Why do Africans have so little Successful Entrepreneurs

The answer is very simple. Africans do not want to start small.

A friend recently asked me why there are so few African entrepreneurs in Europe, in America and in West Africa.

My answer was simple. Africans do not want to start small. They are only interested in industry.

Industrial entrepreneurship means starting a business on a project, spending years with bank-secured money thanks to acquired business plans and a bright logo, headquarters, nice cars parked on the side and a CEO talking to journalists all day and a link on Facebook and Twitter / Instagram, enjoying endless fame, recognition and appreciation.

This is the king of the company they have been dreaming of from the beginning, when you have to scratch.

Then there is another type of business: craft business, that is, starting from what you have where you are, ensuring your existence through good customer service, frugality, self-discipline, humility, being ignored while having little or no time Facebook or Twitter.

My next step in explaining this is also to draw attention to the modest origins of many sustainable companies, which they often admire.

I also warn my friends that the business is only for white children from oligarchic families who receive a check for millions of dollars for their latest nightmare project. Failure will not affect their future.

Most African countries do not print money as they please, as do Americans and Europeans. And foreign banks rarely trust Africans with their money, let alone those with unsubstantiated ideas.

Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese in our suburbs are real and they are not ashamed to start small, without having to do a press release or without attending many conferences. They raise money to rent, work as a couple or friends, and sweat until they fly away. They grow and grow larger as they build their communities. The engineers that come to build our roads are not even as qualified as we are. But they did things that got their hands dirty and it paid off.

If you are visiting China, you can confirm my opinion. Chinese exports come from many semi-industrial plants, many of which are made by hand. Contrary to illusion, Chinese products do not rush out of factories and voilaa, but as a production unit that is usually very traditional. Whereas engineers here, especially the ones in Universities know little or nothing about how to unscrew a bolt.

Since we Africans do not want to start small, we are finally looking for work in big companies, never thinking about setting it up ourselves we prefer to work for others.

The key is to be shameless, bold to start small, using non-industrial methods but pure ingenuity, forgetting to shine on Facebook or Instagram or the media while being ready to smear yourself, to make your dream come true.

I really believe this is one of the way forward. Not everyone would get the fancy job, beautiful office or get to work from home on a laptop.
Some would have to do it the 'Elon Musk' and 'Mark Zuckerberg' s' way.
Although there's a tech shift in the world presently, truth be told not all African techies will become the next Meta or Microsoft or Flutterwave. So why not get your hands doing something even if it looks small.

The book "The Millionaire Next Door" says that most millionaires have boring small businesses. You just might not want believe it.

Gabs, 2021.