Most young people would hesitate before leaving a stable job for an entrepreneurial venture. But not for a plucky 34-year-old Ugandan, Eric Kaduru, who made a decision to leave his advertising job in the capital city, Kampala, to become an agripreneur – an entrepreneur in the agriculture business. Kaduru had…
Shakir Akorede Africa is charting a new path towards a single continental market – and it’s going to be an economic revolution. Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, reasserted the resolve of the African leaders during the recently-concluded 30th African Union Summit, where he said: “We must push ahead to speedily establish…
Ivan Mbowa Ivan Mbowa is the co-founder and CEO of Umati Capital, a Kenyan-based financial institution that provides credit and related payment technologies to agri-business supply chains, retailer value chains and fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers. 1. Tell us about one of the toughest situations you’ve found yourself in as a business…
Lagos, Nigeria Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, is a source of mixed emotions for its more than 20 million inhabitants. Many come to the city from the hinterland to pursue their dreams. Some succeed, some do not. But all suffer one grief or another from the city’s punishing traffic…
Nigerian-based StartCredits is an online loan comparison platform that helps users find the most competitive interest rates in their chosen loan category. StartCredits is the first business to offer this service in the Nigerian market. The company also builds proprietary credit risk models for financial institutions and platforms, to help facilitate lending to underserved, qualified…
Accra, Ghana The purpose of this article is to identify and acknowledge the strong resurgence in Ghana’s economy since the election of President Nana Akufo-Addo in December 2016. The cases mentioned are by no means presented as an exhaustive list, but as indications of steps taken and instances noted of…
Adisa Amanor-Wilks As entrepreneurship is crucial for any thriving economy, the growing number of entrepreneurs in Africa has captivated the interest of the world. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), 22% of the employable population are now starting their own businesses. This statistic is so significant because it is…
Patience Maame Mensah How Patience Maame Mensah is capitalising on a gap in the Ghanaian home-care market. Take us back to the beginning Patience Maame Mensah knows all about juggling different aspects of life – as a working student in Ghana, she continually struggled to balance work and school. “I…
This article was produced for the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies, a trilateral platform for government, business and academia to promote knowledge and expertise on Africa, established by Nanyang Technological University and the Singapore Business Federation. Sub-Saharan Africa is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. Since the beginning…
Trevor Gosling Trevor Gosling is the co-founder and CEO of Cape Town-based Lulalend, an online lending platform for small businesses. 1. Tell us about one of the toughest situations you’ve found yourself in as a business owner. When I left investment banking to pursue entrepreneurship I made sure I had…