You Can Now Apply For KCB Lions’ Den Season 2

The Kenyan entrepreneurship reality show KCB Lions’ Den is back for the second season. Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has entered a partnership deal with the Standard Media Group that will see the second season of the show come back on our screens.

This is a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs all over Kenya who missed out in the first season to apply for a chance to access funding, nurturing and mentorship from already established business moguls.

Some of the ventures featured in the first season include Enda Athletic – a high tech footwear brand, Kick – a company that recycles waste material like water hyacinth to create functional fun products, Microdot Recoveri – a motor vehicle identification technology that uses dots to secure your valuable assets. Season one aired for a period of 12 weeks where 72 ventures were represented out of which 30 lucky entrepreneurs got funding. The lions invested their own money in exchange for equity in the local business. Over 150 million Kenyan shillings was invested in the ventures.

“We are keen at connecting entrepreneurs with opportunities to grow their business in our conviction that today’s small businesses are the conglomerates of the future,” said KCB Group Chief Operating Officer Samuel Makome during the signing ceremony. The KCB Lions’ Den show is part of the Ksh 50 billion 2jiajiri initiative that is targeting around 500,000 startups in a period of 5 years.

Thanks to the 2jiajiri program, young entrepreneurs will no longer go out into the business ‘jungle’ and face the difficulties on their own, but will have a pool of mentors and financial support to help them expand their economic opportunities, contribute to their communities, and become responsible members of society.

Observations From Season 1

Some of the entrepreneurs didn’t understand the statistics or data pertaining to their target market. Statistics are very important because they will show you if your business is viable and at what point you’re going to break even.
Valuation. Majority of the entrepreneurs couldn’t explain why they needed the amount of money they were asking for because they hadn’t done a valuation of their business. Knowing your business valuation will go a long way in determining how much you ask for and at what percentage stake.
As an entrepreneur, understand what you need at each stage of your business. Maybe all you need is just mentorship and not necessarily a huge sum of money from the investors. You’ll also be able to know at which stage you need to give out equity in case you need an investor on board.