My Thoughts on Entreprenuership In Africa

Chapter 1 Developing Concepts that Sell


The Reality Is :The World rewards you when you provide solutions that solve problems !

The rewards come in form of money.This is the basic ,simple fact tha must motivate any entreprenuer .Solve small problems -earn small rewards .Solve Big problems -earn big rewards.

Any emtreprenuer who truly aspires to succeed must be on the ;lookout  for problems.He must train his mind to spot these and estimate how many people they affect. The more people in need of the solution -the wider the sources of revenue.Bill Gates did that by providing an operating system for all computers ,world wide .Sometimes this requires looking into the future and recognising problems in advance- long before the problem is noticeable. Train yourself to see problems and picture yourself solving them . Interpret every problem,big or small,as a potential business idea .Seek to create solutions for daily problems you see. I know some problems can't be solved that easily , for example ,Global warming - but some affect us in many small ways everyday.These are the ones an entreprenuer must attempt to provide solutions for.
Africa has so many problems -big and small ones .In fact,it is also known as the continent of  problems and hardship.This alone must motivate every entreprenuer make Africa their business laboratory.

Why Africa ?

Because economies in that continent are forcasted to grow and will be growing at above 5% on average . 7 out 10 of the fastest growing economies are from African countries the world over. Africa's economy is made up of a few big corporations (Multi- nationals /Conglomerates) and a lot of small scale /medium entreprises making the the bigger bulk of players in commerce .Compare this with the rest of the economies elsewhere on the globe.I am not ignorant to the challenges of doing business in Africa .They are many . Consider the differences in business perspectives, culture and language;not forgeting corruption,bureacracy-the list of negatives goes on . Thats not our focus( and shouldn't be for the entreprenuer)because they will always be hurdles -like people who will tell you it can't be done . That shouldn't matter -what matters is what you're seeing with your mind's eye-Your vision. Thats what should drive an entreprenuer and the passion to provide a solution -at a profit, of course.


1(a) Creating Concepts/Ideas Around Existing Business

We live in a time where technological advancements and the consequential transformation in consumer preferences is making old solutions irrelevent to the current problems.

The advent of the internet is one such example. The Postal service offered by Post Offices has been replaced by electronic mail . This has affected the postman . In some countries the postman no longer exists . This development has also impacted the production and sales of stamps ,envelopes and post cards.

The arrival of Amazon .com means books have become electronic .How do you thnik this will affect writers,publishers,paper milling  and manufacturing companies ,and the forestry companies that were reliant on fast selling paper backs ( I'm not saying paper sales have declined ).

Similar changes have affected airline travel agents who used to physically sell airline tickets to commuters and now the same commuter can purchase their tickets and secure a booking on any airline from the comfort of their home or office .
All these changes mean old solutions are no longer relevent and this presents an oopportunity for the budding entreprenuer to innovate around these existing businesses.Once again, it requires the entreprenuer searches for the problems,first.Todays entreprenuers must see themselves as modern day inventors . This is why Thomas Edison ,Alexander Graham Bell and Henry Ford made fortunes ( it appears they made a lot more than Bill Gates has today if you factor in inflation )-they simply invented solutions for everyday problems . Problems which affected everyone .
Alexander Graham Bell figured out that long distance communication by telephone would revolutionalise the world . I find the same concept at work at Facebook today. The only difference is Mark Zuckerman found out that people love to see pictures of themselves -just like they love their images on a mirror and would spend hours in front of it . Communication is still at the heart of both concepts .
Zuckerman innovated and created around several existing businesses.So can you !

I wll explore what Facebook's core business is in one of my next Chapters . Ineed you to tinkabout it and take a guess. If you have the answer -make a contribution and join our debate here or on my facebook wall
http://www.facebook.com/LovemoreMhindu

1(b) Turning your Solution into a Business

 Why build a business around your solution ?

 Businesses are built for two reasons
(1) To provide a financial return on Capital upon selling it.
(2) To provide regular cashflow or revenue

You can build your business with the aim of selling it .Sabeer Bhatia ,an Indian Software engineer ,designed ,built and ran Hotmail before selling it to Microsoft.As an entreprenuer,you may also build a business which you will keep and grow,earning revenue from it as it grows and expands .For the sake of simplicity,lets say the first reason is-build  to sell and the second reason  is - build to keep and earn (most family owned business have this characteristic).

As an entreprenuer you need to be clear on which path you will take . It is also significantly important to remove all emotions from business and view your business purely as a business not your baby.

Building  a business starts with a plan . No one I know of ever tried to build a house without a plan . Even in the poorest African villages ,the builder has some sought of mental picture of where he will build a hut ,what material he will use and how much . Who he will build it with and for how long( perhaps it must be completed before the rains start-kind of time frame .Think of it ,its crazy to start a constuction project with out a comnstruction plan or to attempt to build a house using just any other building plan designed for another site elsewhere.
I've lost count of how many business plans I've seen that look alike .I agree that some form of uniformity must exist when making a business plan however,I feel a business plan for a website development company must not be the same as that of a private medial centre.The two businesses are not the same but its amazing how the same format is used for both.

My opinion is ,the entreprenuer is the inventor of the solution only he/she knows best how the solution must change the lives of those its intended for. your business plan must be made in the same unqueness as your  solution . It cannot be a copy of another business at all.