In late January, Tony Cnudde of the NGO VIA Don Bosco traveled to Cotonou, Benin's largest city, to attend the "boost camp" of OVO's SusTech4Africa program. Through this intercultural program, OVO aims to support and promote sustainable entrepreneurship in Africa. Two former students from VIA Don Bosco's partner school in Cotonou participated with their business "Esprit Lumière".
SusTech4Africa helps starting entrepreneurs with African roots to optimize their business plans and make them more sustainable. After a thorough selection, 14 entrepreneurs were invited to participate in a multi-day "boost camp" under the guidance of Belgian and African experts. The participants were immersed into matters of business management, marketing, the business model canvas, doing business according to the SDGs and much more.
After the in-depth training, the businesses were judged by an external jury. The best entrepreneurs had a chance to obtain a social loan and were allowed to continue working on the success of their business with intensive remote coaching during the next stage.