Seven entrepreneurs win Kshs3.1m in business plan competition

By Eric Akasa

Michael Odhiambo overall winner of the 2012 Enablis,ILO,Safaricom foundation Business plan competition

 Kisumu-based green and social entrepreneur is the winner of the 2012 Enablis ILO Safaricom Foundation business plan competition. Michael Odhiambo, 33, beat 99 other entrepreneurs to carry the overall title with a business plan based on a company that has turned the hyacinth threat in Lake Victoria into a commercial benefit.

Odhiambo is the head of Takawiri, a Community-Based Organisation in Kisumu with 24 members. The company produces paper-based products like envelopes and gift bags from hyacinth harvested manually from the lake.

Seven budding entrepreneurs were awarded a total of Kshs 3.1 million to launch or expand their businesses. The competition, which ran between November 2012 and February 2013, is a platform for Kenyans with outstanding businesses or ideas to display their innovations through written business plans. The business plan competition is currently the biggest competition promoting entrepreneurship development in Kenya and is supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Safaricom Foundation, Inoorero University, and Chase Bank.

The 2012 competition top 100 finalists, who were shortlisted from 800 participants, underwent training for one week and presented their business plans to panels of judges the in four categories. 

Fredrick Kiilu won the agri-business sector from Machakos whose company, Kamumo Products Ltd, processes fruit pulp from mangoes and then supplies to juice and yoghurt manufacturers. Jonathan Mativo, who provides mobile ICT training in rural areas in Ukambani as well, won in the ICT category, while Michael Odhiambo, the overall winner, topped the green and ecological businesses category.

Mercy Mwende’s business of making crisps from ripe bananas was judged best also in the agribusiness category, as Fatuma Mohamed’s mobile medi-care service won the innovation category.

Media marketing, arts, sports, leisure and recreation services category was taken by Solomon Mburu who organises home stays for tourists in Central Kenya, as Wachira Mwangi, who runs a team-building firm, took the youngest entrepreneur award.

Each of the winners walked away with Sh500, 000 that they will use to improve their businesses.

 Speaking during the award ceremony held in Nairobi on Friday, Enablis East Africa president Moses Mwaura said the business plan competition aims at developing entrepreneurship in Kenya by helping people discover commercial opportunities in the economy. “This year the quality of business plans has been very high,” he said. “This is an indication of the impact our training is having in the economy.”

He said most of the businesses that participated in the competition are existing enterprises looking for expansion capital. Forty-two percent of the businesses in the competition were in agribusiness and agri-processing, 27 percent in ICT, while green businesses and media, marketing, arts sports and tourism accounted for 11 and 20 percent respectively. “This reflects the current problem our country is facing in food security,” said Mwaura.

“Agribusiness is good because it is more employment intensive and thus is likely to create more jobs.”He added.

Women formed 12 percent of the short-listed 100 business plans. Mwaura asked small business owners to aim higher in terms of market presence, as this is the only way to grow revenues and create more jobs.

Les Baille, outgoing Safaricom Foundation chairman, urged entrepreneurs to be move innovative to compete effectively in the current cut-throat markets. “Safaricom didn’t grow by offering only voice services,” he said, noting that capital remains the biggest challenge for most small entrepreneurs.

ILO Youth Entrepreneurship Facility (ILO-YEF), which contributed Sh1.5 million for top winners, said it targets to create 7500 jobs and promote 4,000 enterprises in Kenya over the next two years. “We would like to unleash a culture of entrepreneurship in the youth who are the majority of the population,” said Jane Maigwa from ILO-YEF. “This can only succeed if we improve access to business development services like funding.”