<h1 style="text-align:center;">Ethiopia Emerges (Chigign 'Tobiya)</h1>It's really not too often that the stars align so well with a vision we had in our head at RENEW, but knew we couldn't pull off without the right people, becomes a reality.That's just what happened with the upcoming TV series, Chigign 'Tobiya, which will appear on Fana TV, Friday's at 8:30 PM. Girmay Haile Gebreselassie is the visionary behind the show. He has written and directed two movies, three plays and has a solid career in IT.Chigign is a reality TV show dedicated to elevating entrepreneurship and Ethiopian entrepreneurs who are innovating in IT, the arts, education and general business. The show aims to encourage and educate youth and the society at large about the importance of innovation, entrepreneurship, private equity, angel investing and the private sector in general in Ethiopia. The program will be produced by his company Tonetor. RENEW is proud to be a sponsor, for members of our Investment Committee to sit on the panel and also to be investing in the winning entrepreneurs.Visit <a href="https://youtu.be/GyovqM8acCY">YouTube</a> to view a short program clip or <a href="http://www.tonetormultimedia.com/">HERE</a> to see the advertisement.Show Name: Chigign 'Tobiya (Chigign mean sapling/sprout and 'Tobiya is an old name for Ethiopia). Our English definition for Chigign Tobiya is Ethiopia Emerges.Air Times: Tune in the following dates to view the first episodes.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_05_02_at_11_16_52_am_f32731bfcc.png"></figure>&nbsp;The Concept: Chigign 'Tobiya is a platform for the entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, contracts and coaching. Entrepreneurs will appear and pitch, in a concept that combines Shark Tank and American Idol, if they pass to the next show, the Chigign team and in some cased the judges will provide coaching to help them enhance their business concept to make it to the final round where they will be eligible for an investment from the panel's fund.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/chigign_tobiya_94171a620d.jpg"></figure>Get Involved:<ul><li>Pitch Your Company or Idea - The Chigign 'Tobiya team will choose more than 30 entrepreneurs each season and have them pitch their company or idea for a chance to appear on the show.</li><li>Be an Investor in the Fund - Be a permanent or rotating investor on Chigign 'Tobiya. Hear pitches, mentor entrepreneurs and vote with the panel to allocate the fund to finalist entrepreneurs. Not interested in appearing on the show. You can still invest in an ETB fund which will be managed in a partnership between RENEW and Tonetor.</li><li>Be a Sponsor - The Chigign 'Tobiya team is looking for sponsors interested in encouraging Ethiopian youth and the society at large towards entrepreneurship and innovation. In return, you will receive good press and a variety of benefits as part of your CSR program.</li><li>Ecosystem Partner - Do you work with Ethiopian entrepreneurs? We'd love to add value to your program by having your entrepreneurs pitch on the program.</li></ul>

Proudly partnering to build Ethiopia's entrepreneurship and angel ecosystem

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Ethiopia Emerges (Chigign 'Tobiya)

