Last week, from July 3rd to 5th, we hosted a richly packed CCC 4.0 Clinic Masterclass. This virtual event on ZOOM was a great opportunity to draw from the deep-seated knowledge of experts and best speakers in various fields to impact a wide range of audiences from tech enthusiasts, young talents, entrepreneurs, business savvy developers and more, and the conversations were centered around the basics of creating and presenting a winning business proposal anytime.

As the name implies, the CCC Clinic Masterclass aimed to rejuvenate, finetune, hone, and sharpen the skills of young talents across Africa and boost youth participation in the continent’s economy. This was a preparatory event for the CCC4.0 boot camp participants, who learned how to build and present their proposals. The sessions covered Product 101, Business Model Canvas, Corporate Branding, Investment Pitch Deck, and Presentation.

With the dust now settled on the engaging masterclass, here’s a look back at three key takeaways from the event on how to up your business game:

Product 101 - Mustapha Akanni, Product Manager, AFEX

The product should meet the basic needs of your client, not what you assume is important. To achieve that, you must conduct a user research. This means putting yourself in the users’ shoes and focusing on the problems they want to solve. Listen without suggesting solutions. You don’t want to influence them to say what you expect.

User personas are fictional characters that represent your ideal users. They help you to understand the needs and motivations of your users. Prepare specific questions to ask. Don’t ask leading questions because they only give you yes/no answers. You want to discover what people want and keep it concise and comprehensive.

Business model canvas - Nathaniel Etim, Co-Founder, and Chief Executive Officer SP FORA

The strategy is not independent; it depends on industry analysis, customer/marketplace trends, environmental forecast, competitor analysis, and internal strengths, weaknesses, and resources assessment.

Also, note that PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environment) is an analysis that evaluates (macro) external factors affecting a business situation and emphasizes the important Cs in a business: Customer Relationships, Channels, and Customer Segments. Another crucial part of business modeling is identifying your key partners and key activities for your product/service. It determines how everything you need for your business will be arranged.

Brand Strategy 101 - Dozie Anyaegbunam, Senior Content and SEO Manager UserGems

Before launching your business, you need to address some essential questions to build a corporate brand. These include: What’s the business idea & plan? What’s the business purpose, vision, mission, values, audience, proposition, and positioning? How will you design your logo, tone of voice, color palette, photography, and typography?

You can access the PowerPoint presentations specially prepared by these experts by clicking here.

Code Cash Crop is a fun space to learn and create solutions for business growth challenges in agriculture. We invite you to join us again at the CCC 4.0 grand finale on the 12th of August 2023 at the Landmark Event Center, Victoria Island, Lagos. Click here.