Meet Kundai Moyo, an alumna of AWEC Cohort 1. Kundai’s entrepreneurship journey started in September 2017 when she and her business partner, Taziona Emily Mzumara, decided to fill the existing gap in diagnostic services in Lilongwe (the capital of Malawi). APEX Medical Laboratories was born, providing diagnoses closer to the patients who need them.
“Our unique selling point is that we save lives, money and time using a mobile specimen collection app that provides quick results to patients,” says Kundai. In addition to diagnoses, APEX Medical Laboratories offers wellness packages to help disease prevention and promote the overall health of the nation.
Kundai’s AWEC Story
When Kundai was selected to participate in the first AWEC Cohort in 2018, she was eager to build her business skills to augment her technical medical laboratory skills.
“AWEC was a game changer,” she says. Although she had 15 years of experience in the health sector, she came into the AWEC program with no business skills and no clients. Four months later, she landed her first client by applying what she’s learnt.
“I launched my Minimum Viable Product on the 1st of July, 2018 and this was only possible because of the practical training from the [AWEC] program.”
How AWEC Helped Sharpened her Vision
Kundai’s vision of her business is now clear and ambitious: “We want to become the leading diagnostic center in Malawi and the region.” She is planning to gain international accreditation in the next few months to boost the confidence of the patients. She intends to leverage mobile technology to ensure that healthy individuals as well as patients gain access to resources that will help improve their lifestyles and add more value.
Key Strategies for Growth & Raising $48,000 in 18 Months.
Kundai credits her growth to the tangible and intangible resources that the AWEC network has provided in the last 12 months. She raised $48,000 through the Grow Malawi Entrepreneurship Challenge by applying what she’s learnt in AWEC, including newfound confidence in her abilities as a founder and leader.
“By the time I applied for funding, I already knew what an investment-ready business looked like,” Kundai says. Her AWEC mentor and teaching assistant introduced her to professionals to answer her questions on equity, company valuation, financial records, company processes and pitfalls to avoid.
“I felt as if it was a community effort to get me ready for the application,” she recalls.
Participating in the 1st AWEC Leadership Summit in Kigali afforded her the opportunity to apply key concepts like valuation and negotiations to strengthen her proposal and determine the best investor fit for her business.
Moving Forward: Leveraging the AWEC Network.
Kundai intends to continue leveraging the AWEC network as an alumna because she has come to appreciate and “value every [piece of] feedback and interaction” with her AWEC peers. After participating in two Leadership Summits that enabled her to solidify relationships with her peers and learn about their businesses at a deeper level, she has identified a dozen cohort members with whom she could collaborate in the near future.
“Our business has grown from 1 to 300 clients because we’ve learned how important it is to add value to our clients,” Kundai adds, summing up her experience with AWEC. She hopes that the cooperative will similarly enable the members to exchange value and build partnerships to grow beyond Africa.
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