The first thing that captured me about TRIBE is its efficient endeavor. It is grounded upon the Theory of Change, which states that ‘Insight + Innovation = Improved Outcomes’, and is exhibited in their work, from their planning to the operations. Its vision of workforce development does not only cover education, but entrepreneurship as well.
Its brilliant ideas committed to their projects and many efforts to constantly grow inspired me, hence I believed that joining TRIBE would have given me an insightful experience as a Business Development Associate.
On my first day with the team, excitement and apprehension possessed me. I was concerned that I would not contribute anything meaningful to TRIBE during my time. However, after meeting everyone and learning more about their portfolio, I became enlightened and more confident. The team members’ open demeanor increased my enthusiasm to dedicate my best work.
My first project was given to me by the CEO, Wain. It was to research factors and company culture that help companies scale and grow in emerging markets. Gormai kindly offered to arrange sharing sessions for me with two startup founders, who were from Eco Soap Liberia and Nimba Ventures. This opportunity opened my perspective on entrepreneurship as I gained real-life insights beyond the theories. One of the ideas that amazed me was an idea used by Nimba Ventures to reduce their production cost, which was to create a partnership with suppliers.
This system guaranteed them sufficient supply, reduced their cost significantly, and improved their relationship with the suppliers. This task allowed me to deepen my understanding of business management and entrepreneurship. Wain and Elvis also provided me with valuable feedback that helped me to improve my work.
The next project was to write an Industry Analysis and a Desk Review for J-Palm, a company manufacturing natural health and beauty products using palm kernels, as a part of its Scaling Strategy Project. Here, I was allowed to see the planning and organization created by TRIBE, which deepened my respect for the team. Utilizing the business knowledge I developed during my first task and my accounting intuition, this project was enjoyable and fulfilling even though it was challenging to extract insights and suggest strategies respectively from the documents and financial statements. It was a lot of analytical reasoning, which was gratifying!
My last assignment was consolidating the interview data. This task was more technical, enhancing my quantitative analysis and organization skills. It also gave me a better picture of J-Palm, building my ideas for them. The questions TRIBE prepared for the respondents fascinated me, guiding me on what aspects of business one should focus on to scale their company. On the flip side, evaluating the point of view of the employees, managers and the CEO had widened my outlook on the management of a company.
On my last day, TRIBE prepared a ‘farewell party’ for me. It was supposed to be their day off, but they still got on the Google Meet at 10.30 AM for the meeting, which I truly appreciated and made me feel touched.
Each of them gave me tailored feedback and an appreciation for all the work I did. I had only six weeks at TRIBE, and it was indeed a cherished experience. I expanded my business acumen, teamwork, and critical thinking skills significantly, not to mention others!
I am honored to be a part of such a passionate team and contribute to their work in Liberia. I look forward to seeing TRIBE’s exponential growth, which I have total faith in, watching their (ever-productive) hard work.
Thank you, thank you, TRIBE for creating magic and helping others find their magic!