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Africa Investment Index 2018</h1>The Africa Investment Index (AII) developed by Quantum Global aims to integrate tools to measure "multidimensional concepts for assessing the investment attractiveness of African countries over time" (pg. 4). Developed in April 2017, Quantum Global tries to provide investors with a full view of the current investment climate in all 54 African countries. The Index is meant to show the overall attractiveness of each country in the short and medium term.This report can help investors to see the ever-changing opportunities and risks from country to country. The AII gives a full view of the country and allows investors to make decisions based on an overall macroeconomic outlook. If using this from a business point of view, it can be used as a tool to identify well performing economies. From a policy standpoint, it can help understand where Foreign Direct Investment typical goes, and how to attract additional capital based on benchmarking and monitoring (pg. 4).<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_04_30_at_4_01_58_pm_0_6b9d73c2b1.png"></figure>Using the AII, Quantum Global provides a ranking of all 54 countries based off six criteria: Economic Growth Factors, Liquidity Factors, Risk Factors, Business Environmental Factors, Demographic Factors and a measure of Social Capital. Here is a breakdown of what each factor includes:<ul><li>Economic Growth Factors: GDP growth, domestic investment, size of economy</li><li>Liquidity Factors: level of domestic real estate interest rates, excess money supply</li><li>Risk Factors: credit rating of the country, risks of currency depreciation, import-cover ratio, current account balance and external debt levels</li><li>Business Environment Factors: based off a micro-institutional index developed by the World Bank</li><li>Demographic Factors: size of the population, potential market</li><li>Social Capital Factor: level of networks, knowledge and connections</li></ul>As of their 2018 report, the current top 10 countries include: Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, Ethiopia, Zambia, Kenya and Senegal (pg. 3).<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:92.28%;"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_05_01_at_5_00_38_pm_2a7dad796d.png"></figure>One theme the report touched on was foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa. They've found that FDI's are typically declining (as of 2016), but there are reports which indicate that inflows of capital will likely increase in the next few years. Currently, the United States is the largest contributor of FDI's to the continent, followed next by the United Kingdom, France, China and South Africa (pg. 6).A few of the findings from the report focused on Ethiopia include:<ul><li>Ethiopia topped the individual ranking for the Economic Growth factor, followed by Algeria, Mozambique, Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire.</li><li>Ethiopia sustained an average GDP growth rate of 8.4%. This was bolstered by public infrastructure investment.</li><li>Domestic investments reached 40% of the country's GDP. (pg. 10).</li><li>Ethiopia ranked in the top four for most populous countries, scoring highly on demographic factors.</li><li>Over the past four years, Ethiopia had the following ranking based off the AII: 15 in 2015, 15 in 2016, 21 in 2016 and 7 in 2017 (pg. 13).</li></ul>Read the full report here <a href="http://quantumglobalgroup.com/knowledge-hub/indices/africa-investment-index/">Africa Investment Index 2018</a>&nbsp;

Ethiopia ranked in top 10 in 2018 report.

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Africa Investment Index 2018

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Reporting Our Success in Ottawa</h1>In early April, I met up with Matt and Laura Davis in Ottawa to check in with our partners over at Global Affairs Canada (GAC).The main event was a brown bag lunch that we hosted for all in the organization who were interested in learning about the <a href="../2016/accelerating-business-growth-project.html">Accelerating Business Growth</a> blended finance project we are undertaking in Ethiopia. The presentation attracted a large group of GACers from numerous departments eager to understand the impact RENEW is having in Ethiopia's private sector. Some of the key results we were excited to share with the group on progress made in the project included:<ul><li>Ongoing finance, governance, marketing, ESG, and operations support of accelerator companies resulting in 19.2% sales growth and 589% profit growth in 2017</li><li>2,933 jobs supported out of the ongoing five-year target of 5,000, including more than 2,000 held by women</li><li>$8M CAD of additional financing attracted to accelerator companies (in addition RENEW's IAN/angel investments)</li><li>Growth of our IAN angel network to 127 individuals and families, passing the half-way mark of our project goal of 250</li><li>25 CFOs and professionals trained in the most practical and valuable finance and accounting tools and best practices</li><li>390 SMEs trained in the fundamentals of private equity, and how to prepare for an equity round from an investor</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/ottawa_fotor_3b0a5bdc62.jpg"></figure>We were happy to report that the companies in last year's cohort of the The Exec's Program are beating benchmark data in several key categories including employee growth, revenue growth and capital secured. A goal for RENEW is to be investing in 20 countries across Africa, and to do that, we must prove that our model is working. While our portfolio is currently solely based in Ethiopia, we were able to meet with several GAC representatives to share about our desire to expand the ABG model regionally in Eastern Africa. We discussed the results we have produced to date in Ethiopia, the continuing need to fill the financing gap in all African countries, and the impact our model would have on the economies in the continent, in terms of job creation and economic empowerment. We plan to continue these discussions and engage with GAC and other potential partners on an expansion strategy.All in all, we came away from the meetings and event in Ottawa feeling good about the results we have achieved to date, and grateful for the partnership we have with GAC. It struck each of us how positive our interactions were with everyone whom we met. The team over at GAC seems razor-focused on their mandate of international development, yet warm and personable and eager to connect. We look forward to going back to Ottawa throughout the project to continue sharing about our project results and educating those on the importance of investing in SMEs in Africa.

