An African entrepreneurial perspective


It is the impetus of every entrepreneur since the beginning of time, to change the world, shaping and bettering it – all in pursuit of a particular dream or ideal.
During the time of my forefathers, the desire for far off places, goods and news was one of the greatest conquests. After all, Mfengu people were among the first tribes to trade with the Europeans.


The world must have been vast then – with new things at every turn. As Thomas Friedman once put it, ‘the earth is flat’ now. Having a unique idea, the required capital to make it a reality and outpacing everyone in the market to make it a reality is so precarious – most of us have a better chance of being hit by lightning.
It is important to remember, for every Mark Zuckerberg, or alike entrepreneurial superstar, there are thousands of entrepreneurs who apparently did not make it to the level.

These entrepreneurs are still and most importantly, pushing for an ideal, shaping a future and showing utmost grit and passion for life and enterprise. These unsung heroes battle daily to remain relevant, offer clients a product or service and beat the competition.

Being a media focused generation, we are fixated by thelives and achievements of the entrepreneurial superstars, emulating their ways and expecting similar results. In Africa, the venture capital market is almost non-existing, small micro pockets are available with very narrow investment scope.
We want to build as they built in the US, ‘compete’ with a system better equipped and resourced than us, according to their game plan. Africa – we need to change our strategy.

To be competitive, compete on your terms, with your content. Africa has a rich history to draw inspiration from, myth to get content from and a great future to have an ideal for. A Silicon Valley company will never beat me at being African. Now why will I compete on being non-African in their market? The time of tribal fervour is here again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Us, young Entrepreneurs are Lazy

Image
I recently watched a Multichoice advert on 20 years of freedom , about a gentleman called Johnny Bada, who over a 20 year period has risen from a mere Multichoice installer to become a business owner with 3 DSTV agencies and a staff component of 65 individuals. Though I cannot attest to the legitimacy and truthfulness of this story, it did capture me – proving again that business and success takes time. As I have mentioned before, an overnight success takes 14 years. Us, young entrepreneurs hardly take the time to learn our craft, to master it and be regarded as an industry expert. We tend to expect quick turnarounds in business and life. Our culture of “Now” hampers the growth and development of many aspiring, talented entrepreneurs. The desire to be a Hollywood entrepreneur sometimes clouds our judgement in finding the right opportunity and gradually growing it into a multibillion enterprise. However, not all entrepreneurs will be billionaires or even millionaires (Ra
Read more

Entrepreneurialism is a psychological affliction

Image
You really have to be quite crazy to leave the cushy and plush working environment of an established corporate or government department to become an entrepreneur. To go against conventional wisdom and advice to start something with no certainty of a future – let alone income potential to sustain you; where people actively and to your face wonder about your sanity. “How can such a promising person be so stupid” or “How can you be so foolish” or many other similar statements. When I took the leap, I was well on my way to rising within the Department of Science and Technology in Pretoria. They had offered me the position of Assistant Director (No idea, about the title) at the tender age of 26. I still have the letter to decline this offer – I must admit over the years when things got more than I can bare, I sometimes wondered about that letter and how life could have been had I not sent it and just reported to my new designation. With only FAITH as your north star and a drea
Read more

No easy route, no shortcuts - a look at 'White Monopoly Capital' and Stellenbosch as enemy

Image
As the popular adages goes, 'There are no shortcuts to success' and "There is no easy route to creating wealth" I have made no secrets on my love for Stellenbosch and moreover, my adoption of some of its leading entrepreneurs as my role models. I have had the great pleasure of spending my formative years as a young adult in Stellenbosch.  As student my rooting and fundamental beliefs were shaped and influenced by the town, its ambiance and all that that the institution embodied. The town of Stellenbosch  hosts a population of well  over 200 000 people,  spanning an area of  831.04 km². The town is a  vibrant economic area, with an active tourism market. M ajority of the population is white. The community also has some of the highest levels of education of any town in the country. For a small town, it offers and contributes to the fiscus more than its fair share. If that is the case, why then do we not learn valuable lessons from this anomaly in th
Read more