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The Carnival of African Enterprising Part 2

Written by: Ken Teyie

Article Overview: In the last part of The Carnival of African Enterprising we present more views from bloggers about Africa in the 21st Century.

The Carnival of African Enterprising Part 2

In the last part of The Carnival of African Enterprising we present more views from bloggers about Africa in the 21st Century.

Speaking on “AfricanPath”, Jeffery Kimathi marketing manager of “an African fashion” company based in New York-USA, advices Africans to follow his business model that allows customers to subtly and stylishly speak messages that showcase the vibrancy and diversity of the African continent. Kimathi believes that Africa has the capacity to solve its own problems because no one understands the continent better than Africa itself. It’s all about passion and hard work; there is no elevator to success and Africa has to take the stairway just like everyone else. He advises Africans to strive to earn respect for their resourcefulness, ideas, and creativity. According to him Africa should endeavor to contribute to the modern world culture. “This is why Italian handcrafted garments go for thousands of dollars each and yet similar quality handcrafted African goods usually go for much less,” he says

“Joshua Wanyama” believes that any business is only as valid as its value in the eyes of a consumer. This also holds true for African businesses. He advises Africa to aim at creating a prominent global brand by strategically building a position within the mind of the consumer (world) and steadily defending that position. If a company offers Internet connectivity in Cairo, Egypt it can do the same in Bujumbura, Burundi as long as a market exists. For it to develop a strong position within the marketplace, it has to develop a strong brand. The name this company occupies in the Egyptian marketplace has to be the same as the one occupied in a Burundian’s mind or a Togolese for that matter. Branding then presents a strong foundation on which Africa can build its market share in a vibrant global economy. “Wanyama” believes that a Pan-African company will also need to have a home country, for example, Coca Cola (an American soft drink company) is a global brand with 80% of its annual sales coming from foreign markets, it will be ill advised to disown its American heritage.

According to “Benin Mwangi” Africans should re-orient their thinking, step out of the past and see markets as what they are - big and underserved. Benin proposes a public-private approach as one way to take Africa into the 21st Century. If an African government intends to invest in wiring classrooms and has both the scale and technical savvy to pull it off, that’s great. However, if the private sector has the muscle to do it much better, then the government should support the sector by allowing such investments but still play its role as a facilitator.

“David” advises African businesses to adopt better business strategies so as to attract more investors. He reckons that Africa should carefully strengthen all aspects of business that investors look for to ensure that the opportunities Africa present achieve results. For a successful business, he advises Africans to put more strength in what investors look for when evaluating opportunities which include; the people who manage the company, concept value, price of the deal, deal structure and the exit strategy.

Related Articles
  Blogging Africa into the 21st Century
  Inspiration
  African designers go global
  Quick Hits Around the (African) Web
  The Carnival of African Enterprising

Article Tags: advices, african businesses, african continent, african fashion, american soft drink, burundian, cairo egypt, egyptian marketplace, fashion company, global brand, global economy, internet connectivity, kimathi, marketing manager, new york usa, pan african, resourcefulness, strong foundation, togolese, world culture



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What do you do to give back? - I'm launching new section of the site for social entrepreneurship and our first category is going to be called African Accounts. The goal with the project is to raise awareness of African entrepreneurs and showcase that entrepreneurship can be the path to achieving sustainable development. This has always been a passion of mine and I have done a number of talks around the world on this subject so I'm excited to bring it online as well. We have recruited some of the top bloggers in the world who focus on African entrepreneurship and are preparing additional resources. I believe that a big part of running a business is being socially responsible and giving back - even if it's donating your time to an organization or small amounts of money or products. You don't have to be mega-successful to make a difference. What are some of the things you are doing to give back to the community around you?
Re: How will an african make money truely on the net? - Is it possible for an African business to set up an "offshore" account in the US or England... or even Switzerland... where all monies are paid? And a trusted agent there, who gets a percentage of any money, can then take that money from paypal and wire it or mail it or whatever to an African bank? There are lots of countries in Africa, is this a problem in all of them? Seems like an internet entrepreneur who can set up a "Paypal" like company of their own might be able to make money on this... ? Course you'd need governmental contacts...
Re: How will an african make money truely on the net? - [quote="OmnivoreInk":koqfopnc]Is it possible for an African business to set up an "offshore" account in the US or England... or even Switzerland... where all monies are paid? And a trusted agent there, who gets a percentage of any money, can then take that money from paypal and wire it or mail it or whatever to an African bank? There are lots of countries in Africa, is this a problem in all of them? Seems like an internet entrepreneur who can set up a "Paypal" like company of their own might be able to make money on this... ? Course you'd need governmental contacts...[/quote:koqfopnc] Hi Topeyinka I don't know what products you sell, but if they are digital how about selling them through Clickbank. They will handle the sale for you and will send you cheques on the money you have earned. MichelleJ
Re: How will an african make money truely on the net? - [quote="MichelleJ":2a9hm5bq]Hi Topeyinka I am just wondering, with Paypal as long as they can get your credit card verification I don't think that they worry if you are an African or not. I also live in South Africa and there was no problem getting verified with them once they had checked my credit card details that proved the card belonged to me. Michellej[/quote:2a9hm5bq] Hi Michelle, You can use paypal to send money and buy as a South African, but you are limited to receive payment. So what is the use of spending money without making it. You cannot accept payment with your paypal. Any way South Africans can make use of 2CO to recieve payment on theie websites.
Re: Small Business grant listings and other grant listings - Are African citizens eligible for this grant?


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