"When Ghana moves forward, Africa moves forward and when Africa moves forward, the whole world moves forward," these were the words of Aurelia Abena Attipoe, 24, in her victory speech at the Youth Time Global Forum in Dubai last month. In a global competition featuring business ideas of 13 young entrepreneurs, Attipoe's The Pitch Hub, which trains Ghanaian entrepreneurs to successfully pitch their ideas to investors, claimed the first prize and won a grant.
Attipoe proved her expertise, when she won over the hearts of the audience as well as the judges with a confident presentation of her business project The Pitch Hub. Despite obtaining a degree in Computer Science, Attipoe felt her calling elsewhere. She started as a graduate trainee in the role of an SME Specialist at the Busy Ghana. There, she learnt how many Ghanaians have great business ideas that could positively affect communities, but were not doing a great job at selling them. She was determined to help them.
"I got the opportunity to learn from the CEO of TKC Africa ( a company which supports business education in Africa), who explained the importance of people learning the art of self and business pitch. That was when it dawned on me that teaching entrepreneurs how to pitch their businesses could bring them a step closer to securing funding," said Attipoe.
Attipoe has benefited from her history in debating, "Debate has taught me how to be persuasive. And that is one thing you need as an entrepreneur,“ Attipoe evaluates. "You need to be able to convince any investor or customer to buy into your idea. Debate also taught me how to be confident in any situation. That is also extremely important for entrepreneurs,“ she says.
The Pitch Hub provides entrepreneurs a support system by helping them build sustainable business models, even after securing funding.
Attipoe has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. That combined with her desire to promote her country has inspired her to be a problem solver: "As a debater, I travel a lot. And I realized how I could be making money whilst traveling. I realized a lot of my friends from outside Ghana, loved our fabric. That was when I got the idea to start exporting print products to other parts of Africa.“
She stayed loyal to representing her country as she received her award in UAE in a vibrant dress by top Ghanaian designer, Mavis Adjoa Yeboah, and earned a standing ovation for her sovereign performance.
Power Woman Aurelia Abena Attipoe now exclusively shares her wisdom on how to successfully sell your business ideas:
How to make a great Pitch
⦁ Who are you? ⦁ What is your product or service? ⦁ What problem does it solve, what are the benefits and whom does it benefit? ⦁ What are your credentials for what you’re offering? ⦁ What are you looking for from the investor? (The ASK) ⦁ How will it benefit the investor ?
Answer all these questions and you have a great Pitch!
Remember ⦁ Be very confident: Investors are looking for innovators who are very confident about their ideas and can defend it. ⦁ Keep it brief: most investors don’t have all day to discuss your business idea. Make your pitch brief but impactful. I usually advice that people prepare a one minute pitch and practice it to perfection. ⦁ Don’t forget the ASK: After talking about your business idea, always remember to tell the investor what exactly you need from them. ⦁ A great pitch can bring you a step closer to securing that support you need for your business!