Safe Water Ceramics of East Africa

By Hannah Lee

In Tanzania, people don’t trust very easily and will come up with any excuse to turn your product down. Unfortunately, that is what happened to Safe Water Ceramics of East Africa’s CEO, Mesiaki Kimirei (Mr. Kim), and salesman, Fred. They have a unique product that has an innovative production process. They use a combination of clay, sawdust and colloidal silver to form the initial shape of the pot. The colloidal silver is the key ingredient (also expensive) that kills the bacteria.

It is then burned at 900 degrees in a kiln for about 24 hours, using a small stick of clay (a different kind) as an indicator of temperature (when it’s 900 degrees, it will start to melt). The cooling process takes about 24 hours. It is then transferred to the “drying station,” where it will solidify for a few days. The purpose of the sawdust is to create the tiny filters through which the water will travel. The sawdust will burn when in the kiln, leaving tiny holes all over the pot. Even the machine used to form the initial shape is handmade by Mr. Kim. It is a combination of wood, metal and the tool used when changing the tire of your car. It is constructed to minimize labor. Talk about doing it yourself! After the pot has dried, they test it to see if the water flow is as expected (2L per hour) and the water is bacteria-free. The latter is done at a local clinic. However, they have an in-home test as well where you stick a small tube containing the filtered water next to your body for a day or so and if the water turns brown, it means it contains bacteria. If not, it’s clean and safe to drink!

While his product is innovative without a doubt and even award winning, Tanzanians have less interest to learn about the product/technology or worse, trust that it produces clean drinking water. A lot of it is behavioral, which is unfortunate and hard to change. In the meantime, all they can do is stay focused on keeping a consistent messaging scheme and come up with creative sales strategy!

In addition, they are burdened with costs. Due to high costs, they can only sell the pot at a high price (90,000 TSH for the smaller one). While the pot may last 5-6 years depending on the water used, the initial upfront cost is very high for their target market (low- to middle-income earners). Even if someone expressed interest in the product, he/she will end up just walking away due to their schedule for the day. Tanzanians will usually have a schedule in mind when going about their day, and generally don’t like having to change i.e. go home earlier to avoid carrying the pot around all day.

The bucket itself is almost 40% of the cost (part of which is VAT), not to mention the high cost of the colloidal silver. Mr. Kim ends up making a margin of 20,000 TSH per pot (after salary, etc.), which doesn’t include some expenses. The Anza team proposed two major sales tactics: (1) get certification and (2) partner with health-related vendors i.e. dispensaries, pharmacies, etc. Safe Water Ceramics can get a certification from TSB (a Tanzanian standards office), which states that the product is up to the bureau’s standards.

By partnering with health-related vendors, Safe Water Ceramics can be present when a person comes looking for diarrhea relief medicine. This can be used as an opportunity to talk about the benefits of the pot, incentivizing the customer to purchase due to his/her state of health.

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Entrepreneurship: Academics and Reality

by Juvena Tan

Entrepreneurship is in these present times a very hot topic, actively initiated in both developed and emerging markets, and in large corporations and small start-ups. The idea of identifying opportunities, launching and running businesses and making profits have thrilled, awed or daunted many individuals and organizations alike.

Personally, entrepreneurship had entered my life when I was in my mid-twenties. At the time, fresh from a 9 to 5 job, I wanted to do something exciting with my life, I did freelance designing, multi-level marketing, lecturing in a private art school, all which enabled me to know my own desires and strengths, until my family had a chance to take over a creative design services business in 2004 and I decided to join in. It was to me the turning point that led me to the path of being an entrepreneur. Especially at that time, we had little knowledge of or experience in running a business, and we had to learn as went go along. That gave me an understanding that sometimes opportunities come and we should grab them and move forward and that we do not have to wait for things to be perfect in order to take the leap.

