SLA Networking Brunch in Cape Town
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”16310″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Cape Town we’re coming for you! We are so excited to be hosting our first event in Cape Town, South Africa on 15 November, 2016. We love connecting with our community and helping young women build the skills they need for successful careers and businesses. We’re excited to host an intimate and engaging brunch for young women who are ready to turn their creative passions into sustainable businesses. Join SLA cofounder Afua Osei for an intimate and engaging conversation around how we can turn our creative passion into sustainable and profitable businesses. Host: Afua Osei is a co-founder and digital guru of She Leads Africa, a community that helps young African women achieve their professional dreams. Shes been all over the world with her career serving as a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia, working in the Office of First Lady Michelle Obama in the White House, and working on more than 6 different political campaigns as a strategy and communications consultant. She moved to Nigeria in 2012 to serve as a business and operations consultant at McKinsey & Company, advising large corporations and multinationals across 3 continents. She has a masters in public policy (MPP) and business administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago. What you’ll learn: How to identify the right customers for you (hint: it’s not everyone) How to understand what your potential customers are thinking and give to them what they want What you should be doing to get bigger brands and partners interested in you How to create a roadmap to grow your influence and revenue strategies for 2017 Not sure if you should attend a She Leads Africa event? You must be crazy! But in any case, this is what you can expect from a She Leads Africa experience: Fun and engaging content: We aren’t boring and strive to deliver business content in a fun and relatable way. Young women like yourself looking to make an impact: Our community is full of smart and ambitious young women who want to live their best professional lives. Access to real business experts: At our events we always have exceptional speakers who have been there and can show you how to do that [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”13784″ img_size=”300×200″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”13785″ img_size=”300×200″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”13783″ img_size=”300×200″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Find your way to Workshop17 [/vc_column_text][vc_gmaps link=”#E-8_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”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
SLA Accelerator Demo Day
Join us on November 20 in Lagos, Nigeria for the Demo Day of our 2016 SLA Accelerator. Demo Day is a public viewing for investors, corporates senior executives and the press to view our most recent accelerator startups. The SLA Accelerator is a 3-month program designed to identify, support and fund the next generation of Nigeria’s brightest female entrepreneurs. The selected businesses are: Art Splash Studio – A virtual art studio offering a social art experience through our Paint Nite painting classes hosted at different venues in Abuja. BathKandy Co. – Creates sumptuous dessert-inspired beauty treats for women who crave the finer things. Bubble Tii – Bringing the Bubble Tea phenomena to Africa. DeliveryBros – Helps you save time and stress through pickup and drops from the market to your house or office. Fresh Direct Produce and Agro-Allied Services – An eco-friendly social enterprise that produces premium organic produce through hydroponics and community action. Keek’s – Designs tailored weight loss packages for busy women who want a plan that is both effective and simple to implement. Koko’s Kitchen – An indigenous brand of confectionary dry mixes specially tailored to suit the taste buds and pocketbook of the quintessential person on the go. Independent Personal Assistant (iPA) – Provides strategic virtual assistance to high-level executives across Africa. We take care of the mundane while you focus on what matters. Medsaf.com – Solves the medical industry’s procurement problem, by providing a technology enabled distribution solution resulting in transparency and simplicity. Shuttlers – Enables professionals to access comfortable and efficient transportation to and from work using seat matching technology. SLA Accelerator is in partnership with the Work in Progress! Alliance and Guaranty Trust Bank The Work in Progress! Alliance is focused on unlocking the economic potential of young women and men in Egypt, Nigeria and Somalia. The project aims to enable them to generate sustainable and living incomes – by finding regular employment or starting enterprises. Alliance partners include Oxfam, VC4Africa and Butterfly Works Guaranty Trust Bank is recognized as one of the most profitable and well managed financial institutions in Africa for providing quality service, ethics, professionalism, integrity, innovation and internationally accepted corporate governance standards. SLA Accelerator is also one of 16 global incubators and accelerators selected as a Village Capital Community VilCap Communities enables anyone, anywhere to use peer-selected investment to support entrepreneurs within their communities. In 2016, each VilCap Community will be running its own entrepreneur training program and investing in two ventures using Village Capital’s peer selection methodology.
