Friday 10th and Saturday 11th April 2015 the first introductory session of the Global MBA in Impact Entrepreneurship took place at University of Makeni (UNIMAK), ALTIS’ partner in Sierra Leone.
The session was the first in-presence event for the 36 entrepreneurs registered in the program after over 9 months of travel restrictions and closure of academic institutions because of the worst Ebola virus outbreak of the history.
After an introduction from UNIMAK Vice-Chancellor fr. Joseph Alimamy Turay and the explanation of MBA Regulations, the participants attended a seminary led by prof. Sharron Kelliher on introduction to the basic concepts of Business Model Design. Next activities will take place in May with the “ICT tool for Business” session and the Makeni Business Forum, a public event with business experts discussing on the topic “Doing business after the Ebola outbreak”.
VIDEO MESSAGE FROM PROF. MARIO MOLTENI TO UNIMAK ENTREPRENEURS
Dear friends,
I am Mario Molteni, ALTIS Director.
I’m so glad to start this adventure with you!
I started the E4impact initiative 5 years ago with my friends at ALTIS and now I’m so delighted to welcome you to the first edition of the Global MBA in Impact Entrepreneurship at UNIMAK!
Today you are starting your entrepreneurial journey within E4impact, the international alliance of universities led by ALTIS. Our motto is “We don’t teach entrepreneurship, we train impact entrepreneurs”.
But, who are impact entrepreneurs? They are people able to “convert social problems into business opportunities”. Well, after the immense tragedy of Ebola social problems are widespread in Sierra Leone.
So many are hungry. Youths are jobless. Thousands of children are orphans. Surely the international community must continue its support. However, it is only with the courage of local entrepreneurs that our country can flourish and pursue an inclusive growth.
I’m honored to have each of you here tonight. You are busy people. You have job and family responsibilities.
Some of you had to travel from Freetown to Makeni.
Nobody could predict what happened with Ebola. But nobody can imagine now how we can work together to create a better Sierra Leone. It’s your vision, your dream, our dream to build again the country that shapes its future!
Our MBA is committed to stimulate your entrepreneurial thinking and give you the tools to transform your business idea first into a business model then into a business plan ready to be presented to investors and donors. ALTIS and UNIMAK faculty will help you acquire the practical tools to develop your business.
Furthermore, you have a Business Coach that will become your one-to-one consultant to validate your hypothesis against the real world, to support you in transforming ideas into numbers and network with mentors and investors.
Within E4impact, we are currently managing the 4th edition of the same MBA program in Kenya, the 2nd one in Ghana and about to start in both Ivory Coast and Uganda. Much more than attending an MBA, you are thus becoming part of an international business community with the vision of growing a vibrant small and medium enterprise sector in Africa.
Do not hesitate to share with us your stories, opinions and suggestions! We are looking forward to hearing about your success!
I really want to come to Sierra Leone as soon as possible.
I want to know each of you and to understand the potential of your business. See you soon for the Initial Boot Camp in Makeni!
Mario