<h1 style="text-align:center;">Resources for Effective Writing</h1>In the following post, we highlight helpful articles on effective writing, a key skill for any company to present themselves to customers and other stakeholders. Whether writing an email, a standard operating procedure or a blog for your customers, effective writing is important in every business. Below are four articles that we’ve found helpful on this topic:1. Email introductions are important when reaching out to a sales lead or a mentor for the first time. You need to stand out and there’s a lot of pressure to word your email just right. Here is a <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-an-email/?utm_source=grammarly&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=BlogNL&amp;utm_content=NL_080517&amp;utm_source=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=&amp;utm_content=">step-by-step guide</a>&nbsp;to introducing yourself on an email in the most effective way.&nbsp;2. High-impact executives write well for their intended audience. Moreover, writing is a process to promote clarity of thoughts. In today’s technological world, there are so many applications that can help you improve your writing. Here is a <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/blog/writing-apps/?utm_source=grammarly&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=BlogNL&amp;utm_content=NL_080517&amp;utm_source=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=&amp;utm_content=">list of 6 apps</a> for your phone or tablet that will put you on the fast-track to being a better writer.3. We all grapple with giving criticism in a positive way that enhances performance instead of hampering it. Being able to put a positive spin on a negative situation is always a key tool to have in your belt. Here are some <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/blog/5-simple-ways-write-negative-issues-positive-spin/?utm_source=BlogNL&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=081217_BlogNL&amp;utm_content=1A">simple ways to write about negative issues</a> in a more productive and positive light.4. The best writers are able to spin a story around a situation. Stories are an easier way to connect with an audience. Here are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.grammarly.com/blog/neil-gaiman-writing-tips/?utm_source=BlogNL&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=081217_BlogNL&amp;utm_content=1A">five strategies for perfecting your writing</a>&nbsp;from Neil Gaiman; a well-known writer of modern fiction.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/writing_image_4aebbbf7be.jpg"><figcaption>Source: <a href="../../../renewcapital.com/sites/default/files/writing_image.jpg">Wikipedia: Writing</a></figcaption></figure>

Four articles on effective writing techniques

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Resources for Effective Writing

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Why Our Investment Firm Decided to Launch a Mini-University</h1>When we set out to launch RENEW in Ethiopia, we aimed to build a company that would help shift the West’s focus from giving to investing in Africa (what nation can attribute its success to a history of giving?), and people thought we were crazy. When we chose to target companies that were stuck in a financing gap between micro-finance and larger private equity, our investment colleagues shook their heads and said “no way. It’s too much work.” But when we decided to launch a mini-university focused on building CFOs for our portfolio companies, and helping executives learn the fundamentals of planning and execution, everyone said “now, that might just work.” I am happy to say they were finally right.In May of this year, after years of observing, watching and making a healthy amount of mistakes, we packaged up all of the things we had learned and designed and kicked-off <a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/companies">the CFO 100 Program</a> and <a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/companies">The Executive’s Program</a>. For three months, we took a dedicated set of Ethiopia’s finest and most determined executive teams through what is covered over several years at a university, including topics from the CFA Program, ACCA papers, multiple board meetings, and a lot of consulting secrets and tips often only privy to companies with large budgets.During the Executive’s Program we focused mostly on the art of execution. Reflecting on my experience as a consultant, I was struck by the things I learned that were never taught in business school: How to run effective meetings; using my calendar to drive multiple projects forward each week; write a concise email that would get opened and elicit a response; plan and launch a project; evaluate and kill a bad project; design a meaningful performance metric; design an achievable but aggressive goal; communicate my plans to an executive team; etc. When I sat on my first board as an investor in a company in Ethiopia, I quickly realized that I was spending a large amount of my time explaining the why, what and how of these tools of execution. After multiple formal and sidebar discussions with executive teams and boards of the companies we invested in, the request was clear: This training is more valuable to us than the money, so do more of it. And thus the Executive’s Program was born.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/the_exchange_training_0_8ce8815152.jpg"></figure>One floor down, in the finance department, the same thing was happening but with the finance manager and his or her team. These were sharp people with degrees and designations. But they didn’t understand why or how to close their books each month, build and use a budget, constantly update their 13-week cash flow, decide whether to raise prices, or master the art of collections. After years of back-and-forth sessions cleaning up excel files and asking “why, why, why, why…” we decided to co-launch the CFO 100.Time will tell whether the Executive’s Program and the CFO 100 will truly impact the bottom line and drive returns to shareholders, though I am happy to report that the board meetings I attended, and the monthly financial reports we have received from our portfolio companies, just weeks after these programs finished have been a night-and-day difference.What have I taken away from this experience? When you set out to do something that has never been done and the world is telling you you’re crazy, you must always innovate and try something new. The business and operating models that work in California may not work in Ethiopia. We love this challenge at RENEW, and hope the CFO 100 and Executive’s Program will be something we look back on 20 years from now and say “now that worked!”