The Exec's Program results are beating benchmarks

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Reporting Our Success in Ottawa

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Resources for Executives</h1>A high-powered executive has to make various decisions each day in the business. For May, our resource blog focuses on understanding how to make better decisions while avoiding the biases.<ul><li><a href="https://hbr.org/2018/03/research-learning-a-little-about-something-makes-us-overconfident?utm_source=Daily+AR&amp;utm_campaign=13d0cd88a4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_c08a59015d-13d0cd88a4-140324189">Research: Learning a Little About Something Makes Us Overconfident</a>: As an executive, one of the major pitfalls is being overconfident. HBR's research focuses on overconfidence as people tackle new challenges and learn. To be a beginner is to be susceptible to undue optimism and confidence. This article explores the exact shape and timeline of that overconfidence.</li><li><a href="https://tim.blog/2018/03/25/daniel-pink/?utm_source=Daily+AR&amp;utm_campaign=bc7a3f10ec-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_c08a59015d-bc7a3f10ec-140324189">Daniel Pink - How to Make Better Decisions and Be More Creative</a>: This podcast explores how to make better decisions, ask better questions, and be more creative. Daniel Pink is the author of six books which have won multiple awards and have been translated into 37 languages.</li><li><a href="https://www.fs.blog/2018/03/margaret-heffernan/?utm_source=Daily+AR&amp;utm_campaign=bc7a3f10ec-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_c08a59015d-bc7a3f10ec-140324189">Company Culture, Collaboration, and Competition</a>: This podcast has a discussion with Margaret Heffernan, who is a speaker, international executive, and five-time author. The discussion is about how to get the most out of your people, creating a thriving culture of trust and collaboration, and how to prevent potentially devastating "willful blindness".</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/executives_42a30fa982.jpg"></figure>

Understanding how to make better decisions while avoiding the biases.

