Saturday, May 28, 2011

Rwanda Entrepreneur Profile: Aimable Uwihanganye

Aimable, 32 years

Aimable is the first born of a family of 3. He holds a Bachelors degree in Food science from KIST.  He has worked as a Food Processing and Technical Consultant at Abahuje Cooperative. He now works with the Alpha Palace Hotel as a quality assurance manager.
He has owned a public phone and has also developed a cassava plantation to sustain his family.

BUSINESS IDEA: Goat farming

Aimable Uwihanganye is one of the 29 entrepreneurs studying at the Rwanda Business Development Center, Spring 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

Rwanda Entrepreneur Profile: Peter Deyali

Peter, 52 years (Pastor)


Peter is married and a father of 4. He has a Hons Diploma in Theology and Bible. He is pursuing an online BA in Ministry. He has worked as the Head Master of Nentungi school in Uganda; Managing Director of President Paul’s Kagama projects in Uganda; and procurement officer of a Bible College in Tanzania.
He is the founder and president of Grace Treasures Church, whose vision is to plant born again churches in/beyond Rwanda. He owns a consulting firm that provides translation services.
Peter is a born again Christian who has served many churches. He has done extensive advocacy and the most important thing in life for him is to serve God with total loyalty.

BUSINESS IDEA: Pentecostal Christian primary school/nursery

Peter Deyali is one of the 29 entrepreneurs studying at the Rwanda Business Development Center, Spring 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Rwanda Entrepreneur Profile: Eric Habineza Bahizi

Eric, 19 years

Eric has a high school diploma. He has worked as the advertising manager of Peace and Love Proclaimers to advertise PLP on Facebook and other places; a protocol at the Ice Cold Brain Phreeze Christmas Concert; a Master of Ceremony of the National Conference on Youth, MDGs and Volunteerism; intern in the Commercial Department of Rwandatel. He is now working as a DJ for Shooters lounge. 
He used to sell hard disks, sunglasses, t shirts while in school.
The most important thing for Eric is financial freedom for a fulfilled family life; and to create jobs and wealth for his family and country.

BUSINESS IDEA: Outdoor advertising 

Eric Habineza Bahizi is one of the 29 entrepreneurs studying at the Rwanda Business Development Center, Spring 2011

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Rwanda Entrepreneur Profile: Christine Mukazayire

Christine, 34 years

Christine is married and a mother of 3. She has a Bachelors in Social Sciences. She has worked as a facilitator for Peace Corps Rwanda; a vice coordinator of Amahoro Mobile Project; a teacher at Butare and Nyanza primary schools. Now she works as a project Manager for Handicap International.
She had a shop in the past, selling different consumables. She is now looking forward to acquiring all the needed skills to start a business and grow it successfully.

BUSINESS IDEA: Baby day care

Christine Mukazayire is one of the 29 entrepreneurs studying at the Rwanda Business Development Center, Spring 2011

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Finishing

By Patrice Tsague, NPIM

I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given to Me to do. John 17:4

Are you a finisher? How far are you in accomplishing the mission that God has given you to do? Have you identified your finish markers?

Entrepreneurs can be great starters but poor finishers. They go from business to business looking for the great hit. They start a business but soon get bored once it moves to the management stage and start spinning their wheels. They are sometimes unable or unwilling to move aside when the business moves to a mature phase that requires a more disciplined management style. Biblical Entrepreneurs must be committed to the finish. We must model after God the Father and Jesus Christ, our Savior. Genesis 1 and 2 detail how God created the entire universe within six days and rested on the seventh day, once He had finished His work.

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Genesis 2:2.