The what and why of The CFO 100 and The Executives’ Program

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Why Our Investment Firm Decided to Launch a Mini-University

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Mindset</h1>We recently finished our first <a href="">Executive's Program.</a> This article is a sneak peak at some of the content we cover during the program. If you are interested in participating in a future cohort, please <a href="">email</a> us.&nbsp;Let’s get right into it: Your mindset – specifically how you think and speak – is the most important habit to master and the defining characteristic of successful people. If your mind and words are consistently focused on success, you will succeed. Think it, speak it, and it happens.This month, I continued my study of top performers and their habits. Here is what I learned they all share in common about the mindset habit.<ul><li>They have a great morning routine: In my last email I give 10 steps to have a great morning (see below). A quality, morning routine is something almost all top performers do. Why? The morning impacts the rest of their day. If it starts bad, it’s hard to correct. So top performers engineer success into their mornings, creating a flywheel that carries them throughout the day. Their meditation, journaling, exercise and diet get their mind focused on success. So, engineer your mornings for success.<ul><li>They carefully manage their thoughts: I know too many negative people; which means I know too many people that will struggle for success. The unsuccessful complain – about their work, their feelings, their energy, their staff, other people. They get into and stay in a state of negative thinking and negative speaking. Top performers interrupt that pattern. When a negative thought comes into their mind they head it off, quick. They: 1) turn on a positive song; 2) step out into the fresh air; 3) write in their journal; 4) close their eyes and connect with a larger purpose; 5) go for a mid-day run; 6) meditate; 7) read their vision and mission statement (the purpose of a good vision is to inspire you when things are tough – remember?), or any combination of these. Top performers know they cannot stop the negative world around them. Rather, they master controlling negativity as it flies at them. What I have read is that, within 6 weeks of focused thought training, people can rewire their thought patterns to stay in the positive.</li></ul></li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/michael_jordan_0_393de17072.jpg"><figcaption>Source: <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/us-sports/nba-dunk-contest-dr-js-slam-still-soars-above-all-others/news-story/bd61fdd669be8ea56586694d60f61218">The Daily Telegraph: Feb. 11, 2016</a></figcaption></figure><ul><li>They mind their words: Closely related to prior point, your mind and mouth create a feedback loop – they reinforce each other in the positive and negative directions. Top performers say far fewer negative words. They choose to consciously not say negative things because they know the damage it creates in their mind and in the minds of others. One trick they use: Replace the word BUT with AND. For example, “Matt, that idea is interesting, BUT I don’t think it will work because not sharing your thoughts seems fake.” Here is an alternative: “Matt, that idea is interesting, AND…I see how my words can reinforce my thoughts and impact others around me.” Notice how AND forces you to be open. BUT shuts off conversation and innovation.<ul><li>They recharge: The successful know that to play hard they must recharge, frequently. They know 5 hours of rock star performance is better than 10 hours of OK performance. Here are some recharge habits I have found that the successful do: 1) cooking with their spouse, 2) exercise, 3) reading, 4) and playing with their kids (dogs in my case). If their energy is low, they happily recharge.</li></ul></li></ul>

