Frustrated By Low Capital, This Entrepreneur Says Network Marketing Has Helped Him To Build A Multi-Million Dollar Business

In his usual collected demeanour, Mr Gene Maxon Adigu, a top leader in the Network Marketing Professionals of Nigeria, does not see himself giving up soon on network marketing.

He is the business and the business is his friend. Out of school since 2010, Mr. Adigu now boasts of an annual base income in millions, as well as other fleet of investment and acquisitions. All from network marketing since the last eight years. For a man who read from Robert Kiyosaki to John C. Maxwell to other bestselling business and crazy books while in school, it appears the journey is still far from over. 

‘‘ Entrepreneurship is not for babies,’’ Mr. Adigu told Afrikan Heroes . ‘‘I didn’t just focus on reading only the academic books while in school. And that helped me so much psychologically and mentally. It prepared me well for the world out there, after school. So when I graduated with no job in sight, I resorted to a network marketing business because it was the only business I could start then with small capital. Network marketing is a business that has helped me, and today I am living the life of my dream. ’’

‘‘Network Marketers Are Also Entrepreneurs’’

For a business model that was once valued at US167 billion (2012) globally, engaging at least 89 million network marketers with the Asia-Pacific region of the world forming the largest market with a share of 44 per cent followed by North America, Central and South America (20 per cent share, each) and Europe (15 per cent), Mr. Adigu said network marketing is your regular business with all the structures and the organisation and the workforce and the strategies of established businesses, and not a Chit Fund or some Ponzi Schemes.

‘‘Network marketers are also entrepreneurs, Mr. Adigu said ‘‘Network marketing is not a different business model. In every business in this world, there is network marketing. Network marketing is a profession. Network marketing is a normal business, like every other business on Earth.’

The World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (‘WFDSA’), which is the global body concerned with the business, and which has the membership of 60 national associations and one regional federation, defines network marketing as “the marketing of products and services directly to consumers in a person-to-person manner, away from permanent retail locations”. An important objective in a Network Marketing model is to generate sales by constant interaction with customers along with engagement of new distributors down the line.

‘‘Network Marketing Business Is A Sustainable Business Model’’

Mr. Adigu does not see the network marketing business model ending soon.

‘‘ Network marketing is a system through which you market your business. It is not the type where you, for instance, pay CNN to run adverts for you. Network marketing is word-of-mouth marketing, which makes it a unique system and can never be outdated. Network marketing will always be a reliable business; in fact, for the next 100 thousandth year. It is a system of referring some other persons’ products and services to your friends and families and you get paid for doing so.’’

Mr Adigu may not be so far from the truth. Vorwerk & Co. KG, a German network marketing company was founded in 1883, and is still in existence 136 years after. The company has presence in over 76 international markets across the world and reported revenue of $3.7 billion in 2013 alone. United States’ Alticor (Amway) founded in 1959 is the world’s leading network marketing company, posting a revenue of $11.8 billion in 2013, and has presence in over 100 countries.

‘‘Network marketing business lasts,’’ he said. ‘‘ The question is the company you are partnering with: are you going to last with that company? You are not supposed to ask whether network marketing business would last. The question should be: would the company you are partnering with last? Are you going to last with that company till you succeed? This question is very important.’’

‘‘The Greatest Challenge of Most Network Marketers Is That They Take Things Personal.’’

For a business that involves selling a consumer product or service from one person to another, in an environment that is not a permanent retail location, Mr. Adigu expects that this would not come without a fight.

Hence, when the mind-spinning, rapid and unexpected rebuff comes, he also does not expect network marketers to swallow it hard. But they have to do so, anyway, if they would want to get ahead. And because most network marketers don’t usually do so, he sees it as a major challenge.

‘‘When you start a network marketing business, learn how to recruit the right network marketers. You need to keep teaching them how to market their products effectively,’ he said. ‘Also, learn how not to take things personal. If somebody tells you that he is not interested in your deal, learn how to swallow it calmly. Don’t take things personal.’’

Mr Adigu also pitched some advice for marketing products. Marketing products is fun, he said, as long as you believe in them and make some research about them. You have to also study why the products are necessary before passing them over to your network.

‘‘ I was promoting a business back then, about some coffee products. Nigerians don’t normally take coffee, but my team researched about these products and we started building the business. It was surprising to suddenly see Nigerians using the products, making coffee from them. In fact, the business was so successful that I averaged over a million naira a month from it. This happened because we were interested in the coffee products; did some research on them and tabled the products’ exceptional health benefits to our target customers,’’ Mr. Adigu said.

