By Alex Taremwa

The Workshop Uganda is a media start up I conceived in 2017. As a journalist who had written large-firm profiles for some of Uganda’s top newspapers, I noticed that voices from the small business sector where more than 50% of Uganda’s GDP came from were prominently missing in the mainstream.

My idea? Create an online platform that voiced their “hustle” and make it easy for customers to see and buy their products – a noble cause. I interested a few friends to help with the concept. Alas, we were not making much headway despite publishing several profiles, some of which got our clients visibility that yielded multiple deals. With no clear vision, no commitment, no capital, no team, I did what every other unserious entrepreneur would do – give up.

What I didn’t know, however, is that people – very powerful people – had been watching what we and other idea people were doing. When the Nation Media Group (NMG) – the biggest media brand in East and Central Africa launched their inaugural Future of Media competition searching for the “next big idea” that proposes a new business model to save the industry from the pangs of disruption (see my previous article on this topic), I submitted an entry.

According to the Daily Monitor, a subsidiary of NMG, 150 entries were received by the Innovation Village – a local business incubator and The Workshop Uganda (renamed The Digital Workshop) – was among the top 10. In fact, according to exclusive sources, we were number one.

Giving a voice to small- and medium-sized businesses is ever critical in Uganda’s COVID-19 lockdown as, according to an April 2020 survey by the Uganda Economic Policy Research Center, they are less likely than large businesses to survive. When asked about the likelihood of survival during a three-to-six month business suspension, macro/large companies were mostly not phased while roughly 25% of micro, small and medium business owners said they wouldn’t subsist.

Putting in the work
Between 2019 when I shelved the idea until when I submitted it as an entry into this competition in 2020, I had subjected it to a lot of scrutiny. Under Prof. Rhonda Breit, a seasoned Australian lawyer and journalism scholar, I worked on The Digital Workshop (changed from The Workshop Uganda) as an Advanced Digital Journalism project at the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) of Aga Khan University (AKU), where I am student. During this process, we made the project niche, figured out a business model that suited it and even pitched it to a mock panel from the new Deutsche Welle Akademie-sponsored Innovation Center at AKU in Nairobi, Kenya. I worked on a Lean Canvas, the problem-solution model and put it on a pitch deck.

While at it, I confirmed two things: not only could we scale our project across East Africa, we could also add a third product to it – a Reality TV show.  In a Think with Google Podcast last week, I learned that videos dubbed #WithMe (Cook with Me, Workout with Me, Study with Me) had over 4 billion views on YouTube. Not only does such content offer a more personal experience, it is highly inspirational, offers audience value by giving them “news they can use” – a key component of monetization but relatively inexpensive to produce.

Our innovation is three-in-one: an e-Commerce platform, a reality TV show, and a second-hand furniture recycler. We recycle second-hand furniture, record a TV episode while at it and then sell that recycled furniture through an e-commerce App. We are also proposing a $5 weekly subscription for our content.

This model will be interoperable built within a mobile application that also has Web support. We believe this is a solutions journalism project that saves the environment and gives the audience value – the future of media.

Pitching for dummies
Standing before a mock panel for marks in Nairobi was much different from standing before a panel of judges with a request of $20,000. This being my first time, I watched a lot of YouTube videos of my favourite human marketer – Steve Jobs – the fallen Apple Inc. CEO.

Before the main pitch, we were invited for a rehearsal at the Innovation Village Hub in Ntinda – a Kampala suburb. At this point, I didn’t even have $20 to get around and yet I need to transport myself and my team to attend both events. I had to think fast. In 2017, I had asked an American friend visiting Uganda Christian University (UCU) where I worked then to be on our Board. Would she loan me $150?

“I’ll give you $200,” the woman (who asked not to be identified) typed. “But it’s not a loan. When you have money, remember this and help somebody else.”

The rehearsal went well. We had been told to fix our pitches in under seven minutes. I hit 7:24 seconds. Not bad for a first timer but if you have watched Shark Tank, not good either. People have squeezed million dollar ideas in under three minutes.

Sleeping at Matooke Republic
After that rehearsal, I decided that until I get the pitch in record time, I would not leave my office. I edit an online publication and while everyone was working from due to the COVID-19 guidelines, I slept in the office for four days rehearsing and fine-tuning my pitch. I would call in my team members; Edward Nimusiima, Patience Ndinawe, Nicholas Opolot, Ziyal Amanya, Agatha Muhaise, and Arthur Matsiko to go over details. The cost structures, profit projections, the numbers mostly to make sure the judges don’t catch me flatfooted. I am not a numbers person but I learned more in those four days that I had in all my 18 years in school.

Did we win? No. We didn’t. But when I walked out of the pitch room, someone I later found was very important walked to me and said, “If NMG doesn’t take you on, come to me. I’ll invest in you. But first, get some sleep!”

Alex Taremwa is a journalist, a graduate of UCU and an MA student at the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) of The Aga Khan University in Nairobi.

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