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Mindset

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Our Favorite Resources This Month</h1>This month, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite, most thought-provoking articles. They range from Swedish startups, to the effect daughters have on hiring, to key tactics from Amazon, and lastly, assertiveness in the workplace. We hope you enjoy reading through these articles as much as we did.1. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/09/sweden-startups/541413/ target=">Why Does Sweden Have So Many Start-Ups?</a>: How a tiny country with high government spending bred a large number of vibrant young businesses.&nbsp;Stockholm produces the second-highest number of billion-dollar tech companies per capita after Silicon Valley.2. <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21729801-daughters-have-effect-hiring-policies-which-leads-greater-success-venture target=">Venture capitalists with daughters are more successful</a>: Daughters have an effect on hiring policies, which leads to greater success by avoiding consensus-driven groupthink. Gender diversity in business increases the diversity of thought, which leads to better decision-making.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:97.38%;"><img src="/uploads/knowledge_resources_1ec9bf8b72.jpg"><figcaption>Source: <a href="https://empower.eadtu.eu/fields-of-expertise/the-management-and-use-of-knowledge-resources/introduction/53-the-management-and-use-of-knowledge-resources">Empower: Higher Education</a></figcaption></figure>3. <a href="http://firstround.com/review/amazons-friction-killing-tactics-to-make-products-more-seamless/ target=">Amazon’s Friction-Killing Tactics To Make Products More Seamless</a>:&nbsp;Friction is an obstacle that prevents a user from trying or using a product or service. Although the lessons are for online products, there are insights for small businesses in the offline retail.4. <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40474378/how-to-be-more-assertive-at-work-when-thats-just-not-your-personality target=">How To Be More Assertive At Work When That’s Just Not Your Personality</a>: It’s your job to ask for things. Here’s how to be more comfortable with getting what you want.

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Our Favorite Resources This Month

<h1 style="text-align:center;">March 2018 Resource Blog</h1>This month, we've collected articles about a few retail companies and the steps and tools they used to build and scale themselves into global brands.<ul><li>As Ethiopia is gradually welcoming global retail brands to start operations in the country, entrepreneurs can learn a detailed case study on Trader Joe's and understand <a href="http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_understanding_trader_joes_final.pdf">how the company started and grew operations</a>. The presentation captures Trader Joe's journey from a conventional convenience store into an upmarket store from 1957 onwards.</li><li>Once you have an idea, then the next step is to <a href="https://piktochart.com/blog/startup-pitch-decks-what-you-can-learn/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialmedia&amp;utm_campaign=design">create a pitch deck to present to investors</a>. Almost everyone spends many hours in building a pitch deck irrespective of the fundraising amount. You can find pitch decks of Airbnb, YouTube, LinkedIn and 27 other companies and learn from what they presented to the investors when they were raising money.</li><li>Amazon has $5.6 billion in income which comes from the simplicity of experience, process, and functionality. <a href="https://www.fastcodesign.com/90160960/the-design-theory-behind-amazons-5-6-billion-success?utm_source=pocket&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=pockethits">Amazon's success</a> is unusual in the design community: Successful design is not necessarily beautiful.</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_04_03_at_12_34_09_pm_8b3c54f861.png"></figure><a href="http://www.outline-world-map.com/group-gray-white-areas">Image Source: Outline World Map Images</a>&nbsp;

Tools to help company's scale and become global brands

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March 2018 Resource Blog

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Resources for Executives</h1>A high-powered executive has to make various decisions each day in the business. For May, our resource blog focuses on understanding how to make better decisions while avoiding the biases.<ul><li><a href="https://hbr.org/2018/03/research-learning-a-little-about-something-makes-us-overconfident?utm_source=Daily+AR&amp;utm_campaign=13d0cd88a4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_c08a59015d-13d0cd88a4-140324189">Research: Learning a Little About Something Makes Us Overconfident</a>: As an executive, one of the major pitfalls is being overconfident. HBR's research focuses on overconfidence as people tackle new challenges and learn. To be a beginner is to be susceptible to undue optimism and confidence. This article explores the exact shape and timeline of that overconfidence.</li><li><a href="https://tim.blog/2018/03/25/daniel-pink/?utm_source=Daily+AR&amp;utm_campaign=bc7a3f10ec-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_c08a59015d-bc7a3f10ec-140324189">Daniel Pink - How to Make Better Decisions and Be More Creative</a>: This podcast explores how to make better decisions, ask better questions, and be more creative. Daniel Pink is the author of six books which have won multiple awards and have been translated into 37 languages.</li><li><a href="https://www.fs.blog/2018/03/margaret-heffernan/?utm_source=Daily+AR&amp;utm_campaign=bc7a3f10ec-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_c08a59015d-bc7a3f10ec-140324189">Company Culture, Collaboration, and Competition</a>: This podcast has a discussion with Margaret Heffernan, who is a speaker, international executive, and five-time author. The discussion is about how to get the most out of your people, creating a thriving culture of trust and collaboration, and how to prevent potentially devastating "willful blindness".</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/executives_42a30fa982.jpg"></figure>

