Launching a business has its ups and downs, which are most likely inevitable. However, being aware of some of these 'inevitable' occurrences and how to go about them makes the difference between you and any entrepreneur who hasn't come across this.

As an entrepreneur, your job is to solve a problem but you must solve your problems before being able to solve others'. Being an African entrepreneur completely changes the narrative and scope of your business. You now need to cope with different limiting societal and geographical based factors. For examples, religious barriers, saturated markets, poor funding, poor infrastructure, and lack of public literacy among many others.

Therefore, you must master a different set of survival skills from the regular entrepreneur on other continents. Here are some business lessons for African entrepreneurs.  

1. Continuously Fuel Your Passion

Starting a business requires one-quarter of the energy that keeps the business going so there is a need to continually boost your passion. If there's a need to fuel your body every day, then you need to fuel your passion everyday.  To be a successful entrepreneur, having your "WHY" ringing helps you to want to do more. The reason you started initially will be the drive that will make you keep going even when it seems low and slow, it will also help make the essential decisions that will make the business blossom.

The formal education will most likely not teach everything it takes to be an entrepreneur, but your passion will be fueled by getting the needed skills and courses that will help you become more. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to keep your mind and eyes open to more. New ideas. Needed skills. Essential relationships.




    Be Creative About Your Challenges


Africa has a truckload worth of challenges and while they often impede growth, they can be catalysts when your business is built around them. Generally, your business is meant to be built as a solution to common problems around your target audience. Instead of continually complaining about challenges, aim to solve them and you can earn some big bucks in the process.

Also, you might be unable to create new business as solutions when you already have an established enterprise. Instead, you can attract more customers and visibility to your existing one, when you somehow solve a problem plaguing the whole community. An example is a fashion designing business countering late deliveries to customers by preparing different types of ready-made orders before the customers even make an order, and only making minor changes to fit each client’s preferences. This way, the customers get their clothes faster from the business compared to their competitors.


    Give Yourself Time

Everything in itself takes time, building a business is inclusive, but there is one virtue you want to inculcate as an entrepreneur, Patience.

 "Patience is a conquering virtue – Geoffrey Chaucer.

This is not a charge to be lackadaisical but one to tell you that Rome wasn't built in a day. It took time and effort. The big entrepreneurs you see or have as a role model started from a point and it took them months or years to get to that point that you desire.

Some entrepreneurs often think waiting is a waste of time, failing to realize that taking a break to even look at how far you have come, what next to do, and the like is needed in the journey of any entrepreneur who envisions being great.

Putting on the armour of patience helps you to avoid unnecessary burnout. It helps to be tuned to the realization of the fact that a business won't grow the same day it starts.





    Focus On What Moves The Needle

One of the mistakes most entrepreneurs make is giving the most attention to what they should barely look at. Hence, they waste time without being productive.

How do you explain not creating the right content and focusing on getting followers on your social media page? What will you feed them if per adventure they lose their way and find themselves on your page?

This is the big reason why planning and strategizing should take place before launching a start-up. There's a need to know your voice, mission, vision, and lots more before starting as this will help in decision making.

Focusing on what moves the needle simply means giving your best shot at what really matters and makes a great impact on your business. No one wants to be unproductive, you surely don't want to.


    Trust Your Teammates, Stakeholders, and Employees

Entrepreneurship in Africa is mostly based on sole proprietorship or at least, often starts in such a manner. Eventually, many growing businesses will see the need to expand and acquire shareholders and partners, leading to a more complex, yet efficient working system. You will also need to hire more hands to handle various people to handle different tasks vital to the growth of the brand.

As an African entrepreneur, it is quite difficult to build your trust in people and leave vital matters in their hands. However, a business can not thrive when there is no seamless working relationship between co-workers and others in the brand. It is vital to trust every other person in your company, this will open your mind towards trusting their ideas and contribution to the business growth. Do not neglect getting to know your employees as much as possible. Also, you can simply hire an Human Resource manager to handle this aspect of your business.  



Earning a living and staying sane is quite difficult for entrepreneurs in an developing society. You can listen to and read different types of business training and motivational speeches. But you must know that taking action is still the best way to realize your business goals.

You need to start every business day with a conscious mind, making decisions towards steady business growth and evolution. Take it easy with yourself, take care of your physical and mental health, do not neglect others working towards the growth of your business, and do not forget that it is all towards the satisfaction of your customers.

Cheers to a great entrepreneurship journey. We are rooting for you.