The Braid Box: Fostering Integration & Community through Hair Care

Danelle Thompson-Steinke has a talent for hair braiding and afro hair care. Since coming to Switzerland in 2014, she has met many families needing support in looking after their children’s African hair. Looking around, Danelle quickly realized that there was no one in the area who could offer specialized hair care to these families, so she took matters into her own hands and created The Braid Box.

At the start, Danelle would visit her clients as part of her mobile salon service. Nowadays, she has her own space in a salon in Schwamendingen, Zurich, where parents can go with their children for their afro-textured hair care and hair styling needs. 

In an interview with journalist Rossana A. Ammann, the founder of the The Braid Box and participant of the SINGA Factory talks about her motivation behind building her business, noting in particular her clients’ appreciation of the advice and cultural lessons she gives and the self-confidence children visibly gain with time from embracing their natural hair.

Danelle will be with The Braid Box at the WEGA Fair in Weinfelden, Canton Thurgau, 26th – 30th September 2019. WEGA is one the most popular family fairs for all generations in the region.

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Rossana: What does braiding and hair care mean to you?  

Danelle: I believe that hair care and hair braiding is not just part of a routine, but is a strong social tool that can bring together people from different cultural backgrounds.

How did you start doing that? How did you realize it?  

Danelle: When I was visiting clients and their children at their homes, I realized that hair care was not the only thing they needed help with. Parents with adopted children from Africa for example are raising children from a different cultural background. The children ask questions that their adoptive parents sometimes cannot answer. So even though the business started for hair care, it’s become much more than that. It’s social, it’s cultural. It’s about building a supportive community for the kids and the parents.

 

Danelle has been doing hair since her university days studying International Business Management. “That was the skill I used in university and college to make some extra money: by braiding hair!”, the SINGApreneur says.

At the moment, she is supporting over 13 families in St. Gallen, Zurich and Thurgau – some of them since 2015. Now that she has opened her salon in Schwamendingen, Zurich, she wants to reach more clients who could benefit from her unique hair care services.

Besides braiding hair, Danelle also consults her clients and imparts know-how on how to best manage and care for unique hair types. For example, she will teach some night-time hair care routines 3 to 4 times, the goal being that after that the parents or children can do it themselves.

What concerns do the parents have when coming to you with their children? Not only about hair but culturally speaking…

Danelle: I have built a relationship with the parents so that they feel comfortable talking about many things. Usually, they won’t directly tell me what is happening, but they will ‘let me in’ softly. One day, a parent asked me how I deal with a child asking about “white or black families”, or why their hair is the way it is and if people can touch it or not. Children observe things. They see and ask questions and it doesn’t matter how old they are. Parents want to know how to deal with such questions.

 

Being from a migrant background, I had to figure out a way to get in touch with people around me and in my community. Realizing that braids are so loved here in Switzerland, I decided to add The Braid Bar to my services. It’s been a big success!

 

 

Where do you see The Braid Box going in the next 5 years?

Danelle: I see the business growing but also reaching more people outside of my original target audience. I want to continue building a community for families who need this kind of support. In the next five years, I also see us potentially working with the Gemeinden (municipalities) in different cantons of Switzerland.

 

Who is the target audience then?

Danelle: I have more than one. First, mixed race families with adopted children, whom I support with afro hair care. Also children – and of course adults – with straight, curly and all hair types (for individual treatment). There is no age limit, however, if we start instilling the practice of taking care of one’s hair early, it makes it easier for children later.

You also have a party service called “The Braid Bar”, which anyone can book. Tell us more!

“The Braid Bar” is ideal as additional entertainment at birthday parties, hen parties or any fun social festival or event and is appropriate for all hair types. We come to you, you pick your braid from our colourful menu and we make sure you have a fun time with it. The Braid Bar is actually part of our “Integration through Hair” initiative. Being from a migrant background, I had to figure out a way to get in touch with people around me and in my community. Realizing that braids are so loved here in Switzerland, I decided to create this service. It has been a big success. So far I have done several events since launching The Braid Bar.

 

Danelle Steinke is originally from Jamaica and, as a migrant woman with a different (complicated) hair type, the stories of her clients and children touch her personally. She wants to reduce the frustration of both parents and kids and support them in managing their hair care needs in a more positive, empowering way.

Do you currently need any support?

Danelle: Yes. Financial support is always welcome – to expand the salon, to buy equipment and products, to invest in marketing, just to name a few.  I would also like to do a course in the USA: it would prepare me to better serve my clients by expanding on my knowledge and skills in afro-textured hair care, but it costs a lot.

 

My clients and their children motivate me to go further, also the ones I haven’t reached yet. I want to be the person who tells them to love their hair and be authentic.

 

 

What advice would you give people who would like to start their own business in Switzerland?

Danelle: First, mentally prepare yourself for a roller-coaster of a journey. It is not easy but if you want to do it, go for it and don’t do it alone – try to find support from a local organization, like SINGA. And when you feel down, don’t stay down. Lift yourself up and keep moving forward. You have to! Especially if you are not from here and you want to start a business in the country you have to seek support and push yourself.

What drives you and motivates you every day to keep going? 

Danelle: The children I support. My clients. They drive me, I feel I have to do this for them. As a woman, you love your hair and when your hair is good then you feel at your best. The children motivate me to go further, also the ones I haven’t reached yet. I know the impact it will have on their confidence, their mentality and their future. We want to be the middle person – between parents and kids – who tells them to love their hair and be authentic.

 

 

Good to know:

The Braid Box Salon is located at Dübendorferstrasse 17, Schwamendingen, Zürich

To book her services online you can visit: https://www.thebraidbox.ch/book-online 

Future events:

• From 26th – 30th September 2019: Visit The Braid Box at the WEGA fair in Weinfelden, Canton Thurgau.
• By the end of 2019 – beginning of 2020: There is going to be a workshop for the first time to bring parents together and support them with information about hair care. 

You can also contact Danelle Steinke via phone +41 79 405 3732 or write her at thebraidboxswiss@gmail.com. 

You can follow The Braid Box on Facebook and Instagram. 

 

 

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational talent development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

Entrepikit: Empowering young generations to embrace change through play

Cycle 3 of the SINGA Factory program has officially started! In an interview with journalist Rossana A. Ammann, SINGApreneurs Clelia Calabrò and Daniela Victorino, the team behind Entrepikit, talk about how they are supporting teenagers to look for ways to change the future and make a positive impact in the world.

Entrepikit are launching a 3-day Summer Innovation Camp called “Hack your Future!” that will take place 7th – 9th of August 2019 in Zurich. It is designed to help young people develop Entrepreneurial Thinking and “the mindset needed to adapt to a very unpredictable future.” Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to “turn their ideas into solutions.” 

Clelia and Daniela want to show young people in Switzerland that, by becoming risk takers, team builders, and game changers, they too can shape the future.

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Rossana: How would you describe Entrepikit in few words?

Clelia: We play for ideas.

Daniela: We empower younger generations to make a positive impact in the world and shape the future.

Tell us more about the business and what led you to the idea.

Clelia: While doing research for my Master’s degree in “Culture Policy and Management” in London, I observed that individuals are struggling to keep up with changes on the job market. One of them is the demand for life-long learning. Driven by my work experience and studies, I came up with an online game where you could train yourself to learn entrepreneurial skills. This initial idea has then gone through different iterations, that’s why we are now testing workshops with the same content.

Daniela: I am a user researcher with experience working with multidisciplinary teams in-house and at agencies. I joined Clelia last year because with my background in Innovation and User Research I found it really interesting how understanding people’s needs and walking in their shoes has a positive impact on how you solve problems and face challenges. Since last year, we have been working on refining the concept, the product, what we want to offer and who the target customer is.

 

Daniela comes from Colombia and Clelia from Italy. They met in Zurich in 2018 after moving to Switzerland for new job opportunities for them and their families. They are in the process of exploring the Swiss environment and developing the product to know more about what and where there is a need.

Clelia is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator with experience in Market Research and Project Coordination in tech companies, while Daniela has a Master’s in Innovation and Design Management and a background in Retail Design and Architecture. 

They will be the ones leading the workshops at the “Hack your Future!” event in August, which is for teenagers between 16 and 19 years old. The event is all about the participants getting to know themselves, exploring with others and unlocking their creative and entrepreneurial potential.

