enFocus director teaches startups how to turn ideas into money-making businesses
Blessing Mene might have moved to the Region to support his wife’s education at the University of Notre Dame. But he also brought international expertise that is helping entrepreneurs succeed.
As director of entrepreneurship for enFocus, the Nigerian native works with startups and shares his expertise about launching businesses.
Since its founding in 2012, South Bend-based enFocus has worked to connect recent graduates with civic groups, nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies hungry for talent with fresh ideas.
Mene, who joined enFocus in early 2024, helps aspiring business leaders learn how to pursue investors, sharpen their business plans and turn innovative concepts into real-world economic ventures.
Mene’s contributions as director of entrepreneurship are making a difference in the business community, said Andrew Wiand, EnFocus president.
“Blessing’s work at enFocus reinforces the critical role entrepreneurship plays in strengthening the South Bend-Elkhart region, an area with a long and proud history of innovation and enterprise,” Wiand said.
“We see this work as essential to the region’s future, and Blessing plays an important role in making it happen.”
Mene is cofounder and CEO of Vetsark, a financial technology company that helps African farmers gain access to capital and other tools to grow their businesses.
Throughout his professional career, Mene has supported more than 100 startups, small and medium enterprises and nonprofits. He also has fundraised more than $25 million in venture capital investments and donor grants. He has trained more than 2,000 businesses and nonprofits in specialties covering entrepreneurship, innovation, fundraising, leadership development and other topics.
Big-tech heavyweights have recognized Mene’s work. He was awarded the Google Impact Challenge Public Choice Prize for his work in Nigeria and was named a 2020 Goalkeepers Rebuilder by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He earned a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and innovation from Valencia International University and Rome Business School Nigeria. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and education from the Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria.
Mene says fundraising is not just about money, that it’s about building a “fundable” and impactful organization. He serves as a director and adviser to startups and organizations looking to sharpen their fundraising story, validate their business model, achieve profitability, and design strategies for long-term growth.
“I guide regional organizations to establish successful strategies,” Mene said. “I bring that skill to the table, to develop profitable, scalable companies.”
Since Mene’s work involves teaching recent graduates how to become successful entrepreneurs, it makes sense that he’s eager to talk about how he is developing an entrepreneurship board game.
“It’s a fundraising game that teaches you about raising capital and all those other things,” Mene said. “This simulation is a board game to help teach the business of equity investment to colleges and high schools across Indiana.”
Mene’s wife, Cynthia Mene, shares his passion for promoting social entrepreneurship. She is CEO and co-founder of Inspire Africa, a nonprofit that teaches entrepreneurship skills to youths. She serves as an international consultant for the World Bank Group and is a McKinsey Next Generation Women Leaders Fellow, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Mene’s work with enFocus involves shepherding along various projects and initiatives proposed by aspiring entrepreneurs that he refers to as fellows. Projects represent a variety of business sectors, including agriculture, sustainability and green energy.
“One fellow is working on a hydroponic system that allows people to grow crops and vegetables within your houses, indoors,” Mene said. “It’s really very efficient.”
Blessing oversees a portfolio of 15 to 20 entrepreneurial projects where innovation fellows complete activities to advance the commercialization potential of each startup, Wiand said.
“The projects involve a combination of customer validation, solution development and piloting/testing of novel solutions,” he said. “Through this work, he brings a thoughtful, analytical approach to supporting entrepreneurs as they assess viability and move ideas toward success.
“Mene’s ability to connect big-picture regional goals with practical, on-the-ground support makes him a valuable contributor to enFocus and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.” ▪
Read more stories from the current issue of Northwest Indiana Business Magazine.
Common sense beats process
Great ownership transfer
Bridge for skills gap
Passion project
Curiosity at heart
Quality trade show strategy
Employee wealth plans
Inside mid-career learning
Betting on Northwest Indiana
Digital infrastructure
Professional advancement
