Kenyan entrepreneurs and small, medium enterprises have successfully completed the Google Hustle Academy program.
The Google Hustle Academy is a program designed to help MSMEs in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa develop the knowledge and skills they need to grow their businesses.
Training is funded by Google and focuses on enabling MSMEs to design digital marketing strategies, create growth plans, identify the different forms of investment available and create a pitch deck for investors.
The program which was launched in February this year has had 5000 individuals running small businesses conclude months of training and equip them with soft skills that complement their hard talents, through peer-to-peer and mentor driven learning.
This year’s graduates were chosen from nearly 10 000 applications; 5000 graduates came from 23 cohorts who attended five-day virtual boot camps and learned how to define their business strategy, increase sales, and how to pitch for investor funding.
Google Country Marketing Manager Shikha Monga said the academy targets to improve SME success rate in the continent as statistics show that half of SMEs fail within the first year of operations.
“We had 23 cohorts who attended a five day virtual bootcamps where they learned how to redefine their business strategies, increase sales and also how to pitch for investor funding. The curriculum also included lessons on digital marketing and effective financial planning,” said Monga.
The Hustle Academy is also set to launch a new talk-show style video series in January next year featuring renowned and respected entrepreneurs from across Africa, sharing practical advice and growth tips to inspire emerging entrepreneurs.
“Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the global economy, and in Africa, they account for an estimated 80% of jobs. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are an estimated 44 million micro, small and medium enterprises, which function as important drivers of economic growth,” adds Shikha Monga.
Among factors attributing to high death rate of startups include lack of funding, mentorship and lack of marketing skills.
The speaker series will allow SMEs to get insight from business owners from an array of sectors, focusing on the issues, themes and subjects they face on a regular basis.