Faith Driven Entrepreneurs in Nairobi

This August, Sinapis partnered with Faith Driven Entrepreneur for a special one-night event at iHub exploring faith and entrepreneurship. Speakers included Henry Kaestner, Tim Oakley, and Sinapis’ own Matthew Rohrs.

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Henry founded Bandwidth.com, a NASDAQ traded company that was founded on the values of faith, family, work, and fitness. Today Henry leads Sovereign’s Capital and Faith Driven Entrepreneur, where he looks to empower other entrepreneurs to integrate their faith into business. Tim is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience as an operating CFO with over $1 billion in multiple transactions. Most recently Tim co-founded Thrivers Integrated Mentoring Program, where he helps executives of mid-growth startups scale and thrive in business as well as in their personal lives.

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The theme for the night was - How do you grow your business without losing yourself? The answer...

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Tim Oakley

Tim stressed the importance of having encouragement partners who can disciple you. Do you have people in your life like that? Trying to build a company is a frenetic experience that can drain the energy out of the other areas of an entrepreneur's life. But if you're really following Christ, what does it look like to lead a company while following Jesus? You need people who can help anchor you to what is important. Entrepreneurs need the refreshment that comes from keeping a spiritual rhythm and following a sustainable work/life balance.

Henry Kaestner

Henry shared the 5 common attributes of a faith driven entrepreneur.

1. They are transformed by Christ. That changes an entrepreneur's mindset. It changes their actions. It changes their identity. And it is not a singular event but an ongoing process. Faith driven entrepreneurs are committed to seeking God regularly.
2. They are stewards of God's resources. You don't own your success but are given it as a gift by God. So use it for God's glory.
3. They do good work. Faith driven entrepreneurs pursue excellence in business. They work with all their heart as though working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23), yet in the process, that excellence is a good witness to others.
4. They embrace the marketplace as their ministry. They serve their employees and their community.
5. They share their "why." Business leaders have opportunities to influence. They look for ways to develop and disciple others.

Matthew Rohrs

Matthew discussed the need for faith driven entrepreneurs to work together. Alone each entrepreneur can accomplish much, but together we create a movement that spreads healthy Kingdom businesses around the world. In the busyness of running thriving businesses, it is easy to let such community go by the wayside of good intentions. It will take intentionality from each of us to truly grow a network and community of faith driven entrepreneurs in East Africa and beyond.

Applying It to East Africa

These are powerful reminders as to what it means to integrate our faith with our business. It's not always easy, but it is well worth it. Sinapis is committed to working in East Africa to help build an ecosystem that supports faith driven entrepreneurs. This goes beyond the training and alumni network we’re known for. We want to foster an ecosystem that brings in Kingdom entrepreneurs from beyond our alumni so that we might work together for economic and spiritual renewal within the marketplace and our local communities.