 

What is Hack your Future! about? 

Clelia: During the three days participants will work on understanding themselves through LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, because if you want to bring skills to the table you have to understand what you are capable of. Then they will work on the creation of an idea through design thinking. Afterwards, they will develop a prototype and pitch their ideas. It’s a competition and there is a winner and a prize. Along with the Entrepikit team, some other mentors will be part of the jury who will support us with selecting the winning team.

What role does “gamification” play in your business idea?

Clelia: At Entrepikit, the whole point is that the learning experience is not only project or content based but also game based – this is where gamification and playfulness comes in. Participants are immersed in a completely different learning experience, which is not vertical, frontal or just pouring information into your brain, but is interactive, playful. When people play they put all their best skills on the table, so the drive is much higher, collaboration has a meaning, and that is why we have this element embedded in the personality of the business. We use the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology, and we are aiming at gamifying the experience even further.

Where do you see the business going in the next 5 years?

Clelia: I guess the ultimate goal would be to build the final product so as to provide support in diverse markets: retail, sales, education etc. Now we are focusing on providing a service for teenagers, which is about learning and sharing content, but eventually we would like to switch this into a product. Geographically speaking, this way of teaching entrepreneurial skills could be implemented worldwide!

 

We want teenagers to understand that entrepreneurial skills are not only useful for building a company but are also what we call “skills for life.”

 

Who is your target group?

Clelia: Mainly young people from 15 to 19 years old. However, our first event will be focused on a narrower age group: from 16 to 19. These teenagers will be at the point where they are on the brink of making a very big life decision: whether or not to go to university. 

Do participants need experience in entrepreneurship to participate?

Clelia: We would actually like to encourage people that have no clue about entrepreneurship, but would like to do something positive for the world. It is not about starting your own company. That’s the whole point. It’s about embracing an entrepreneurial mindset and thinking. 

Daniela: What we have also learned while developing this project is that the future of work is also changing because companies are looking for skills that were previously not valued or known about as much. Entrepreneurial skills will help you face personal and business challenges, improve the way you do your job, or the way you find a job. Companies today value these kinds of skills and attitudes more and more. 

 

Do you currently need any support?

Clelia: Support is always needed! We will need financial support especially after this first event because we will decide if and how to scale. We don’t want to prototype forever. We want to start selling the product so we need to figure out what’s the best fit for the business.

Daniela: Networking is really important for us because we don’t have a huge network in Switzerland and we need to connect with local schools to reach our target audience. It has been difficult for us to get in touch with them. It would be important for us to start conversations with schools about the need for and value of encouraging entrepreneurial thinking amongst students. 

Playing is a very “serious” thing. People find a lot of motivation in doing what they do when they play. 

 

What advice would you give other people who want to start a business in Switzerland?

Clelia: To never give up! For me it has been a learning journey. There are always challenges and road bumps you cannot predict at the beginning, then they happen but you have to keep pushing yourself. It is not about not giving up on your idea, if it’s not a good idea, just give up on the idea, you know? But don’t give up on the entrepreneurial journey. 

Daniela: For me I think it’s about having an opportunity. Building our business here has been an opportunity to do something more. There are organizations here supporting you on that journey, like SINGA, the Impact Hub and others. In this regard, Switzerland is a good place to start your business. It is important that you know what opportunities are there for you and that you can find support and really use it.

What drives you and motivates you every day to keep going?

Clelia: Witnessing the project evolving. Every step pushes me to go further.

Daniela: As a team I always feel motivated by Clelia. Her passion for doing this really inspires me. I was not thinking about being an entrepreneur myself last year, not at all. I was fighting to find a job, like most people would do. Then I met her and it’s very motivating to see there is a way for us to do this. 

 

Good to know:

Registrations for the 3-Day Summer InnovationCamp ‘Hack your future!’ are already open.

When? 7th – 9th of August 2019; 10:00am to 5:00pm. 

Where? Dynamo Jugendkulturhaus, right above the Limmat.

Who can attend? Participants between 16 to 19 years old. 

To know more about the 3-day Summer-Camp, here is a short video.

You can contact Clelia Calabrò and Daniela Victorino via LinkedIn or by writing them at entrepikit@gmail.com, or join their Workshop for Wannabe Entrepreneurs MeetUp events.

Follow Entrepikit on Facebook  Instagram Twitter 

 

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational talent development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

Life in transition. Where the journey matters more than the final destination. That is what you can see in the adventures and different experiences of SINGApreneur Viola Snophan. In an interview with Rossana A. Ammann for the SINGA Factory, Viola talks about her personal journey and tells the story behind Suvai, her developing business idea.

Since studying at Dental University, Viola has lived in Bangalore and Chennai in India, and in Singapore, until the end of 2006 when her family moved to Switzerland for new professional opportunities. Some years later, she finished her Master’s at ETH Zurich in ‘Health Science and Technology’ , which fueled her interest in nutrition and well-being.

In 2018, while participating in the SINGA Factory startup program, Viola started volunteering at the Impact Hub Viadukt every Thursday, as a Hubonaut or “community host”, facilitating the communication between people in those spaces. She also had the opportunity to do an internship in Business Development.

Rossana: What did you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?

Viola: The best thing is the networking! I already met around 50 people through the program. All the experts who led the workshops were also really open to being contacted again. I am not a very open person who goes and talks to everyone, but I used my chances wisely to get support from the network that SINGA provided me. On the personal side, they are also very supportive. The team itself: they are very compassionate. Whenever I need something, I know I could just call them.

From all the workshops you participated in, is there one you would mention as being really interesting and special?

Viola: The co-founding workshop by Jana Nevrlka was really good. It was interesting to gain insights into why you need a co-founder, even if you thought you didn’t need one, and the advantages of it. Another major milestone is the relationship with my SINGA Factory mentor, Nino Berta, who has been an incredible source of support. I still meet him every other week and he supported me in developing my business idea. We brainstormed a lot together and he supported me with creating flyers and everything.

What would you advise people who would like to start their own projects but think they don’t have the time, energy, courage or ‘perfect moment’ to do it?

Viola: If you are passionate about what you are doing, you will find the time to do it. In terms of opportunities: you have plenty of chances out there! Go out and look for them and use them to your best advantage. Switzerland has many different opportunities for entrepreneurs. It’s just a matter of finding them and investing the time in it.

For Viola, the simpler the way of cooking and eating the better and healthier it is. She ensures that five or six basic ingredients are enough for most Indian meals and that’s why she wants to encourage and inform people about how to incorporate simple ingredients found in Switzerland in Indian recipes. She challenges the belief that if you want to cook Indian food, you have to make a special trip to an Indian store.

It is, however, not only about the meals. Viola wants to share the whole Indian experience. That is, that people learn more about the Indian culture, traditions and ways of seeing and understand life. Such as sharing time together and keeping each other healthy.

What would you like people to know about Indian culture?

Viola: Indian culture is diverse and the people are very friendly, although they don’t always seem to be so diplomatic or polite. They just put themselves out there and trust. If they don’t like something, they will show it, they don’t hold back (laughs)!

What is your favorite Indian meal?

Viola: Biriyani! It’s basically a rice and meat dish. You don’t need to have a side dish with Biriyani, everything is in there. It’s an easy, clever dish and a great comfort food.

What would you say are the most important ingredients for an Indian meal?

Viola: There is a difference between Southern and Northern Indian dishes. In the North the sauces are creamier and more buttery. I hail from the South, where the cuisine is simple but healthy and yummy. If I could pick six key ingredients, they would be: onion, garlic, ginger, chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder (Kurkuma). All of this matches wonderfully with vegetarian meals or meat based dishes.

The SINGApreneur started working on her business idea, Suvai, during the SINGA Factory. She wants people to understand that Indian cuisine is not as complicated as it seems. For the moment, and because she currently lives in Switzerland, her audience is the Swiss community and people from other cultures that are interested in knowing more about Indian food and ingredients, where to find them and their benefits.

“I got interested in startups, I had conversations with people that have their own companies and I thought that I could also do something similar and related to nutrition”, explains the SINGApreneur.

How did you start to work on your business idea?

