Leverage on tech, female entrepreneurs tipped at App launch

Guests at the mini-launch of SSTREAM App at Capital Club  in Nairobi on September 22, 2021.


Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • SSTREAM App to help entrepreneurs navigate the economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Women investors in Kenya tipped on leveraging on technology, understanding consumerism of the different generations and frequently reskilling.

Women investors in Kenya on Tuesday tipped female-owned enterprises on how to successfully run their ventures.

Leveraging on technology, understanding consumerism of the different generations and frequently reskilling, were cited as the bedrock of business in the contemporary society.

“You no longer have a choice to say we will do business the way it has always been done. You are either embracing technology or losing out on business,” said Ms Josephine Macharia, founder of Bluegrass Solutions and Pitstop during the mini launch of an app SSTREAM.

The application allows content creators to monetise live video contents. SSTREAM chief executive officer Florence Sitati, who also manages a storytelling company, said she created the App to navigate the economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“But you need to find out what technology works for you because not all technology is good for your business. Be ready to reskill and never stop learning because what was working two to three months ago (may not work now),” Ms Macharia noted.

The investor emphasised on learning the language of all generations if they are to maintain them in their customer portfolio.

SStream App CEO Florence Sitati, at the mini-launch of the App at Capital Club in Nairobi on September 22, 2021. 

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

“It is very important to understand how those different generations consume your products or services. You may be communicating with your audience online but you are actually not speaking to them,” she said.

“And you must have etiquette whenever you are communicating with your customers. How is you tone like? Are you constantly shouting at your customers on social media?”

She advised the women-owned businesses to outsource the expertise needed to take their business to the next level noting that “having a wrong team is costly in the long-term.

Ms Sitati said an investor requires to operate with a lot of humility to successfully manage a business.

“For instance, if you prefer to send a document through WhatsApp and a client wants it printed, kindly do so,” she said.

Ms Nasubo Ongoma, a researcher who studies how people use technology to benefit them, said the future of business is in collaborations and sharing of content.

“Small businesses should invest in collaborations. It will take their businesses to the next frontier,” she said.