Chikondi Salon

Ivy Modi, 26
Entrepreneur
Ivy lives in Malawi with her husband and child, and is a trained primary school teacher. In 2012, Ivy and her husband found that even with both of them working, their combined salaries weren’t enough to make ends meet. So she opened Chikondi salon in 2012 in an attempt to add to the family’s income.

Abhinav Goyal, 28
Consultant
Based in Toronto, Canada, Abhinav is an engineer with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer engineering. Alongside these courses, he also studied many entrepreneurship and leadership courses. Abhinav heard about Grow Movement through his sister who is an alumna at London Business School, and was inspired to come on board as a volunteer consultant. Ivy was the first entrepreneur Abhinav worked with, and inspired by this he is now a Grow Movement veteran, working on his fourth project.
Business challenges and objectives of the project
When Ivy started out, she had no business experience and found it difficult establishing the salon. She was having trouble attracting customers, and had no marketing strategy. Ivy was also unsure of the most effective way to manage her finances, and as a result the salon was not very profitable.
The Results
Abhinav helped Ivy to develop her business strategy, and encouraged her to think outside the box when it came to running the salon. Together they worked on a new plan for the salon to stock products such as wigs, make-up and clothing, in an attempt to increase profitability. They also worked on financial management, customer relations and marketing. Using the tools and knowledge she gained from working with Abhinav, Ivy was able to increase her profits by 30% and hire a salon assistant. As a result of this success, she is hoping to open a second salon in Mozambique.
The Impact on Ivy
“If I had not heard from my friend to join Grow Movement, my business would have remained stagnant, without progressing. Right now, I am recommending Grow to those people who come into my salon.”
The Impact on Abhinav
“Ivy’s enthusiasm and willingness to learn showed me that I could make a difference to people and actually help them to grow and improve their lives and the lives of others.”
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