Day 1: The art of entrepreneurship

At 9 AM the coaching session was planned to start. Chahine Majoub from APEFE, already told me yesterday that the participants will arrive late. So most people arrived by 09:45 to 10:30. I was quite nervous for this day as I had been preparing the training materials for days last week in Antwerp. I wanted to present a training session that covered how to develop your business plan in a very basic way including all aspects of entrepreneurship. The easiest universal tool is business model canvas by Osterwalder. I pulled information from everywhere including what we already produced at microStart and developed a full training including what to do if your business is declining.

I was nervous as it is difficult to entertain people for eight hours long. On top of that the trainings are in French. I speak the language fluently but I do have a Flemish/English accent which I am conscious about. Inshallah (adapting to the situation) my coaching went well and the participants thought I had a Canadian accent.

The participants were very interesting and young. Many of them in their early twenties and all master students. 1 wanted to start a window company, 1 a contemporary pret a porter line, 1 a marketing company for events, 1 a public construction company, 1 a digital archiving company… They all had very diverse ideas and definitely potential. At the end of the seminar they all had to pitch their businessplan to each other. I am very honoured that I have the opportunity to coach them! & Inshallah again hopefully they liked it. Actually I hope my coaching was on point as my outfit today.

Day of Arrival: Tangier, Morocco

Catching a flight at 7AM from Charleroi South is always a disaster. That meant getting up at 3:30 AM for me which equals not sleeping for me. Anyhow everything went smooth and I arrived safely in Tangier. As of a matter of fact when you land in Tangier, you immediately get that Welcoming feeling of landing in Africa.

Tangier is the most northern point of Africa and closes to Europe. It’s one hour away by glider from Spain. Tangier was always colonized by the Spanish and the majority of the population speaks Spanish. The South of Morocco was also colonized by the Spanish and the the middle by the French. That makes that Moroccans are quite fluent in French, Spanish and Arabic. Here in Tangier that makes chit chatting very easy. In Antwerp, I often hear Arabic so when mixed with French and Spanish; there is no issue not understanding.

Chahine from APEFE immediately recognized me at the airport. He is such a warm and welcoming person. We drove through Tangier, I immediately took some snaps of the city and went to the hotel. The hotel is fantastic. I mean how many people can say there mission organized a full pension - 4/5 star hotel for them. The hotel has 6 restaurants and my room is huge. Tangier wants to become a well developed holiday resort and they are well on their way. I quickly went to look at the conference room where I will be hosting sessions on entrepreneurship for females only and everything is state of the art / well prepared.

The only thing so far that’s a pity is the cold weather that I brought from Belgium!

2016: First mission in Morocco

2015, was an exciting year for me. I worked hard together with my team to make microStart Antwerp a success story. We have shown again that those considered unbankable and not creditworthy are bankable. We also proved that they are able to set up long term businesses. 

microStart, microfinance and coaching; helping people battle poverty through entrepreneurship is my career but it is also my passion. My career is going in the exact direction as planned. Next to the professional experiences at microStart in 2015, I came in contact with the organisation Exchangevzw through BNP Paribas Fortis Benevolab whom send me on a mission to consult a tea union and microfinance agency in Rwanda. Looking back on 2015, I realised again that I personally grew a lot and gained a lot of new professional experiences in Belgium and internationally. After my Exchagnevzw, BNP Paribas Fortis Benevolab mission in Rwanda, I decided to be a Country Coordinator Uganda for Exchangevzw as I would like to continue supporting an organisation that helps develop SME’s in developing countries. 

I love professional missions that allow you to gain, exchange new experiences and at the same time you get to visit other countries. In 2015, I travelled for fun to Dubai - UAE, Mumbai - India, Provence - France and Antalya - Turkey. I feel that when I stay too long inside one country I become stupid. It is when I travel my creativity gets tickled! So when in doubt - Travel. 

The first mont of 2016, I wil be in Morocco working on a project called AFEM (Association des Femmes Chefs d’Entreprise du Maroc), business association of female moroccan entrepreneurs. AFEM specialises in female entrepreneurship and leadership. AFEM provides trainings on entrepreneurship and serves as a business incubator in Casablanca, Tanger and Tétouan. Through entrepreneurship these Moroccan women can battle poverty. The program is supported by APEFE (Association pour la promotion de l’Education et de la formation à l’étranger), a Belgian Walloon educational center for the promotion of female entrepreneurship. APEFE also supports MIN AJLIKI, which organised Casablanca startup,  AL MANA microfinance, DFP (Département de la Formation Professionelle) the professional coaching department of the Kingdom of Morocco and the ANAPEC (Agence Nationale de Promotion de l’Emploie et des Compétences), the National Labour and Competencies Agency. All of the above again supported by the Belgian Development Cooperation. 

I will be giving trainings & coaching to large groups of women interested in setting up new businesses. The trainings will vary from 1) how to develop a business plan, 2) how to develop a financial plan, 3) sales: how to find customers (commercial skills/ marketing) 4) administrative capabilities 5) digital skills and a workshop on finance. I will be travelling to Casablanca, Tangier and Tétouan. 2016 - it is! Lets do this ! My professional coaching experience at microStart will be of great use.