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…