ARED Solar Kiosk is more than a one stop shop destination for mobile users in rural and semi urban area of Africa.  As an organization, ARED also provides entrepreneurship opportunities through its franchise model.  ARED was founded in January 2013 by Henri Nyakarundi, an entrepreneur at heart.  Since its inception, Henri has experienced first hand the opportunities and challenges entrepreneurs face on the continent.  He joined us on our bi-monthly #Elle101 twitter chats to discuss entrepreneurship in Africa.

On obstacles faced as an Entrepreneur in Africa

Amongst the many obstacles faced as an entrepreneur in Africa, access to capital, lack of product development and fragmented marketplaces are top on the list.

On how effective and sustainable is crowfunding as an alternative funding method

On how African government can support entrepreneurs to grow

Governments are critical to fostering a friendly environment for entrepreneurs, from enacting laws that makes a business registration process easy to providing subsidies and grants.

On how to stay ahead of the competition

Competition is fierce and new ideas/concepts/products are flooding the African markets everyday, how does one stay competitive?

On empowering women

As a blogzine committed to women empowerment, we had to ask Henri to tell us how his company is playing a role in empowering women in Africa.

On how can women overcome obstacles when becoming entrepreneurs

As a growing number of women are choose entrepreneurship instead of more traditional roles, they are sure to face obstacles and have to become creative and smart in overcoming them.

On success

We asked Henri how he defines success for ARED.

On Failure

There is no success without failure and they are both equally important, one would argue!

For more information on Henri and his company ARED, follow them on twitter or visit ARED website

#ELLE101 is our Twitter chat which takes place every first Friday of the month at 3pm (London Time). The chat which is hosted from our twitter account (@elleafrique), typically lasts for an hour and discusses different topics with a special guest. #ELLE101 provides you with the chance to network and grow your circle (and knowledge!) through shared interests.