Page 35 - Annual SMART Symposium 2021

Partner Reflections on SMART

The COVID-19 Pandemic has not only had negative effects on the health
sector in Rwanda but as well SMEs including Carl Group. Due to these

effects, we are finding all ways to recover.
Working with SMART team helped to design documents that will help
the company to get funds from different partners. This will help us

continue to operate as normal. I want to thank the SMART team for the
wonderful work they were able to do.
(Regis Umugiraneza, Founder & Director, The CARL Group, Rwanda)

Our engagement with the Cornell SMART teams has been quite short

but loaded with content that still impacts us to-date. SMART
deliverables act as a stimulant to keep professionalizing our business
functions (marketing, HR, Operations, IT). Using ideas and materials

developed by the SMART teams, we’ve managed to win a grant to
further work with smallholder beekeepers. Many thanks to the SMART
teams for supporting local solutions to local challenges while sharing

our diverse worlds.
(Brian Mugisha, Co-Founder & CEO, Golden Bees Ltd., Uganda)

The SMART team was very helpful and gave us an insight on how a business

should be organized and run. We shared how to mitigate on problems and
maximize on the success.
(Sammy Williey, Founder & CEO, Palabana Fisheries, Zambia)

Given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been
transitional challenges and through the thought process and implementation
of my new business venture, I really valued and appreciated my experience

with the SMART team this year. From my virtual conversations with the
students to the final deliverables, I always glean new insights and ideas that
keep me thinking ‘outside the box’—to grow my business. The SMART

experience is truly about mutual exchange as we learn from each other!
(Tei Mukunya, CEO, NatureLock LLP—formerly CEO of Azuri Health Ltd.)