Entrepreneur Workshop in Ouagadougou

I was recently selected to work as a presenter and coach at a two week long workshop with young aspiring entrepreneurs. The creative impulses to start our own businesses in the U.S. cannot be taken for granted here, as most young adults lucky enough to get a full education here most often strive for the security of a state paid bureaucrat job. This workshop was meant to inspire a group of forty selected young adults to start their own small business and equip them with the know-how to do so. This entailed coming up with creative and useful products or services that fulfill a demand or remedy a problem, drafting a business plan and basic financial projections, and locating small business loans or financing. We used several examples from the U.S. that stressed the art of starting small, using family and friends as resources (financial, feedback, etc) and the importance of persistance, patience and flexibility. The participants were so engaged and motivated, it was really inspiring!