Let’s look at some of the personal mind tools you need to become a
successful entrepreneur Africa.
1. Sense of urgency
If you think you should probably start saving or set yourself a
goal to open an Africa business by 2020 you are missing a vital ingredient: a
sense of urgency! Yes, Africa is a newly emerging economy with a pool of
opportunities, but that pool is getting increasingly crowded by the week. Make
the most of this incredible opportunity to operate in a market with a
relatively low level of competition. The right time to do business or invest in
Africa is now – right now. Having a sense of urgency is an important attribute
to your success potential
2. Extra dose of patience and perseverance
Being an entrepreneur is not an easy undertaking and perseverance
is what will see you through. Many fail due to lack of patience and faith – there
is a delay in gratification when striving for entrepreneurial success and most
people are unable to see that through. But the need for these important success
attributes are further intensified when operating in an emerging market. Oh,
and put that up by a few notches for Africa. Someone who left a comment on my
blog (thank you!) said recently: ” I’m an agribusiness executive coming from
Brazil to manage a start up soybean project in Mozambique. After 6 months
living here and having over 25 years managing agribusinesses in Brazil and
Latin America, I can say it’s really a challenging business environment over
here.” Yep, this is what we are talking about.
3. Creativity
It’s true, Africa’s big cities need basics that don’t require
much creativity at all – baby food, shoes, cars, laptops, cleaning utensils.
But creativity goes a long way in Africa: For one, it will help you to figure
out how to overcome the many shortages and obstacles you will encounter during
your operation on the ground, in fact, a lot of creativity goes into how you
market and sell on a continent where infrastructure is lacking on so many
levels. But there is a more inspiring reason: many of the very successful
African entrepreneurs designed incredible products, tools, and services that
have managed to solve some of the big needs and wants among both rural and
urban communities on the continent that have persisted for decades. We see that
a group of creative individuals have managed to solve more problems than some
aid budgets combined. Be sure, creativity will get you noticed and far in
Africa. In
fact adding a creative component to your business concept is how you can often
outdo the competition when you get started.
4. Excellent people skills
In Africa having excellent people skills goes far beyond a
great attribute you can put on your CV. As an Africa entrepreneur be
prepared to discuss with community elders under a tree (if you need access to
land or you are introducing a new mobile app), that you then meet some French
investors at Hilton for lunch, before you attend a chat with the
city’s top young tech guys in a place that reminds you of your old campus
cafeteria. What are you wearing for the day? (Smile ). But above all – how good
is your ability to communicate and interact with people on the continent who
have a very different background and understanding of certain circumstances,
and who may all be stakeholders in your industry?
5. Ability to adapt
Don’t try to do things your way on a continent with its own pace
and rules. You will only get frustrated or even put people off with your
(Western) expectations. I think within your company you will set your own
standards and doing so can set you positively apart; but when you operate
outside of that, a high ability to adapt will work in your favor many times. I
always remember how I attended an appointment in Khartoum some years ago.
Shortly before I arrived, the person in charge had decided that he and his
colleagues had not eaten yet and he ordered fish, soup, bread, and eggs which were
delivered right into his office on a huge silver plate. He did not explain the
delay of our meeting or apologize, he simply invited me to join. We ate with
our hands (luckily I was at least used to that), and the meeting started only
after the tea was served. I had time, and although our appointment had been
somewhat disregarded, I decided not to ask questions, but to go with the flow.
Actually, in this case I enjoyed what would have been a real rarity attending a
meeting in London.
6. Courage and optimism
Right – so let’s sum up: risk of corruption, armed conflict,
terrorism, locus pest, drought, poorly skilled personnel and managers, tropical
illnesses. Did we forget anything? If you have a natural tendency to
focus on the risks and on everything that could go wrong, you will find it
difficult to become a successful entrepreneur in Africa. The issue is that
there are many reasons why you should not do something or why something could
fail, but there are even more reasons why you should act upon it. While risk
management is vital when operating in Africa, you will need an extra portion of
courage and optimism to get you through the challenges and succeed. But when
you do it pays off manifold!
7. Grand Vision
“I know they don’t know what solar is. But soon the villagers will
install it themselves and tell other villages all about it…!” You can bring
immense light and hope back into a continent that has collectively suffered for
decades and centuries, you just need to believe and act upon it. Carve out your
grand vision! See clearly in front of you the positive impact you want to make in
the world with your business and the grand life you want to create for
yourself. Our love for Africa and its people and our personal desire to live a
happy life is what will unite us when becoming successful Africa entrepreneurs!
So, do you think you have what it takes? And above all: how bad do
you want it?
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