Over the years, I have come across stories and ideas of entrepreneurship on the micro and macro level. Working with small business owners in my day-to-day operations, I witnessed the creativity, determination and most importantly, the drive in each of them, and that had inspired and cultivated in me the spirit of perseverance. In my opinion, this is something very necessary in starting a business from scratch. I also came across business units in large corporations that work like entrepreneurial teams and later in the Global MBA Entrepreneurship course I learned that this is described with the term ‘intrapreneur’. I read an article published by Forbes about the traits of being an intrapreneur and idea of not being afraid of failure really resonated with me (you can find the link here). This concept of intrapreneurship also links to my post-MBA goal to work in France. As a foreigner, it takes considerable time to understand the market and to build a strong personal network, so it would make sense for me to join a large organization that places high values on these entrepreneurial traits, where I can make use of my background add value to the company.

As part of the course, we completed an entrepreneurship project, in which groups wrote full business plans for their collective entrepreneurial ventures. I joined the luxury bag rent and borrow team because I wanted to move into the fashion and luxury industry, so I took it as a chance to learn, research and delve more into this industry. I knew that along the way, I would discover new insights about luxury brands, which could be useful for my career and my portfolio. As a way forward, I am considering to propose this project to my future company as part of an extension of their services, just like what the owner of Papyrus Trading, Robert Keane did, when he moved to Microsoft and then went on to found Vistaprint. I am motivated by his story of turning a failed venture into an advantage inspired that that he could capitalize on this later in his career.

In this project, I learned to look at the creation of an idea and how to bring it forth, at least to the stage of formulating the business plan. It is an interesting contrast to what I had done in the past, because now I am exposed to the formal process, in an academic teaching, of researching the market, critically analyzing the idea, setting objectives, financial forecasting etc. Even though finance is not a strong skill set for me, I take it as a learning experience, much like having to pitch for funding in front of a jury panel. This compelled me to think of how the business can generate value to investors, and since I was working on the marketing strategy with in the project, I could exercise my knowledge in this area to generate value for our end consumers. This was something which I find very interesting and that I really enjoy. I also had the opportunity to experiment with branding, and came up with the enterprise name, Borrow My Luxe, and the design concepts.

There are other learning experiences that I gained from this project, such as team building and time management. All 5 of us have different personalities, working styles, expectations and time schedule, so coming together to work on this project was not easy at all. But despite our busy schedules, we managed to accomplish what was needed in the end and everyone agreed to some extent that it had been fun in the end. I also observed from this experience the importance of motivating the team throughout the entire process, as it took us close to 6 months to complete from the initial team formation to the final presentation. Without vision and shared goals, it is hard to get the team to perform at the optimal level.

Outside of the class, I look forward to taking the lessons learned and applying them to my capstone project, which will take place in Rwanda. The capstone project is a 2 month consulting project that is like the final thesis for the Global MBA. In Rwanda I will work with local entrepreneurs to improve their business or to help them to set up their ventures. It will be a test of my academic training and previous experiences, which I am sure will help prepare me for the challenges ahead.

All in all, the lessons learned in class, the case studies, and the management of the project had been enriching for me. It also brings to mind a saying has always stuck with me, “nothing is a wasted effort, it is always a learning experience.”

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Where are they now? An interview with alumnus Inna Zinina '13

Where can ESSEC's Global MBA take you? Ten months after graduation, alum Inna Zinina '13 checks in and shares her experiences starting her own company.

1) What led you to decide to do an MBA and why did you choose ESSEC's Global MBA?

Before starting my MBA I had more than 8 years of professional experience, mostly in consulting and market research. For the last 3 years I worked in a big corporation and felt that it was not exactly what I wanted to do in my life. I realized that I wanted to try to start my own business and to work for myself. But since life in large corporations is always very busy and tiring, I decided to take a break from corporate life to learn something new.

I wanted to have a globally-oriented MBA program, since my goal was to learn as much as possible about international business. The Global MBA had the right focus. We made three international trips in a one-year program and our class was a mix of 14 different nationalities. What could be more international?

Additionally, I have always loved Paris and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world for a year!

2) Please describe your career path since graduation. What is your current position and responsibilities?

As I had planned, I started work on my own project after graduation. I spent an extra month at ESSEC Venture’s Incubator, where I wrote a business plan. I received lots of valuable professional advice about how to start my company and how to present my business plan to investors. After finishing my business plan at ESSEC, I returned to Russia to implement it.

