The importance of networking

This morning at 7.30am the Kenya ICT Board (www.ict.go.ke held an open forum for the Kenya BPO & Contact Centre Society an umbrella organisation for all things outsourcing. I was to make a short presentation on some of the work we are doing on their portal, but I arrived a few minutes late so I wasn't slotted in, even though I was disappointed having worked on the powerpoint the previous night I opted to stay and hear what was to be said.

Several presentations and a Q&A session later the forum was over and the opportunity to network was given to all attendees. In my view the networking opportunities presented at such functions far outweighs the content of the presentations, for a small business or an entrepreneur this cannot be overstated. Many times in my discussions with techies I take the time to point out the fact that successful businesses, partnerships and deals are made at such forums, one must take advantage of them fully. Case in point, out of the interactions I got today I was able to secure about 4 prospective clients, these are clients I would not have had the chance to meet at the same place at the same time.

Entrepreneurs in Kenya (technology entrepreneurs specifically) need to understand that business isn't all about coding and hardware, the two activities only require training, the challenge is to walk out there , represent your business effectively, network with industry players and seize business opportunities that present themselves. The entrepreneur needs to seek out networking opportunities with decision makers and not decision takers.

To learn more about this author, visit John Wesonga's Website.

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