Creating new businesses in Africa

One of the people who your purchases help to support is Brian Mutarwa in Zimbabwe. Brian helps people in Africa to start their own businesses. Brian has had schooling and years of experience in business, and now works most of the time teaching others to run new businesses. What Brian does is an exceptionally valuable way of increasing prosperity in Africa. It is a much more long term project than supplying food or other needs, but the long term benefits can make a huge difference. Brian says “People from China and the west see the opportunities in Africa, but our own people get left out”. 

There are big difficulties that Brian and others face with this. Start up businesses are difficult anywhere. In Africa, entrepreneurs deal with even more obstacles however. They need to overcome unstable electricity, high crime, poor infrastructure and other needs. There is also a shortage of basic business knowledge and role models. Of 94 businesses that have been started with people who Brian is overseeing and coaching, about 50 have failed in the last year. This is not due to lack of effort on their or Brian’s part. Covid has had a big impact also. Brian says one of the biggest problems is people using their business money to pay for family emergencies…or other needs.

There are many more details and lots of discouragement with this work, but the benefit of having businesses which help society is one of the most sustainable ways of seeing people in Africa thrive. Brian provides his services for free, and even has other people who can make loans to people starting up. In addition to what your purchases pay him for this work, Brian also has his own small scrap metal business.