"Bzz! Bzz!" The alarm buzzed, and quickly Zainab stretched her hands and slammed it shut. She groaned "Tola is it morning already?" She asked her roommate but got no reply. She opened her eyes to see she was the only one in the room. She could perceive the aroma of freshly baked cake. Tola must have left the room to start baking for a contract she got recently.
Zainab lay in bed for a moment staring at the ceiling of her small apartment in Lagos. Today was just like every other day in her life where she would have to pitch her app idea to another group of potential investors.
Just then Tola called from the kitchen disrupting her thoughts "Zee, it's time to get up. I'm sure you don't want to be late for your pitch with West African Tech."
"Yeah, I'm about to get ready," Zainab replied, pushing herself off the bed. She felt reluctant to go. There was absolutely no motivation.
Of course over the years she had created the app, she had dreams of her app DreamChase helping young aspiring African entrepreneurs turn their dreams into actionable plans, by providing resources from potential investors, mentorship from big names in each field, and a supportive community where they can come together to brainstorm.
But with the constant rejection she kept getting she felt her dreams were more of a fairytale. A dream that isn't about to come true. Why wouldn't she feel that way when the rejections were too many?
She dragged herself to the bathroom and turned the shower faucet and as the shower let water down her face she sighed as she remembered one of her pitches with a top tech firm in Lagos. She, Tola and everyone who knew her and her app had thought that was her breakthrough.
But after she had pitched her app that day with so much passion and enthusiasm. Every word she let out of her mouth was clear evidence of her passion. The investor simply shook his head and said,
"Sorry, Zainab. But It's just not for us."
Words couldn't describe how she felt that day. She walked home dragging her feet along. Her head burned and her body felt heavy. But she didn't give up, she applied to several other firms and pitched her app to those who seemed interested but all turned out negative. Presently Tola was the only one who still believed in her dream and the motivation she had for today's pitch.
She turned off the shower, threw her towel over her wet body and got out of the bathroom. She walked to her wardrobe, picked out her best blazers and put them on. Breakfast was a beverage with bread and eggs Tola had made.
"Remember your dreams Zee. You've got this. Your app is amazing, and you know it. And I love you!" Tola yelled as she made to leave the house.
"Love you too!" Zainab replied.
It was a smooth ride to the tech company she was to pitch. The atmosphere was buzzing with people and energy. Zainab became jittery, she never expected the company to be such a big one. She got to the lobby and introduced herself to the secretary. A young lady clearly in her mid-twenties with a nice smile.
"Hi, I'm here for my presentation," Zainab said with a broad smile. Trying to hide her nervousness.
"Zainab? You're presenting DreamChase?" The secretary asked.
"Yes, I am," she said, extending her hand.
"No time for formalities ma'am. You're already late. Please walk through that door they're waiting for you." the secretary had replied, gesturing to a big wooden door with the word 'BoardRoom’ on it.
"Thank you" Zainab replied, as she quickly walked through the door to reveal a room with a long glass table and mean faces of men and women who she immediately believed to be her potential investors.
"Sorry I'm late" she apologised.
"We have limited time. Can you please go straight to why you're here" an old man who sat at the edge of the table with the tag 'chairman' before he spoke.
Zainab cleared her throat, adjusted herself a little plugged in her PC then spoke
"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Zainab, and I'm here to introduce you to DreamChase, an app designed to help young aspiring African entrepreneurs turn their dreams into reality," she began, projecting as much confidence as she could muster.
As she spoke, she saw nods of approval from the investors. She demonstrated the app's features, shared success stories from beta testers, and outlined her vision for the future.
The questions from the panel were challenging but fair, and Zainab did her best to answer them all.
A few days later, Zainab was at home watching TV and eating some snacks Tola had made when her phone rang. She quickly turned down the volume of the TV and answered her phone.
"Zainab Joseph?" The voice on the phone called her name in full.
"Yes" she answered at the same time wondering who the unknown caller was and how he got to know her full name.
"I'm Jeremy calling from West African Tech. We were impressed by all the presentations last week. After careful deliberation from the board members, we'd like to invest in DreamChase. We believe it has the potential to make a significant impact. Please do well to be in our office tomorrow so we can discuss the way forward." The caller said.
Zainab's eyes widened in disbelief. She stood up, her legs feeling shaky. "Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much this means to me."
"Congratulations, Zainab."