Dorcas Owinoh: "Most things that are worthwhile and will change the world will have periods of difficulty"
Q&A with the entrepreneur on accessibility versus affordability in finance, on transforming lives through capacity building, and on why its important to get started right away.
Dorcas Owinoh is a Founding Member and the Director of Programs at Lakehub, a technology and social innovation hub that aims to decentralize access to technology to grow entrepreneurship and social innovation.
What fundamental belief system inspired the creation of LakeHub Foundation?
Technology must be decentralized. Before Lakehub, most hubs were based in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, where residing in can be expensive. Lakehub was founded on the belief that while many young people have talents, they still struggle to secure opportunities- especially in technology. Building Lakehub in Kisumu, a Kenyan port city on Lake Victoria, gives young people in our region a fair chance and also demonstrated that you do not have to be in a major city to make an impact.
What’s something you do every day that is non-negotiable for you?
One of my earliest memories of a childhood chore was to make my bed each morning. It never mattered how late I was; leaving my bed undone was not an option. It may sound like a trivial chore but making my bed is a positive mental discipline that gives me a sense of accomplishment first thing in the morning. In addition, coming home to a clean and neat environment - especially after a long stressful day - is always a plus.
What are the formative ingredients in your childhood that came to create your perspective?
Growing up, I was a curious child who wanted to know everything. Naturally, I asked tons of questions until I was old enough to be self-aware; in other words, when my social anxiety kicked in.
At that point in my maturity, I tamed my curiosity by disassembling things and reading as frequently as possible. In fact, I still have a childlike sense of wonder as I'm still curious about a number of things, which include age, race, gender, political ideology, religion, and how things generally work. As a result of this characteristic, most people believe I'm interrogating them when we first meet and over time, it's something I've had to work on for my benefit.
As an adult, I've also developed an interest in myself, such as what makes me who I am, why I make certain decisions, and why I react to certain situations the way I do. This interest has made me very self-reflective, which I believe is essential for any leader. Knowing oneself, reflecting on one's life experiences, drawing insights from them, and then applying the lessons learned to one's work is definitely a superpower.
What do you consider to be one of the greatest challenges for building a company on the African continent?
One of the challenges when building a company in Africa is access to finance however, this is also two-fold. Specifically, finance in terms of accessibility versus affordability.
For one, finance does not come as easily to African entrepreneurs as it comes to Western counterparts. For example, in some countries on the continent, registering a company is a lengthy and expensive process. Provided that a promising organization requires funds to sustain its operations but doesn't have a company registration ready, this automatically eliminates the organization from accessing the capital.
On the topic of affordability, it essentially revolves around taking out a loan or receiving an investment. Taking out a loan is comprised of the original cost of the loan coupled with the interest charged and other unexpected transactional costs, such as legal fees and finding collateral. On the investment side of the equation, most startups do not receive favorable terms in the early stages of their development, and as such, most founders end up feeling demotivated during the latter stages of implementation.
Building a company from scratch takes grit. What drives you to keep building?
The journey is certainly not straightforward. Grit gets you to stick to things that are worthwhile, but it's also not so simple to build grit. In truth, most things that are worthwhile and will change the world will have periods of difficulty. Where we go wrong in thinking is grit alone is enough- which isn't the case.
What keeps me going, especially on questionable days, is the unrelenting belief that the Lakehub Foundation is transforming lives. In fact, having the ability to see lives transformed is very encouraging! To put this into context, witnessing young people get a job because of the skills they gained at our academy or seeing entrepreneurs secure funding because of our intervention is reason to keep building. Personally, I have developed this grit over time through practice and equally through experience and failure.
What are you most proud of achieving with the LakeHub Foundation so far?
My proudest achievement with the Foundation is how we have managed to remain successful and meet our impact metrics throughout all these years. According to research, most companies do not make it past the third year, and we do not take it for granted that our programs are relevant enough for our stakeholders.
What advice do you have for prospective founders looking to build a company in Africa?
Stop reading everything and looking for the secret sauce. There is no such thing. There is a ton of useful information on building a company, and learning the basics before starting is highly prevalent. However, once you have also gathered the basics, you just have to start. The reality is you will learn more by doing. You will also learn more from failing and picking yourself up. This process will always transcend sitting in your comfort zone and taking in as much information as possible through reading alone.
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Jeph Acheampong works at Blossom Academy; which exists to close the Africa tech skills gap through data science bootcamps and dedicated careers support.
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