Women group seeks to boost entrepreneurship

By Macharia Kamau

Mentoring is big in business world. Corporate bigwigs will always take young talent under their wings and model them to take up leading roles in future within the company.

In many instances, big ventures have incubation programmes that nurture start-up in their infantry stages and let them go once they have found their footing.

This has, however, been scarce in the country, something that has been blamed on the low success rate of start-ups.

But a grouping of women entrepreneurs are holding hands of other women entrepreneurs to ensure high success rates in the country.

The Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’ Association (Fewa) is an umbrella organisation for women business associations that seeks to create an enabling business environment for women-led enterprises.

"Our mentorship programmes are meant to get women out of their cocoons and make them understand that there are opportunities and all an entrepreneur needs is to spot them," said Grace Kiraguri, Fewa’s organising secretary.

The body has different strategies of mentoring that include hosting women in business in speed mentorship forums, talking to young women in universities and colleges and urban entrepreneurs mentoring women entrepreneurs from rural areas.

"In the rural urban programme, we will be taking some key women entrepreneurs to rural areas and try and mentor entrepreneurs in rural areas where they are comfortable," said Kiraguri.

Fewa is also localising Fortune 500 mentorship programme. It is undertaken by Fortune in collaboration with the US State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership, where budding women entrepreneurs are attached to some of the Fortune 500 companies. Two of the Fewa board members — Felicity Biriri and Julia Kibore — are alumni of the programme.

Biriri, Fewa vice chair, was attached to Walmart while Kibore, Fewa board member and lead consultant at Marketing Solutions Limited, spent the time at US technology hub Silicon Valley working with Marvel Technologies.

"We do not have enough women corporate directors to be pointers for young women that are entering the labour market now. If we had enough directors, then enterprise would be attractive," said Joanne Mwangi, Fewa chair.