Tag rwanda

Tag Archives: rwanda

On the Ground: Hard Lessons

I thought you might like to see the email I got recently from Clarisse, CEO of HeHe, Ltd, a company not yet a year old. I had asked her about the national conference where she was asked to speak.  The government has asked HeHe about a road trip around the country to speak to youth (we could show episodes on inflatable screens from Unicef) for discussions about hi tech enterprise in an emerging knowledge economy. She wrote between classes, prepping for exams, since they all graduate in December. As you see, already the team has had some challenges –that’s what I mean by “insider stories.” All four HeHe team members are smart, tough and ambitious.

Hey Diane,

So the Rwanda Entrepreneurship Week was organized by Cambridge university.

It will run from July 25th. HeHe will he leading a session on team work;

Teamwork workshop:

  • Do I need a team?
  • How do I build the right team and where/how do I find cofounders and employees?
  • How do I create open communication channels with my teammates, and help them create the same communication channels with each other?
  • How do I make decisions with my team?
  • How can I recognize one of my teammates for his/her accomplishments?
  • What do I do if one of my teammates is causing difficulties?
  • How do I remove someone from my team?
  • What are steps I can take to improve my team dynamics?

We will be discussing some of these points.

Thanks, Clarisse

Left to right: Amiri, Diane, Clarisse and Richard

On the Ground: A Hunger to Learn

Time is short, stories need telling, and could I ask you to tweet, FB and email friends with our link, please?  Once we publish the first ten episodes, I plan to find, film and help fund more innovators to inspire and continue the cycle. Stories change lives, says the Rwandan agency who wants to help us.

One of the teachers of the AITI course in July’s KIST boot camp (Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, see http://AITI.mit.edu) says that 4-5 teams are ready to launch new enterprises already. There’s a hunger to learn new technolgy which is changing the game in East Africa. Our HeHe team CEO Clarisse was invited to speak to a national gathering of students about the hardwon lessons of teamwork she’s learned in just nine months of operation. She’s going to Uganda in September after winning another pitch competition.

In Kenya I met with a large newspaper editor who will assign a writer to tell some of the stories I’m following — for general readers and for the diplomatic scene. Telling these stories in print and video, for web, phone and live audiences, will get their news into the hands of potential funders and build new enterprises.