GENterpriser of the Month (April): Clara Chow

If there was such a thing as the GENterpriser of the Millennium… it would without doubt go to our fearless leader, Clara Chow.  She is such a constant driving force, that we often take for granted how much of rockstar she is.  I want to personally share a story about Clara that for me sums [...]

The Power of Focus: Getting GEN Back on Track

We started the year off strong. Vowing to “go big or go home” in 2012, we laid out a plan to expand our Fellows’ businesses, our team, and our incubator network.  With our partner Wiseup Foundation, we celebrated the graduation of our first cohort of Fellows at our Agege site and decided which businesses to [...]

GENterpriser of the Month (March): Roman Chappuis

Roman really embodies what it is to be a GENterpriser.  He is passionate, dedicated, creative and above all, a team player.  Roman took on a huge project a few months ago, revamping GEN’s outdated website.  Roman wears every hat possible… he is a web developer, graphic designer, storyteller, project manager, motivator, editor and advocate for [...]

A Primer on Development

Development is essential to the growth of GEN – and, by extension, our Fellows and their cities. It shapes how we work, what our teams focus on, who we’re reaching out to, and what are priorities are. Let’s dig into it. What’s Development all about? This is an important question that shapes how we work. It’s [...]

Reviewing and Revising

The Program team has been busy lately! We spent much of February preparing for the Agege graduation and watching the final business proposals start to take shape. We’ve been working closely with the Enterprise Portfolio team to ensure a fluid transition for the Fellows from graduation to their startup businesses. We’re so excited for this [...]

Learning from the Kony 2012 Movement

I’m not sure how many of you have seen the Kony 2012 video, or been a part of the debate around it, but it’s worthwhile to educate yourself about it if you haven’t already – and I think, as always, that there are lessons for GEN. The documentary, produced by Invisible Children, has gone viral: top [...]

Congrats to our Agege Graduates!

Graduation was a a day of exceeding pride for our Agege Fellows, their families, and for Generation Enterprise and Wise Up, as the Fellows received their certificates and officially became part of the GEN family. We would like to congratulate the Fellows on their success so far and wish them good luck as they transition [...]

GENterpriser of the Month (February): Elías Sánchez-Eppler

Each month, I like to honor one incredibly deserving GEN volunteer for his or her outstanding service and the impact he or she has created.  I’ve decided from here on out to use our blog as a tool for sharing this message, as I really want to shout it from the rooftops. I want the [...]

Blazing a Trail from the Informal to Formal Economy

There is another economy out there. Its edges are diffuse and it disappears the moment you try to catch it. It stands beyond the law, yet is deeply entwined with the legally recognised business world. It is based on small sales and tiny increments of profit, yet it produces, cumulatively, a huge amount of wealth. [...]

The Importance of Partnerships

GEN’s scaling strategy gives partnerships paramount importance. As a small organization, working with partners is the quickest way for our model to reach its full potential. Partnerships also let our model benefit from local knowledge and enthusiasm. And partners are interested in what we have to offer; our pilot program in Lagos has brought in [...]