Viola: I discovered that Swiss people love to cook authentic Indian food but they don’t know where to source their ingredients from. That’s how my idea of creating recipe boxes came about. What if I put all the dry ingredients needed for a particular Indian recipe in one box with cooking instructions? This would instil confidence in the cook. And what if I provide all the additional information such as the sources and scientific benefits of the ingredients to gain their trust?

What is the main goal of your idea?

Viola: To make it easier for people who love to cook authentic Indian meals from scratch and to show that cooking Indian dishes with locally available ingredients is easier than many might think.

How did you test your business idea?

Viola: During the SINGA Factory Final Event (10th December 2018 at Kraftwerk Zurich) I displayed the recipe box as a prototype. People at the event were really interested in the recipe box. It was Christmas time and people wanted to buy it as a gift. They asked if I had more boxes with me. I realized then that there could be a market for the product and this encouraged me to continue with the business idea and explore the possibility of selling the recipe boxes online.

What would be the natural next steps for your business idea?

Viola: Along with selling the recipe boxes online, I would one day like to organise workshops to inform people about the recipe boxes and the scientifically proven benefits of these ingredients and the ways of incorporating them in simple, healthy, authentic Southern Indian dishes.

Viola is in a period of transition and is active in many aspects of society. She has volunteered at many initiatives and also completed an internship while developing her business idea.  All of this shows what a team player and empathetic and curious person she is.

She wants to share knowledge from her professional areas of expertise. She wants to show her Indian roots and expand her network, gain experiences and be involved in the local community.

During the SINGA Factory, you also did an internship. Tell us more about that.

Viola: I was a Business Development Intern at Denteo AG, a dental practice management software company, where I had the chance to work with a group of insightful and empathetic people who I learned a lot from. They were aware that I was taking part in the SINGA program and were flexible when I had workshops and check-ins. I completed the internship at the end of December 2018.

…and during 2018 you were also volunteering at the Gemeinde of Bassersdorf, right?

Viola: Yes, the department ‘Bildung + Familie’ of Gemeinde Bassersdorf offers support in various areas for the integration of newly-arrived migrants. One of which is the Erst-Information-Anlass to welcome people and share knowledge about day-to-day life and all things cultural and political about Switzerland, their new home. Since April 2018, I have been working as a key person for this event. The activity involves strategic cooperation in a working group, from promotion and event preparation to providing information to newcomers. I am also part of the team that conceptualised and implemented ‘Internationale Plattform Bassersdorf‘. I also manage the platform’s social media.

What drives and motivates you every day to keep going?

Viola: I am aware that I am a good mother and I still want to devote time to my family. At the same time, I want to broaden my horizons for other types of activities and contribute to society the best I can.

What is your daily motto?

Viola: Have gratitude towards all what you have. That mantra is enough for me.

 

Good to know:

At this stage in her project, Viola Snophan is looking to network, particularly with experts in food packaging and regulations, and also to reach potential customers for her Indian recipe boxes and future workshops.

You can mainly contact Viola Snophan via mobile phone +41 79 559 2894 or writing her at violasnophan@hotmail.com

 

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational talent development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

The warehousing market in Switzerland is growing and SINGApreneur Olga Khinich wants to be one of the people driving change in the fast-developing field. This intention, combined with over 20 years’ experience in logistics and supply chain management, is what motivated her to create her own startup: Space2use.

Space2use is an online platcusrm that will work as an intermediary between people looking to find the best and most cost-effective storage option for their products and warehousing companies listing their free storage space. In an interview with Rossana A. Ammann for the SINGA Factory, the SINGApreneur tells us more about Space2use, her passion for logistics and what support she needs for her team to grow.

Rossana: After originally getting your diploma in mathematics, you moved into the field of logistics. What do you like most about it?

Olga: For me, it was a smooth shift from insurance mathematics to pure logistics. Logistics is a very energetic sector because you always have to keep to your deadlines, yet there are constant changes and unexpected events and you cannot be 100% prepared for everything that can happen. It requires a high level of awareness and you ought to be fully involved in all aspects of the business. If you lose control, things can go wrong. I like this kind of energetic drive!

Why change the Swiss warehousing market?

Olga:  The warehousing market in Switzerland is still very new and it should be pushed. The market is not agile enough at the moment and I want to change that. The potential for this kind of business to be financially successful is high, and as soon as we can fully penetrate it – because there is no other company doing the same – we will be the first ones. Later on, we will explore other markets in Eastern Europe. But first, we have to test it in Switzerland.

The SINGApreneur is positive that there is a need to change the Swiss warehousing market, “the pace of life is changing, especially with e-commerce”, says Khinich, so the demand for companies to provide real-life, digitized services will be stronger every day. What’s more, discussions with colleagues made her consider that she could be the one to do it, “I understood that yes, there was a problem that I could help solve and I saw a very clear solution”, she explains. With many years’ experience in logistics, Olga Khinich is someone who really knows how to communicate with warehouses and help solve customers’ issues.

 

You are developing your business idea while still working on other corporate projects. How does being an entrepreneur make you feel?

Olga: It makes me feel proud when I manage to achieve what I want. You should be the one deciding what you do, what you move and how you do your business. You are always the captain. I want to create something more substantial and achieve more self-actualization in my life. At the same time, as I live in Switzerland and feel that it is my home – after having lived here for over 10 years – I feel I should do something for the country.

How did you start working on your business idea?

Olga: I started with the problem. Nowadays, if you needed to find a professional warehouse for your goods you would probably start by looking for offers on the internet. However, in Switzerland is not possible to find any kind of price-comparison or portal for such services. No information on free storage space in warehouses is available. The only way you can find something is by seeing which logistic companies are in the market and individually checking each website to dig into what they do. You must contact them, send a request and wait until they reply. It takes so much time and you never quite understand or get an overview of the price range.

…so you started working on a possible solution.

Olga: Yes. For me, it was always clear that life is changing. Logistics is becoming faster and should be more flexible with its distribution networks, as well as with offers for on-demand warehousing.

 

How does Space2use work?

Olga: It is an easy online solution for the business-to-business (B2B) market, where warehouses can list their available storage space on the portal – with all the specific and required information – and display the expected price range. This way, when somebody wants to find a warehouse to store their goods, they can make a request on the portal and in a couple of seconds have a complete list of warehouses according to what they need. It is a faster and more transparent system.

Space2use will work between two parties that can benefit from each other. To use the service, people must be users of the portal by registering themselves and following the instructions. The service will be free of charge for those looking for storage space.

The United States and United Kingdom have already proved that this type of online service can succeed. The SINGApreneur reassures us that e-commerce is also growing in Switzerland, along with the creation and use of other online tools supporting different businesses and their needs.

 

Where do you see your business going in the next 5 years?

Olga: First of all, I would like to concentrate on the Swiss warehousing market, focusing at first on the different regions. The goal is that at least 80% of Swiss warehouses will be listed on Space2use and, I hope, that 20-30% of those spaces and their related services will be ordered through our online portal.

How will you make money?

Olga: We will only take a 10% commission when an agreement is reached between the customer and the warehouse listing the space. All of this once the client pays. It should be free of charge for customers looking for storage space. I see this portal as a sales channel for warehouses. Once they make a deal they pay for the 10%. It is a fair price. They do not have to do anything else beyond listing the space they want.

On another note, what do you like most about Switzerland?

Olga: The nature and easy access to free and pure landscapes. Also, the respect for one another and personal space.

 

What are you currently looking for in a team?

Olga: For the project to grow and develop further, I am looking for a co-founder, who would also ready to invest his/her time and money in this business, and a software developer, as a person who would support the growth of the local business. Some working experience is desired, but it could also be a student who likes talking to people and suppliers (and he/she should speak Swiss-German). We also need a qualified person in online marketing, to take charge of promotional campaigns on social media and all digital channels to reach potential customers.

What are your company values?

Olga: Open communication, the desire to never stop and move ahead, to work hard and have a clear feeling of responsibility. Also, to have the opportunity to agree – or disagree – and find mutual solutions.  The main idea is to work towards and to achieve goals that we have together. If you have some difficulties – it should be discussed, everybody has the right to ask for help, and everybody makes mistakes.

 

What did you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?