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Resources for Executives

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Can a little investment in the missing middle have a big impact on the SDGs?</h1>As I write this, RENEW is celebrating 6 years of operating and investing in Ethiopia. We and the world have come a long way since we first entered the country in 2012. Personally, I try to live in the camp that believes the world is getting better; however, the media is good at convincing us otherwise.One milestone that has me cautiously optimistic actually occurred back in 2015, when the United Nations released a sweeping action plan for the world to meet 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and 169 targets by the year 2030. Daunting, right? In particular, because the SDGs were a follow up to the Millennium Development Goals, which we did not achieve. 2030 is 12 years away and the UN seeks to end poverty in all its forms, achieve gender equality, empower all girls, and accomplish a number of other bold actions. Inspiring! And the UN goes even further by providing frameworks, action plans and a call to governments, organizations and businesses around the world to join in this massive effort. And guess what? A lot of organizations, governments and the private sector have aligned with them. Read this: <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ingrid-embree/how-17-companies-are-tack_b_11991808.html">How 17 Companies are Tackling Sustainable Development Goals (and Your Company Can, Too</a>. Though, I am not naive about the challenge the world is up against, setting audacious goals and rallying people and organizations behind them, is a key step to accomplishing big change.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_04_04_at_10_04_57_am_57b04b308d.png"></figure>The gap in financing to achieve the goals is estimated to be at $2.5 Trillion. On September 18, 2017, UN Secretary General António Guterres started a speech with strong words to the private sector saying…“Either the Sustainable Development Goals are fully assumed with enlightened self-interest by the business community, the private sector, and the financial sector, or the Sustainable Development Goals will be a very nice exercise in diplomatic discussions in New York and maybe in some policies of some governments, but the impact on people, the impact on poverty, the impact on the planet, will be extremely, extremely small.”Ahh,there it is. Enlightened self-interest; a philosophy in ethics that states that a person (or group) who acts to further the interests of others ultimately serves their own self-interest. Enlightened self-interest is, in my opinion, the only way we’ll be able to reach (or try to make some measurable impact with) the SDGs in the next 12 years. But what is enlightened self-interests and what form do they take for the business community? I think several terms shed additional light on his meaning, including “conscious capitalism,” “blended finance,” “impact investing” and a host of other popular buzzwords that related to investing for both positive financial and social returns.Most would agree that there are easier places than Africa for RENEW and the Impact Angel Network to invest, so I think I can safely put us in the category of businesses that operate with enlightened self-interest. Our enlightened thought is that almost all of the problems that people are trying to fix on the continent will go away or get significantly better once there is a thriving private sector. To name a specific SDG that aligns with our business model, it would be Goal 8:Decent work and economic growth, which fits squarely in RENEW’s impact investment model.The beauty of an impact investing firm is not only do we align with Goal 8, but we also get to participate in and measure the sustainability efforts of every one of the companies in which we invest. Their business models are diverse and each one of them is playing a different but important role in meeting the SDG goals.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/collagesdgblog_ce7dac7579.jpg"></figure>This is how I believe RENEW and our <a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/portfolio?company=Akello%20Banker">portfolio companies</a> align with the SDGs and are creating positive social impact in Ethiopia.<ul><li>NO POVERTY: In 2017 alone, RENEW’s portfolio companies directly or indirectly supported 2,280 individuals and 5,700 small-holder farmers in Ethiopia by providing full and part time employment at competitive salaries and wages.</li><li>ZERO HUNGER: Mama Fresh is not only a worldwide ambassador of Ethiopian cuisine but the company also provides nutritional lunches to all of its 63 employees, of which 84% are women, many of who have families at home to feed.</li><li>GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING: Tebita Ambulance, East Africa Emergency Service’s in-country partner, has transported more than 50,000 patients to local area hospitals and clinics, saving thousands of lives that would have otherwise been lost.</li><li>QUALITY EDUCATION: In addition to exporting some of the highest value speciality coffee from Ethiopia, METAD supports 408 elementary and middle school-aged students near its Hambela farm through a newly built school, uniforms, and covering the teachers’ salaries. Desta PLC, a textile manufacturing company, also encourages and provides in-company trainings for employees who are interested in pursuing a leadership role.</li><li>GENDER EQUALITY: Konjit, the “Mama” behind Mama Fresh, is one of the co-founders of one of the most well recognized injera brands in the country.</li><li>CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION: Ethiopia is a landlocked country, making water a very precious resource. Growing, drying, and preparing coffee cherries for roasting is normally a very water-intensive process that creates quite a bit of water byproducts and waste. METAD, being an environmentally conscious company, uses a coffee cherry cleaner/pulser that reduces water waste by 10% and educates smallholder farmers on irrigation best practices.</li><li>AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY: dVentus Technologies, under the direction of a former GE executive, is building smart electric meters, smart water meters, and other efficient energy grid solutions for the East Africa region and the continent.</li><li>DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: In addition to providing 2,280 jobs in 2017, our portfolio companies have grown their collective sales by 19.2% and net profit by 33.7%, directly contributing towards the underlying goal of creating a robust private sector.</li><li>INDUSTRY, INNOVATION, AND INFRASTRUCTURE: KROTAJ plans to add value to a key Ethiopian commodity and generate foreign currency for the country; Sadura plans to produce a quality food product for local consumption; Mama Fresh takes teff and makes injera for the export and local market. All three companies are growing leaders in their respective fields and are continuing to develop and set industry standards through ISO certification.</li><li>REDUCED INEQUALITIES: By investing in the private sector, RENEW’s portfolio companies are able to, in turn, create jobs in the local economy, and thereby contribute towards a growing middle class and decrease income and socioeconomic disparities.</li><li>SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES:Roadrunner Technologies and partner organization Deliver Addis reduce traffic and increase livability of Addis by delivering food and other items directly to customers.</li><li>RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION: Desta PLC, Mama Fresh, Sadura, and KROTAJ all seek to backward integrate into their respective agricultural value chains, thereby creating sustainable supply chains, educated farmers, and informed consumers.</li><li>CLIMATE ACTION: dVentus Technologies seeks to assist Ethiopia and the world beyond to sustainably power enterprise and economic development, METAD seeks to educate small holder coffee farmers on environmentally friendly farming techniques that conserve water and save trees, and Roadrunner seeks to reduce CO2 emissions by reducing the amount of old and polluting vehicles on the road.</li><li>LIFE BELOW WATER: Just to make sure you are still paying attention, you probably know there’s no ocean access in Ethiopia, so we’ve got nothing here! Stay tuned when we expand to new countries that have coastlines.</li><li>LIFE ON LAND: METAD seeks to sustainably manage the forests surrounding and running through its coffee farms by growing coffee varietals that require the shade of trees, and thereby fights against desertification.</li><li>PEACE, JUSTICE, AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS: All of RENEW’s portfolio companies work hand in hand with the Ethiopian government to foster peaceful relations and understanding with its citizens and the outside world, be it through international trade, economic policy implementation, or sharing the values and culture that makes Ethiopia unique.</li><li>PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS: It’s important to thank our partner <a href="http://www.international.gc.ca/international/index.aspx?lang=eng">Global Affairs Canada</a>, and previously <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/">USAID</a> for seeing the potential of a partnership with RENEW and the IAN to help achieve the SDG goals in the countries we operate.</li></ul>It’s clear that many of SDGs have the continent of Africa specifically in mind, and so grows our conviction that a vibrant private sector is a solution to many of these goals. And, if we believe the idea that countries with vibrant and thriving private sectors are better off than those without, it only makes sense to want to find solutions that stimulate Africa’s private sector as a main theme for the SDGs. Therefore, ethically led, growing small to mid-size companies in Africa (can we say companies acting out of “enlightened self-interest”), are one of the best antidotes for what ails not only the continent, but the world.At RENEW, we’ve grown a substantial and dedicated network of impact angels who believe in this. It could be said that the Sustainable Development Goals are baked into the very core of RENEW’s business model, and the portfolio companies in which RENEW and the IAN invest. I wholeheartedly believe that if we and many like us continue to fervently pursue enlightened self-interest, the world will continue to get better and better.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Can a little investment in the missing middle have a big impact on the SDGs?

