By Kalu Chijioke Harvard
Starting a business in Africa, can be a herculean task. The reason is that the cultural, developmental and bureaucratic hurdle are enormous. The number of "tiny" business in Africa is larger than any other in the world. Most of the small or medium size businesses in the continent are not qualified to be called such, because they cannot match up with their contemporaries around the world.
However, in Africa, there are numerous problems and these problems are opportunities to build real and profitable businesses around. As we know every societal deficiency is a platform for innovation, with Africa's huge human capital, evolving culture and hunger for change, any business started in line with her core deficient areas would do well. There are many areas to invest I Africa but some areas are more important and easy to leverage than others, some include.
Agriculture, with the large arable land in Africa, and the ever growing population, agricultural start up in Africa is an opportunity to harness. Unfortunately, the bottle neck system of governance and the import dependent nature of the populace have hindered the growth of this important sector. Statistically, Africa has the largest arable land in the world, if all the fertile lands are used, the production is estimated to feed the whole world. There is the market for African grown products both locally and internationally. Businesses that focus on processing the locally grown food stuffs would in the years to come grow astronomically because of the ever present demands for their products.
E commerce, with the advent of the internet and peoples affinity for easy life, electronic shopping is another hub for building a business in Africa. Many of these online shops are cropping up every time, most of them offering world class services, this sector in future will account for a huge chunk of internally generated revenue. From purchasing of home gadgets to buying tickets, eCommerce has reshaped how the present Africa does business.
Human resource management. The continent has 1.111 billion people in it, which is 16.14% of the world population, there is a huge demand for human resource managers. Any business built at harnessing the skills, abilities, man power and intellect of the black continent will become a major player in that field around the world. The literacy level of the continent has grown geometrically over the years, the evidence being the ever increasing demand for African professionals in Europe and America. Human management consultancy business is already shaping the business terrain of Africa and would continue.
Social entrepreneurship. Africa has great social problems ranging from, hunger to sexual and gender injustices. The problem offers an opportunity for a new crop of businesses who provide dynamic solutions to them. If this opportunity is leveraged, great successes will be recorded for startups in it. Social entrepreneurs can propound solutions to many of these problems by harmonizing with the government to run a need oriented programs for the masses. This can come in form of the privatization of most government sectors to accommodate individuals to contribute their innovations. Countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana have adopted this measure and many businesses have started in line with that.
Environmental sciences. Environmental related businesses will grow in Africa, because Africa generates huge amount of waste. With the poor waste management practices in the continent, a proactive waste management business will definitely make giant strides. Areas like recycling, environmental education, safety consultancy, and sustainable green technologies would be a great relief to not only the government but to all. The potential of an environmental venture to grow in huge because the rapid urbanization of the continent requires a corresponding increase in its public health management.
Finally Africa is a VIRGIN ground full of nutrients for maximum business growth. If the African millennial can explore, and refine the vast resources and opportunities within, in the next two decades will see the continent as a pioneer to many innovations and multi-billion dollar business empires.
You can get in touch with Kalu Chijioke Harvard via the email kcharvard@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @kaluchijioke1. You can get his latest book on kindle stores with the title "sinners" in heaven and "saints" in hell
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