Olga: The most important thing for me was the feeling of inspiration and the atmosphere (it is something special) during the program. The fact that they inspire you to do something and start your own business and the mutual support for one another. What I also liked a lot were the interesting tools and workshops they provided. I admire the SINGA team. They are doing a great job and are very involved in the business, they always want to help. The quality of their work is very high!

From all the workshops you participated in in the program, which ones stuck out?

Olga: The customer journey workshop by Susanne Kreuz was wonderful because it gave you tools to design and redesign your product according to your customer’s needs. I also enjoyed the video workshop with Cédric Bollag. It was brilliant, short but very substantial. Not only were the scheduled workshops with the experts terrific, you could also receive individual support and training in areas where you felt you needed it.

Each SINGApreneur is matched with a mentor in the SINGA Factory. How was it working with your mentor?

Olga: Special mention must also go to him, he supported me by helping me overcome my moments of hesitation and doubt. When I stopped somewhere or felt blocked, I really liked his critical way of thinking and how he looked at a situation because I always had an opposite approach.

 

I feel inspired that I can change the Swiss warehousing market. The pace of life is changing, especially with e-commerce and the market is not agile enough. I want to change that. 

Olga Khinich

What would you advise people who would like to start their own projects but they think they don’t have the time, energy, courage or ‘perfect moment’ to do it?

Olga: You should have, first of all, a very strong desire for what you want to achieve. Then, you should have enough power – and resilience – to be ready when you fail. You should be persistent and be ready to start all over again when it is necessary. If you have no time you can find people who can help you as well, share tasks, find investors. You have to be sure about what you want and understand how you will do it. Be resilient and continue until you achieve something! Programs like the SINGA Factory also support you immensely with overcoming difficulties and learning how to realize your project. You will be more confident about your abilities and skills as a result.

 

Good to know:

At this stage in her project, Olga Khinich is looking for:

• a co-founder,
• a software developer,
• investors,
• people who like talking to suppliers and clients (and can speak Swiss-German),
• and support with online marketing.

Olga also wants to invite warehouses to be first-movers to contact her to get more information about Space2use and its benefits. The same goes for companies and entrepreneurs that are currently looking for warehouses and free storage space.

You can contact Olga Khinich via mobile phone +41 79 558 33 77 or email info@space2use.ch

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational talent development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

After traveling around Eastern Africa for some months visiting development projects on the ground, Swiss environmental scientist Nadine Guthapfel ended up in Ethiopia, the country that put her on the path to learning more about the origins of coffee and also introduced her to the man that would become her husband and business partner.

Some things are meant to be, people might say. While staying in the city of Arba Minch, Nadine met Kebede Dache Dalacho, an experienced tour guide and tour organizer in Ethiopia. Kebede is a person who loves traveling and showing visitors the land by giving them authentic and unique experiences.

“I make possible the impossible and I always try my best,” says the SINGApreneur Kebede who, along with Nadine, created KafiUndSchoggi Reisen. In an interview with Rossana A. Ammann, they not only tell the story behind their project but also about getting married, deciding to live in Switzerland and how they share a passion for traveling and supporting Ethiopian local communities.

Rossana: Share something about Ethiopia that not everybody knows.  

Nadine: What is special about Ethiopia and what people might like to know is that they have their own calendar that is seven years behind ours! Here we have the Gregorian calendar and over there they have 13 months in the year and another way of counting the time as well. Something else: for Europeans that think that Ethiopia, being part of Africa, is a dry country, it’s a myth. Yes, there are dry areas but there are forests and green regions too. It is a very diverse country!

Kebede: Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that was not colonized. We have 86 different languages and ethnic groups. It’s a country that seems to be many different places at the same time (laughs). We are also one of the few countries in the world where Muslims and Christians have lived together for centuries without any problems.

What should people know about Ethiopia before going there?

Kebede: It is a safe country and everybody will welcome and integrate you very well. Also, we have many National Parks, green forests, wild animals and really good coffee. 

After having a long-distance relationship, the couple decided to move to Switzerland in 2015. Nadine traveled to Ethiopia several times for different projects while Kebede was dealing with the visa and documentation process.

“It was really hard for me to leave my country. I hoped I could travel around the world, but not leave indefinitely,” confesses Kebede, while adding that the first days in Switzerland were difficult because he couldn’t communicate in English around the village or with the family. It was about persisting, learning the (German) language and looking for the next project to work on, as well as becoming parents for the first time.

 

Once in Switzerland, how did you start to think about the business idea?

Nadine: I had a project in Kaffa that I was working on, but I previously had the idea in mind about traveling and creating a business together. At the beginning, the trips were only to go to Kaffa, and with time we combined and adapted various ideas.

Kebede: As I had been working for my own business as a tour guide and tour organizer in Ethiopia, it was clear for me that I would love to continue the travel business because that is what I am passionate about.

What are your company values?

Nadine: We believe in another way of traveling that is closer to the people, based on mutual respect, with fair income opportunities for the locals and being especially respectful towards nature and the environment.

When did you offer your tour packages for the first time?

Nadine: 2017 was the year in which we did more marketing and communication to present  KafiUndSchoggi Reisen to the open market, as well as with other people also focusing on Ethiopia. We had flyers, newsletters and partners who also wrote about us. That year we really started.

How many trips have you made so far?

Nadine: Until now under KafiUndSchoggi Reisen, we have made around five to six tailor-made individual tours, for which we organized all the logistics and meetings with locals at eye level.

Kebede: I have friends in Ethiopia that I also work with as a freelancer. Due to my long time experience operating with them, I preselect the agencies and if I cannot go myself, I send people there that do what I agreed on with the customers. I organize the trips according to what people wish to do.

The difference and ease of KafiUndSchoggi Reisen is having someone from inside the Ethiopian community and culture to provide travelers with real experiences that they would not to come across so easily by themselves. Visiting National Parks or having special and meaningful interactions with locals “is something people like and appreciate,” both SINGApreneurs confirm.

They want to support and promote a sustainable way of traveling that generates fair incomes for the community and is closer to the people. Everything is based on mutual respect between tourists and the local people, as well as towards nature and the environment.

 

 

What added value do you provide with your travel experiences?

Kebede: People can buy holidays, but they cannot buy a really good experience with locals if they don’t have the right person to contact them from the inside. Especially in a country like Ethiopia. I make peace and space with clients and locals. They feel like they are at home. They see and experience how people live, work, and go about their daily activities. This is what’s unique about us. I love creating beautiful experiences that people can tell their friends and families about.

What does coffee mean to Ethiopians?

Kebede: Ethiopia is, in fact, the country of origin of coffee, more precisely, coffee Arabica. We celebrate coffee for different reasons. People normally drink coffee three times a day and it is freshly roasted and held under the nose of the visitor. The smell of the coffee is incredible! The taste is totally different and it is a tradition for us. Coffee is drunk during a normal afternoon, to celebrate festivities (New Year’s Eve, for example), to welcome guests or even to resolve a conflict!

Nadine: In Ethiopia the coffee ceremony is like a tea ceremony in Morocco, for example. That’s why it is connected to the trips we organize.

 

 

Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

Nadine: There is a growing market and interest in Ethiopia. We want to continue offering a few group trips per year and continue doing the individual tailor-made ones for couples or single travelers.

People can buy holidays, but they cannot buy a really good experience with locals if they don’t have the right person to contact them from the inside. That’s where we come in and what is unique about us. 

Kebede Dache Dalacho

 

Many unforgettable experiences are part of the packages and trips of the SINGApreneurs, who are always delighted to talk about coffee, traditional Ethiopian ceremonies, and the idea of “treating guests not just like tourists, but like friends or family members.”

In addition, they have a social project with which they improve the living conditions of children and women in southern Ethiopia, by supporting the “Saware Dicha” association with 4% of all income they receive from the tours.

 

 

What have personally been some of the best traveling experiences you have ever had and why?

Nadine: One of the countries that is still in my heart is Ecuador. I just love the place. And Ethiopia, of course, is just amazing. My most wonderful experiences were when I got to know and had closer interactions with the people, went to villages, visited families and experienced the little details. That’s what we want to offer with the business as well.

Kebede: I had my best experience when I went to Simien Mountains in Ethiopia. It is a unique place, you can expect such natural beauty, the landscape, the wild animals, the endemic trees… It was just amazing for me. Here in Switzerland, one of my personal highlights was when I saw the Aletsch Glacier for the first time. I am a nature lover.

