There is a wind of entrepreneurship sweeping through Africa and the entire world. The youths want to become business owners and job creators other than be employed. While this is the desire for most people, the common excuse you get is lack of capital. Have you ever thought what the most successful African entrepreneurs started with and where they got their money? Here are some of the most inspiring stories on entrepreneurship.
Fomba Trawally fled Liberia to become a refugee in Gambia when the civil war broke in 1989. When he returned in 1991 he started trading in rubber slippers with a capital of only 200 dollars. In about fifteen years, his business had three stores in Monrovia and had diversified to cosmetics imported from allover the world. He transitioned into manufacturing and now owns a paper and toiletry company raking a million dollar and more in a year.
Bethlehem Alemu grew up in the poor Ethiopian neighborhood of Zenabwork. These poor environs inspired her dream of establishing SoleRebels, a footwear company selling shoes allover Africa and the world. With a capital of 10,000 dollars that she borrowed from friends and relatives, she started recycling materials into shoes and is now raking in excess of one million dollars per year.
Streaming movies over the internet is a growing trend with IrokoTV leading in Africa. Jason Njoku is a co-founder whose only contribution in the business now valued at millions of dollars was the idea. He is now the CEO of IrokoTV, a streaming business concentrating on Nollywood movies and which has attracted investments to the tune of 90,000 dollars. All he had was an idea. He took it to the right people.
Adii Pienaar is the perfect example of bootstrapping. This is where a business starts with practically no coin. The South African serial entrepreneur started WooThemes at age 23 while still in university. He consulted for other companies and used the proceeds to boost WooThemes. The company was recently sold for 30 million dollars to an American tech giant based on the internet.
For most people, the age of 19 is spent in reckless partying or in the library pursuing some mundane university degree. For Patrick, this is the year he made his first trip to China armed with a loan of 1,800 dollars partly from his mother and partly from a friend. The Tanzanian grew the business and now runs one of the biggest solar companies in Eastern Africa. His turnover is over fifteen million dollars in a year.
Empty plastic bottles and other such containers are treated with contempt when seen lying around. For Lorna Rutto, she saw them as an opportunity to conserve the fast disappearing forests in Kenya. She established a recycling plant to make fencing poles. The company has received global accolade and now employs thousands directly and indirectly. The large scale manufacturing plant mints millions every year.
The stories of successful entrepreneurship in Africa are endless. What of the celebrity pig farmer of South Africa called Anna Phosa? Have you read the rise and continued rise of Aliko Dangote who borrowed 500,000 Naira from his grandfather? There is another bootstrapping Ghanaian entrepreneur called Fred Deegbe. They all demonstrate that success requires more than huge capital. It is sheer passion and hard work.
Fomba Trawally fled Liberia to become a refugee in Gambia when the civil war broke in 1989. When he returned in 1991 he started trading in rubber slippers with a capital of only 200 dollars. In about fifteen years, his business had three stores in Monrovia and had diversified to cosmetics imported from allover the world. He transitioned into manufacturing and now owns a paper and toiletry company raking a million dollar and more in a year.
Bethlehem Alemu grew up in the poor Ethiopian neighborhood of Zenabwork. These poor environs inspired her dream of establishing SoleRebels, a footwear company selling shoes allover Africa and the world. With a capital of 10,000 dollars that she borrowed from friends and relatives, she started recycling materials into shoes and is now raking in excess of one million dollars per year.
Streaming movies over the internet is a growing trend with IrokoTV leading in Africa. Jason Njoku is a co-founder whose only contribution in the business now valued at millions of dollars was the idea. He is now the CEO of IrokoTV, a streaming business concentrating on Nollywood movies and which has attracted investments to the tune of 90,000 dollars. All he had was an idea. He took it to the right people.
Adii Pienaar is the perfect example of bootstrapping. This is where a business starts with practically no coin. The South African serial entrepreneur started WooThemes at age 23 while still in university. He consulted for other companies and used the proceeds to boost WooThemes. The company was recently sold for 30 million dollars to an American tech giant based on the internet.
For most people, the age of 19 is spent in reckless partying or in the library pursuing some mundane university degree. For Patrick, this is the year he made his first trip to China armed with a loan of 1,800 dollars partly from his mother and partly from a friend. The Tanzanian grew the business and now runs one of the biggest solar companies in Eastern Africa. His turnover is over fifteen million dollars in a year.
Empty plastic bottles and other such containers are treated with contempt when seen lying around. For Lorna Rutto, she saw them as an opportunity to conserve the fast disappearing forests in Kenya. She established a recycling plant to make fencing poles. The company has received global accolade and now employs thousands directly and indirectly. The large scale manufacturing plant mints millions every year.
The stories of successful entrepreneurship in Africa are endless. What of the celebrity pig farmer of South Africa called Anna Phosa? Have you read the rise and continued rise of Aliko Dangote who borrowed 500,000 Naira from his grandfather? There is another bootstrapping Ghanaian entrepreneur called Fred Deegbe. They all demonstrate that success requires more than huge capital. It is sheer passion and hard work.
About the Author:
If you are searching for information about successful African entrepreneurs, come to our web pages online today. More details are available at http://africaneurs.org now.
No comments:
Post a Comment