At Darena Ventures, our mission has always been to empower startups across Sub-Saharan Africa, fostering innovation and sustainable development. Looking back, we are immensely proud of the success and the impact of our recently concluded our technical assistance program dubbed “One-on-One Business Advisory Mentorship Program” generously sponsored by the Roddenberg Foundation. The program was designed to support and guide budding entrepreneurs or start-ups on their journey to creating impactful, investment-ready businesses that are providing solutions for adapting to or mitigating the effects of climate change. The program has yielded significant results and valuable lessons which we are pleased to share in this post.
The Vision Behind the Program
Sub-Saharan Africa is brimming with talent and potential. Regardless of their impactful and solution-orientated ideas, startups face significant challenges in scaling their ideas and attracting investment. These challenges are particularly dire for women founders and those operating in emerging industries such as climate tech. Our program was designed to address these challenges and aimed to bridge the gap by offering personalized, one-on-one business development support and networking opportunities that go beyond the traditional accelerator model. Thereby helping startups grow and thrive in their businesses.
Program Highlights:
The Program Impact
At Darena Ventures we always seek to put the spotlight on underserved founders. From June 2024 to August 2024, our program accepted over 20 entrepreneurs hailing from a different number of countries in the African continent namely Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
40% of the participants were women, reviewing our commitment to supporting female entrepreneurs in a male-dominated industry. These entrepreneurs represented a diverse range of sectors, including renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management, and water conservation mainly focusing on climate change mitigation and solutions.
The program was supported by a diverse group of mentors, with 50% being women. These mentors with extensive knowledge on doing business in Africa hailed from various countries including Ireland, Kenya, UAE, Uganda UK, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Zambia, bringing a wealth of global experience and skills to the table. Their insights and guidance were instrumental in helping our mentees refine their business strategies and prepare for growth. With our diverse panel of mentors from different sectors and different parts of the world these undeserved founders were able to receive tailored support which was relevant to their specific industry sector.
The mentees showed an impressive character of eagerness and dedication to learn and grow in their businesses which the mentors praised. A notable number of mentees were frequently praised by their mentors for their readiness to take in new information, ask relevant insightful questions and actively participate in discussions held. One such mentee Vinjeru Nyirenda from ESIGO, Malawi was recognized for her preparedness and drive, by her mentor noting her remarkable potential to deliver on tasks and her focus on social impact at various levels.
Why One-on-One Advisory Support?
While accelerator programs offer valuable resources, they often follow a one-size-fits-all approach. In contrast, our one-on-one advisory model is tailored to meet the specific needs of each entrepreneur. This personalized approach allows us to delve deeply into each startup’s unique challenges and opportunities, providing targeted guidance that accelerates their growth. This was echoed by Christinah Machingambi from Kreston Zimbabwe who said what she like the most about the program was “The practical part of it, very comprehensive.” While accelerators offer strong networking within cohorts, our one-on-one advisory program has proven that one-on-one advisory programs can provide broader networking opportunities through the mentor’s professional network. Unlike accelerator program one-on-one advisory programs offer long-term support for the mentee that goes well over the stipulated time of the program helping entrepreneurs navigate through the long-term challenges of growth rather than in accelerator programs.
Why We Do This
At Darena Ventures, our mission is to empower the next generation of climate tech leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa. By providing these entrepreneurs with the support they need to succeed, we are not only helping them grow their businesses but also contributing to the fight against climate change to secure a more sustainable and resilient future for all of humanity.
Tailored Support and Outcomes
Mentors provided personalized and tailored technical assistance to help start-ups address specific challenges. The mentors helped mentees develop critical skills and strategies for their businesses. Mentors played a critical role in this program in equipping mentees with the tools needed for the success of their businesses, ranging from assistance in refining business models, business development, developing financial strategies, preparing investor pitches to offering practical advice on human resources and investor engagement. Mentors reported that mentees were receptive to feedback and showed improvement in their business strategies and operational planning as a result of the mentoring sessions.
Mentees cited benefits from the program such as being able to adopt financial management tools and profit maximisation, learning the importance of record keeping, maintaining quality teams that resonate well with their company’s products and vision, establishment of standard operating procedures, having clear marketing and sales strategies, and learning how to pitch for possible external investments. Etienne Nyamilandu founder of Joes Cloud Kitchen based in Malawi had this to say: “I’ve been able to get a deeper understanding on what I should do to attract customers, have loyal customers, streamline operations and also financial management. This will benefit me in a sense that I am now able to handle my business with better perspectives. I can be able to overcome challenges, be consistent with service delivery & generate enough revenue amidst competition in the food business.”
Building Long term Relationships
Mentors expressed a strong willingness to continue supporting their mentees beyond the formal duration of the program. This ongoing support highlights the program’s success in fostering meaningful relationships, creating a supportive network and community dedicated to driving sustainable innovation for climate tech entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Looking Forward
The conclusion of our Mentorship Program marks not an end, but a new beginning. We are committed to building on the insights and successes from this program to continuously improve and expand our support for startups and climate tech innovators. We look forward to launching future cohorts and initiatives that will further empower entrepreneurs and drive sustainable innovation in Africa.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the mentors, participants, and partners who made this program a successful journey. Together, we have taken significant steps toward building a sustainable future.
We look forward to celebrate more success stories in the future.