I started my own company, along with a friend, in the niche perfume sector. We don’t produce perfume, nor do we have any technological innovation, but we do have a marketing innovation. The way we sell perfume is very new to Russia, no one else is operating the same way, though we have some benchmarks in the USA.

My current position if co-founder of the company The Perfumist. My responsibilities are mostly business development, but also a lot of operational management, as we are still very small and have to do everything ourselves

3) Was there anything in particular about the Global MBA that helped prepare you for your current position?

We had several excellent courses in entrepreneurship, business planning, IT management, and statistics that inspired me and gave me some ideas for my future venture. As I mentioned, my project was incubated for a couple of months in the ESSEC Ventures incubator, which gave me the opportunity to get in touch with French entrepreneurs who had launched businesses in similar industries and succeeded. I had a chance to get advice from true industry experts, who gave me very practical information that you don’t learn in the classroom. This was something special and truly valuable for me.

Finally, the field trip we took during the Global MBA to South Africa, as well as the term in Singapore, were very inspiring for me. During these trips we managed to gain insight into how business is being done in countries very different from Europe and Russia. We met top managers from different companies in both countries and had a chance to speak directly to them to ask their opinions and learn from their experience. It gave me a better understanding of the numerous business opportunities out there in the world.

4) What advice would you give to current students, particularly those who are interested in starting their own business?

Starting your own business will be even harder than doing an MBA at ESSEC, but it’s definitely worth doing! Don’t wait till graduation, start working on your project while you are studying. ESSEC has a huge network that can help you connect to the right people and get good advice. If you already have an idea, go join ESSEC Ventures and you will receive a lot of help and support.

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Entrepreneurship at ESSEC: Starting a company as an MBA student

By Ingrid Cazalis, Global MBA 2013-2014, France

As Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do, but if you haven’t found it yet, keep looking and don’t settle. As with matters of the heart, you will know when you will find it.” I think I’ve followed this advice pretty well, having moved more than 15 times around the world, travelling and trying new experiences, such as starting the Global MBA.

Before I started school in September 2013, I had an idea to create my own company based on my entrepreneurial spirit and my personal experience of chronic illness. Of course, I had to face criticism that it is difficult to pursue an MBA and create a company at the same time, but I preferred to trust in myself and my energy.

ESSEC is known for innovation and entrepreneurship, and I can say that I really feel this in daily life. My first step was to create a business plan, which – I discovered – is not a static document, but a living strategy, changing from day to day. My second step was to present my project to the ESSEC Social Entrepreneurship Chair and ESSEC Ventures to join a business incubator and get support. This was particularly attractive, since 80% of projects sponsored by ESSEC Ventures are successful 5 years later. After some interviews, I finally joined the ESSEC Ventures incubator. The ESSEC Ventures team offered great support and was always available to offer advice and orientation. ESSEC has the resources to help student entrepreneurs, so don’t forget to ask! I also received help from the finance professors, as well as students in the MBA in Hospitality Management and the MBA in International Luxury Brand Management, who helped me on some particular aspects of my project, such as how approach a hotel and how to create luxury package offers. I also organized three focus groups to get some real qualitative data.

The ESSEC Alumni Association also helped me out a lot, giving me many opportunities for discussion and exchange. Some of the entrepreneurs in the incubator, like Deways or Heimanu, gave me precious advice for my project. Of course, it’s tough to have meetings with your prospects, future partners, and suppliers, while at the same time juggling MBA assignments, group projects, and final exams, AND to do a good job as a class representative. All my life, however, I’ve been driven by hyperactivity and good time management, so these last months have flown by and have gotten more and more interesting.

Finally, at the beginning of January, after 5 months of work, I discussed my project with key French doctors, but I did not receive the support I expected. Even though my project’s credibility didn’t fully depend on them, I decided to halt the creation of my company. I think in entrepreneurship it is also very important to know when to stop to keep your losses affordable.

My days as an entrepreneur are not over, however. With some teammates, I applied to the Hult Challenge in November 2013 and we were selected to advance to the regional finals in Shanghai. This means a new business model is coming soon!