<h1 style="text-align:center;">The Second Women in Finance Event</h1>On March 21s, 2018, RENEW co-hosted the second Women in Finance event in partnership with Enat Bank, an Ethiopian Bank focused on the vision of leveraging women's economic capabilities. This session focused on developing financial products for women, in an effort to promote gender equality within the Ethiopian financial market.The speaker for the discussion was Abeba Tesfai who is Director of Women's Financial Services &amp; Marketing at Enat Bank, and has been collaborating with RENEW for a few years as a Resource Provider, referring women-led businesses to be considered for equity investment. Abeba has been with Enat Bank for nearly three years in her current role, focusing on the bank's program policies, and creating partnerships focused on women's economic empowerment. Abeba is Ethiopian, grew up in Sudan and moved to the US where she completed her undergraduate studies and her master's degree in Business Management at Stayer University. For over a decade, she worked for Bank of America, then, Freddie Mac and Treliant Advisors. She is a seasoned finance professional who decided to return to her home country after so many years to share her expertise and her passion for promoting financial inclusion and to have an effective impact.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/img_4444_0_cb937171ea.jpg"></figure>Most of the participants in the series were women CFOs and business woman, and a good part of the discussion centered on sharing advice on how to feel confident and empowered as financial professionals and when interacting with financial institutions.Abeba presented interesting insights on her experience in banking in Ethiopia to start off the discussion on "Developing Financial Products for women as an effective tool to promote gender equality". Most of the discussion was centered on how to make banking more attractive for women in Ethiopia. Abeba shared her perspective about her work at Enat, how they are focused on servicing SMEs and how they are working to provide easier access to financial resources for those without formal collateral (land, etc.).Abeba also shared data from the latest Women's Entrepreneurship Report, which stated that Africa produces more women entrepreneurs than any other region in the world. The regional average for female entrepreneurial activity rate as percentage of the female population aged 16 to 64 is 18% in Africa, in Latin America and Caribbean it's 17% and North America is 12% <a href="#fn1">(*)</a>.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/img_20180321_wa0025_617ea44d52.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;During the Q&amp;A, a point was made that some Ethiopian women are more afraid to inquire about financial information than their male counterparts. When going to banks for loans, one of the main challenges Ethiopian women face is lack of collateral - usually in the form of land - as land deeds are often made in the husband's name.In addition, Abeba shared a very interesting story that really made me reflect on the impact of that night event. Through their work at Enat Bank, they have discovered that women of the local Gurage ethnic group were advocating for women land ownership rights as far back as the 1500's in Ethiopia. This history led Enat Bank to name one of their branches of the bank in the group's honor.This story made me reflect as a woman, as a finance professional and on my day to day work with entrepreneurs at RENEW and how important it is to encourage each other and be persistent. It is certainly very challenging to raise funding for a small or medium enterprise in Ethiopia, and especially as a women entrepreneur. An interesting report produced through the Entrepreneurship Database Program, led by a consortium of organizations <a href="#fn2">(**)</a> mapped the performance of a large sample of new ventures all over the world, that have attended an Acceleration Program. They have identified that women owned/led businesses on average perform better in terms of revenues and growth, than men led business, but are half as likely to report capital raised (equity and debt) when compared to men led business.These meetings, roundtables and forums are designed to create a space for women in finance, such as CFOs, business leaders and women bankers to share our stories, challenges, successes but most importantly to encourage each other to move our organizations in a path towards gender equality.

