Indiana Baseden

Director of Strategic Growth @AgovaSV. Passionate about business and social innovation. Building MSMEs in Zambia and Southern Africa.

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

1 day late but…. celebrating World MSME Day!
Shout out to our agri-SME partners who have come out of a terrible drought this past agricultural season and are already innovating to support their farmers with climate-resilient and sustainable solutions. #FOF #EDGE #MSMEgrowth

[Agova @AgovaSV]

Day 1 of the 2-day #ICA2024 event.Join @IBaseden our Director of Strategic Growth as she leads a discussion session on SME development and adapting to the challenges of climate change and drought.

Join the conversation

@impactcapafrica #SMEdevelopment #climateresilience

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

Very excited to be leading a roundtable discussion at ICA Zambia 2024 on how agri-MSMEs are trying tackle and adapt to the climate change challenge in Zambia... come and share your views!

#ICA2024 #MSMEs #climateresilience #innovations

[Alex Ponton @ponton_alex]

My Wish on My Birthday

I conducted an investment readiness training in Zambia close to a year ago. It was my first one. After four days of training, it culminated in a pitch day in front of investors.

The Zambian entrepreneurs there reminded me a lot of the folks I engage with in Uganda—driven but laid back and extremely welcoming. I've posted a few times about how it's such a missed opportunity that traveling to Zambia from Uganda takes around 10+ hours and costs close to $1,000 (a topic for another discussion).

On the day of pitching, I was stressed for my people. Would they perform? Were they ready? For some, it was their first time presenting in front of people. We worked hard until the wee hours to get ready, but you never know...

The day of the pitch arrived. The first presenter stepped onto the stage. I can't remember her name, but from a shy young lady, she had become a real trailblazer. She spoke with the energy and confidence she probably didn't even know she had. When she finished, everyone on the team went quiet for half a second before applauding vigorously.

"Alex, I wasn't supposed to pitch, but you and the team encouraged me so much, I felt like I had to go out there and 'show them!'" She did...

I won't lie. That was nice to hear. I spend time away from my family or posting on Twitter for moments like this.

Investors present ranged from microfinance institutions and banks to VCs and angel investors.

One angel investor, @EliasChipimo, caught my attention with a small but very important detail.

At the end of every presentation, he would wait for his turn, stand up, take the mic, and start with something along the lines of:

"Thanks a lot for the pitch. I am very excited for you, and it was great learning about your journey so far."

He would then pick one or two details that particularly caught his attention positively. It didn't matter if it was a tech startup, a maize miller, or a dairy cooperative...

As investors or commenters, it's easy to jump straight into hard questions or discard companies because they don't fit our "groundbreaking thesis." It's easy to look down on folks because they don't have "records" or top-notch compliance. It's easy to take shortcuts and hoard free samples...

Yet, we forget that we are dealing with humans trying to earn a living and achieve something meaningful.

I guess it was his way of saying:

"Well done on the journey so far. I know it's tough. I see you and I am cheering for you."

So, back to the title. What's my wish for my birthday? More of that...

[Alex Ponton @ponton_alex]

Time to back some boring businesses

I have been posting for all of last year about the need for early-stage funders to start backing “fast-growing” traditional businesses. It doesn’t matter if you are building a fintech or a new grocery store concept. A Startup is growth. I feel like the time has come for me to go beyond the talk and start putting money where my mouth and keyboard is. I have teamed up with @TonyNatif on this.

If you are a traditional business with clear evidence of product market fit, please reach-out. Tell us your story. Do you have a queue at your restaurant every day? Are your products selling out before they even reach your warehouse? Are your customers thinking you use internet pictures and can’t believe your products are locally made? Are you already selling to multiple African countries even if it’s informally? Show us the evidence that makes your business special and we will find a way to support you.

If we are to make a fund out of this and show VCs that a boring business well executed can lead to VC-like returns, we need pipeline. I don’t care if you are in Lilongwe, Kampala, Juba or Lagos. Reach-out. My DMs are open.

