The one-of-a-kind business breakfast was held on Friday the 18th of March 2022 from 7 am to 11 am. It was a great opportunity for 20 IEEE Members to interact with 30 more participants majorly from the African Summit on Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ASENTI) network which comprises some of the most successful business people and innovators in Kenya. 

The event, hosted at Panari Hotel and Resorts, was themed; “Building a Sustainable Business Through Innovation”.

Mr Okendo Lewis Gayle, the founder and chairman of Harambeans was the keynote speaker. There is quite a lot to talk about him but just to single out a few lessons from his presentation; It is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential. Confidence and resilience were also well highlighted in his talk.

The story of Mr Joram Mwinamo, Founder & CEO of SNDBX is quite amazing. His experience from companies he has run through to SNDBX was quite insightful. Some takeaways from his talk were:

• Dream bigger, think global and invest in growth.
• Have a goal to make an impact/difference in the world.
• Selecting the right investors and capital are key determinants of how fast your business will grow. Be cautious of predatory investors.
•  Africa’s youth transition to greatness has a lot to do with mindset.
• Consistency matters a lot in business.

Another remarkable speaker was Mr Tesh Mbaabu, Founder and CEO, of Market Force. Talk of the people who intellectually challenge you to rise up and get going, then Tesh is one of them. His entrepreneurship journey full of resilience is one thing you wouldn’t fail to take note of. He is also a Harambean. Some lessons from his talk include;

• Solve problems that matter and are worth solving.
• Build a product that can scale; problems and solutions aren’t enough. Tie scaling with technology.
• Invest in people. People build products and processes. Learn how to attract and retain the best by having proper interactions and creating an encouraging environment.
• By the fact that we are in a price-sensitive market, pricing is key. Think of what it will cost your customer not to have your products.

With the increased use of technology globally, the summit wouldn’t come to an end without a touch of digital innovation for change. Christine Kitale, the business development Director-Pesa Swap East Africa, and the Vice-Chair of, Fintech Association had an equally insightful presentation.

In honour and recognition of the world’s largest technical professional organization that has been very instrumental in moulding its members professionally, Kithinji Muringi, Chair – IEEE YP Kenya section gave a full overview of IEEE and its relevance.

The most interesting part of the session was the panel discussion that was composed of four brilliant minds; John Matogo (The Global University Programs leader for Africa at IBM & Chair – IEEE R8 Action for Industry subcommittee), Tesh Mbaabu(Founder and CEO, Market Force), Kate Kibarah(CEO Kates’s organics) and Christine Kitale(Vice-chair at Fintech Associations & Business Development Director at Pesaswap EA). The session was moderated by Bob Otiende(Founder and CEO-Tribbe) and the main point of discussion was the dynamics of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Just to highlight some general key takeaways:

“We are the best and all we need to do is to bring solutions to problems we see. Put together minds that can work together, see the bigger picture and make a solution to scale. Appreciate continuous learning in order to keep innovating.” – John Matogo.

“We are all entrepreneurs. Look for people who can help you make your dream come true. Do not be lazy when an investment/funding stops. Believe in yourself and focus on staying healthy.” – Kate Kibarah

“Solve a problem that matters. Work with people to bring a solution. Want to own small pieces of big things: Big fishes in bigger ponds. Find your bandwagon people who believe in what you believe in.” – Tesh Mbaabu

“Be intentional. Be responsible. Take charge. Be the best employee/entrepreneur. Care about the young ones behind you: We have a generation to take care of. Rely on technology to scale and have a strategic payment consideration that’s secure, convenient, and comfortable to enhance data-driven decisions. Be intentional and responsible in taking initiative in things.” – Christine Kitale

The breakfast was a first of a kind breakfast meeting and physical IEEE YP Powered event for many members, and it proved to be totally worth the early rise. A big shout out to the organizer ASENTI Hub, supported by MarketForce, IEEE YP Kenya, and Kate Organics. Despite the event being under IEEE YP, IEEE student members were also privileged to be part of the participants.

Much gratitude to the organizers; IEEE Young Professionals Kenya section and ASENTI Hub. Thank you for the thought to have our members exposed to such resourceful and insightful sessions.

This post was contributed by Mercylyne Jepleting & Stephen Okwiri

ypkenya

For the Career Mentorship Session, we invited several young professionals and students in the engineering field to share their experiential as well as professional knowledge with the students.

The session took place on the 27th of November 2021 and as opposed to the earlier planned 2-hour session, the amount of content and eagerness to learn and patience from the students saw the session spill over to 3 hours.

The session was attended by representatives from industry, Angaza Elimu, IEEE Kenya Student Branch representatives, IEEE YP Kenya Section and IEEE WIE Kenya Section 

The speakers who attended the session include:
1. Ms. Bernice Waweru – Electrical & Electronics Engineering University qualification requirements, experience and day to day life of an engineering student and opportunities
2. Ms. Dorcas Litunya – IOT, embedded systems engineering and PCB fabrication
3. Mr. Hampton Macharia – EV mobility, IOT and robotics research and application in the workplace
4. Mr. JP Maina – Mechanical and production engineering, automation and intelligence in the production industry and 4IR
5. Mr. Edwin Muema – Cyber security careers, requirements and opportunities
6. Ms. Njeri Ngaruiya, WIE Chair IEEE Kenya – soft skill requirements for engineers with an emphasis on communication and interpersonal skills
7. Mr. Kithinji Muriungi, IEEE YP Kenya Chair – opportunities in engineering professions and tech entrepreneurship”

To culminate the virtual class sessions we had with the students, some of the schools i.e.: Juja Senior School and Nairobi School, were hosted at Gearbox for an industry visit to demonstrate practical applications of the content they’d been learning.

The students were taken through Through-Hole and Surface-Mount PCB fabrication technologies as well as 3D Printing and Rapid Protoyping.

This fit in perfectly with the mission to foster the next generation of technology innovators with IEEE TryEngineering partnering with Angaza Elimu and Gearbox.

“Everyone speaks but few are able to communicate”. This was one of the many nuggets of wisdom that Aravindhan Anbazhagan shared when he spoke to IEEE YP Kenya members on the 21st of October 2020.

On the 9th of September 2020, the IEEE YP Kenya affinity group had its first meeting. This was to introduce the newly elected officials to the young professionals for whom they would be volunteering for.

The newly elected officials were:

• Kithinji Muriungi – Chair
• Amos Kirongo – Vice Chair
• Nahashon Maina – Secretary
• Nicholas Kabingu – Treasurer
• Chaltu Marta – Admin and Publicity Lead

The agenda for the meeting was:

1. Introduction of the volunteers and members
2. Projection: Expectations from the members
3. Feedback from volunteers
4. Future plans
5. Q & A