Are you still wondering how to find the right business ideas for Africa? Or maybe you are playing with an idea and you are not sure if it is the right one and if it will generate a healthy income soon? Then today’s post is for you.
Here is an honest question for you: How are you generating business ideas? May you be setting yourself up to a weak start?
In my work as an Africa business coach and consultant I still see a lot of ad hoc approaches to start-up ideas. Someone wants to open a shop in Angola, another one wants to produce ice cream in the Sudan, or sell videos in Ghana. And then they ask me for feedback or means of funding.
My question would be: Have you researched your market? Is there demand for what you offer and how does the competition do? Are you tapping into visible trends and enabling dynamics? Are you standing out?
Or in short: How is your idea making a compelling case ?
Today I want to share five strategies that can help you generate ideas that lead to profitable businesses with great potential for growth.
1) Identify a problem – and provide a solution
Action tip for you: Take a pen and make a list of all sorts of problems you are aware of in the country you want to operate in. This should very much include things you or people you know in that country have struggled with.
Many Africans have done precisely that.
Christina Khasinah-Odero was unable to turn to anyone or anywhere when she became a mum in Kenya for the first time in 2010. There was a gap! She founded the platform Supamamas.com featuring information, products, and regular events for professional Kenyan mums and has since won many business awards in her country.
Suzie Wokabi was a Kenyan make up artists who had worked in the US. Upon her return she quickly run out of the high-quality make up she had brought with her and had to order it from abroad. It was a hassle and no long-term solution, and she knew many more women were facing the same problem. She decided to start producing high-end make-up locally…Suzie has in a few years built a million Dollar company with her company Suzie Beauty.
Patrick Ngowi was selling mobile phone payment cards in Tanzania, but noticed quickly that many people were unable to actually charge their mobile phones. He diverted his focus and started purchasing and selling small solar equipment. He was only in his twenties and had just over 1,000 Dollars borrowed from his mother, yet he has since built a multi million company with Helvetic Solar.
The stories are endless….
Which problem are you fixing?
2) Replicate successful business ideas that work elsewhere in Africa
Action tip for you: Read the recently featured success stories of successful African entrepreneurs; study what they did and why and how they did it.
Look for a business idea that gets your blood flowing (interest & passion are important ingredients for your success!) and then consider to replicate that concept in another country.
You can find their stories here on Africajumpstart.com, on smallstarter.com, on howwemadeitinafrica.com and if you are looking for aspiring women role models check out lionessesofafrica.com. If you want most of the success stories compiled conveniently then you should invest in your goal and get our book ‘101 Ways to Make Money in Africa‘. Take a pen and make a list of names of the entrepreneurs and their products and research them a bit more. Be inspired by those who have walked the path before you!
3) Explore extreme niches in the most dynamic industries
– Agriculture including processing, packaging, storing, distribution, / Food
– Fast Moving Consumer Products including manufacturing, marketing, and branding
– ICT
– Real Estate
– Transport & logistics
– Tourism
Now, look for an extreme business niche in those sectors, research it – and OWN it! The extremer it gets the less competition you will have, as you are implementing a rare concept and your customers or clients are found in a very small market segment. Important is only that you choose a niche market with high spending power, as you will be selling to a small number of buyers.
Just to give you an example: Silk worm rearing in agriculture for example for silk production – you can bet that silk will be sold, especially in markets like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria that are investing in their apparel industries.
Or offer hot air balloon trips within a country’s tourism industry.
There are many ideas for you, be creative! And when you start a business in such an extreme niche, you can often quickly grow it and own it.
4) Pioneer ideas that work in the West
Action tip for you: Just walk through your local supermarket or department store and look at the things that are very popular in the West and that could be easily produced in Africa. Browse the Internet for the many unique or home-based business ideas in the West and see what could be translated into an African context.
Here are a few ideas: Produce frozen Pizza and party food for example, frozen chips, fresh sausages, sweets, smoothies, baby food, toys, high-end women underwear, silk ties for men (buy the silk from women farmers in Rwanda producing it now)…
Franchise plumbing services, offer interior design services, children play centres, karate, judo & guitar lessons, care homes for the elderly or flexible home care for bed stricken Africans in rich families, marriage counselling, boys scouts adventures, landscape gardening, fast food home delivery, laser hair removal, themed children party & entertainment etc. etc.
5) Generate ideas that feed into already funded plans by powerful industry players
Let me give you a couple of examples: The Millennium Development Goals – building a mobile money payment solution for women farmers would tap into that, and you can actively promote your business in that context, being able to win the attention, endorsement, and possibly even funding from powerful stakeholders at a certain stage.
The AGOA. A US legislation to strengthen US-Africa trade relations. It is the flagship of American involvement in US-Africa trade – but it faces a lot of obstacles. Design a business that would solve some of those obstacles and promote your business to the key departments in order to start making valuable connections and start selling.
It does not mean your business would become obsolete if the project, legislation, or treaty is discontinued, because you are really tapping into wider sector developments. However, you can smartly use such agreements as a powerful context to get the right business focus in place and increase your success potential.
Ethiopia for example is heavily focusing on the development of manufacturing, apparel, and an airport expansion is planned that is said to compare in size to Heathrow Airport in the UK. Why not produce buttons of all forms and sizes for the apparel industry or start a business that serves airports or airlines? Be strategic about your positioning!
Research what big projects and development plans are being actively pursued within your market of choice and get in there! Winning just one contract, can catapult your business to immense success! But be sure to quickly diversify within your industry, so you are not dependent on the success of a single project or client.
I hope this post has helped you to understand that you can use certain strategies to generate powerful Africa business ideas, that will be, without a doubt, very profitable if you have enough patience in the beginning and the ability to delay gratification.
We look forward to your feedback, questions, and thoughts below! Let’s keep our supportive Africa Business Jumpstart community going and growing! Wishing you all the best for your success in Africa!
Need more business ideas and concepts that work for Africa? Get my book ‘101 Ways to Make Money in Africa’
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Great, informative article!