[Agova @AgovaSV]

#📢 RETHINKING BUSINESS…RETHINKING AGOVA!!!
We have updated our services.
Get ready for an exciting reveal!!Stay tuned as we unveil comprehensive details about our 3 updated services in the next few days.🎉🎊
#agova #rethinkgagova #rethinkingbusiness #sharedvalue #SMEdevelopment

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

📢 Excited to share my latest opinion piece on the critical issue of MSME access to finance in Zambia! 💼💰 Join the conversation and let's work together to empower local entrepreneurs 💪 Read the full article below... #MSMEFinance #ZambiaBusiness #SmallBiz

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

Big congrats to our partners @impactcapafrica for their fantastically well run #ZIIS23. I came out of it buzzing with ideas on how we could improve access to finance for the micro and small enterprises segments, to adress the gaps that still persist!

#MSMEs #access2finance

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

YES! All-women panel discussing initiatives to improve financial inclusion and business development for women. As voiced by one of the panelist, only issue is that this session should be directly after the opening of the summit. It’s the most important one! #inclusion #MWC22

[Shared Value Africa @SVAIAfrica]

DON'T MISS OUT! Today's first #ASVLS22 Session starts at 11:30 CAT in Room AD12 at the Kigali Convention Centre. Join us as we take a closer look at the type of collaborations and innovations that are needed to foster collective impact and growth? https://t.co/rYTk4rDZcS

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

Thought-provoking sessions at Day 2 of #MWC22 and #ASVL2022 from Orange on their digitally inclusive initiatives in Africa and pitches from start-ups supported by the GSMA Innovation Fund in various sectors (waste2energy products, SME data solutions and services for the deaf)

[Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit @AfricaSVS]

The 2022 Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit starts at 12:00 CAT! Join the conversation on how Africa’s businesses can build its digital future, starting with a keynote by UN Global Compact's Sanda Ojiambo in our live stream at https://t.co/nPJenjKEfJ and use #ASVLS22.

[Shared Value Africa @SVAIAfrica]

How do we harness the power of #SharedValue and #digital technology to transition to a climate-friendly, just society in Africa? It's all happening tomorrow! Be a part of the conversation at the#ASVLS22 - join us live on 25-26 October 2022. https://t.co/ix6UzcACef

[AICCRA @CGIARAfrica]

AICCRA's 🇿🇲 multistakeholder dialogue program in partnership with @therallyingcry is facilitating a workshop on Women and Youth in Climate-Smart agribusiness. Including women and youth in the process is crucial if real impact is to be achieved.

[Agova @AgovaSV]

Are you an SME and struggling to develop the right business model in the "new normal?" Then sign up here https://t.co/KRKiE5Q50F for our discounted courses

In partnership with @prosperozm and @TandemCircularConsulting.
#sales #marketing #business #smallbusiness #businessgrowth

[Agova @AgovaSV]

Team building...Lesson..."always keep communication clear and concise for effective follow up".This is very important especially in our line of business.

[Agova @AgovaSV]

We hope you are staying safe,maintaining social distancing and putting measures in place to ensure your company survives (and thrives!) during and post COVID-19.

Contact us for a quick chat and see how we can help.
https://t.co/TuCtOnP20X
#sharedvalue #StaySafe #endcovid19

[Agova @AgovaSV]

We are problem solvers. Contact us to discuss your business challenges during this COVID-19 crisis and see how we can help.
[email protected]
https://t.co/TuCtOnP20X
#Sharedvalue #COVID19 #socialresponsobility
#endcovid19
#socialimpact

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

Do you want to support young start-ups to grow, scale and innovate in Zambia? Join the Gritcube Zambia team now! https://t.co/xf1EovKY9c

[Indiana Baseden @IBaseden]

Want to be part of a disruptive social venture trying to address complex development problems? @ewb is recruiting! https://t.co/UEqUlw8hbx