Futuremakers Forum KEY INSIGHTS The event was part Finding innovative ideas BUILD ON EXISTING of the Futuremakers and tangible solutions MODELS OF FINANCING Forum, a series There are many different financing of events bringing for financing young options that already exist to support young entrepreneurs. Joyce Mbaya-Ikiao stakeholders entrepreneurs highlighted the benefits of segmented together to build finance, focusing specifically on women, partnerships and create start-ups, or digital enterprise, and DATE: 30 JUNE 2020 opportunities focused THEME: FINANCING public sector grants. Wong Keet Loong SPEAKERS FORMAT: ONLINE EVENT explained how credit guarantees can on young people. encourage commercial banks to “be bolder in investing in untested business , Head, Senior Vice Francesca Brown Wong Keet Loong, Moderator: Eugenia Koh, areas” and gave insight into other Community Programmes, President, Credit Guarantee Head, Sustainable Investing available forms of finance including Standard Chartered Corporation, Malaysia CONNECT INVESTORS & Engagement Strategy, Enterprise Capital Funds, which may , Director, Nida Athar Joyce Mbaya-Ikiao, Standard Chartered; Natasha combine public and private money and AND ENTREPRENEURS INNOVentures Global, Pakistan Entrepreneur, Founder of Zydii Kwakwa, Director, Global act as a bridge between MSMEs and Investors and businesses can leverage Impact, Group Sustainability, investors; peer-to-peer lending and their existing networks, particularly at Standard Chartered. crowd-funding; and bridge financing, the local level, while digital platforms are particularly to help with the disruption of giving young entrepreneurs access to a COVID-19. Importantly, the development global audience. Networks and platforms of alternative models of credit rating, must be designed with inclusion in for example, based on e-wallets and mind – particularly of youth, women and digital marketplace transactions, are now disabled people. Partnerships can be acting as a bridge to formal finance for developed to bring together investors INTRODUCTION those who have previously been excluded. and entrepreneurs with a shared Young entrepreneurs – especially young women and those in low- sense of purpose. For example, bringing income countries face numerous challenges in obtaining finance together those striving for the greater to scale up or develop their businesses. The barriers that they may economic empowerment of women, or face include insufficient collateral, underdeveloped track records, connecting young investors with young entrepreneurs around common objectives. immature networks, weak credit ratings, and lack of know-how and role models. This event asked what can be done to overcome these challenges. It explored how to connect investors and young entrepreneurs and how innovative forms of finance can be developed to meet the specific needs of young entrepreneurs. To read our full accessibility statement please go to: https://www.sc.com/en/accessibility/ TEACHING SKILLS THAT for example, lawyers, accountants “Entrepreneurship BENEFICIARY CASE STUDY: and social media agencies; and is not just an act of BUILD THE CONFIDENCE JOYCE MBAYA-IKIAO, OF ENTREPRENEURS accelerator programmes to help scale starting a business; up, particularly through digital channels. FOUNDER AND CEO OF ZYDII AND INVESTORS it’s actually a mindset Joyce Mbaya-Ikiao is the entrepreneur Building an entrepreneurial mindset can that teaches you behind Zydii, the digital learning platform be achieved through formal educational REMOVE BARRIERS flexibility, perseverance, contextualised for the African learner. She is institutions, incubators and mentoring FOR WOMEN AND resourcefulness. These also a former star of The Apprentice Africa schemes, but formal curricula must be DISABLED PEOPLE are important skills” 2008 and author of GIBEBE: Imagine Your directly linked to a practical component, Success Path, Believe In The Impossible, Nida Athar commented that female such as field testing, pricing and establishing Nida Athar Become Who You’re Meant To Be. partnerships. Joyce Mbaya-Ikiao highlighted entrepreneurs may need help to the importance of creating space for become investment-ready. Specific Joyce’s greatest challenge was securing peer-to-peer sharing of successes programmes can help women to capital to grow her business. Digital platforms and lessons learned. Programmes that separate their personal finance from can be challenging to finance due to a lack blend these theoretical and practical their business, develop expenditure of tangible assets. Standard Chartered’s skills can be developed through statements, understand the power of Women in Tech programme enabled Joyce to partnerships between the business networking, build confidence, learn access funds specifically targeted