This project was part of the Startup Bootcamp International (Africa) course, where students collaborated with local entrepreneurs and members of the NGO Ondernemers voor Ondernemers (OVO) to support and scale small businesses. I coached Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm, a social enterprise that raises and sells chickens to vulnerable women, such as single mothers and widows, through an innovative pay-later model. The goal was to help them expand their impact while ensuring financial sustainability.
The project was a collaborative effort involving local Ugandan businesses, the organizing NGOs Startpunt Ondernemen and Ondernemers voor Ondernemers vzw. My role was to work closely with the farm’s leadership to analyze and optimize their business model, develop strategies for customer acquisition and retention, improve financial planning, and create a practical growth plan.
Through this project, I overcame my fear of public speaking and gained confidence by pitching a business plan to a diverse group of stakeholders. I learned that networking becomes more meaningful when you focus on building genuine relationships based on trust and the exchange of ideas. By actively listening and respecting cultural differences, I developed greater patience and came to understand the vital role of community in Ugandan business practices. I realized that business plans must be tailored to the local context in order to be effective. I also discovered that impact-driven businesses are about more than just profit—they require creativity, resilience, and a deep commitment to serving the community. Working closely with the entrepreneurs, I strengthened my skills in business model analysis, customer engagement, financial planning, and growth strategy.
Overall, this experience reshaped the way I approach work, collaboration, and leadership. It taught me that effective business coaching is a balance of technical expertise and soft skills such as empathy, patience, and openness to different perspectives.
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This project was centered around supporting Thuiszorg Kempen in Westerlo with their IT-related challenges, specifically focusing on Microsoft Teams and Outlook. Our goal was to provide a training session that would help their staff feel more confident and competent using these digital tools in their daily work. We connected with Sally from Thuiszorg Kempen, who outlined the objectives and helped us coordinate the timing of the session.
We invested significant time and effort into making sure our training was not only informative but also engaging and easy to follow. We aimed to create an interactive learning environment, with room for questions and practical demonstrations.
This was a group project carried out by two people. Within the team, I was primarily responsible for creating the PowerPoint presentation used during the training and for organizing and assigning all tasks within the Teams platform. My contributions ensured the structure and clarity of the session, as well as the smooth collaboration between team members.
The most valuable soft skill I developed during this project was the ability to adapt to my audience. This involved more than just changing the content, it meant truly understanding the different skill levels, learning styles, and expectations of the people we were training. I learned how to communicate clearly, simplify complex information, and adjust my tone and pace depending on the group’s feedback and engagement.
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This project was part of the Requirements Analysis course and focused on designing a complete competition platform. It included all essential features such as user registration, login, submitting competition proposals, voting, file uploads, and admin tools for user management and competition approval.
We also defined key non-functional requirements like security, usability, scalability, and accessibility.
As part of the process, we created use case diagrams, flowcharts, and screen mockups. To bring the concept to life, we used Axure RP 10 to design interactive mockups. This allowed us to simulate user interactions early on and validate our design decisions effectively.
The analysis was created collaboratively by Team VCO-A, a group of five students. Together, we worked on defining the platform’s requirements and designing its core structure.
My personal focus was mainly on creating the use case diagram and designing the screen mockups.
I learned how to define and visualize system requirements in a structured way. This included building use case diagrams, designing user flows, and simulating functionality. I also learned how early prototyping can help identify potential problems and improve communication within the team and with stakeholders.
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