Biz

Irene Chikumbo Interview

Hows Irene doing in 2015?

It’s been an interesting start, there are some things we are really looking forward to that we are working on and starting the Start Up Grind chapter. The Start Up Grind will bringing young people together who are interested in hearing about what business people are doing and how they are surviving in this economy of ours.

irene greeno2

You wear a lot of hats…take us through what it’s like being Irene?

The work I have been doing at Hypercube which is pretty much talking to some of the community members and the projects they have been working on. There’s a lot of partnership engagement with various stakeholders at different levels, there’s some voluntary aspects of the work as well which I do and last year I went on a program called Mandela Washington Fellows so there’s a lot of work that we do to try support the initiatives that other Fellows are doing.

What are your plans for 2015?

2015 is going to be a very busy year for me because I am working on a couple of projects. The one that’s going to take up most of my year is the Social Entrepreneurship Boot Camp which I am very excited about that project. It is an evolving concept so we are working on that, speaking with various experts in the social entrepreneurial world and trying to formulate something that can help some of the young Zimbabweans that have been selected to take part in the pilot project.

Irene Greeno4

What’s the difference between a Social Entrepreneur and the Entrepreneur we are familiar with?

It’s a term that varying definitions but in my perspective I see it as someone who has a social angle to the work they do, you are always thinking about the people, the impact your work is going to have as opposed to just making money and sustaining your business.

What’s your passion?

I am passion about the environment and sustainability issues. I am also passionate about technology, I am not a techy by definition or a computer programmer but I do appreciate what technology can do whether it’s a cellphone or video game.

Irene Greeno5

What initiative are you working on now and can you tell us more about that?

There are 2 main projects. There is the Start Up Grind which J.B started and I started, it’s a monthly meet up were we profile people in business and entrepreneurship and we share some of that video footage on our global platforms so that people can see what Zimbabweans are doing in terms of business and entrepreneurship.

The big project I am working on right now is the Boot Camp. It’s a six month project that we are piloting here in Harare, we have selected 20 applicants from Harare, Bulawayo, Norton, Chitungwiza etc.

The selected people are people doing something in their communities, it may not be anything big but its something that’s having an impact in their communities. So have things spanning from environment, energy, health, water and sanitation, there’s a whole span of things out of the 20. They will take part in this 6 month program were we will guide them through what social entrepreneurship is, we have specialist coming to help them on how to develop a business model, how do you incorporate revenue models into the social work your doing, how do you measure the impact of the work you are doing because a lot of people do voluntary work but will never know how it’s going to affect people in 10years. We have a specialist coming from the U.S and we also have some locals who have some experience on the ground in Zim. We are piloting the project and they will also be doing the pilot in Zambia and

Namibia, so it’s a program running in 3 countries and it will end in August.

What are the 3 things you were not taught in school but have learnt through being an entrepreneur?

Irene Greeno6

1. The Aspect of Failure- It’s o.k to fail, it’s just what you do with that failure to move on and make yourself a better entrepreneur.

2. Importance of a Team- Entrepreneurship should be a team sport, I say this because you get more ideas and you also get a bit of critic from your team mates that you may not see yourself.

3. Constantly Learning- It’s o.k for your business to be pivoting, you may start with one idea but depending on what feedback you get from your customers or clients, it may change the direction of your business according to what your customer wants.

As a woman in the Tech/Entrepreneurship what are your challenges?

The men won’t take you as seriously because you are a woman. It is a bit intimidating as well because I am always surrounded by guys and you always wonder if you can fit in well. You also can’t be too emotional because the guys will assume your making decisions based on your emotions.

What can young women who don’t have access to the opportunities you have do in their communities?

Irene Greeno7

Back in school I wasn’t the smartest kid around, but I think it’s about taking initiative, getting access to information and it gets a momentum of its own. I am not from a rich family, I didn’t have access to things but I was always inquisitive and had a curiosity to find out.

Your Top 3 Start Up concepts?

In no particular order lol

1. Sai-Sai – They are the Internet on Comby concept

2. 263 Chat- How someone used very minimal resources and has managed to monetize the business model

3. A young group of girls that came out of the Technovation challenge. They came up with an app that can detect your skin type and it then identifies products that go with your skin type.