How to build a sustainable business model—an empowerment workshop for women

"The difference between market takers and market makers isn’t product innovation, it’s business model innovation", says Vala Afshar, Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce.

To be successful, every for-profit venture must have a business model. It is one of the things investors look out for in a business—every founder knows this truth. The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a tool built for entrepreneurs to visualise, design and reinvent their business models.

It was first proposed by Alexander Osterwalder in The Business Model Ontology – A proposition in A Design Science Approach. According to the Swiss business theorist, the tool sets an overarching framework for developing a business strategy, a detailed business plan and a prioritized action plan.

In partnership with EDG Africa and Ingressive, Fempower Africa will be holding a workshop on How to design a sustainable business model using the Business Model Canvas for female entrepreneurs at the NG Hub, Yaba on January 19.

Founded in 2017, Fempower Africa is a community of women that supports, inspires and empowers female founders and techies in Africa.

The workshop will introduce female founders, entrepreneurs and business developers to the concept of the BMC and how it can help them strengthen their business, give a clear understanding of potential customers and their pain points.

The Business Model Canvas has nine areas of focus. These are key partners, activities, resources, value proposition, customer relationships, customer segments, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams.

We want more female-owned startups in the technology scene in Africa.

This is a step in the right direction as we are drawing the attention of women towards technology to scale their businesses.

Sandra Ajaja, Founder of Fempower Africa.

Akua Nyame-Mensah, Consultant and Coach at ANM & Company, will be facilitating the session. With over four years of experience in building businesses, Akua is a strategic advisor to tech-enabled individuals, entrepreneurs and teams.

Register for the workshop here.