 

Until now, what do you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?

Nadine: The big network they have and getting to know people from different backgrounds. It has been great with the coaching sessions as well, the workshops and receiving support when we got stuck.

Kebede: The ladies in the SINGA team – they are amazing. Really dedicated, hard working people and honest. They also provide quality workshops with experts and professionals in their areas; people who know what they are talking about.

What drives and motivates you every day?

Nadine: I love what we do. It isn’t always easy with family and trying to keep the business running but in the end, I know it is right because I love being an entrepreneur, living my dreams and creating a positive impact.

Kebede: The WHY. I know why I am doing what I am doing. My WHY: I love supporting and solving the problems of others and of course being an entrepreneur myself, being independent, making my own decisions. I love taking risks and seeing things when they are working and growing.

What is your daily motto?

Nadine: Even if I have a bad day, I will tell myself afterwards: you can always take something out of that experience. What can I learn from it that brings me forward? I always take something positive out of everything.

Good to know:

The next trips from KafiUndSchoggi Reisen are coming in:

• February 2019: visit the origin of coffee, fascinating National Parks in Southern Ethiopia and experience local culture and village life.
• September 2019: explore nature, visit Southern Ethiopia and see one of the biggest religious celebrations in the country: the “Meskel Festival” or the Finding of the True Cross.
• November 2019: visit Kaffa (the origin of coffee during the harvest season), nature and villages and experience Southern Ethiopian culture.
• January 2020 (3 weeks) and three nature highlights: Kaffa Biosphere Reserve, Bale Mountains and Churchura Chebera National Park – with the “Epiphany/Timkat Festival” and culture in Southern Ethiopia.

You can contact Nadine Guthapfel and Kebede Dache Dalacho via phone 056 555 20 70 or write to them at info@kafiundschoggi-reisen.ch

To know more about future trips you can visit the KafiUndSchoggi Reisen website, like their Facebook page or follow them on Instagram.

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational talent development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

Successful, Efficient, Human: The Revolution of the Hiring system

 

When recruiting a candidate, it is all about hiring attitude, values and personality that match with the company. The business project of SINGApreneur Elie Khudari will make it easier for job seekers and talent seekers to find each other through seeveez, a revolutionary and modern online portal using the latest AI technologies and state of the art algorithms in a human and fair way.

In an interview with Rossana A. Ammann, the experienced marketing and business consultant explains the added value of his online portal, and how it will revolutionize the HR hiring process in the corporate world. “It will create a direct relation between the job seeker and the employer. The idea is to evaluate humans as they are in an efficient and modern way, not as pieces of paper or numbers,” states Khudari.

In 2020, Elie started his own Youtube Channel: Elie Khudari providing marketing guidelines to entrepreneurs. For other valuable content of online marketing in Arabic, you can visit Taswiq Line.

 

Rossana: What does entrepreneurship mean to you?

Elie: Everything. I have always been an entrepreneur. I have only worked for other people for a few months at a time. The rest has been by myself and about creating. I want to do what I feel is right, while combining it with my Business Administration & Marketing background.

What were you working on before coming to Switzerland?

Elie: I worked as a marketing and business consultant for 17 years in marketing, promotion and business development in two companies that I founded in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. I still have very important business relations there.

What will be your contribution to Switzerland as an entrepreneur?

Elie: The business will start here. If I manage to change the HR process and the job application concept in the business sector, that will be great for the economy and society. The idea is for both sides (job seekers and companies) to be happy!

 

In 2000, the SINGApreneur co-founded a marketing communication company and led a team of over 400 employees in 3 major cities in Saudi Arabia, while dealing with key international companies.

“The business was doing well, so I decided to go back to Syria in 2011 to invest there in another company,” says Elie.

Three months after he launched the second business in quality retail, the war began in Syria. Elie fled the country and arrived in Switzerland at the end of 2013.

After your arrival, you learned German while waiting for your residence permit. What happened later?

Elie: I started looking for a job and it was really hard to find one in Switzerland. I would think of myself as a person with good experience and a good CV, but it wasn’t enough. I tried everything and it didn’t work. I have always been enthusiastic about finding solutions and in my previous job I supported companies in marketing and sales processes, so when I saw the reality here, I started questioning myself as to what I could do to improve the situation.

…and out of that moment your business idea arose. Tell us more about it.

Elie: What is interesting is that when I had my own companies, I was also struggling in terms of finding the right people; and since arriving in Switzerland, I have been struggling to find a job. So I started digging around to find out what the issues were and what the potential solutions could be. For me, it is all about humanizing the HR hiring process and giving job seekers a true chance to show who they are.

What else do you think is missing in the job application processes?

Elie: Many aspects, such as a category for soft skills and values, and the chance for applicants to show some of their work, say more about themselves personally and shine for who they really are. The online hiring system is also very inefficient. What normally happens is that after posting an ad, companies get thousands of applicants and they still keep using different tools to reach more people. But why? They already have some good applications there.

In his research and by sending out his own job applications, it became clear that there is a need for a better job portal. Not only did Elie experience being rejected by automated systems, but also through fake job posts and non-reply emails from offers he thought he was suitable for.

That’s not all he came to realize. “Some studies have revealed that Millennials (born early 1980s, mid-1990s to 2000s) don’t want the lives their parents had. They don’t want to stick to a job for 40 years, even if they paid them really well,” explains Elie, while emphasizing that nowadays many people want to work for a place they like, enjoy and that also fits their values, even if they are paid less than in a role in which they find less meaning.

What do you think is the added value of your project and the approach that will make you different from others?

Elie: Nowadays, some portals try to analyze the personality of the candidate but never the values, culture and attitude of the person. It is always about key words, titles and hard skills, never about the role and values. That’s why I want to change the approach. Why not use a different style of CV to hire people? I want to reach that level where people can choose even beyond job titles. An efficient modern style.

…even if the jobs are different from what people used to do?

Elie: The fact that some people worked in a specific job in a company for a long time doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be a perfect fit for a similar company, doing a similar job. If you worked as a sales manager at Michael Kors, would that make you a perfect match for a same position at FREITAG? There is always something else. The connection with the values and culture of the company should help both parties find each other better.

On the portal, how is the relation between the companies and the job applicants going to be?

Elie: The company will be able to select as many people as they want to evaluate. They can mark them as favorites and take a look at their profiles later or contact them right away. It will not be a static, paper-based relation. It will be a personal one between the job seeker and the employer, right from the start. Both of them will be treated as givers.

Where do you see the business going in the next five years?

Elie: Worldwide! I would like to think so. It’s very promising. That is my aim.

 

 

Sometimes Human Resources departments don’t even get the chance to meet job seekers in their true selves. As Elie confirms, “they start rejecting people based on key-words and titles, not from taking a deeper look.”

For him, all applicants are normal people searching for a job. On his portal, they will be able to show you who they are and be vulnerable in front of you.

 

We want to give people fair opportunities when applying for a job. We want them to be able to express themselves. It isn’t always about the money when looking for a job, it is also about the environment, the culture and making the hiring system efficient and productive.

 

Until now, what do you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?

Elie: They help you a lot in shaping your idea to become something real and they have also great connections to support you in developing the project. They are also really good at networking! And the trainers, the ones sharing their experience with us, are very well prepared.

From all the workshops you have participated in, is there one you could mention as special or really interesting?

Elie: All of them have been great. I really liked Rayan Aebi’s workshop on pitching for investors. Special mention also goes to Rebecca Self for her perspective on Branding. I could learn from that. I also cannot forget to mention my mentor and advisor Thomas Marko, whom I owe a great deal.

You have led 3 co-working sessions on marketing in the SINGA Factory; what was it like to support and share your knowledge with the other SINGApreneurs?

Elie: They are all great people! Business perspectives are different, so when I got the chance to share some of my experience with them, they seemed to enjoy it and I really liked it too! It is good to help others as much as you can. They really get something out of it.

 

 

What would you advise people who would like to start their own social project or business but they think they don’t have the time, energy or ‘perfect moment’ to do it?
Elie: If you have a dream, pursue it! If you have an aim or goal, try to do it. If you keep following your dream I am sure you will reach it someday.