Developing financial products for women as an effective tool to promote gender equality

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The Second Women in Finance Event

In March, RENEW partners Matt &amp; Laura Davis were back in the U.S. and Canada to visit with Impact Angel Network members and others interested in RENEW's work in Ethiopia. This month we hosted three events: one in Charlottesville, Virginia and two in Toronto, Canada.Here are some of the trip highlights:<ul><li>In Mid-March we held a great lunch event in Charlottesville, Virginia co-hosted by IAN Member Jonathan Baker. He brought together a great group of friends and colleagues to learn more about investing in Ethiopia. A big thank you to the Baker's for hosting us that day - we can't wait to come back again!</li><li>In Toronto, we started off the trip with a lunch event at Nota Bene in downtown Toronto. We had the opportunity to share about RENEW's Impact Angel Network and our work in Africa. We really enjoyed the company and questions that this group came up with. We hope people we're able to leave with a different perspective on investing in Africa.</li><li>Also in Toronto, we we're able to meet with four of our Canadian IAN Members, including our IAN Advisory Board Chair Danielle Gibbie. It was great to catch up and thanks to those that we're able to attend our events!</li><li>Our last stop in Toronto was a Happy Hour event at the Poet Café. We had a great turn out and we're able to have a more informal discussion on the who, what, where, and how of RENEW. It was a good opportunity to learn what was happening in the field of impact investing in Toronto with a number of different local organizations and companies being present.</li></ul>Thank you to everyone who has helped make our March stops successful! We will also be in Ottawa, Canada and hosting an event in Washington D.C. during the first week of April before the partners head back to Ethiopia!<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/torontocollage_6675ca9609.jpg"></figure>