We see Jesus in John 17 talking to the Father about finishing the work which was given for Him to do. Jesus, in Luke 14:25-30, challenges those who desire to follow Him to count the cost before committing to follow Him, because if they join Him they must be committed to the finish. God expects us to finish what we start. You do not have to start anything in the name of Christ but you do have to finish what you start. Finishing is one of the key attributes of a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it mean to finish? To finish means to completely empty yourself in carrying out your God-given assignment; to bring a God-given assignment to the point where others can pick up and continue it. From a kingdom business application it means to build a profitable, sustainable and scalable business that can withstand at least three generations.

You have finished once you bring something to an end or to the point where others can pick up and continue it. Finishing, for entrepreneurs, is not easy since entrepreneurs enjoy the thrill of starting new things. There is a rush that comes with a new project that soon goes away once the project is beyond the start-up phase. Finishing requires extreme discipline and a willingness to persevere through difficult times. How do you ensure that you finish the business the Lord has given you to build?

1. Make sure you have a plan - you must have a clear, documented direction with clearly defined finishing points and an exit strategy.

2. Identify your finishing points - finishing points are major phases in the business journey that mark major milestones where transition can be possible. There are four major finishing points:

   a. Breakeven - this point is when the business income and cash collections are able to cover all the operating expenses. Normally breakeven just focuses on income, but the problem with limiting yourself to income is that not all income is cash. Therefore you may have enough income to cover expenses on paper but not enough cash, which means you still must rely on external capital to finance the business.

   b. Profitability - this point is when the business is able to clear enough margins to build reserves, save and give to good works and works of righteousness (Covenant).

   c. Delegation - this point is when the founder(s) is able to remove him or herself from the day to day tasks to oversee the business. As Jim Collins puts it, "You can work on the business versus in the business."

   d. Succession - this point is when you are able to pass the baton to the next generation. At this point you are completely removed from the business and have raised up someone else to provide leadership.

Once you reach the point of succession you must enter a season of rest; a time when you can enjoy the fruits of your work. This is a time to renew and repurpose so you can prepare to embark upon something new or long to see the father. Finishing is not easy but is essential if we are going to really fulfill what God has called us to do in the earth realm and hear those wonderful words, "Well done good and faithful servant."

Where are you in your journey? Make sure you stay committed to the finish so you can please your Master.

Copyright © 2011 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.



Monday, May 9, 2011

Home in time for Mother’s Day


Saturday-Sunday May 6-7  
Dr. John Mulford
Smooth trip home.  Two 8 hr flights (Kigali-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Detroit) aren’t bad if you can snag an exit row, which has lots of legroom.  Crashed (in my bed, not the airplane) about 7 p.m. Saturday, but woke up early enough to prepare mother’s day breakfast of homemade waffles.  Got an e-mail from Dale Neill, Pres. of ICCC.  He went from Kigali to Israel for more ICCC work.  He wasn’t able to connect with RDB before he left, but he received a phone call that we will be able to continue holding classes in the Telecom House and have our offices there—praise the Lord!    

Last Day in Rwanda!


Friday, May 6
Dr. John Mulford 
 
As is usually the case, there were many more loose ends to tie up than time to tie them all.  Tried all day to set up a meeting with CEO of RDB to nail down facilities issues.  All of RDB out of town.  
Apollo (RDB) called to tell me “not to worry, RDB would take good care of us going forward.”  He also said that he wanted our graduates to submit loan applications so he could take them to banks for funding.  I said that most wouldn’t have the 100% collateral required by banks.  He said no problem; the Rwanda Development Bank will guarantee the loans.  This is the second source of unsecured loans (GroFin is the other) we discovered in two days.  God’s timing is amazing—now that we have some businesses that can qualify for loans, the loans seem to be available.  Apollo said that RDB is tasked with getting money into viable SME’s, so he is excited that we can help him accomplish that task.
Then to put the icing on the cake, I had another “chance” encounter as I was leaving the country.  I was sitting in the airport lounge talking on the phone.  I asked a man sitting near me if my talking was bothering him.  He said no.  Then we struck up a conversation about what we were doing in Kigali.  I told him we were helping people start SME’s.  He said he was there to invest in high potential SMEs.  I described several of our businesses.  He said he was very interested and I should check their website and follow up.  We parted ways as he took a left into business class and I a right into economy. 

