“Do The Right Things”-- 【Baridi Baridi employee interview vol.11】

This time, we interviewed Ayaka Ono, a project manager and designer in charge of the Global System Development Department at Baridi Baridi.

Baridi Baridi members appearing in this interview

Ayaka Ono
Encountering business in Africa while in college and interned at WASSHA Inc., a startup with a branch in Tanzania and a shareholder of Baridi Baridi. Experienced in managing sales planning and operations in SENRI Ltd. (formerly Africa Incubator Ltd..). Joined Baridi Baridi as its first employee in October 2020.

Shoki Imoto (Interviewer/Editor)
Currently a university student at Kwansei Gakuin University. Joined Baridi Baridi as an intern in June 2021. Involved in making company regulations and updating the company's website.

Encounters with Africa

--Thank you very much for your time today. It seems to me that you have a strong interest in Africa from your background, but I would like to know how you became interested in Africa.

Ayaka san: Until I was a student, my interest in Africa was not strong at all. I originally majored in chemistry until graduate school, and I got so absorbed in the field of research that I was thinking about becoming a doctor. However, I had always wanted to work in a job that would allow me to be involved in overseas activities, and I was thinking about what career options were available to me at the time people around me were job hunting. I felt that it would be difficult to suddenly make use of chemistry in the world of overseas business, so I started looking for another place where I could compete.

As I went from one end of the spectrum to the other, attending seminars and talking to adults, I came across the field of “Africa × business”, and I knew intuitively that I wanted to try my hand at it. First, I decided to go there because I didn't know much about it and had never been there, so I traveled to the African continent for the first time when I was a student, participating in a program in Rwanda. 

In Rwanda, I visited various local startups and farmers, and while observing and listening to local problems, I thought about what problems I wanted to solve and what business ideas I had to solve them and presented my ideas in front of everyone. Through this program, I became fascinated and hooked on the process of creating a series of zero to one idea, such as creating an idea that can solve a problem that is happening right in front of me or finding a customer and making them happy. Since the program was over in two weeks, I felt that I wanted to be involved in African business for a longer period and in a more realistic way, so I joined WASSHA (Baridi's parent company) as an intern from the time I graduated until I started working .

-- So, was your internship at WASSHA your first experience in a local African business?

Ayaka san：Yes. When I was in Rwanda, I went to talk to startup companies and came up with ideas virtually, but I did not actually start my own business there, so it was a great learning experience to work directly with local people (in Tanzania) at WASSHA.

Ayaka san during her internship at WASSHA

--Next, what did you work on at SENRI Ltd. (formerly Africa Incubator Ltd.), where you worked until you joined Baridi?

Ayaka san：SENRI is a company based in Kenya and other developing countries, and I worked as a business development officer while stationed in Kenya. First, SENRI is often referred to as a company that makes an African version of Salesforce. Our engineers in Japan create and sell a system that allows salespeople at manufacturing companies in Africa to place orders in the app at the store where they do business, and managers of those companies to manage the work of their salespeople. It was called SaaS IT company. When I first joined the company, I didn't know anything about IT, so I spent a month under the CTO's supervision, writing code on a black screen from morning till night. After starting work in Kenya, I acted as a bridge between the local members and the Japanese engineers.

Meet Hiroki san(CEO of Baridi) and the Company

--How did you find Baridi and how did you get there?

Ayaka san：When I was an intern at WASSHA, a new business team from Daikin, the predecessor of Baridi, came to Tanzania via WASSHA to conduct research. I helped them set up the logistics for their research, so I was already somewhat aware that WASSHA and Daikin were doing something together. When I was at SENRI and visited Tanzania again for a vacation, I happened to visit a party where Japanese people gathered and had my first opportunity to talk with Hiroki san, the current CEO of Baridi. I thought it looked more interesting than I had known it before, and when I asked Hiroki san to take me along on a sales trip , he said, "Sure, sure," so the three of us, including one local employee, went to talk to a new client on the following day. That is how I met Hiroki san and Baridi.

Ayaka san and Hiroki san at a gathering

-- So, did you decide to join Baridi after that one-day sales experience?

Ayaka san : No, that is not true. At that time, they did not yet have the name of Baridi, they had not yet decided how they were going to proceed, and I myself worked hard at SENRI. I was interested in seeing how Baridi would grow, but not at a level that would make me want to join.

