BAG Innovation

A digital platform that partners with universities and employers in East Africa

Business Overview

BAG Innovation is a Rwandan start-up that works with university students and employers to bridge the gap between academic and business institutions of East Africa. BAG Innovation has a gamified digital platform that provides interactive assessments from employers to help the youth develop skills and receive career guidance.

The Challenge

To prepare more university students for the job market, BAG Innovation wanted to branch out into other East African countries. The start-up needed to identify a potential country for its first expansion. BAG wanted to determine the potential partners, chances, and risks of entering that country’s markets.

Our Strategy

  • Step 1: concentrated on Ethiopia and Tanzania because they are in close proximity to Rwanda, which would give BAG Innovation strong starting points
  • Step 2: found that Tanzania’s EdTech market has a larger youth population, lower risks, and less intense competition than Ethiopia. Further analyses concluded that BAG Innovation has a favorable position in the Tanzanian market.
  • Step 3: created a go-to-market strategy to successfully enter and scale in Tanzania. The strategy identified target audiences and partnerships, focused on branding, and created risk mitigation plans.

Key Statistics

  • BAG Innovation has partnered with over 15 universities to help students gain employable skills
  • The start-up has secured over 590 job placements for students
  • BAG Innovation has fundraised over $226.3K

Startup Takeaway

“BfE helped us get ready for our next round of investment. The support
from the BfE team has saved us several months of work and is truly
valuable for our small startup. The BfE support led to BAG receiving
$60,000 in a grant, 2 weeks after the engagement was finished!”

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Pearl Entrepreneurs Academy

Clean Energy in Uganda

Business & Impact

Pearl Entrepreneurs Academy (PEA) is a social enterprise based in Uganda that provides low-income households with clean energy products. PEA seeks to address the lack of access to electricity in rural communities by replacing dangerous and expensive energy sources with their high-quality yet affordable products. The company is interested in educating people about clean energy and looking to expand into products like water purifiers, solar panel lights, clean cookstoves, and briquettes.

The Challenge

As a new social enterprise aiming to expand, Pearl Entrepreneurs Academy wanted a hand in developing a 5-year business strategy to achieve sustainable growth. Their objectives included creating marketing and financial strategies, securing grant funding and gaining general management skills.

Deliverables from BfE New York

  • Customer Referral: We created a detailed spreadsheet and instructions for PEA’s referral and payments programme to track the strategy’s impact.
  • Marketing Improvements: We provided recommendations for the PEA website and mobile page so that customers and donors could easily access information.
  • Financial Statements and Funding Support: We provided basic financial statements including a sales log, inventory log, and cash flow statement for PEA. We also created a pitch deck and framework for its grant applications, along with a list of grant programmes that PEA may be suitable for.
  • Operation & Management Optimisation: We provided general advice for the Co-Founder on how to improve his presentation skills and manage the team. To this end, we created a ‘best practices’ document for the company to follow as it expands.

What Elvis (PEA Co-Founder) liked about working with BfE

  • Great opportunity to formulate a proper business structure
  • Constant assistance with grant proposals and applications
  • Chance to join a valuable network of business professionals

“I thank the BfE team for this opportunity to benefit so much at no cost.”

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