Understanding how to make better decisions while avoiding the biases.

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Resources for Executives

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Africa Investment Index 2018</h1>The Africa Investment Index (AII) developed by Quantum Global aims to integrate tools to measure "multidimensional concepts for assessing the investment attractiveness of African countries over time" (pg. 4). Developed in April 2017, Quantum Global tries to provide investors with a full view of the current investment climate in all 54 African countries. The Index is meant to show the overall attractiveness of each country in the short and medium term.This report can help investors to see the ever-changing opportunities and risks from country to country. The AII gives a full view of the country and allows investors to make decisions based on an overall macroeconomic outlook. If using this from a business point of view, it can be used as a tool to identify well performing economies. From a policy standpoint, it can help understand where Foreign Direct Investment typical goes, and how to attract additional capital based on benchmarking and monitoring (pg. 4).<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_04_30_at_4_01_58_pm_0_6b9d73c2b1.png"></figure>Using the AII, Quantum Global provides a ranking of all 54 countries based off six criteria: Economic Growth Factors, Liquidity Factors, Risk Factors, Business Environmental Factors, Demographic Factors and a measure of Social Capital. Here is a breakdown of what each factor includes:<ul><li>Economic Growth Factors: GDP growth, domestic investment, size of economy</li><li>Liquidity Factors: level of domestic real estate interest rates, excess money supply</li><li>Risk Factors: credit rating of the country, risks of currency depreciation, import-cover ratio, current account balance and external debt levels</li><li>Business Environment Factors: based off a micro-institutional index developed by the World Bank</li><li>Demographic Factors: size of the population, potential market</li><li>Social Capital Factor: level of networks, knowledge and connections</li></ul>As of their 2018 report, the current top 10 countries include: Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, Ethiopia, Zambia, Kenya and Senegal (pg. 3).<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:92.28%;"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_05_01_at_5_00_38_pm_2a7dad796d.png"></figure>One theme the report touched on was foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa. They've found that FDI's are typically declining (as of 2016), but there are reports which indicate that inflows of capital will likely increase in the next few years. Currently, the United States is the largest contributor of FDI's to the continent, followed next by the United Kingdom, France, China and South Africa (pg. 6).A few of the findings from the report focused on Ethiopia include:<ul><li>Ethiopia topped the individual ranking for the Economic Growth factor, followed by Algeria, Mozambique, Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire.</li><li>Ethiopia sustained an average GDP growth rate of 8.4%. This was bolstered by public infrastructure investment.</li><li>Domestic investments reached 40% of the country's GDP. (pg. 10).</li><li>Ethiopia ranked in the top four for most populous countries, scoring highly on demographic factors.</li><li>Over the past four years, Ethiopia had the following ranking based off the AII: 15 in 2015, 15 in 2016, 21 in 2016 and 7 in 2017 (pg. 13).</li></ul>Read the full report here <a href="http://quantumglobalgroup.com/knowledge-hub/indices/africa-investment-index/">Africa Investment Index 2018</a>&nbsp;

Ethiopia ranked in top 10 in 2018 report.

