umnandi is a nonprofit organisation that sets out to Empower African Entrepreneurs. I co-founded the organisation in late 2016. Besides developing workshop concepts, applying for funding, establishing partnerships etc., I took the initiative to design the logo and website.

The idea of the logo was to portrait some kind of entrepreneurial and creative mindset. There are several thought behind it, although it leaves room for interpretation and inspiration

Here a blog post that I wrote for umnandi:

In our last workshop we were asked, why we chose this logo. There are several thought behind it, although it leaves room for interpretation and inspiration.

The shape around the tree is derived from a lightbulb, which symbolises innovation, ideas and of course something elementally as light. The tree allows us to grow – us as umnandi, us as people, us as a community. It starts small, but it can grow into a big tree. It can last for centuries or be sawed off and used for other purposes. It can grow in different directions and be shaped externally.

Thus, it contains the most basic philosophy of our teachings: Start from where you are. Use your means. Utilise your partners (there is quite some evidence that trees communicate with each other). Develop your idea. Try different things. Spread out. Measure what works and what doesn’t. Then reshape your idea based on your findings. Sell your products (leaves), provide services (air-cleaning) and if your business is worth a lot at some point, you may decide and sell it. And if it is sick, saw it off and plant a new tree somewhere else.

Everyone has the potential to turn into a light, to develop a successful business. You don’t need electricity. You, as a tree / seed / flower / human have what it takes to grow and shine. You may need some basic elements: Water (skills), sun (energy), air (determination). But if you have some fertilizer (motivation) and some tools (practical and mind-based) you certainly can speed up the process.

And then we put the tree into a box – but that was not on purpose. Let’s think outside ;).