TRO-TRO DIARIES PART 3(b): ON ASSIGNMENT – MEETING WITH SANDER

Sander then proceeded to give me some background on SOVEC and why they are operating in Ghana – they could have stayed in Holland or gone elsewhere in Africa with their money, but they chose Ghana because it has a stable political system, an enabling business environment and also because of the presence of a young, yet professional VC infrastructure, providing the right caliber of investment partners they require. He also told me a bit about the investment portfolio of SOVEC in Ghana, particularly their support for the “Private Schools for the Poor” project by Omega Schools which is an innovative idea that seeks to provide high quality education to the poor by bringing such communities on board and giving them an incentive to ensure the schools are self sustainable. And then we launched into the vast entrepreneurial opportunities available in Ghana. 

Sander was particularly interested in discussing my personal entrepreneurial ventures. In fact once I put it out there that I was an up and coming entrepreneur we naturally fell into a deep conversation about my business interests especially in Oilfield Services, which is my day job by the way. I stressed on the fact that I felt it my duty to share my practical experiences as I navigate the entrepreneurial world with others, so as to inspire, encourage and motivate. He commended my meager efforts, and suggested that all groups such as BMIC should collaborate under one umbrella rather than operate as splinter cells going after the same objectives. I assured him that our partnership with Harambe Ghana is just such a co-operative effort and with TEDxHarambe we are marking the beginning of a long and fruitful working relationship; and there is always room for more on board because as a united front, youth-oriented NGOs in Ghana will be able to achieve similar goals quicker and more effectively.

The Dutch venture capitalist was rather insightful so I volunteered information freely knowing it may yield dividends later on. He was very plain spoken about his definition of social entrepreneurship, “being that [he] does not primarily go for profit alone, but that [he is] convinced that it should be a mix of financial (profit incentive) and social things (value creation) to make venture capital investments sustainable. It cannot (and should not) be simply either one.” He was adamant that social entrepreneurship should not be labeled as simply granting money on the basis of pure altruism, or pure profit-making but rather a balanced dance of both; they were not mutually exclusive goals but could become a harmonious model for incentivizing the rapid development of Africa through win-win investor partnerships. And I agree wholeheartedly with him on this one folks, it is not simply possible but prudent to be a businessman with a heart and a conscience in the 21^st century; it is perhaps the only sustainable way forward. 

He also gave me another view as to his personal belief that the present model for AID to Africa is deeply flawed, referring to Dambisa Moyo’s book, Dead Aid. Rather he proposed an interesting theory; that there should not be a difference between a good entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur. To him the word ‘social’ is sometimes not appropriate in description because it doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground, which is that the present state of blind philanthropy is not just failing, but acerbating the various issues they seek to solve in the first place. That is the old way of doing things. Though I certainly feel blind philanthropy has its place in the development of Africa owing to how far behind we still are, I also felt his stance was just the kind of edgy and fresh thought that was needed to compel people sit up and take notice that the old way of doing things is simply not enough. We agreed that he should run with his idea and deliver his presentation along these lines.

So finally, Mr. Sander Smits van Oyen broke into a warm smile offered his hand and said, “Okay you have me.” I heaved a silent but heavy sigh of relief, chugged down the rest of up my pineapple juice, smiled broadly, shook his hand, grabbed my Targus book bag and returned to the confused din of night traffic and Spintex. The Tro-tro ride back home that day was not so bad; truly it would not have made any difference if I were in a tram, a train or a Double Decker bus: Okay, save the noise, the jolts and that creeping feeling that the machine is about to break up any second away.

Now things are looking good; not only is Sander speaking at the event, he may be, co-incidentally, bringing along his investors to visit TEDxHarambe with him........Bit by bit, we are doing it!