On 2018-11-21, ActionAid Kenya named six winners of its SDG Ambassadors case competition in social entrepreneurship, each walking away with a Sh500,000 seed fund after beating more than 150 applicants.
The organisations will also get customised mentorship from business leaders as they work to expand ventures aimed at solving problems in their communities. ActionAid Kenya project manager Mathias Kure said the award was meant to back entrepreneurs who combine business with social impact.
“Each of the enterprises that won had something to offer to the most vulnerable members of the society. We are supporting a crop of social entrepreneurs who are not just focused on making profit but those who seek to impact the communities in which they operate,” he said.
The winners used their pitch sessions to explain both their ideas and the personal experiences behind them.
Mentorthon: built from a school mentorship experience ¶
Tim Kipchumba said the idea for Mentorthon, a national project linking professionals, brands, entrepreneurs and leaders with high school students, began while he was still in school. He said the inspiration came after hearing a university student speak during one of his school’s mentorship programmes.
He later earned a scholarship to Strathmore University, graduated with a distinction, completed a Master’s degree, co-authored two books and co-founded Questworks. Kipchumba said he and his colleague Oscar Kimani worked late into the night before the pitch, printed small cue decks and prepared for likely questions.
They focused their presentation on the problems facing high school students and young people, and on how intervention could change those outcomes over time.
Mantle Africa: keeping the pitch simple ¶
Benito Mckenzie, 30, co-founded Mantle Africa, a micro asset investment firm that leases motorbikes to riders and transfers ownership after a year. He said the idea came after a cyclist told him that owning a motorbike would improve his income and efficiency.
Mckenzie said research showed many cyclists could not access bank loans to buy motorbikes, which pushed him to build what he described as his own bank for financial inclusion. He started the business in 2013 with one motorbike, and it now provides clients with a new motorbike, comprehensive insurance and medical cover.
The riders also receive 1,000 disposable and reusable helmet liners for customers who avoid helmets because of hygiene concerns. Mckenzie said the company’s first client now has 10 motorbikes and runs a large delivery business. He said honesty and simplicity helped the pitch land well with judges.
Imara TV: telling the impact story ¶
Stephen Maina, 32, co-founded BTI Millman in 2010 while studying at the University of Nairobi, where he and two other students began building custom mobile and web software solutions from a hostel. The company later gave rise to Imara TV, which has generated more than Sh2.9 million in sponsorships and paid advertising from non-profit organisations working on reproductive health awareness.
In 2016, the United Nations Population Fund, the Ministry of Health, UKAid and the Nailab Accelerator challenged Kenyan youth innovators to come up with sustainable solutions to the sexual and reproductive health crisis in Kenya. Maina presented an idea that later won Sh1 million in seed funding for online content for Imara TV.
He said the project won the Sh500,000 prize because the team told a story that connected with funders. One of the stories they used was about a survivor of early marriage in the Korogocho slums of Nairobi who joined a filmmaking youth group and is now pursuing acting.
Mucho Mangoes: resilience and a family history in Taveta ¶
Didas Mzirai said he grew up with his grandmother in Taveta, where they picked mangoes for an export company after he was neglected by his parents, who had him out of wedlock. He said mangoes were the family’s only source of income, and being sent away with fruit that did not meet export standards was painful.
He later started Mucho Mangoes to support farmers with production skills, value addition and better-quality fruit that could meet international standards. The 36-year-old said he used a Sh16,000 seed fund from Spark International to launch the company.
Mucho Mangoes recorded a turnover of Sh2,230,320 in 2017, but Mzirai said the business had not yet broken even. He said his story of resilience helped during the Friday pitch.
Signs TV: a first-of-its-kind channel for the deaf ¶
Luke Kizito said his deaf sister’s struggle to enjoy television and radio inspired him to start Signs TV, which he described as the first deaf television channel in Africa. Founded in 2011, the station was initially meant to train deaf people in music as a hobby before expanding into social, economic, political and talent-development content for persons with disabilities.
Kizito said the biggest challenge since Signs TV began broadcasting in February was winning the trust of corporate firms. He said the idea stood out because it had not been tried before and because it reflected the principle of leaving no one behind.
“We demonstrated the nobility of the idea as a social enterprise working on the spirit of leaving no one behind. We are the only TV in Africa doing this,” he said.