Highlights from Charlottesville and Toronto

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March 2018 Investor Trip

<h1 style="text-align:center;">March 2018 Resource Blog</h1>This month, we've collected articles about a few retail companies and the steps and tools they used to build and scale themselves into global brands.<ul><li>As Ethiopia is gradually welcoming global retail brands to start operations in the country, entrepreneurs can learn a detailed case study on Trader Joe's and understand <a href="http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_understanding_trader_joes_final.pdf">how the company started and grew operations</a>. The presentation captures Trader Joe's journey from a conventional convenience store into an upmarket store from 1957 onwards.</li><li>Once you have an idea, then the next step is to <a href="https://piktochart.com/blog/startup-pitch-decks-what-you-can-learn/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialmedia&amp;utm_campaign=design">create a pitch deck to present to investors</a>. Almost everyone spends many hours in building a pitch deck irrespective of the fundraising amount. You can find pitch decks of Airbnb, YouTube, LinkedIn and 27 other companies and learn from what they presented to the investors when they were raising money.</li><li>Amazon has $5.6 billion in income which comes from the simplicity of experience, process, and functionality. <a href="https://www.fastcodesign.com/90160960/the-design-theory-behind-amazons-5-6-billion-success?utm_source=pocket&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=pockethits">Amazon's success</a> is unusual in the design community: Successful design is not necessarily beautiful.</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_04_03_at_12_34_09_pm_8b3c54f861.png"></figure><a href="http://www.outline-world-map.com/group-gray-white-areas">Image Source: Outline World Map Images</a>&nbsp;