Yoadan Tilahun: Nothing gives more credibility than the quality of your work
So many of us dream of turning our side hustles into main ones. Few of us do but Yoadan Tilahun is one of the few who’s managed to succeed. Yoadan founded Flawless Events while working full time in corporate trade in the Washington, DC area. Flawless designs and produces corporate events, brand activations, international conferences and trade fairs on behalf of its clients in a number of industries. These include Coca Cola, Google, World Economic Forum, Africa Leadership Network among many others. Yoadan moved Flawless to her home city, Addis Ababa in 2008, where it has been flourishing since. Heran Abate, SLA contributor, spoke to Yoadan whose career decisions and approach to life demonstrate a calm boldness that exemplifies the #MotherlandMogul. Having worked in corporate trade, why did you decide to start an event management company? It started as a side gig, actually. I was looking for an additional source of income to supplement my day job. Around that same time, the events I was attending were quite unorganized —so I leveraged my existing network and tried my hand at it. But from the beginning, there was no two ways about it. The very first event sparked this exhilaration in me —from brainstorming initial designs to realizing the finest details, I was hooked! To this day, there’s nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of being in perfect sync with my team. Especially when months of planning and toil pay off and an event falls seamlessly into place before our eyes. It sounds like it was going well in the US, what prompted the re-location of the business to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia? Ethiopia has long been a center for African intergovernmental affairs, being the seat of the African Union and the Economic Council for Africa. So, there were already many international conferences going on. Particularly around the Ethiopian millennium (September 2008 —we follow a different calendar), there were a number of grand initiatives to broadly expand Addis Ababa’s infrastructure and create larger FDI (foreign direct investment) opportunities. This meant an increase in modern facilities, roads and an influx of investors who were looking to tap into networks and opportunities. That was the market gap Flawless came to Ethiopia to fill. Would you say this re-location was the turning point for the company? Yes and no. While it was good timing, the hard work ahead was in building the momentum. We had to adapt to new regulatory frameworks, re-adjust to an entirely different set of clients. And also build relationships with vendors from the ground up. Like any start-up, the initial stages were crucial. You have to be tireless and tactful in pursuing new clients, being a step ahead of their needs. Until you build a reputation for over-delivering in (seemingly) effortless fashion. That sounds like there’s more good advice where that came from for our readers, could you elaborate? Certainly. To put it simply, nothing gives you more credibility than the quality of your work itself. No amount of advertising can make up for a poorly managed event. It was through happy clients’ referrals that we were able to get some of our highest profile and exciting events. So what makes for a flawless event? What else helped you establish a compelling brand and reputation? Clear process and production, the two are different but both critical. The first requires top-down strategy to tackle the separate pieces of the whole. It also entails investing time in creative output and designs to personalize the event then tireless follow-up. As the event nears, we burn the midnight oil, making sure there are no loose ends affecting back up plans and that we are in constant readiness for crisis —this is inevitable. Our clients rely on us to trouble-shoot and problem-solve on the spot —a late visa, equipment held up at customs etc. Are the majority of your clients international? What industries do you serve? About two-thirds of our clients are international. We mostly do corporate events, international conferences in trade and investment, development as well. We have held events that companies used as entry platforms into the Ethiopian market —Google’s first event for example. We’ve set up high-level meetings for finance entities who don’t have contacts in the country. Most recently, we organized an event in which Ethiopian Airlines celebrated its newest plane acquisition by setting a Guinness World Record for the largest human formation of an airplane. That was fun! How do you nab these high-profile events? We are tireless in building and sustaining relationships both locally and internationally. We are the only private-sector members of the International Congress & Convention Association. We are close partners with professional networks in Africa including African Leadership Network (we’ve hosted their event in Kigali and Addis) as well as Extensia —a continental group of high-level professionals in ICT. On the ground, we have excellent working relationships with hotels, government offices as well as previous clients. This gives us a lot of leverage to flexibly offer our clients a whole buffet of options. Your increasing influence sounds like a direct result from the events you have previously organized. Yes. Our influence is built on opportunities born out of our previous work and our growing network, clients calling us back to take on new events or referring us to contacts in new industries. You were very recently selected among 30 women entrepreneurs to take part in the Graça Machel Fund’s Woman Advancing Africa. What was the goal of this forum? What are the implications for Flawless? I’m honored to have been selected. Graça Machel is a Mozambican humanitarian and also the widow of Nelson Mandela. This forum is a platform for African women entrepreneurs to leverage their capacity and networks to influence the economic trajectory of the continent. It’s because of the integrity of the work that our client’s have attested to that we are invited to take part in larger conversations about entrepreneurship, economic growth. In Ethiopia as well, we are now well-positioned to take initiative in expanding the MICE (Meetings,
5 things you’ll miss if you’re not at SheHive London
