My Experience at the SAIS Midterm Check-in in Berlin

When I got the mail that we might be meeting in Berlin as part of our entrepreneurship program, I was super excited. The reasons were not farfetched.

Firstly, my agritech startup, Farmspeak Technology, would be getting more recognition from mentors, investors, and other stakeholders in the business landscape.

Secondly, it would be an opportunity for me to visit Europe for the very first time. I had envisaged travelling out for a long time and this could be the answer to my prayers.

Truly, it was a life-changing experience that I will remember for a very long time.

Through the in-person masterclases and interactions with other African entrepreneurs, I realized that what brought us this far might not take us to where we want to go.

As a result, we have to innovate our business model to accommodate for scale and profitability, especially if we want to be attractive to VCs and other investors.

Aya Zaghnin and Sol Park also shared their experiences and valuable insights on how to generate consistent revenue and become an ecosystem builder, instead of just a one-sided solution provider.

It felt great to see my mentor, Richard Yeboah, who has been so supportive in person. We took time to go over our business journey, opportunities and challenges as well. Then, we designed some strategic partnership plan to increase our effectiveness in the marketplace.

David van Dijk, Paco, Phillipo, Erick Young gave well-explained strategies on how to be more investment ready by checking important boxes such as pitch deck design, cross-border trading, growth strategies, amongst others.

A great highlight of the programme was the visit to the #AfricaGrow event at the Alliance Arena. Listening to investors speak about what they seek in businesses and entrepreneurs speak about their journey was so impressive.

Vivian Nwakah (Medsaf), Ismael Belkayat (Chari), Mishy Addy ( Jetstream) pitched their companies with so much confidence, pride and excitement.

I will remain grateful to the amazing team that put this together and made it happen » Michel, Torsten, Tina, Steph, Jana, Luisa, Luca

This is arguably my most impactful week in 2022 yet and would not be possible without the awesome entrepreneurs I met: Anthony Owei, Luimar & Alexe (JABU), Adamou, Luana & Bennie (Anteja Africa), Norman Ngisha, Rob, Hany Elakel

Thank you GIZ for the #SAIS programme.

Thank you Farmspeak Technology team Peter Chukwudi Okonmah Adaeze Ruth Akpagbula for growing from just an idea in the University of Ibadan to a blooming startup.

Thank you, Israel Alabi for believing that success is possible even if you're not the smartest, richest, tallest, most popular or most handsome person in the room. With faith, persistence, vision and commitment to succeed , nothing is truly impossible.

Thanks to all who have contributed in no small measure to where we are today.

Cheers to greater heights for Farmspeak Technology 🥂