One of your trusted entrepreneurship wordsmith has returned from a well-deserved sabbatical. The batteries are recharged, the mind refreshed and not corrupted, heavily opinionated than at anytime in my life, with a strong belief in objectivity.

To start with, let me reiterate that the most important housekeeping issue that each and every disciple of this column should always keep at the back of their mind is that we celebrate capitalism, and scorn upon greediness. We will never be apologetic about our strong beliefs in the tenets of capitalism, because free markets offer opportunities even to folks in the remotest of areas who have an enduring entrepreneurial spirit.

Apparently, no economic system will ever be perfect; however capitalism creates better opportunities for entrepreneurs, and encourages innovation. Without capitalism we could not be enjoying the finer things in life, which are now dictating the pace of our lives. However, the downside of capitalism is that it also encourages greediness. Greediness is the mother of all evil.

However, forgive the earlier mumblings; nevertheless some things are so obvious such that they need to be continuously mentioned. The objective of this column is to bring you stories of entrepreneurs Under 30 scattered across the continent, that are creating wealth and jobs. On these shores we celebrate the success stories and the failures, because we have so much faith in perseverance as a necessary motivator for entrepreneurial success.

Moreover, this article is a result of a recent discussion I had with a few colleagues who felt thereis absolutely no opportunity for them because they simply don’t have capital to start any business venture. It is my greatest hope that this article will also help even more individuals across Africa, who also have a nagging feeling that they are in the same predicament.

In order to change the mindset, let me hastily state that in as much as the politics of the day has a bearing on the prevailing economic situation; however politicians will always be politicians. If you still believe that politicians will always dictate your future, it’s either you are a politician or you are just plain lazy and always just looking for an excuse to always whine about a lack of opportunities.

I am not here to scorn politicians,  however, the reality of life is that politicians will always provide motivating rhetoric to get your vote and simply forget about you when they are in office. It’s the duty of each individual to personally try and make something of their life. After all, we are surrounded by capitalists, from the lady selling vegetables on the street corner to the owners of the means of production, therefore what is stopping you from achieving your entrepreneurial goals.

Fortunately, the jury will always be out on the reality that no economy will ever be perfect, no matter our fantasies of the perfect economic environment. I have had friends and relatives who have migrated to the United Kingdom, the United States of America or Australia etc., with big hopes of a better future only to be depressed by the reality that the pastures are not as greener as they initially thought them to be.

The contemporary human thought has always been a strong belief that the overseas countries or some of our regional powerhouses offer us the best ticket out of our current misery and poverty. However, the reality is that no country is immune from political, economic, social problems etc., no matter how you make your assumptions explicit. The challenges might be of a different nature, however they still remain problems specific to that country. For those who quickly become a bundle of nerves, please note that I have not insinuated that there are no Africans who have made it in the above mentioned countries or any other country for that matter.

In addition, not many years ago, Africa had always been classified as a basket case and the sick man of the World, only to recently become the darling because of the growth prospects that it is offering. Of course, some of the African countries are havens for corruption, however, for as long as you are enterprising and are willing to persevere you will be a success. In fact, i personally promise you that, which is the main reason that we celebrate failures on this column.

The biggest challenge for individuals is to wait for capital, for far too long, thereby letting good ideas remain docile. If you are still waiting for capital, then you are not an entrepreneur. As I was having my earlier mentioned discussion, I got asked and I quote, “As you know me, I don’t have anything, what type of a business can I engage in?” The first thought that comes to mind is to laugh, however this is no laughing matter anymore, because we have far too many youths who are stuck in a rat race which has no end in sight, but rather a question that our education system should endeavour to answer comprehensively.

Extensive interest developed as everyone waited for me to respond, and then crucify me for my responds. However, when researching about entrepreneurship becomes a part of your life, it therefore should follow that you never run out of advising about entrepreneurship. That is unsurprising, moreover, without scratching my head that hard, my responds was that do you know that without capital for example, you can set up a marketing or advertising agency, and then venture into other business activities from thereon. Suddenly, silence engulfed the whole place, because we never realize that the smallest initiatives can develop into big businesses.

Many businesses are struggling on the continent to achieve the sales level that they would want, even when they have good products. All that is required is just for one to understand the product and come up with innovative marketing or advertising initiatives and then draft up a contract with the respective organisation. Bang! You are on the money. This is just one typical example of how you can start a business without needing capital, all you simply need maybe might be money for transport.

Even without money, you can still be a successful entrepreneur; a penniless Justin Stanford discovered his goldfield in Eastern Europe.

“I told them that if they could see to a more user-friendly interface and repackage their product for Western consumption, I wanted in,” says Stanford, referring to ESet, a Slovakian anti-virus product that was astonishingly good technologically, but marketed poorly.

After convincing his principals to do business with him, they never suspected that he was a one-man show with a door for a desk and no money. After Stanford went for three years with no luck and in the wilderness living off R2,000 a month, today, Eset’s Nod32 which is a multi-award-winning anti-virus product has made it possible for 4Di Capital to branch out into the comprehensive ESet Smart Security Suite.

Eset has been rated one of Deloitte &Touche’s 500 fastest-growing technology companies worldwide for several consecutive years. Stanford sits on its global marketing taskforce and provides critical input into new product development.

Stanford says, “I applied my mind and devised some low-cost distribution and marketing techniques. I realised we could produce and disseminate quality press releases cheaply by applying our industry knowledge, leveraging virus outbreaks as our angle, and employing the broad wires.”  While doing a good job of shoestring marketing, he also built an online distribution platform that auto-generated invoices, issued licences and allowed download, all this without any human intervention.

The best way to raise capital is through your customer base. No matter how much we believe in the banking system, however, the cheapest way to source for funding which is interest free is through sales.

Don’t just sit and hope for the best, create the best for yourself. Read business books or listen to business audio books. Knowledge is power they say, after all. You can never know about opportunities if you are not ready for them. Moreover, if your current network has not assisted you in getting a head-start in life, without totally abandoning it, however it’s about time that you expand your network further.

” What got me to my real beginning, without a doubt, was just perseverance. You also need to be a good observer and a good listener. I spent a lot of time listening to what much older and much wiser business people had to say. I still do it today,” Justin Stanford once remarked.

Next week, normal service will be restored and the Diary looks forward to sharing with you some of the fascinating stories that are happening on our beautiful continent. Otherwise, before then keep being enterprising, and remember that entrepreneurial success is making the most out of the resources that you have, and whilst in that economic environment that surrounds you. Scarcity is the global economic problem.

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