1. Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
Student Training for
Entrepreneurial Promotion
Session 10: Networking
S T E P
Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
Networks help you to be successful
• A big social network can help you accessing the
following resources
• financial capital
• other resources such as equipment, facilities, etc.
• information, advice, and ideas
• reputation (prominent strategic alliance partners)
• encouragement / (emotional) support when facing problems
• …
You will need other people for your venture!
The more people you know, the better!
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
Think of people that you know and that
might be helpful for your venture!
• Ties with other business persons
• top managers at buyer firms (distributors), at supplier firms, at
competitor firms
• membership in trade organizations, chamber of commerce, SBDC,
industry associations
• group activities of start-up colleagues / entrepreneurs, formal and
informal gatherings of entrepreneurs, contact to business communities
& owners, business networks
• customers
• research institutes
• financial institutions, banks
• law firms, lawyers / solicitors
• business consultants, external accountants
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
Think of people that you know and that
might be helpful for your venture!
• Ties with government officials
• political leaders in various levels of the government
• officials in industrial bureaus
• officials in regulatory and supporting organizations such as tax
bureaus, state banks, commercial administration bureaus
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
How to get in contact with all these people?
The 5-links-to-the-president principle
• We know almost everybody through intermediaries
• Via 5 links to the president
• Example: You – 1 – your father – 2 – colleague of your father – 3 – his
wife – 4 – sister of bodyguard of the president – 5 – the president
• Unfortunately, you don’t know who has what kind of
contacts with what types of resources.
• But if you spread the news, people for interesting
partnerships can come to you!
Let as many people as possible know that you
are starting a business! The news will spread.
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
How to get in contact with all these people?
The 5-links-to-the-president principle
• Who knows the president?
• Who knows a person personally who knows the
president?
• Who knows other very important persons (VIPs),
celebrities, influential people?
• Who knows a person personally who knows VIPs or the
like?
Now everybody “knows” the person via your
classmate.
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
How to get in contact with all these people?
The 5-links-to-the-president principle
• Taking a short-cut to the president: Super-connectors
• Super-connectors are people with relationships to many
other people.
• Getting in touch with super-connectors means getting in
touch a variety of other people via the super-connector.
Identify super-connectors and get in touch with
them!
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
How to Maintain Relationships: Trust
• Tell both sides of the story (the best, worst, most likely)!
• Reliability and Credibility: Fulfill your obligations and
deliver on your promises and commitments!
• Listen to others’ concerns and take them seriously!
• Show that you have other people’s interests in mind!
• Predictability and Consistency: No actions that
negatively surprise!
• Mutually Acceptable and Integer Actions: Do unto
others as you would have others do unto you (friendliness,
discretion and honesty)!
How to build a trustful relationship:
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
How to Maintain Relationships: Keeping
Records
• Make notes of whom you met with important information
(e.g., name, position, contact details, access to)!
• Get business cards!
• Note down intermediaries or paths how you can re-contact
a certain person!
Name Position (&
Institution)
Contact Details
(Mobile, Email)
Has access to
(resources,
persons)
Can be
accessed via
(person)
Keeping records to maintain and reactivate relationships:
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
Actively and Persistently Enlarging the
Social Network
• What contacts might be helpful for you right now?
• Who else might be helpful? What non-obvious people might be
helpful?
• Who will you contact?
• How, when, where can you approach them? What else can you
do to approach them / what will you do if your first plan fails?
• What contacts might be helpful for you in future?
• Who else might be helpful? What non-obvious people might be
helpful?
• Who will you contact?
• How, when, where can you approach them? What else can you
do to approach them / what will you do if your first plan fails?
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
Networking: The principles of action
Build a broad social network!
• Remember that you will need people – if not now, certainly
in future!
• Let as many people as possible know that you are starting a
business!
• Tell the people about your idea and the industry you are in!
Maintain your social network!
• Keep records of your contacts!
• Establish trustful relationships through showing reliability,
credibility, respecting and considering the other’s interests,
and integrity!
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Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
Take-Home Assignment (Overcoming
Barriers)
• Action Working Sheet 18 – Critical Risks
13. Makerere University Business School & Leuphana University of Lüneburg
in cooperation with Makerere University, Uganda Christian University, Kyambogo University & Kenyatta University
S T E P
Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion
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Promotion and its content is copyright of the STEP Consortium.
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