Entrepreneur who cares for micro businesses
The KTH student David J. Nartey was a winner of the annual KTH Innovation Challenge and is building an online platform for micro businesses.
David J. Nartey started studying computer science at KTH in the autumn of 2014 and was immediately determined to find a project to work on alongside his studies. When the KTH Innovation Challenge 2015 was decided in December his idea was one of the winners. The prize was a place in the KTH Innovation pre-incubator with the opportunity to develop the idea during one year with a business coach specialised in the computer science field.
Today David J. Nartey is well on his way and has put together a strong team to develop the company Bizibuddy together with his coach Anjali Virmani Paul at KTH Innovation.
Enables small businesses to grow
The idea behind Bizibuddy is to enable micro businesses to go online even in countries where Internet access is limited. Larger companies have the power of influence, but many small business are overlooked. These companies often do not appear in the usual search engines like Google or Bing, says David.
– We want to give them the same opportunities as the larger corporations to gain advantage through, for instance, analytics, PR and marketing. I'm from Ghana and have first hand knowledge of the great need. Google Maps do not cover all addresses in Ghana, and local companies have no point of reference. Bizibuddy is a way to cover these areas and create access for the companies.
–If we can help these micro businesses to expand their trade and create growth then it will make a huge difference for people and lives in the long run.
What makes you want to be an entrepreneur?
– I have always enjoyed trying things out for myself and making big decisions. The most important decisions are the most satisfying. If there is a solution that can directly influence people's lives then that is the best thing a person can do in my opinion.
What support have you had so far, from your coach and KTH Innovation?
– I have had a lot of support. Both when it comes to funding and thoughts around the management team, but also how I can organise my life generally as an entrepreneur. Anjali is an important support throughout the process.
What is your team like? Do you have different areas of expertise?
– Yes, we all have different skills, but I am trying to build the team as dynamically as possible to that we can stay a small company as long as possible. My ambition is not to end up in a situation where one person is a master of just one thing, if we can avoid that we will never get stuck but everyone can do a bit of everything. Comact and dynamic. That's the plan!
Where do you see yourselves in five years?
– We want to spread Bizibuddy to more continents where there is a need and we want to be the primary solution for this target group.
Emelie Södergren
emesod@kth.se
Are you a student or researcher at KTH? Do you have an idea that you would like to develop?