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Africa Investment Index 2018

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Ethiopia Emerges (Chigign 'Tobiya)</h1>It's really not too often that the stars align so well with a vision we had in our head at RENEW, but knew we couldn't pull off without the right people, becomes a reality.That's just what happened with the upcoming TV series, Chigign 'Tobiya, which will appear on Fana TV, Friday's at 8:30 PM. Girmay Haile Gebreselassie is the visionary behind the show. He has written and directed two movies, three plays and has a solid career in IT.Chigign is a reality TV show dedicated to elevating entrepreneurship and Ethiopian entrepreneurs who are innovating in IT, the arts, education and general business. The show aims to encourage and educate youth and the society at large about the importance of innovation, entrepreneurship, private equity, angel investing and the private sector in general in Ethiopia. The program will be produced by his company Tonetor. RENEW is proud to be a sponsor, for members of our Investment Committee to sit on the panel and also to be investing in the winning entrepreneurs.Visit <a href="https://youtu.be/GyovqM8acCY">YouTube</a> to view a short program clip or <a href="http://www.tonetormultimedia.com/">HERE</a> to see the advertisement.Show Name: Chigign 'Tobiya (Chigign mean sapling/sprout and 'Tobiya is an old name for Ethiopia). Our English definition for Chigign Tobiya is Ethiopia Emerges.Air Times: Tune in the following dates to view the first episodes.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_05_02_at_11_16_52_am_f32731bfcc.png"></figure>&nbsp;The Concept: Chigign 'Tobiya is a platform for the entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, contracts and coaching. Entrepreneurs will appear and pitch, in a concept that combines Shark Tank and American Idol, if they pass to the next show, the Chigign team and in some cased the judges will provide coaching to help them enhance their business concept to make it to the final round where they will be eligible for an investment from the panel's fund.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/chigign_tobiya_94171a620d.jpg"></figure>Get Involved:<ul><li>Pitch Your Company or Idea - The Chigign 'Tobiya team will choose more than 30 entrepreneurs each season and have them pitch their company or idea for a chance to appear on the show.</li><li>Be an Investor in the Fund - Be a permanent or rotating investor on Chigign 'Tobiya. Hear pitches, mentor entrepreneurs and vote with the panel to allocate the fund to finalist entrepreneurs. Not interested in appearing on the show. You can still invest in an ETB fund which will be managed in a partnership between RENEW and Tonetor.</li><li>Be a Sponsor - The Chigign 'Tobiya team is looking for sponsors interested in encouraging Ethiopian youth and the society at large towards entrepreneurship and innovation. In return, you will receive good press and a variety of benefits as part of your CSR program.</li><li>Ecosystem Partner - Do you work with Ethiopian entrepreneurs? We'd love to add value to your program by having your entrepreneurs pitch on the program.</li></ul>

Proudly partnering to build Ethiopia's entrepreneurship and angel ecosystem

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Ethiopia Emerges (Chigign 'Tobiya)

<h1 style="text-align:center;">June’s Resource Blog</h1>This month, we've collected a great list of articles with topics that range from high-potential personality traits, answering emails and how to be a great storyteller. All these articles will help you succeed both professionally and personally. Read more below:<ul><li><a href="http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-the-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality?utm_source=pocket&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=pockethits">The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality</a>: Are you curious, conscientious and competitive? Do you also have the more mysterious qualities of “high adjustment”, “ambiguity acceptance” and “risk approach”? If so, congratulations! According to new psychological research, these six traits constitute a “high potential” personality that will take you far in life. (BBC)</li><li><a href="https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/why-is-email-so-stressful/?utm_source=pocket&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=pockethits">Why is Answering Email So Stressful?</a>: The average professional spends 4 hours per day responding to work emails. One 2016 study found that people consistently report checking their email as one of their most stressful daily activities, especially when their email arrives via “push” feature on a device. The article talks about e-mail discipline and how to make work feel more controllable. (Fatherly)</li><li><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40567260/want-to-be-a-great-storyteller-first-break-these-habits?utm_source=pocket&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=pockethits">Want To Be A Great Storyteller? First, Break These Habits</a>: The story you decide to tell matters just as much as how you decide to tell it. You’ve heard dozens of times that you’re more likely to engage your audience when you tell a story in your presentation. A story that’s powerful and relevant can galvanize people and inspire action. But even otherwise great stories can be told badly. Here are few pitfalls you’ll need to avoid to make sure you don’t sabotage your own storytelling. (Fast Company)</li></ul><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_05_29_at_8_47_08_am_65429b1390.png"></figure>Image Source: BBC: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-the-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality?utm_source=pocket&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=pockethits">The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality</a>

Articles to help you succeed both professionally and personally.

Business Resources