How studentpreneurs can find opportunity in Africa’s vast array of problems
Ms Ellen Fischat has gone from being born into humble surroundings in the Eastern Cape to working with global captains of industry and representing African women in technology on international stages. Now she dines with the elite and travels the world.
Speaking directly to studentpreneurs in her virtual presentation (Africans creating market opportunities through entrepreneurship and innovation) last week, the founder of Story Room and impact entrepreneur used herself as an example of how it is possible to succeed. She was speaking within the session on Day Two of the EDHE Lekgotla 2020 that was dedicated to the sub-theme: Breaking new ground through entrepreneurship.
The 2020 edition, themed #African Entrepreneurship through Technology, attracted 1221 participants from South Africa’s 26 universities, across the African continent, Europe and the United States.
Telling studentpreneurs that Africa’s problems presented countless opportunities, she urged them to look within their own communities to find innovative solutions to problems that their communities face. It was through finding solutions for everyday problems that market opportunities are created, she told them.
“My business is called Story Room, a boutique innovation consultancy that designs entrepreneurship training programmes for incubator and acceleration projects,” she told the students on this virtual platform. She added that she wears many hats and is involved in business mentorship, runs a non-profit organisation that aims to make female role models in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) more visible, so that more women will choose technical careers.
“I come from a coloured area in Port Elizabeth called Korsten. It’s not a rich area. But I stand here today because I made a conscious decision to make the best of my life and move out of the circumstances I was born into. I not only created lots of opportunities for myself but also started several businesses. Not all of them were successful. No one wakes up and is successful overnight, unless you are Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s child.
“Most of us addressing you today, have worked very hard to get to where we are today. I want to remind you that I am a social worker, who nobody thought would be in business and travelling the world, coming from humble beginnings.”
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CREDIT – News Site .co . za