SheHive is coming to London! For 4 days, SLA is taking over Facebook HQ for a professional bootcamp. Between August 18 and 21, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with the coolest people in London. This will not only be a great experience for established entrepreneurs and professionals, but for aspiring career women of all ages. Now, you may have your own reasons to skip SheHive, but we have 5 solid reasons why missing it will be a bad idea . Renowned and inspirational speakers You definitely don’t want to miss out on this chance to hear and interact with some of the best and brightest minds out there including Imad Mesdoua, Charles Sekwalor and Ade Hassan. Get ready to learn from passionate and creative entrepreneurs, hear about their vast experiences and leave inspired. THE networking opportunity You’ll get an excuse to show off your networking skills, potentially make long-term connections with some dope people, get advice, raise your profile and increase your confidence. Meet and connect with some of the best and most talented young African entrepreneurs. Intimate sessions The intimate nature of our sessions means that you can get the most out of them and get exactly what you need. And if you splurge for an All Access Pass, you’ll have time to speak to the co-founders and other speakers directly. #SheHive is also a multicultural platform where you not only learn career skills but how to apply them. New friends You’ll have the chance to interact with new women and reconnect with old ones! Don’t miss out on the chance to meet some amazing, aspirational women like yourself who will motivate you. Motivation is contagious and the moment you interact with individuals who are cheerful and upbeat, you will catch the vibe too. The chance to grow your career and business in a clearly defined market Are you an entrepreneur? Our #ShopTheHive event is the best place to come and showcase your product to our community. Not only will this generate awareness for your brand, but you can additional revenue stream to your existing business. SheHive is where career success starts, so don’t miss out on your chance to hear amazing speakers, participate in hands-on workshops, network with amazing African women on a multicultural platform and don’t forget SHOPPING. Who would want to miss this? If you haven’t bought your pass yet, better hurry up and do it.
How to get discounts and sponsors for your next event
When you’re just getting started, the hustle for customers and publicity is real. You need to get your product in everyone’s face in the cheapest way possible. Events seem to be a favourite for their ability to generate brand exposure and activate your fans. But events cost money and most companies just starting out, don’t really have any so the hunt for sponsors and discounts is on. Everyone wants sponsors, and discounted products and brands get requests from everyone all the time. If you want to stand out and get brands on board for your event, follow these steps for your next event. 1. Start early Give yourself at least 3 months before the event to start looking for sponsors. This can be a long and tedious process and you don’t want to rush at the last minute. 2. Pull together your facts Create a budget as if you were going to pay for everything. This way you are clear about what everything you want costs. Then decide what things are the most important and what things you can afford to lose, if you had to. 3. Decide what you are able to pay for Most of the time it is advisable to pay for the items that the event can not run without. This way no matter what happens, you’ll still be able to run your event and be in control even if a sponsor falls through. However having the money and being prepared to pay for them does not mean you can’t ask for sponsorship. You can also use this during negotiations to let them know that you aren’t just looking for handouts. Brands want to know that you’re investing your own resources to make the event a success as well. 4. Determine if you want a discount, product or cash So many start-ups request cash for their events but that is always the hardest thing to get from a sponsor. Think about what kind of support a brand can provide via in kind services or through exchanges. By being creative in this area, you can strike deals. 5. Decide which sponsors you want to approach and why Beyond just the financial value, think about which brands you want to be associated with your business. Even though you’re just starting out, you want to make sure you’re working with brands that connect to your values and identity. You also want to target brands where whatever you’re offering in return actually matters to them. Most companies that provide sponsorship are looking for the advertising opportunities or to connect to your community. Some may just be happy to support but these companies are few and far between. Generally, everybody wants something in return and you need to figure out what that is. 6. Do your research Call people you know and find out as much as you can about other events this company may have sponsored. Look online for their values and if they have a sponsorship request form. Use LinkedIn to find the right contacts in marketing or communications departments. 7. Prepare a sponsorship package that is targeted at the sponsor Do not ever send a generic proposal. That is the fastest way to get your proposal ignored. Looking for another way to get your proposal in the trash? Have another company’s information in the proposal. That’s a big no no. Spend the time demonstrating that you’ve done your research and know exactly why you want to work with this brand. 8. Send your e-mail Be clear, polite and straight to the point. Ask for a meeting, whether online or face to face so you can explain further and build a relationship. If you have chosen your sponsors carefully you should at least peak their interest in you. 9. Keep track of who you have approached and when If you haven’t heard within 5 days try and follow up with a phone call. 10. Ensure you are able to fulfil the offers you provide sponsors Sponsors can become long term partners if they like your work ethic, product and customer service. Treat sponsors the same as customers. Ensure you have clear agreements so that everyone is on the same page and you keep in touch after the event. Be creative, keep going and good luck with getting them coins!