Lack of business writing skills derailing Kenya's projects

A lack of business-plan writing skills has hindered Kenyans from accessing a venture capital fund worth US$100 million, said Richard Bell of East Africa Capital Partners, the fund's manager.

"There are a lot of young, enthusiastic, energetic and innovative people with great ideas in the ICT sector, but they are incredibly poor in articulating those issues on paper," Bell said. "Out of 100 business plans on my table, 90 don't have the right information needed."

An entrepreneur may be the best engineer in the world, Bell added, but if he or she can't write a businesses plan, Bell questions the entrepreneur's ability to run a business.

East Africa Capital Partners manages funds from private equity and from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, an independent U.S. government agency that recently pledged US$750 million to Africa.

"We receive requests for funding from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda [and] Burundi, but unfortunately we screen them too fast," Bell said. "It is a lot of work to go through them and turn them around. People need to get more training and come up with business plans that are fundable."

The concern over writing skills was echoed by Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communication, and Paul Kukubo, CEO of the Kenya ICT Board.

"It is true: Some of our most innovative engineering students do not know how to write business plans capable of being funded, but that is also a challenge among established business people," said Ndemo.

Kukubo noted the importance of proper business plans, contingency plans, methodology and structures, emphasizing that a business should not be guesswork.

If proper skills in writing and project management are employed, Kukubo envisages that 35 percent of new businesses would survive and increase deliverables, citing a KPMG global study.

While admitting that individuals are responsible for improving their skills, Kukubo said that the board is setting up a project management office and hiring a consultant to coordinate all of the board's projects.

"In my experience, I have learned that many people doing business today should not have started because it was started the wrong way, with no adherence to business fundamentals. Others base it on hype," he said.

IDG News Service

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