What does success means to you?

Elie: Happiness. If I am successful I am happy. It is not about money or connections. I thought before that everything was about money and after I lost everything (twice), I found out that during the period of my life when I had money, I didn’t use it for my happiness.

What drives and motivates you every day to keep going?

Elie: My family and the pursuit of happiness. I want to have the feeling that everyday is like Christmas.

 

Good to know:

At this stage in his project, Elie Khudari is looking for developers and support from visionaries and investors that are interested in joining this revolutionary project. You can contact him via mobile phone +41 76 368 00 08 or email him at elie.k@seeveez.com.  

 

Check seeveez.com and stay tuned! You can also follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

Run-to-Win: Harnessing the talent of young Eritreans in Switzerland

For young refugees and migrants to become successful and productive citizens in Switzerland. That is one of the main goals of SINGApreneur Solomon Mengistu’s project, Run-to-Win. In an interview with Rossana A. Ammann, Solomon speaks about how he has wanted to start an association that trains young refugees in long-distance running ever since coming to Switzerland as a refugee himself almost 8 years ago.

Alongside developing this project, Solomon works as an interpreter for young migrants and refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia at Caritas Lucerne and FABIA (Fachstelle für die Beratung und Integration).

He observed from 2015 onwards that many young Eritreans were arriving as asylum seekers and he wanted to support them. “The youth will learn to be active again,” he says. He sees sports as a way to connect young people from different backgrounds and countries; sports as a way to help them develop discipline and structure in their lives; sports as a way to create a winning mindset.

Rossana: Were you a keen sportsman in your homeland?

Solomon: When I was in high-school I was a runner (laughs). I would compete with runners from other schools, but I’ve never run a marathon or anything like that. But as a hobby I can totally relate to it! Running is a tradition and passion in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

What previous experience do you have in working with the youth?

Solomon: I am a teacher by profession. I studied Biology in Eritrea and I have around 15 years’ experience of teaching in Secondary Schools. My experience as a teacher means that I can work with young people and I understand their behavior and also see their talents and potential.

Solomon radiates warmth, energy and respect when talking about his previous work experience in his native land. He is a self-learner and he proved it by studying German at home during the first two years after his arrival. He also completed a Master’s Degree in Health Science from the University of Lucerne in January 2018.

At an Eritrean Diaspora Event in May 2018, he got the chance to openly discuss his project idea for the first time, and it was Valentina from Capacity, a partner of SINGA, that connected him to the SINGA Factory startup program, where he is now focusing on developing and later launching his association.

Tell us more about your project.

Solomon: It is about athletics and long distance running. Did you know that Eritrea and Ethiopia are two of the foremost countries that produce endurance athletes in this discipline? It is with this understanding, and with the fact that young people want to go further in sports, that I decided to do more. But how? My goal is to empower refugees (especially from Eritrea and Ethiopia), asylum seekers, migrants and Swiss youth, to train with the goal of one day winning a marathon, a championship, or even an Olympic medal. We will start by offering trainings every Saturday at the Allmend Stadium in Lucerne.

How do you think sports can have impact on the participants’ lives?

Solomon: Many young refugees have talent and potential on their own, but they have to discover it and become active in that field. If they are, they will develop the discipline required to go further. Solid structure and discipline through sports will help them to connect with other migrants and Swiss communities, improve their way of communicating, their integration and finally enable them to become winners and productive citizens in Switzerland!

 

 

In July 2018, Solomon began contacting his target group and about 11 participants have registered for his trainings so far. In October 2018, the first open training took place on the track field at the Allmend Stadium in Lucerne and, even though it was raining and cold, the runners were enthusiastic and are already looking forward to the next training sessions.

As a matter of fact, one of the runners that participated in that first training came 5th in the 10km at the Swiss City Marathon in Lucerne 28th October 2018. “All of that without enough and proper training!” confesses Solomon amidst laugher.

Can beginners participate?

Solomon: It is open for beginners and people who are competitive runners! What’s important is: perseverance and having an interest in being active. It’s a great opportunity for runners who don’t want to do it alone. The focus is on young runners, let’s say, from 15 to 30 years old more or less.

Who is supporting you in the trainings?

Solomon: Nesereab Mesfin is an Eritrean runner and will be in charge of the trainings. A young Swiss, Lukas Metziger, who is completing his degree as a sports teacher, is also very interested in the project and will support in the coaching of the participants, giving some nutrition tips etc.

 

 

What is your main goal in the upcoming years?

Solomon: Our first goal is to have 5 runners participating in the Swiss City Marathon in Lucerne in 2019. In the next 5 years, we would like to have 5 runners ranking in the top 10 in long-distance running in Switzerland. In 2024, maybe we even have runners competing at the Olympics (laughs)! We know that we have to work hard for that and to make it happen we need a strong team.

The participants decide together with trainers how often the trainings will take place as well as the type of activities they will develop together. Trainings will take place at Lucerne Allmend in fair weather and Solomon is currently looking for an indoor space to train in bad weather or during the winter months.

Tadesse Abraham, a Swiss-Eritrean runner living in Geneva, European half-marathon champion, who is best known for breaking the Swiss marathon record and taking 7th place in the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, has met with Solomon and is also willing to support him with the project.

What was it like to meet Tadesse and to know that he is interested in your project?

Solomon: It was very nice! He told me that he has been getting involved in similar and personal projects and that you have to work very hard with young runners to hopefully win one day. The idea is that he will come to one of our trainings one day. What an inspiration it would be for the participants to meet him!

 

Sports will bring structure and discipline to young refugees’ lives. It will help the youth connect with other migrants and Swiss communities. Sports will improve their communication, their integration process and help them develop a winning mindset. They will be productive citizens in Switzerland.

 

With your project, what is your contribution to Switzerland as an entrepreneur?

Solomon: With the association, we will contribute with active and productive citizens with a winning mindset. The youth will have a platform to be properly connected and integrated with Swiss communities and other migrants. We will help them develop a discipline. What’s more, participating in sports helps to keep the youth away from bad habits, contributes to the health of communities and facilitates social integration. Through the association, it is also our goal that refugees will have access to psychological therapy to help them deal with the trauma of leaving their homeland.

 

 

Until now, what do you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?

Solomon: I have been learning a lot since I joined! About how can you develop your project and plan your financial model. You also gain insight into what is available in Switzerland, how it works in the country and how it affects your project, how to expand your network and so on.

What would you advise people who would like to start their own social project or business but think they don’t have the time, energy or ‘perfect moment’ to do it?

Solomon: Everybody may have some ideas to implement! It is very important to come to such programs like SINGA, where you learn about how to turn an idea into reality, how to find money, how to connect with others. After some months you will have a plan and a structure. You will meet many people. Here we help and support each other.

What is your daily motto?

Solomon: Learn something new everyday and be open to everything!

 

Good to know:

If you are interested in joining a weekly Saturday training in long-distance running or you know someone who would like to participate, you can contact Solomon Mengistu via mobile phone +41 76 571 13 73 or email him at solmenber@gmail.com

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

Delhi-cious Indian food: From Catering to Cooking Classes

 

 

In an interview with Rossana A. Ammann, SINGApreneur Smriti Chhabra tells the story behind her Delhi-cious catering business and how she decided to swap the IT classroom for a kitchen full of novice cooks eager to learn about Indian food. The passion for teaching others is still there and Smriti now aspires to establish herself as a prominent figure in Indian cuisine in Switzerland.

Smriti has been abroad half her life. After getting married, she and her husband spent 12 years in London working as IT professionals. “Every time we ended up in an Indian restaurant I was never satisfied with the food and my husband always emphasized that we needed to open our own Indian take-out,” she explains. And that’s how everything started.

In London, they didn’t have much time to expand on the idea, but once they moved to Switzerland in 2011 with their two toddlers, she knew the time had come for her business project. “We want to show people what real Indian food tastes like and what Indian restaurants, the ambience and the actual Indian picture should deliver, ” emphasizes Smriti, who is currently offering catering services and cooking lessons in Zurich.

Rossana: What does cooking mean to you?

