpen the skills of those who subscribe and have membership. Hivecolab has the advantage of being located right next to the ICT association (Founded by Boaz Shani) which is arguably the most influential association in the Country boasting a sizable subscription base. HiveColab has used its momentum to generate code projects exclusively designed to help encourage young women (Barbara Birungi) into the technology space. 

Competition and innovation. 

Both of these are competition based. But the hubs and the founders of those hubs usually have done the Hardwork of introducing the concept of innovation to companies which on demonstrating profit have been able to direct others into embracing the culture of innovation. 

Tracking start ups.

Success on the part of the start ups has made it almost impossible to trace and track the progress of many of these teams. What has proven simpler and what we as the Hope First Group plan to do is create a Personality Radar Similar to the TechRadar that was created and designed by Thougthworks. Our plan is to have a database that can help potential clients navigate their way through the creative space as it stands in Uganda. In terms or progress we devoted a small part in our fledgling magazine 'dubbed' Intersection Magazine to some of the individuals that have used the Outbox Hub as a business space in the last few years. Many have off course gone on to rent their own spaces. 

Effect of grants on business operation and practice. 

The second question was designed around the effect that grants can have  on business operation. The same can be said of funding in general but we could see how skewed the accounts can get when the business owner fails to separate between his income, expenditure and his profits. 

Two types of entrepreneurs? 

In my view there are two Types of entrepreneurs. The first is usually uneducated and unashamed. The second is normally educated and too skilled in knowledge to Do the ground work. In addition to this he does not wish to be viewed as a failure as he works his way through a city whose pushing sun takes no captives. Besides his education (costly as it is) is preparing him for the board room not the mail room. You could call it a struggle between street smarts and book smarts. That thin line that all business schools and schools of management struggle to deliver. 

Ease of investment monitoring.

As we mentioned before, I have lived in Uganda, Kenya and the U.S. grew up in Kenya as a refugee moved to the U.S for predominantly biblical studies and then to Uganda. 

As an outsider one always has a unique perspective regarding the general flow of things In country. So that it always going to be an edge that non locals have over locals especially when it comes to the willingness to get your hands dirty. The second consideration has to do with the ability to leave. The outsider generally feels like he has nothing to loose so he is at liberty on the whole to talk smack to the locals and the government without much fear of consequence. The local on the other hand has to be much more careful. 

Kenya was interesting because while there I was able to present a different perspective about life there but my refugee status never really let me settle down. 

The U.S was slightly different in that there were accorded to me more freedoms but these came at a cost and were accessible until the temptation came in to overstay my welcome. And to be fair to the Americans, they pretty much dish out the same vitriol to all those who overstay regardless of race. But then too the opportunities and the ease of investment varies and is determined to a large extent on citizenship and later on race and the dynamics that go with that. 

The same and possibly worse effects come into play in the U.K the foreigner often has to start from scratch even after training in prestigious local school and is prevented from the making a little more money by restrictions that are designed with the visa He acquires. You would think that we here in Africa would enjoy colonial servant status but this is harder to come by and it's been ages since we unwillingly got on those slave ships and traded in our royal relatives for cola nuts or ivory. 

So on the whole the ease investment for us comes with a whole lot of baggage. Should you manage to rise through the ranks of your University or make better use of your Rhodes Scholarship, chances are you will be sent back to improve the lot of your people even though your dreams are really elsewhere. Once back home you have to face the wrath of those you left behind because a las! You are no longer a local. 

Once officially back in the region you have to adjust to the local pressures which are often enveloped by historical leaders whose hold on power is firm and whose influence goes well beyond borders. Having breathed the rarefied air of freedom in the U.S or the U.K of at least aspects of it via DSL, you will have little or no room for compromise which will put you on a direct collision course with your local peers. The comfort of a seat on the leadership team of a human rights NGO might help for a while according you the benefits of some travel and access to great schools for your tots but soon this will vanish when hands and shaken and power shifts to generals or despots. In short, you have to negotiate across borders with sleek post colonial leaders many whose intentions you have to weigh against your own in an increasingly shrinking world.