--So, when did you decide to join the company?

Ayaka san：Around March 2020, when Coronavirus became widespread in Japan, I was thinking about what to do about my future life and career while working remotely from my parents' home back in Japan. One day, Hiroki san suddenly called me and said, "I am starting a company called Baridi Baridi Inc., and after talking with Mr. Ono in Tanzania about many things , I thought I'd like to work together". As I heard more and more about their business, I thought it sounded interesting and exciting and decided to join.

--I see. Is it also because you were originally interested in startups?

Ayaka san：No, I was not particularly attached to the idea of a start-up. When I went to Rwanda as a student, I had a vague idea that startups were interesting, but my original job offer was with a major foreign consulting company. However, looking back, including when I was a researcher, I think I was always interested in a start-up style of working because I liked to create new things or products.

Feeling of going from 0 to 1

--Thank you very much. So, what kind of work are you currently doing at Baridi?

Ayaka san：I am now a project manager (PM) and UXUI designer on the system development team. The team consists of one Indian manager, me, and five local development members, for a total of seven people. The main work I do as a PM is the entire upstream process of system development. In response to requests from the business side or on-site customers for a system like this, I listen to their requests and define what functions would solve their problems, what kind of look and feel they would like, and then pass the rough breakdown to the members as a task. It is a product manager-like content. I also do project management, such as managing the resources of the development team, managing the progress of tasks toward deadlines, and managing the quality of completed deliverables.

Personally, I see myself acting as a bridge from the field to the development team, and from the development team to the field. My work as a UXUI designer also includes designing new and improved Android apps and web admin screens.

--I see. Have there been any difficulties in doing your work?

Ayaka san：It's simple, but I guess it's where we communicate in a second language. At Baridi, everyone communicates in English, our second language, so my understanding is often not 100% clear to the other person. On the other hand, it is often the case that I do not fully understand what the other person wants to say or convey. To improve the situation, we have been trying to do so not only through text (Slack) but also through diagrams and direct discussions, but there is still room for improvement, and we are still struggling.

Another point that is still a struggle for me is that when I joined Baridi, there was only one employee, but now we have become a medium-sized organization with about 70 employees in Tanzania and Japan combined. As the organization has grown, it has become difficult for an individual to immediately put his or her ideas into practice, so it is necessary to first check with stakeholders, gather their opinions, set priorities in the process and work on them, etc. We are still struggling to make this a systematic process.

--I see. It seems that the larger the organization, the more challenges and the more difficult it becomes.

Ayaka san：We are still in the 0 to 1 phase as a service, and there are many hardships, but that makes it not only a struggle but also a lot of fun. For example, in my own work of design, what I design (UI) is made into something that works, and the user uses it. Then, we receive feedback from users saying, "I liked the design," "I liked the features," or "It was easy to use .” That is very enjoyable because it gives me the sense that I am providing value, that I am creating something with my soul, and that I am aiming to go from 0 to 1.

Be prepared and work on it until satisfied.

--Thank you very much. At the beginning of the year, Ayaka san mentioned in your office that this year is "the year of determination." I would like to ask you about your future goals as an individual and as Baridi.

Ayaka san：First, as a company, we are in the process of making major system changes and improvements, so we must complete these system changes. Also, I believe that the products themselves are not yet fully adapted to the market, so our goal for the future is to complete that as well. As an individual, I can be dexterous and wide-ranging, so I am sometimes satisfied with a certain amount and don't go any further. But we will do it properly until we are absolutely satisfied, with determination. Even if it is hard work, do it without excuses.

These days, my catchphrase is "Do the right things," and I always tell myself that. When things get unreasonable or difficult in the course of my work, the blurring grows inside me, and sometimes I wonder what the right thing to do is. When that happens, if you can find a flag ahead of you that says you will do the right thing, all you have to do is run straight toward it, and you will naturally see what you need to do.

-- Finally, do you have any message for the members?

Ayaka san：I guess what I want to say to the members is also "Do the right things.” Various chaotic situations occur on site and within the company, but I hope that we can all unite to think about what the "right things" are in this company and act and run toward them. I would be very happy if that could be conveyed.

-- “Do the right things" - that's nice. I'll be using it myself!
Well, that concludes our interview. Thank you for your time today.

The Baridi Baridi Times will be posting interviews with Baridi Baridi employees on note.
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