1. Foundations of Design and Entrepreneurship
Problem Festival
What have they heard about FDE so far?
What do they think it is

2. Business Administration Department’s Vision 2020
A Pending Challenge
... with almost 200 million people aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. And it keeps growing rapidly (2015 African Economic Outlook, 2015)
Ashesi’s Mission
… if this trend continues, the continent’s labour force will be 1 billion strong by 2040, making it the largest in the world…
(McKinsey Global Institute, 2010).
Business Administration Department’s Vision 2020
How many people know about unemployed graduates association
Who can become an entrepreneurs? Businesses out of Ashesi – more CS inclined
Starting business within 5 years of graduation
… build a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem to drive the ecosystem in Ghana and Africa
and have 20% of graduates (across majors) start and build businesses in Ghana and across Africa
The Problem Festival

3. Design and Entrepreneurship
Proposed Solution
Immerse freshmen across all majors into the world of design thinking, creative problem solving, entrepreneurship and business management
Foundations of
Design and Entrepreneurship
The Problem Festival

4. Professional services that students will need help with
Support Services
Professional services that students will need help with
Other faculty members
Who?
Legal
Marketing
Work study students
Stakeholder management
Alum
Finance
Operations
Staff members
Supply Chain HR
Subject matter expertise
Industry advisors
Negotiations
Etc…
Other Professionals
The Problem Festival

5. The team… Faculty members: Sena, Gordon, Rose, Dahlia, DK, and Nepeti
Faculty Interns: Philip, Sihaam, Jesse, Anna-Lisa, Chris and Anna
Administrators: Opheley and Janice
Entrepreneurship Coaches (you will know them on Tuesday)
Volunteers for events: Theresa & student team
The Problem Festival

6. Two Problem Solving Stories
Story 1 The Play Pump
The Problem Festival

7. Two Problem Solving Stories
Story 1 The Play Pump
Story 2 The Treadle Pump
Play pump story
Article link:
Key points:
Saw problem, jumped to an innovative solution
Because the solution was so “innovative”, was able to attract a lot of funding
However, because they jumped the steps of really taking the time to understand of problem, context and users…
…the result was an incorrectly designed solution…
…which became a huge and expensive failure…
Treadle pump story
Article link:
Saw the problem
Strong understanding of the problem, context and users
Well designed solution and business model
Great success
The Problem Festival

8. Problem, users & context poorly understood
Two Problem Solving Stories
Story 1 The Play Pump
Story 2 The Treadle Pump
EPIC FAIL!
Problem, users & context poorly understood
The Problem Festival

9. Two Problem Solving Stories
Story 1 The Play Pump
Story 2 The Treadle Pump
EPIC FAIL!
EPIC SUCCESS!
Problem, users & context poorly understood
Problem, users & context well understood
The Problem Festival

10. Understanding Problems
Before moving on, and just to underline the importance of exploring the problem first, here’s a quick thought from one of the greatest problem solvers the world has ever known.
NOTE: Einstein may not be relevant / relatable to all markets. Hide this slide if you don’t think it will add anything to your group.

11. The Iceberg

12. Explanation of the task
The Problem Festival