There's an old African Proverb that says if you must eat a toad, eat a fat and juicy toad. My take on this is that there is no point in doing things in small measures. I for one have always wanted to make a difference. My thoughts, focus, passion are all geared towards developing and building a global business. However, my reality couldn't be more different. I am currently deep in the quagmire that is middle management. I don't want to be on the bench. I want to play in the game. I see so many talented managers here forced to wait in line for a turn that may never come.
Time to go back to Africa. I'm definitely passionate about taking the entrepreneurial path. What I am lacking is the super talented programmer to build a niche technology solution. I can do the product mgmt, sales/marketing, and strategy. I worked on 2 entrepreneurial ventures in the past. 1 in Africa and 1 in the US. The US venture was easy to setup but very hard to get funding. The African venture was more difficult to setup but was ultimately successful. Of course not on the scale of a US startup. What i found was that in Africa I had the support of friends and family. This allowed the business to stay afloat while my partner and I figured out the model. In the US I didn't have that luxury.
I'm not going to spend much time dwelling on my last 2 ventures. Right now i'm looking to build a team that can execute on my next venture. My interest is in emerging market opportunities particularly in Africa. A lot of folks in the diaspora talk a lot about doing something back home but most times talk is all it is. So i'm giving myself the next 9mths to get a venture off the ground. The clock is ticking!
3 comments:
This is a very interesting commentary. I am from the United States, however I do feel a part of me is in Africa. My heritage of course. I love America but I do like to see other countries. It would be great to develop a nice trade or internet based business that will give money back to Africa as well as making a profit so my family can be very well provided for. Check out my blog. Skeletonpage.blogspot.com. I don't have much time to write, but your story sparked an interest in me.
Thanks for writing. I am glad my personal journey helped spark an interest in you. I did check out your blog. Keep it going and I'll be looking out for your updates.
I just recently discovered your blog.I love it !!!1 Its great.I am going through something similar,moving back to my country and starting a business here (Tanzania),seeing opportunities but also going through struggles of working in a different system.
Will be a regular visitor here.
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