Day After Graduation


Thursday, May 05, 2011
(Dr. John Mulford )

The New Times (print and on-line newspaper) covered the BDC graduation.  It was nice coverage, even though they got a few facts wrong.  For instance, Sandrali, the architect who designed Rwanda’s Genocide Memorial, was listed as a mushroom grower.  But we are happy with the coverage.  You can see it on http://www.newtimes.co.rw/.  Make sure you look at Thursday, May 5, 2011.
To continue where I left off yesterday, Jason and I received the following e-mail message from one of the graduates:

It is with pleasure and humility that I just want to say thank you for impacting our lives through BDC. You have really demonstrated much love to us and willingness to help. I never knew that I was also made to be a big channel that would bless others and reconcile People with their Creator through business until you came.   
I appreciate the awards and skills gained. I know this is a start of great things ahead. I'm available for any support to BDC Rwanda and would like to join ICCC.
May God supply all your needs according to His heavenly treasures.

Day after graduation, but not time to rest yet.  We met with an American who started one of Rwanda’s first management consulting firms focusing on fast-growing SME’s.  He has seen a great need for management development in these companies.  We talk about three ways we could work together to meet the need:  1) staff his monthly management roundtables with experts who are visiting our BDC; 2) help him get peer mentoring groups going, similar to C12 in the U.S., and 3) jointly develop a practical executive management program (he has a PhD in business).

Several years ago, our research at RCE uncovered an investment company in Africa called GroFin.  They have an office in Rwanda, but weren’t answering their phone.  So, we dropped in on them and met for about 45 minutes with the director, a sharp young man.  He was super excited to meet with us.  He sees us as the answer to his problem—finding investable entrepreneurs.  He loved the fact that we train them and that we have vetted their plans before they get to him.  He has funded 20 companies over the last two years with loans from $50,000 to $900,000.  I described about six of our entrepreneurs’ businesses.  He liked all of them.  He saw a big contrast between ours, which had definite uses for the loans, and others he has seen, which are quite vague.
 
We had a good meeting with Adam.  I thought we would jump right into the investment fund idea, but he wanted to get a better idea of how our BDC works.  He wants to get involved with the students first and let the investments flow from those relationships.  I told him he could start either as a local expert (one day session) or a visiting exec (one week).  He said he’d be glad to do either or both, but he really wanted to attend all the classes to get to know the students.
 
We met with the Minister of Infrastructure to enlist his help in our quest for a permanent facility.  He said he would make some calls to help others to see how important the BDC is to Rwanda’s economic future.  We’ll see…

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Graduation!

Wed., May 4 (Graduation Day!)
Dr. John Mulford

Chrystel was working in overdrive to get all the last minute details ready with certificates, programs, etc. A last minute brainstorm had me working feverishly to create an image that looked something like our web page, but fit nicely when projected on a screen—no small feat for this artistically- and graphics- challenged worker. I’ll let you be the judge on the outcome (below). We projected two of these images on big screens on either side of the stage to emphasize our brand for the audience.
Anatole did yeoman work preparing slide shows of the first and second cohorts. He showed them on the two screens while the people were assembling. He also helped by reading the names. I didn’t stand a chance with most of the last names. Lots of consonants together—e.g., MWUMVANEZA.

The graduation ceremony was fantastic, from my not-unbiased perspective. The CEO of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), our Rwandan partner, brought greetings and emphasized the importance of our program to Rwanda’s goals for increasing small to medium enterprises (SME’s) in the economy. Other dignitaries included the special assistant to Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame.

The real blessing was hearing student testimonies. The common theme was that this program “has changed my thinking, has changed my life, and will continue to impact what I do for years to come. They said it is a rich blessing to Rwanda for which they are deeply grateful.”