Smriti: Cooking food basically means inner satisfaction. We get inner and spiritual strength from good food. If I am not happy or I feel disturbed I don’t like to cook. If food is not cooked when you’re in a good mood, then it is better not to eat it – it will not do any good to the body. Why do we eat? Basically to grow and nourish ourselves, to make ourselves happy. Can you imagine your day without having anything to eat? We cannot survive without food! We wouldn’t be able to give our best with empty tummies.

How did you come to Switzerland after 12 years in London?

Smriti: My husband got a good offer in Switzerland and we moved again. In India, we have always been fascinated by this country because of (its appearance in) Bollywood movies. Switzerland was always that place and dream to live in. The idea was to stay for six months tops or even a year, but after coming here we loved this place and we never looked back!

Even though adapting to the country and at school was not easy for the kids, it was exactly during that period of free afternoons and parent-teacher meetings in the evenings when Smriti brought her Indian food for people to try for the first time. “When kids start a new school year, there is a tradition that they hold parent meetings very often and after every Info-Abend they normally do a small apéro and parents contribute. So I always did it with Indian dishes and everybody liked it,” says Smriti.

 

 

Tell us more about how your business started.

Smriti: During 2012 and after bringing food to the Info-Abende, some parents approached me and asked me to teach them how to cook Indian food, because they would love to learn. It was kind of a “cooking club” with a group of ladies. Then, the same friends gave me another idea: they thought that everybody should get a chance to learn with me and we decided to talk to the local community (Gemeinde) of Küsnacht, where I live, about offering cooking classes to whoever is interested!

Where was the information published and how often did you teach in the community?

Smriti: The Küsnacht community has an activities’ catalog in which they offer courses. We talked to them and they agreed to add my cooking classes. After that, my first class was fully booked! It was 3-4 hours long with a 3-course menu. The participants loved the food, the information given and it was very motivating when I could see people smiling with satisfied tummies. I continued with 2 or 3 sessions every year with 6-7 classes in total. Then, every catalog included my classes. It went really well!

In 2018, Smriti Chhabra decided to turn her focus to giving private cooking classes in a school kitchen she booked and she has also catered some events for around 40 people. The same people that she met during her classes often approached her afterwards to book her catering services.

Please tell us about your favorite dish.

Being vegetarian, my favorite dish is “Kadai Paneer” because of its aroma and the crunchy taste of peppers. It’s easy to cook, with a mix of coloured peppers with paneer (strained curdled milk) in onion and tomato gravy. It’s flavourful, aromatic and a colourful treat for the eye. I am not exaggerating when I say that it’s hard to tell the difference between a used and a clean plate when we have this dish for dinner at home!

 

 

Smriti also recently impressed members of the Impact Hub Zurich with a delicious lunch of butter chicken, lentil curry and light, aromatic basmati rice. Smriti is well known in the SINGA Factory for bringing spontaneous snacks of samosas, vegetable pakora and other meals to workshops, much to the delight of the coaches and her fellow SINGApreneurs.

Where do you see your business going in the next 5 years?

Smriti: I want to be known in every household (laughs). I want to spread the word about authentic, healthy and tasty Indian cooking and food in Switzerland! That is what I want to be able to do in the next years and I have the courage and the potential to do it.

If we book your catering services, what can we expect?

Ah, that’s a hard one! Actually the list (of dishes) is endless. I try to customize catering. I would relish cooking for you including the ingredients you love to eat. Indian cooking is full of options and to name a few would not do it justice.

 

I cook to feed people and make them happy. It was never about the money. I want to show people how real Indian food tastes. How Indian restaurants should look, the ambience, the actual Indian picture.

 

 

Until now, what do you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?

Smriti: Everything, actually! It is the best thing that I joined them and I am very thankful. I have had a great opportunity to meet so many people and almost every day you get in contact with someone new. I would not be able to meet such a big network if I had not joined SINGA.

 

 

From all the workshops you have participated in, is there one you could mention as special or really interesting?

Smriti: There was one about revenue models with Felix Hofmann which I really liked! Because when you do business you have to look into all these things. I cook to feed people and make them happy, it was never about the money. However, when you think of starting a business yourself, then you have to look into the pricing. Felix gave very insightful ideas on the topic. Another one I also liked was about legal information with Michael Mosimann.

What drives and motivates you every day?

Smriti: My growing business, especially when I see the reviews I get from people after having my food. That motivates me a lot! Even from kids. One mother once sent me a video of her daughter saying to me: ‘Oh, Smriti, your butter chicken is the best I have ever had,’ and it was amazing. Comments like that always keep me motivated.

What is your daily motto?

Smriti: I basically try. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes not, but I consider ‘maybe today is the last day I have’ so let’s make it matter. Let’s finish whatever I can finish.

 

Good to know:

Smriti will be hosting an Indian Cooking Class 15th November 2018.
Where? In Schule Zentrum: Zürichstrasse 137, 8700 Küsnacht
When? 18:30 – 22:00

You can contact Smriti Chhabra to participate in the above class or to learn more about her catering services:

+41 79 919 3163 or smritic29@gmail.com

 

This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn

Kyrgyz felt carpets and the women behind them

 

 

Son Kol is an idyllic mountain lake in the center of Kyrgyzstan, is also the namesake of the business of SINGApreneur Aimeerim Tursalieva. In an interview with Rossana A. Amman, Aimeerim shares that Son Kol, “the Kyrgyz heaven”, was the first thing that popped up when brainstorming company names with friends. The felt carpets she sells represent female unity, Kyrgyz culture and a cooperative of women working together towards one goal. However, Aimeerim not only sells carpets, she also organizes felting workshops in Winterthur and takes people on tours to her homeland.

While doing her Master’s at the University of Basel in “Peace and Conflict Transformation”, the sociologist and social researcher worked with refugees in Greece and Turkey. She confesses that “it was difficult work to do. From what I studied, it was responsible work and you must have a strong personality to work in such areas. I realized it was very tough.”

During her studies, she started selling souvenirs and carpets from Kyrgyzstan. “That was my student cash to travel, to have coffee with friends and those types of activities,” she says. After some success selling her wares at town (Christmas) markets, she decided to go deeper with the business and incorporate social and environmental impact in her business model.

 

 

Rossana: Tell us more about your business.

Aimeerim: It all started as a very small thing. In 2014, I started to bring felt carpets from Kyrgyzstan and sell them near my home in Winterthur with a friend. Making Kyrgyz-carpets is something that I have been doing since I was a child. It is part of my life. In Kyrgyzstan, it also acts as a marriage gift for girls and every family makes felt carpets for their daughters. Here in Switzerland, I often tell such stories about the carpets and bring my culture with it.

Did you receive your own carpet from your parents?

Aimeerim: Of course, I have it at home! My mom, aunts and grandmothers gathered together to make the carpet when I was only 13 years old. My mom just kept it until I got married (laughs). The carpet means a lot to me because it was made by all the important women in my family. It symbolizes the power of female community.

It was not until 2016 when Aimeerim realized that the business was becoming something else. She even started to do workshops with interested clients. “People were asking how I made the carpets and I told them to bring some friends over to my place and I will explain how it works. I then organized courses for 13 women in Winterthur. Everything evolved by itself,” she explains.

 

 

Who makes the felt carpets?

Aimeerim: I started buying the carpets in Kyrgyzstan from what we call ‘women communities and cooperatives’ (women from nomadic communities getting together to make carpets by hand to earn some money). I worked with three of them and after I started wondering, how could I do business in a more sustainable way?

 

In Kyrgyzstan, 5 to 10 women gather to make the carpets together. It is a difficult process and that’s why you don’t do it alone. It is community work. While doing it they sing and talk about life. You have female unity woven into those carpets.

 

 

You recently organized tours for Swiss people to Kyrgyzstan. How was this experience?

Aimeerim: The first two trips were in June and August 2018. 10 Swiss women dived into the Kyrgyz culture and were taught traditional Kyrgyz-felting craft in different workshops with local women from different cooperatives. The trips took 12 days and we went around the country to create 4 different felt products: in the city of Kochkor they made carpets, in Tamchy felt-animals, in Bokonbaevo felt-silk scarves and in Kara-Oi felt-shoes. We also hiked in mountain valleys, enjoyed the untouched landscapes and gained insight into the original way of life of nomadic families.

 

 

Where do you see your business going in the next 5 years?