Tools to help company's scale and become global brands

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March 2018 Resource Blog

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Gender Equality and Women in the Workforce Mini-Series: What Can I Do?</h1>In this blog series we've discussed the inequalities that women generally face as employees and entrepreneurs. It isn't a fair playing field for most women and that bothers me. Over the last few weeks, I have had conversations, listened and read about the day-to-day challenges women face in the workforce and have asked the question, "What can I and others (not just men, but certainly men) do to reduce these hurdles and see greater equality for roughly half of our workforce?"Amplify. The women I spoke with repeatedly reported that they are less likely to take or receive credit for accomplishments or to have their ideas or opinions acknowledged <a href="#fn1">(1)</a>. We see a similar dynamic in negotiations for employment or promotions - women are less likely to negotiate and, when they do, they're less likely to know their market value and competitive standing. These dynamics may be part of the reason we see such a dramatic drop in the representation of women in upper levels of management. While women represent 49% of entry level employees, they represent just 35% of Senior Managers and Directors and just 20% of C-Suite employees.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/womenworkforce4_b987ebcf2f.png"></figure>An easy next step for me, then, is to amplify the exceptional accomplishments and contributions of women around me. I enjoy doing this already - after all I am married to an accomplished attorney and advocate for refugees and am surrounded by so many entrepreneurial and admirable women. For example, at RENEW, I have the honor of encountering some of the best and the brightest entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, including women who are transforming their industries, leading companies to become market leaders and shining stars in Ethiopia. Our <a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/companies">Exec's Program</a>, <a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/companies">CFO100 program</a>, pitch events and other happenings at The Exchange in Addis Ababa allow me and others at RENEW many opportunities to interact with, promote and amplify exceptional business women.Level the Playing Field. One of the conversations I had recently was with a professor of management at a U.S. business school who shared with me her and other's findings on gender inequality in the workplace. This professor mentioned studies and tests <a href="#fn2">(2)</a> that reveal that a female candidate for a position, promotion, pay raise or grant funding typically must significantly outperform a male candidate, in some cases by 2.5X (in the case of grant funding), in order to succeed. To counteract this dynamic, this management professor recommended that I and other employers read resumes and reviews with the candidate or employee's name removed. This practice avoids, or at least reduces the possibility that our preconceived notions (OK, stereotypes), unwitting as they may be, will influence decisions in a way that we do not intend.Another recommendation this professor offered is for me and other employers to carefully consider the definitions we use for leadership when evaluating candidates for management positions. Many of us recognize the benefits of a transformational or more collaborative leadership style in achieving buy-in and input from team members and in fostering creativity and inspiring excellence <a href="#fn3">(3)</a>. Yet, many employers continue to evaluate candidates based on traditional, 'command-and-control' styles of leadership, even if they expect leaders to exhibit transformational leadership styles once hired <a href="#fn4">(4)</a>. By evaluating candidates (again, anonymously) based on a transformational rather than transactional leadership style, I and other employers may start to level the playing field for those female candidates who may tend more towards the former style.Support Networking Efforts and Mentor. Another area where women report facing challenges is in networking and mentoring. The women I spoke with said that their professional networks are not as strong as their male peers and they are less likely to have a mentor. They are also less likely to be a regular part of a group of peers who share connections or chat about industry trends, business development, compensation or advancement. Family responsibilities may contribute to this, as may gender segregation that seems to naturally happen sometimes at work (for example, after-work events oriented more towards men). Then, there is the desire to avoid compromising situations, prompting men to follow practices such as the 'Pence Rule' <a href="#fn5">(5)</a> and choosing not to work, travel or meet alone with a person of the opposite gender who is not the person's spouse. Women have shared that they admire the good intentions underlying these practices but that any rule should be applied equally to both genders. Otherwise, women miss out on opportunities that their male colleagues have to receive mentoring, grow their social networks or go the extra mile even if it requires staying late.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/teamdinnertom_fotor_2355c65daa.jpg"></figure>At RENEW, my colleagues Matt and Laura Davis started inviting the team in Ethiopia to play soccer together after work one Friday a month followed by a dinner together. When I am in town, I have the joy of dusting off my cleats and getting out on the field with the team. Everyone is encouraged to join in on the fun but if someone chooses not to, he or she can meet up afterwards for dinner. These evenings create opportunities for all team members of different ages, genders and extracurricular preferences to spend time together and strengthen their personal networks.I am encouraged to use these evenings and other opportunities to be equitable as I choose whom I will mentor or if I offer an opportunity to work on a project that may require long hours or late nights. This can present challenges when female colleagues are involved if I wish to avoid the appearance of impropriety or one of us feeling uncomfortable. But it is only fair that I find a solution that is applied fairly to colleagues of both genders, so that I can do my part to promote the professional development of both men and women.We all have experienced the benefits that greater inclusivity offers - whether it is in our companies, our portfolios or our lives in general. My colleague, Erin O'Connor, wrote in an earlier installation in this blog series about the increased performance companies and portfolios realize from greater gender diversity. From the discussions I have had over the last few weeks, I have some next steps on how I can contribute to this worthy goal and hopefully now you do, too: Amplify, Level the Playing Field and Include.1. On this point, I encourage people to read a recent Wall Street Journal article, "How Men and Women See the Workplace Differently." ("From ordinary meetings to executive offices and boardrooms, many more women than men feel that they don't get credit for their ideas, or that their contributions aren't recognized-slights felt even more acutely by women of color.")<a href="#ref1">↩</a> 2. For example, the Goldberg Paradigm and the Implicit Association Test.<a href="#ref2">↩</a> 3. J. Coleman and J. Whitehurst. "3 Priorities for Leaders Who Want to Go Beyond Command-and-Control." Harvard Business Review. May 28, 2014.<a href="#ref3">↩</a> 4. H. Ibarra. "Why Command-and-Control Leadership is Here to Stay." Harvard Business Review. September 20, 2012.<a href="#ref4">↩</a> 5. Vice President Pence, to avoid the 'appearance of evil' and circumstances that have led other men to prey on women or cheat on their wives, has chosen not to eat, travel or meet alone with any women who is not his wife.<a href="#ref5">↩</a>