I introduced the six business plan competition finalists and briefly described their businesses. When I announced first and second place, I only mentioned names. The President’s special assistant immediately asked, “Which business is that?” He was very interested to meet with the finalists and make sure they had whatever they needed to succeed.

I also distributed medals for various awards. Bought in the U.S., they came with red-white-blue ribbon, but my lovely wife, Leigh Ann, changed them all to Rwandan blue. Everyone appreciated her work and proudly wore their medals during the reception. The medals may seem like a small token gift, but they carried much meaning. Carine, winner of “Most Encouraging,” told me that she had been very disappointed not to chosen as one of the six finalists. She said, “I am very competitive and want my achievements recognized, but my Mom told me not to worry, because I am special to God. Then I won this award, which made me feel very special and appreciated.” She was bubbling with joy, not just for the medal, but because the program meant so much to her. She said, “I wish it wasn’t ending. I want to keep meeting.” I told her she could be one of organizers and cheer leaders for the peer mentoring groups, where graduates meet to help each other with their businesses.

The graduates mentioned Jason Benedict, my training colleague, several times and quoted him a few times—something like start smart, slim, and small, but grow quickly. They really missed him. As I was talking with a student at the reception, an RDB official commented, “These students really love you. I never liked any of my professors. They were very tough on me.” I said that we were tough on our students as well. The graduate corrected me, saying “You taught us that business is tough and that we must be sharp and thorough to succeed. You simply held us to the high standards required by the business world.”

Dale Neill and I were interviewed by a TV station, but I think the interviews with the students probably carried more weight. After hearing Carine and Mathilde promote the program, I don’t know how anyone can resist. All of Carine’s guests at graduation said they plan to enroll either in August or January.

I also invited guests from the business community. The man I met Monday night at the U.S. Ambassador’s wanted to know what I meant by my comment about starting an investment fund. I told him we wanted to raise a fund to invest in SME’s in Rwanda. He said that he and his partner might be interested in investing in the fund. We set a meeting for tomorrow.

The reception was a great networking opportunity for our graduates. The RDB official introduced us to the managing director of the hotel where we were meeting. Our second place winner quickly moved in for the sale—supply mushrooms to the hotel. The director was interested. They exchanged cards.

We left tired but extremely blessed. You just can’t beat this job! We get to do what we love—train entrepreneurs. And they can’t stop thanking us for believing in them, investing in them, and blessing their lives.

Results of the Business Plan Competition

Tuesday, May 3 (Business Plan Competition Today!)

Dr. John Mulford

Before we got to the fun of the business plan competition, I had the unpleasant task of telling three students that they had not successfully completed the program. I tried to make a positive outcome by telling them that we would continue working with them to help them master the material and succeed in their businesses. It felt like meetings I have had with people when I had to lay them off. No amount of encouragement can offset the shock and disappointment.

One woman began crying uncontrollably. I didn’t know what to say to her and she was having trouble understanding my English anyway. Fortunately Chrystel was there to act as interpreter and a second voice of encouragement. Chrystel spent an hour with the woman after she left my office. I then learned that today’s disappointment was just one in a long sequence of major setbacks. Rwanda is in two weeks of mourning for the genocide. This woman lost both parents and several siblings in the genocide, so it is a sad memory to say the least. Recently, her husband went blind. That created much tension in their marriage. They have eight children living with them, including extended family. Next she lost her job. And then, last night someone stole her cell phone. So you can imagine that her emotions were pretty raw when I met with her. To my surprise, she came to the business plan competition tonight to cheer on her colleagues. I introduced her to Dale Neill, President of ICCC. He encouraged her. Then we had a chance to pray for her. She was very thankful. She still has much to overcome.

The business plan competition went great--six excellent presentations of solid businesses. I’m glad I wasn’t judging.

