The President of the Kano Digital Innovation Network (KDIN), Abdulsalam Abdulrashid Hamza Mai Turare, has said that the organisation conducted a two-day workshop aimed at strengthening startups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through innovation, coordination and business development strategies.
The workshop, themed “Review, Coordination and Action Planning for Inclusive Innovation,” brought together startup founders, innovation hubs, ecosystem enablers and entrepreneurs to discuss challenges facing businesses and possible solutions.
Speaking during the event, Hamza Mai Turare said the workshop was designed to help entrepreneurs better understand their businesses and identify ways to grow.
“The essence of this workshop is to look at the problems facing MSMEs and possible solutions, and also to see how they can be uplifted to the next level,” he said.
He explained that many entrepreneurs venture into business without fully understanding their business models.
“Many people start businesses without fully knowing the business model of what they are doing. Some do not even know their value proposition, their targeted customers, or the resources needed,” he stated.
According to him, the workshop was aimed at educating entrepreneurs on how to properly start and manage businesses as well as improve existing ventures.
“The workshop is meant to educate them on how to start a business or how to uplift what they are already doing,” he added.
Hamza Mai Turare disclosed that the first day of the workshop was open to the general public and attracted more participants than expected.
“Yesterday was meant for the general public. We targeted 100 people, but we had almost 120 participants or more,” he said.
He further explained that the second day was reserved for ecosystem enablers, startup founders and innovation hubs to develop practical action plans.
“Today is a closed session involving ecosystem enablers, startup founders and innovation hubs. We selected some of them to sit together and come up with an action plan based on the discussions from yesterday,” he explained.
The KDIN president said networking and collaboration were among the key expectations of the workshop.
“One of the most important things is networking. We connected a number of people together from the enablers and startup founders so that whenever they have problems, they know the right people to reach out to for advice and support,” he said.
On collaboration with government agencies, Hamza Mai Turare clarified that the programme was independently organised by KDIN in partnership with Ideas Global Academy.
“This programme is basically organised by the Digital Innovation Network in collaboration with Ideas Global Academy under the leadership of Dr. Mustafa Shehu, the Executive Secretary of Katsina Development Board,” he noted.
Some participants at the workshop expressed appreciation to the organisers, saying the training improved their knowledge of business development, content creation and digital marketing.
One of the participants said the workshop helped her understand how to use digital tools to improve her business.
“Now, I know how to do content creation and use the internet for my daily business,” she said.