Hi, I’m Andrea Sottini and I’m at my last year of Economy at Università Cattolica of Milan. From February to June I’ve spent my life in Nairobi, Kenya, to write my thesis and work as intern at Tangaza University Collage. It was a great professional, cultural and human experience.
During my working period at the MBA in Impact Entrepreneurship, I had the chance to meet several entrepreneurs belonging to different business fields and I’ve touched and came to learn the dynamics and characteristics of many industries. My job was to analyze and develop, with the entrepreneurs, each aspect of their companies, from the costs to the customer relationship. I’ve learned how to transform a business idea into a business plan and I’ve focused on the company strategy and the financial planning, starting almost from the scratch.
I’ve grown with the entrepreneurs, in terms of knowledge and business experience: I taught them the business plan and financial planning notions, they taught me how to do business, exploit the company resources and get a business opportunity.
In terms of human and cultural benefits, the value of this experience is endless. The entrepreneurs invited me many times to visit their factories or farms and spend my leasure time with them. In those days, I’ve visited the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in my life; they really showed me the essence and the beauty of the Country. They didn’t consider me as a consultant or a tourist, but as a brother, a member of their family.
In particular, I’ve had a great time with an entrepreneur of the 6th edition, Peter Kimeu Ngui, Patron and Founder of Decent Living CBO. He lives in Makueni County, at the bottom of a valley, in a wonderful place, surrounded by trees and by the sounds of nature. I’ve spent three days at him with the MBA Business Coach, Daniel Mwangi and during this time, Peter showed us his farm, including a fishing pool for the catfish (which is his new business) and other pieces of land near Amboseli, in the middle of a huge prairie.
I thank Peter, his wife and the other members of his family for the warm welcome and the great lessons: I’ve put them in my suitcase and brought them to Italy. To be honest, I’ve learned a lot in these months in Kenya: the spontaneous, simplicity and smile of the Kenyan people taught me to live better and I’ll be always thankful fot the chance I’ve had with this internship.
Andrea Sottini