John Bosco won first place for his sand hauling business. He is already operating the business with a $50,000 line of credit. He said he needs another $50K so he can double his deliveries. One judge asked how much of the company he could buy for the $50K. John Bosco said he wanted a loan; he didn’t want to give up equity. Everyone laughed.

Aline won second place for her mushroom growing business. She impressed the judges with her knowledge and her ability to answer all their questions. She directs the mushroom growing promotion program for the agriculture department of Rwanda.

Apollo, representative of the Rwanda Development Board, was extremely impressed with the quality of the businesses and the presentations.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Divine Connections

Monday, May 2, 2011
(Dr. John Mulford)

Busy day of meetings with finalists helping them get ready for the competition tomorrow.  Jason provided an excellent template to help them organize their financials.  Fortunately, the finalists understood how to use it.  John Bosco, manager of nine bank branches, is a real pro at spreadsheets and finance.  We had fun playing with different scenarios for his business.  They all seem to be gaining confidence, which is what they need to stand in front of the judges.

I asked Mathilde, a finalist, if she might like to lead a peer mentoring group of cohort 2 graduates.  Her answer was an enthusiastic yes.  She said she definitely wants to stay involved with the BDC.  She sees it as a fulfillment of a prophecy 3 years ago that she would get involved with a high-level education/training organization.  She feels called by God to participate in and promote the BDC.  She said she will recruit dozens, if not hundreds of students.
 
Dale Neill, International President of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce, our partner in the BDC, arrived this afternoon.  He, Dona, and I went to a reception at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence for people and organizations focused on training and development for business in Rwanda.  A woman came up to welcome us and ask us what we did.  I asked her what she did.  She responded, “I am your host.  As the deputy Ambassador, I am representing the Embassy in the absence of the Ambassador.”  Awkward moment.  She quickly moved on to greet others.
 
I saw quite a few people I knew, including one of our graduates from first cohort.  Two people acted like I should know them, but I didn’t recognize them.  Turns out they were in the crowd that met me at church yesterday.  We got high complements from a Danish NGO that started with micro-enterprise training and is now moving to SME training in direct competition with us.  Their founder wondered how we attracted such top business people to our program.  He said we have a solid reputation among those interested in entrepreneurship in Rwanda.  Finally, I met a man with a very distinctive accent that I couldn’t place—he looked European (he later said his name if Finnish, but his family left five generations ago).  He said his company just acquired the Rwandan company that handles all customs for shipments.  I asked him where he was from.  He said Charlottesville, VA.  This was doubly funny to me, because of the accent, and because his company, Portek, works with ports.  He said he would like to get involved with the BDC.  I invited him to graduation.  I also told him about one of our graduates who supplies coffee vending machines to businesses.  He said, “Send her over.  We have 300-400 potential customers a day—mostly heavy coffee drinkers.”          

Making connections

May 2, 2011
Dr. John Mulford

Dale Neill, International President of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce, our partner in the BDC, arrived this afternoon. He, Dona, and I went to a reception at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence for people and organizations focused on training and development for business in Rwanda. A woman came up to welcome us and ask us what we did. I asked her what she did. She responded, “I am your host. As the deputy Ambassador, I am representing the Embassy in the absence of the Ambassador.” Awkward moment. She quickly moved on to greet others.

I saw quite a few people I knew, including one of our graduates from first cohort. Two people acted like I should know them, but I didn’t recognize them. Turns out they were in the crowd that met me at church yesterday. We got high complements from a Danish NGO that started with micro-enterprise training and is now moving to SME training in direct competition with us. Their founder wondered how we attracted such top business people to our program. He said we have a solid reputation among those interested in entrepreneurship in Rwanda.

Finally, I met a man with a very distinctive accent that I couldn’t place—he looked European (he later said his name is Finnish, but his family left five generations ago). He said his company just acquired the Rwandan company that handles all customs for shipments. I asked him where he was from. He said Charlottesville, VA. This was doubly funny to me, because of the accent, and because his company, Portek, works with ports. He said he would like to get involved with the BDC. I invited him to graduation. I also told him about one of our graduates who supplies coffee vending machines to businesses. He said, “Send her over. We have 300-400 potential customers a day—mostly heavy coffee drinkers.”

