I am Temwa Msiska, a Malawian woman with two small businesses in fashion and in conference management. I am one of the organizers of Startup Huddle in Blantyre, run by our newly formed Network for Entrepreneurial Women (NEW). We held Startup Huddle at the Blantyre Entrepreneur Hub. The event brought together women at different stages in their careers and business development hoping to meet with like-minded entrepreneurs. The atmosphere was very relaxed and informal, with an emphasis on participation from the audience. The number of women in attendance was greater than we anticipated at around 65. The entrepreneurs were keen to share their experiences and challenges in response to the issues raised by the facilitators.
As organizers, we saw a need to focus on a women-only event to encourage the participants to speak freely on matters that affect, challenge or bolster their efforts in business. Anecdotal evidence suggests that whilst men are able to focus all their energies on developing business ideas, women who take up the challenge are not relieved of other social obligations in pursuit of success. I once read an article about Wangari Maathai, the late Kenyan environmental activist. It posited that she was successful because she pursued her work regardless of the marital, personal, political and financial obstacles she faced. I think this is a reality for many female entrepreneurs and one that is understated. As a Network, we can acknowledge these issues and discuss ways to address them.
Why are we organizing it?
I think Startup Huddle can be a platform for dismantling the myths surrounding what success looks like, and how it can be achieved. I hope Huddle can become a forum for women to develop strong links with one another. On a personal note, I want my skills and interests to be known to other women in my city. I want to know what other women are doing in business and in their careers. We can all use the network to work together wherever synergies exist. I would like to use women’s abilities to build and nurture strong familial and social networks, and apply this to the development of business links. I hope to develop business contacts, trigger new ideas and perhaps connect with potential mentors. As an organizer, it gives me an excellent reason to contact women who are prominent in their fields. I want to know how women who have gone before me have approached business development, and I want to be able to tell a “younger me” what I wish I had known five or ten years ago.
“For the stream to grow into a river, it must meet other tributaries and join them as it heads for a lake or the sea.” – Wangari Maathai