at women sector and educational institutions. how to present their business and who are driving technological enterprise. articulate their needs. Additionally, such “Most importantly, they really took the time to programmes can connect women with understand our businesses, our strategy, they female investors and make warm OFFER HOLISTIC mentored us and really understood how we introductions to other potential funding SUPPORT TAILORED wanted to grow our business. So, when it came sources. Another frequently excluded TO NEED to financing us, they knew us very well. This group are visually impaired people. also allowed me to meet my first investor.” Francesca Brown advocated that Francesca Brown urged investors to companies “be bold about supporting “be more insistent and inclusive”, entrepreneurs with innovative and starting with small initiatives to build interesting approaches and providing confidence in what can be achieved. emergency support.” Different enterprises KEY RECOMMENDATION will need differing levels of funding and will have different tolerances for Create a platform for private risk. Beyond financial backing, some sector stakeholders to young entrepreneurs will benefit collaborate and develop a from a broader package of support financing model that supports including networking; mentoring; skills the growth of micro and small training, such as digital skills or online youth-led business, solving marketing; access to specialised skills, the challenge particularly of working capital finance. To read our full accessibility statement please go to: https://www.sc.com/en/accessibility/ Futuremakers Forum KEY INSIGHTS The event was part of the Scalability, sustainability REVIEW SUPPLY Futuremakers Forum, a CHAIN PRACTICES series of events bringing and participation in The supply chains of large corporates stakeholders together can appear impenetrable to youth-led to build partnerships value chains SMEs. Kariuki Ngari stressed that large DATE: 8 JULY 2020 companies need to take a proactive and create opportunities THEME: INCLUSIVE approach, to reassure young – and focused on young people. VALUE CHAINS particularly women entrepreneurs that FORMAT: ONLINE EVENT their product is valued and that they SPEAKERS will receive support to participate. Large corporates can engage with Deniz Harut, Founder of Maria Bobenrieth, Executive Moderators: Kariuki Ngari, Chief organisations with expertise in PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES Gender Score and Executive Director, Women Win and co- Executive Officer, Kenya and integrating young people into value FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Director, Sustainable Finance, founder of Win-Win Strategies East Africa, Standard Chartered; chains. Maria Bobenrieth suggested TO LEARN ABOUT Standard Chartered Natasha Kwakwa, Director, Global Susan Tew, Strategic Sourcing, three immediate steps that companies YOUR BUSINESS Impact, Group Sustainability, Gary Xia, CTO, Shanghai Diversity and Inclusion, Standard Chartered. can take: develop a youth responsive During the discussion, there was a Binary Food Tech Co. and Standard Chartered procurement strategy with defined beneficiary of ENACTUS China particular focus on the challenges goals; ask all suppliers to adopt similar faced by young women. “Women- Jean Chawapiwa, Country policies; and require that suppliers owned businesses don’t just want Director, South Africa, include young people, and especially WEConnect International to be told about opportunities. They young women, on their pitching need a chance to interact with large team to help them gain experience. corporates and really understand how those organisations work,” explained Jean Chawapiwa. For example, INTRODUCTION procurement processes could include This event considered how large corporates, both domestic and training and coaching programmes multinational, can use their supply chains to make a dramatic delivered by key people from within the difference to the success and impact of small and medium- sales, legal and procurement teams of the business. Work experience sized enterprises (SMEs) led by young people and by women. It programmes for young people help to brought together large companies and potential participants in build their life skills and entrepreneurial value chains to discuss how to deliver meaningful actions and ability while growing relationships and commitments. Discussions explored how youth-led enterprises providing practical insight into how large can prepare for and identify opportunities in domestic or global companies operate. Deniz Harut advised, value chains, and how companies can support them to manage “Technology can be leveraged as a the immediate impacts of COVID-19 and grow back stronger. force for good and to accelerate the good work