Preparing for Judgement

Monday, May 2, 2011
Dr. John Mulford


Busy day of meetings with finalists helping them get ready for the competition tomorrow. Jason provided an excellent template to help them organize their financials. Fortunately, the finalists understood how to use it. John Bosco, manager of nine bank branches, is a real pro at spreadsheets and finance. We had fun playing with different scenarios for his business. They all seem to be gaining confidence, which is what they need to stand in front of the judges.

I asked Mathilde, a finalist, if she might like to lead a peer mentoring group of cohort 2 graduates. Her answer was an enthusiastic yes. She said she definitely wants to stay involved with the BDC. She sees it as a fulfillment of a prophecy 3 years ago that she would get involved with a high-level education/training organization. She feels called by God to participate in and promote the BDC. She said she will recruit dozens, if not hundreds of students.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Finalists Selected; Ready for Next Cohort!

Sunday, May 1 (Rwandan Labor Day)
(Dr. John Mulford)


Christian Life Assembly, Kigali (before service)     
After reviewing my notes from the presentations and consulting with Jason, we named the six finalists for the Business Plan Competition—John Bosco (sand hauling); Aline (mushroom growing); Arthur (solar lanterns); Mathilde (home delivery of groceries); Charles (fiber optic cable maintenance); and Grace (on-line business directory & magazine).  Now I switch from judge to coach.  I’ll spend an hour and a half with each (3 Sun; 3 Mon) to help them tell their story as compellingly as possible—logical organization and evidence for every claim they make, without coaching out their passion and personalities.

Met with Dona to discuss his leadership role in the BDC.  His quiet support for Jason and me and for all the students has been a major reason for the success we have seen.  Now I learn that he has sensed a calling from God for many years to start a business school in which he would teach and mentor.  He detoured for many years to run the family fuel transportation business.  What a “coincidence”--we have a business development center that needs local leadership and God is calling Dona to run a business school.  We have much to work out.  Right now, the BDC can’t support a full-time CEO.  But Dona, being an entrepreneur, has some ideas about starting businesses that could support the Center and a CEO.  Pray for us as we seek the Lord in this area.


Rev. Elmer Konant invited me to visit Christian Life Assembly again and to tell the congregation about the BDC and our entrepreneurship training program.  He gave me an American-like introduction—“I met this cool guy last week who is doing some cool training of entrepreneurs.  I know that God is calling many of you to business, so you must talk with him after the service.”  They love their pastor, so, with that intro, I didn’t need to say much.  After the service, I was surrounded by 100 people.  My brochures, business cards, and posters all ran out in minutes.  I referred the rest to our website.  No telling how many will apply for our program, but the idea surely sparked interest. 

Building Relationships

Saturday, April 30
(Dr. John Mulford)

Eben, visiting exec from S. Africa, left this morning.  He was a fantastic addition to the program.  He has a mentoring heart and a wealth of business knowledge, insight and wisdom.  He said he liked to stay busy, so I scheduled him for many one-on-one meetings with students and grads.  He often spent an hour and a half with each student, digging into the business and ministering to the person.  I didn’t learn to pronounce his name correctly until today—eee-yeh’-bin (or something close to that).  He wants to come back as a facilitator—the same work Jason and I do.  We say amen to that!     
Fulgence, a graduate from the Fall class called and asked to meet.  He just graduated from university and now teaches chemistry and biology in a district about 2 hours south of Kigali.  He wants to start an egg distribution business.  I asked what brought him to Kigali.  He said, “To meet with you.”  I was humbled, since it cost him almost 5% of his monthly salary just for the bus ticket.  I asked him if he was happy in his job.