EP 162 Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Africa

An entrepreneur can have a brilliant idea that solves a real problem, but are they prepared to launch, brand and build a business?

Enter incubators and accelerators – an ideal opportunity for newly minted founders to get the business acumen they need to succeed.

Our guest, Ivy Syovata, is an ecosystem builder and a serial entrepreneur. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, especially the development of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem in Africa.

Ivy is the CEO of the Incubator Nest Hub, based out of Nairobi, Kenya. The Incubator Nest Hub supports companies by helping them survive and scale during the startup period.

While enhancing the local ecosystem, Ivy also serves as a board member at Drop Access Energy and The Association of Startup and SMEs Enablers of Kenya (ASSEK). She chairs the All-Nairobi Chapter for Business Network for Women Entrepreneurs, and she generously provides support for startups everywhere she glows.

To learn more about the Incubator Nest Hub, please visit: https://incubatornest.com/

Please connect with Ivy and the Incubator Nest Hub on social media here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivysyovata/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/incubatornest/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ISyovata
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/incubatornest/

00:00 - Meet Ivy!
05:30 - be bold as a lion
08:25 - lessons learned from helping Mom with her business
13:20 - how Ivy's first business failed - spectacularly - teaching her many valuable lessons
16:30 - what happened when Ivy launched her incubator in March 2020
21:00 - what gave Ivy the courage to start another business
26:40 - how the Incubator Nest Hub supports entrepreneurs
29:50 - why are entrepreneurial ecosystems important
35:00 - not your typical incubator or accelerator business model
35:50 - put your money where you idea is!
39:30 - if your mindset fails, your business will fail; get the founder support system you need to succeed
44:30 - why mentorship matters
49:50 - how entrepreneurship has served Ivy
52:00 - building entrepreneurship in Africa helps to create jobs dissolve poverty
55:40 - founders - stay focused, run an honest business and rest, rest, rest!

Thank you for carving out time to improve your Founder Game - when you do better, your business will do better - cheers!

Ande ♥
Ande Lyons
http://andelyons.com

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