Aimeerim: I will totally keep doing the same. I would like to keep the spirit of sharing and the exchange of cultures. Women everywhere are very similar: they like to talk, share time together and engage in exciting projects. I like where I am going now and I would like to continue this way.

Until now, what do you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?

Aimeerim: They have supported me the most in building up structure. We have a variety of
workshops: about legal aspects, marketing or how to manage your finances and they help you bring in and set a vision. Why, how and what do you want to be? The question is always the same. It makes you think a lot. The available templates also help me organize my business in a different way.

From all the workshops you have participated in, is there one you could mention as really special?

Aimeerim: I say all the time during the workshops: ‘oh that’s really cool! That’s really cool!’ because it is knowledge I really need. Nevertheless, I think for me an eye-opening workshop was the one about cultural aspects of networking in Switzerland with Angie Weinberger. She talked about Swiss history, how it works here and how you build your network properly in the country. It made a lot of sense because whatever business you are in, the way you network is important.

 

What would you advise people who would like to start their own projects but don’t think they have the time, energy, courage or ‘perfect moment’ to do it?

Aimeerim: Come to SINGA! (laughs). I would tell them to go outside and start doing it! Maybe don’t spend so much time planning the ideal business, you learn from the practical side. However, on the other hand; plan activities, plan events and things properly in a way they would do it here in Switzerland. Put 100% effort into what you are doing. You have to get out of your comfort zone! You could also look for people that are doing similar projects in the country (and learn from them) and adapt your business plan and strategies.

What drives and motivates you every day?

Aimeerim: My kind of morning ritual starts with breathing in some oils e.g. lavender, and that smell gets me in the mood. What I am doing now really motivates me a lot. Building up my business and doing what it takes to provide it with a good structure. Besides that, my ‘zero-waste’ project in Kyrgyzstan for the community of Bishkek, also keeps me busy.

 

Good to know:

New tours with Son Kol are coming in 2019. You can learn more about upcoming workshops, tours and the online shop at: www.sonkol.ch

On Facebook you find more details about the markets and the experiences with the participants: https://www.facebook.com/Son-Kol-702244689917754/

 

This interview was held in English by journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational development. You can find her work and more about her on LinkedIn

In einem Interview mit dem SINGA-Team sprechen die SINGApreneurs Kebede Dache Dalacho und Nadine Guthapfel über ihre Reisen nach Äthiopien und was diese so besonders macht. Sie künden zudem die Daten ihrer nächsten Reise und eines bevorstehenden Kaffee-Workshops mit Bilderreise an.   

This interview was held in German and their website is currently only available in German. An English version is coming soon.

SINGA: Ihr organisiert Reisen nach Äthiopien. Wieso gerade dahin?

Kebede: Hierzulande kennen nach wie vor wenig Leute Äthiopien, und genau das wollen wir ändern. Äthiopien ist meine Heimat. Es ist ein faszinierendes Land und dazu auch das Ursprungsland des Kaffees, genauer, des Kaffee Arabica. Kaffee ist auch heute noch ein ganz wichtiger Bestandteil der äthiopischen Kultur. Bei einer Familie einer traditionellen äthiopischen Kaffeezeremonie beizuwohnen, wo der Kaffee jeweils frisch geröstet wird und dem Besucher unter die Nase gehalten wird, ist ein unvergessliches Erlebnis.

Kebede: Wir sind ein äthiopisch-schweizerisches Paar und kennen darum beide Welten, Äthiopien und die Schweiz, bzw. den sogenannten Westen. Ich selbst arbeite seit vielen Jahren im Tourismus und als Guide in Äthiopien. Ich liebe es, den Besuchern das wahre Äthiopien zu zeigen und ihnen echte und authentische Erlebnisse zu ermöglichen.  

Nadine: Ich bin Umweltnaturwissenschafterin mit den Augen einer Reisenden. Mit meiner Zusatzausbildung in Entwicklungszusammenarbeit möchte ich schon von Berufs wegen die lokale Bevölkerung am Tourismus teilhaben lassen. Natürlich möglichst nachhaltig und auf faire Weise.

Als ich das erste Mal für ein paar Projektbesichtigungen in Äthiopien war, wollte ich unbedingt auch zum Ursprung des Kaffees in den Bergregenwald Kaffa gehen. Steine in meinem Weg schienen dies unmöglich zu machen. Statt nach Kaffa zu gehen lernte ich Kebede kennen. Später gingen wir dafür gemeinsam nach Kaffa.

Was ist besonders an euren Reisen?

Nadine: Wir glauben an eine andere Art von Reisen: näher bei den Menschen, basierend auf gegenseitigem Respekt, rücksichtsvoll gegenüber Natur und Umwelt und mit fairen Einkommensmöglichkeiten für die lokalen Leute in Äthiopien. Dies sind die Werte, hinter denen wir stehen.

Kebede: Wir behandeln unsere Gäste nicht einfach wie Touristen, sondern wie Freunde oder Familienmitglieder.

Zusätzlich verbessern wir die Lebensbedingungen von Kindern und Frauen in meinem Heimatdorf Saware in Südäthiopien, indem wir mit 4% der Reise-Einkommen den Verein «Saware Dicha» unterstützen.

Habt ihr schon Reisen durchgeführt?

Kebede: Ich habe in meiner Laufbahn schon unzählige Reisen mit internationalen Touristen durchgeführt und sehr gute Feedbacks erhalten. Über KafiUndSchoggi Reisen haben wir bereits ein paar Individualreisen organisiert. Vor Kurzem sind gerade Schweizer Gäste zurück gekommen von einer einmonatigen Reise in Äthiopien. Besonders gefallen haben ihnen die nahen Kontakte mit den lokalen Leuten, die wir vermittelt haben: Zum Beispiel Besuche und Essen bei lokalen Familien oder Kaffeezeremonien in einem Dorf. Auch von den beiden Treks in den wundervollen Bale Bergen einerseits und in Dörfern der Region Tigray andererseits haben sie geschwärmt.  

Nadine: Die nächste Reise findet übrigens vom 17. November bis 1. Dezember 2018 statt, eine Kleingruppenreise zum Ursprung des Kaffees und nach Südäthiopien. Wir gehen zuerst in den Bergregenwald Kaffa, genau zur Erntezeit des Kaffees und erleben als einer der Höhepunkte die Kaffeeernte der Wildkaffeebauern in Kaffa. Daneben kann man lokale Gerichte degustieren, spannende Projekte kennen lernen, auf lokalen Märkten schmökern, viel selbst ausprobieren und natürlich richtig eintauchen in die Natur und Kultur Südäthiopiens. Wir sorgen auch da vor allem für nahe und authentische Austausche mit der Bevölkerung. Mehr Infos gibt es auf unserer Webseite www.kafiundschoggi-reisen.ch

 

Kebede: Natürlich gibt es auch immer wieder die traditionelle äthiopische Kaffeezeremonie zu erleben!

Gibt es eine Möglichkeit, Einblick in eure Reisen zu erhalten um sich dies konkreter vorstellen zu können?

Nadine: Wer sich zuerst in Bildern und Erzählungen über Äthiopien «gluschtig» machen möchte, hat
kurzfristig am Donnerstag 27. September die Möglichkeit dazu. Gemeinsam mit dem Kaffeeunternehmen Original Food nehmen wir Interessierte mit auf eine virtuelle Bilderreise nach
Äthiopien. Dazu gibt es Hintergründe zum Kaffa-Wildkaffee-Projekt, einen kurzen Kaffee-Workshop mit einem Experten und natürlich eine Wildkaffee-Degustation. Meldet euch doch gleich auf unserer Webseite an!

Ihr seid Teilnehmende des SINGA Factory Startup-Programms 2018. Was hat euch bisher am Besten gefallen?

Kebede: Wir konnten an sehr spannenden Workshops mit neuen Inputs teilnehmen. Vor allem aber ist das Netzwerk der SINGA Factory enorm hilfreich und der Austausch mit den anderen SINGApreneurs inspirierend. Denn auch da ist unglaublich viel Know-How vorhanden. Wir konnten schon viel neues Wissen mitnehmen und ausprobieren!

Nadine: Wir danken natürlich auch Engagement Migros, der Förderfonds der Migros Gruppe, welches die SINGA Factory überhaupt erst möglich gemacht hat!