Our best role models for success are those African entrepreneurs who have started a successful business and are now enjoying the fruits.
The question is: Were they lucky, had major capital at hand, or got a helping hand from rich dad? Far from it. Today, I want to inspire you to get your African business started with what you have.
And when you are starting from scratch, a couple of rules are paramount for your success: Focus on solving a problem and tapping into a local market trend. Stand out from your competition and, above all, enthusiastically believe in your business vision and don’t give up during the early stages.
One of the most famous entrepreneurs who started a business in his garage, may be Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon.com in 1994 after making a cross-country drive from New York to Seattle, writing up the Amazon business plan on the way. He heard about the potential of e-commerce and shortly after, started the company in his garage selling books. Now Jeff Bezos owns a business empire.
The main objective of this post is to let you know once more that you don’t need much starting capital or pay fancy office or retail space rent to become very successful in Africa. You have no money? Then you start with what you have and you can nevertheless grow big in a relatively short period of time. This is the wonderful space Africa still provides. And I think sharing the stories of Africans who have done just that, will help you to get inspired and to believe.
Here are five African entrepreneurs who started a business in their own home.
#1. Cephas Nshimyumuremyi – started his skin care cream in his GARAGE (Rwanda)
CNN featured recently the story of Rwandan science teacher Cephas Nshimyumuremyi who started his skin care business, Uburanga Products, in 2013. When he started he had no money, in fact, it is reported he produced his first products with just $10 in hand, which he spent on buying cream pots locally.
Today after just 2 years, his company, which makes herbal jelly and soap from local medicinal plants, generates $30,000 and employs 12 workers.
His idea for natural cosmetics with healing properties came during class. “I teach chemistry so I showed my students how you can test a plant, and know the capacity of that plant to kill bacteria,” says the young entrepreneur, who launched his company in a bid to supplement his income from teaching
He says his future goal is to provide the solution for “some skin diseases in Africa.”
Cephas message to fellow would-be entrepreneurs thinking of starting a business is encouraging: “Don’t think that you need a lot of capital,” he says. “Start with little, but use the knowledge and the environment that you already have.”
#2: Axel Fourie – started his iPod repair chain in his BEDROOM (South Africa)
Take Axel Fourie from South Africa. By the time he was 27 he had tried several start-ups with little success. When his iPod was faulty and he was told by specialists nothing could be done about it, he searched for a You Tube video online and fixed it himself. He then put an advert into a local newspaper and offered that same service – he was flooded with calls and requests and knew he was onto something. He opened his company iFix and started fixing iPods from his university dorm. This was in 2007. Today Alex runs a chain of 8 stores and employs 85 people fixing most Apple and some Samsung devices. He has since expanded his business manufacturing mobile phone accessories which he exports into 12 countries across Africa. Oh, we forgot to mention the amount of his starting capital. Here it is: Zero (unless he paid a little for that newspaper ad).
#3 Zainab Ashadu started her luxury handbag business in a small WORKSHOP
Zainab started her business in 2011 when she returned to Nigeria after living in London for 12 years (ladies and gentlemen, see, it can be done!). She is the founder and creative director of Zashadu Bags, a sustainable luxury leather handbag company which specializes in handcrafted leather pieces. Operating in Lagos, Zainab uses locally sourced materials including leather, exotic skins and rough cut semi-precious stones and produces her luxury handbags out of a workshop where she employs local artisans who hand craft the products. The company sells its luxury handbags locally and internationally on its website and supplies a few shops. Items listed on the online shop this week have currently a starting price of £320 (US$524) for a box clutch bag while the priciest are bags selling at £1,100 ($1,800) a piece. She is now selling also in London, Paris, and the US.
“In terms of expansion, I strongly believe in organic growth as there is nothing more motivating or satisfying.” Zainab Ashadu says.” The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to dream big, but start small.”
#4 Sisters Louiza Rademan and Christine Buchanan – started their baby skin care range in their KITCHEN (South Africa)
Sisters Louiza Rademan and Christine Buchanan from Cape-Town were always fans of natural and organic beauty products, and when Buchanan was expecting her first child, she wanted to use products with natural ingredients for her child. However, she was unable to find a suitable range on the shelves, so she and her sister created a nappy balm mixing it together in the kitchen. That quickly became very popular with family and friends who also had children, especially because it also proved to effectively treat nappy rush.
The sisters decided to name their balm ‘Oh-lief’ and attended a 3-day trade show after they prepared 100 units for the event in their kitchen the day before. To their amazement everything sold out the first day. The sister quickly produced 100 more pots the same night only for that to sell out the next day, too. At the end of the trade show, they had sold 300 units of their new product and just knew then they were onto something.
Louiza and Christina decided to refine their products and quit their day jobs in property and architecture. To make a short story even shorter: They started direct selling where women could earn money selling ‘Oh-lief’ to other women (using the Tupperware method). Then they produced an organic range for adults, and just a few days ago Woolworth is reported to be stocking their brand soon in 2 stores throughout South Africa. And the sisters have now even customers in Europe. Since the very start of mixing the creams together in the kitchen, their revenue had always been growing and continues to do so.
# 5 Christine Mbabazi – started her clothing brand in her BEDROOM (Rwanda)
Christine Mbabazi started small in the confines of her tiny bedroom. Her tools were basic: needle, thread and pieces of fabric, with which she created her African designs. She took pleasure in creating her own designs and sewing unconventional personal outfits.
Christine’s friends saw what she wasn’t seeing at the time. They recognized prospect and took a decision to announce it and in fact sell it.
Soon, clients began knocking on Christine’s door, with their unending requests. That was when she realized that she was in business. Today she had her own fashion show in Kigali and her start-up story was featured by CNN.
Now the owner of her own store — Christine Creative Collections — she has even bigger plans: turning her fashion boutique into a household name and exporting her brand into Europe.
I think you would agree that these are amazing Africa business success stories and there are many more out there. So, what business can you get started with what you have?
If you are in need of more African business ideas and concepts that work and concrete actionable tips and market information for those ideas, if you want more insights into how others built their successful African businesses, then I suggest you get my book ‘101 Ways To Make Money in Africa‘. Read more about the book here.
I wish you much success in your endeavours!
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