From November 2019 onward, brun clair]9 business mentors[/brun clair] have been identified within the Burkinabe, Moroccan, Ugandan and Senegalese ecosystems, but also largely the networks of Investisseurs et Partenaires (I&P), the structure involved with Africalia, Bayimba Foundation and Zhu Culture in the implementation of Afrique Créative. These mentors have already provided more than[brun clair] 320 hours [/brun clair] of coaching. The support is greatly appreciated by entrepreneurs. [Crossroads, for example, explains that it has been able to adopt a more [brun clair]business-oriented way of thinking [/brun clair] thanks to its mentor.
[brun clair]I&P[/brun clair] has an important role in the mentor-mentee relationship. This regular link makes it possible to provide answers adapted to each incubee’s [brun clair]needs and rhythm[/brun clair]. Coaching also helps to strengthen the [brun clair]staff[/brun clair] of some structures, such as Bazem’se, which has decided to involve its team so that it can participate more in the development of the company.
Over the last few months, due to the global pandemic and the international measures it has led to, support was more oriented towards [brun clair]crisis management[/brun clair]. Besides this, business mentors’ role is, more generally, to support entrepreneurs in building a sound [brun clair]business plan[/brun clair], in order to prepare them to raise funds from funders such as investors.
Langages du Sud set up a brun clair]cost accounting[/brun clair] system and took the opportunity of business support to write a folder to be given to future [brun clair]investors[/brun clair]. [Fezah works with its mentor in the same perspective: the entrepreneur has defined a strategy with his mentor to reach the [brun clair]break-even point[/brun clair] and then enter into a relationship with investors. Kalanexpo began to work with its mentor on financial projections with the aim of drawing up a business plan and addressing some fundraising opportunities that had already been identified.
Karoninka, Optimiste Produktions and Anya have revised their [brun clair]business models[/brun clair] with their mentors to [brun clair]diversify their sources of income[/brun clair], which raises prospecting and marketing questions. Simultaneously, these three structures also addressed the issue of [brun clair]staff organization[/brun clair] with their mentors (formalization of contracts, development of the organization chart, job profiles, etc.).
Meetings between mentors and mentees will still be frequent in the coming months. This provides even more opportunities for the entrepreneurs to [brun clair]strengthen the management of their business[/brun clair].
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