Breaking The Ice and Making Profit From Network Marketing

Earning from the Multi-Level Marketing or Network Marketing usually follows an arch: each direct seller recruited can potentially recruit new distributors and create a down line of direct and indirect distributors or sellers. Distributors purchase products to sell to the consumers. They receive commissions and bonuses on the sales made by them and the sales made by their down-line sellers and retail markups. 

Mr. Adigu said network marketing business is so profitable that he once averaged over ₦200 million ($556,000) from the business in a year.

‘In a year, for starters, depending on the work you put in, you can earn two to three million naira ($6000), with additional earnings depending on how hard you work,’’ he said.

Global direct selling was a USD 167 billion market in 2013 and employs around 90 million people worldwide. While the industry grew at a low rate of 5.4 per cent in 2012, over 2011 (growth rate of 19.7 per cent), due to global economic slowdown, the long term growth prospects of the industry remain robust. Cosmetics and personal care is the biggest category capturing more than 35 per cent share globally in the network market, followed by wellness products and household goods.

‘‘If You Don’t Have The Stamina To Grow A Business, Just Go and Get A Job’

Mr. Adigu does not see himself giving up any time soon. He has other plans, though; to work harder and live the best of his life.

‘‘Being an entrepreneur is not for people who easily give up,’’ he said. ‘‘ When you start a business, be prepared that you would give it all your best. Sometimes, giving all your best doesn’t even work. The only thing that usually works in the end is consistency. Consistency is the ice breaker.’’

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Expanding Your Startup Beyond Africa: Taking Advantage of The New UK Startup Visa Policy

The United Kingdom has expanded its visa portfolio to accommodate startup owners desiring to set up a business in the UK. The new visa regime which kicked off from March 29, 2019 is for those migrants who are looking to establish a business in the UK for the first time.

All the start-up applicant needs to have is an innovative, viable and scalable business idea, duly supported by an endorsing body. Once granted, the start-up migrant can stay in the UK for a maximum duration of 2 years.

The only downside to this is that at the end of the 2-year period (and additional extension period of 2 years), the startup immigrant cannot apply for settlement in the UK but can switch over to the Innovator Visa. The Innovator Visa will enable Innovators to stay for another 3 years, and is extendable for another 3 years, at the end of which the Innovators may apply to settle permanently in the UK.

Applicants For Startup Visa Do Not Need To Be Graduates or Have Their Startups Already Funded

This is unlike the former Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa. An applicant for a start-up visa does not need to be a graduate or secure any initial funding. All that is required is that:

  • The applicant has a genuine, original business plan that meets new or existing market needs and/or creates a competitive advantage (Innovation criteria);
  • The applicant has, or is actively developing the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and market awareness to successfully run the business.(Viability criteria);
  • And that there is evidence of structured planning and of potential for job creation and growth into national markets.( Scalability criteria);
  • For a successful start-up visa application, the applicant needs to satisfy that he/she genuinely intends to undertake and is capable of undertaking, any work or business activity in the UK stated in the application;
  • Moreover, the applicant must show that he/she does not intend to work in the UK in breach of the conditions of stay in the UK for a start-up migrant.

Application For The UK Startup Visa Can Be Done Both From Inside and Outside The UK

Effective from March 29, 2019, the UK visa fee for a start-up visa entry clearance and leave to remain applications will be £363 and £493, respectively. Again, the applicant may also take advantage of the Council of Europe Social Charter (CESC) discount of £55

However, the applicant must maintain at least £945 in his account . The funds must have been held in the account for a consecutive 90 days, ending no earlier than 31 days before the date of application. The end date of the 90-day period will be taken as the date of the closing balance on the most recent document provided. 

Where documents from two or more accounts are submitted, this will be the end date for the account that most favours the applicant.

If the main applicant and his/her partner or children are applying at the same time, then there must be enough maintenance funds in total, as required for all the applications, otherwise, all the applications will be refused.

Conditions for Grant of Entry and Leave to Remain

Once the startup visa has been granted, an applicant can get up to 2 years visa subject to all of the following conditions:

  • no employment as a doctor or dentist in training
  • no employment as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach)
  • registration with the police, if this is required by Part 10 of the Immigration Rules
  • no recourse to public funds
  • a migrant can study in the UK, subject to the condition set out in Part 15 of the Immigration Rules
  • Entry clearance or leave to remain may be curtailed as set out in paragraph 323 in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules.
  • entry clearance or leave to remain in the start-up category may be curtailed if an endorsing body withdraws its endorsement of a migrant or loses its status as an endorsing body for the start-up category.

Minimum Age to Apply for The Startup Visa

A start-up visa entry clearance or leave to remain applicant needs to be at least 18 years of age.

There are Twelve Requirements To Meet In order To Be Granted The Visa 

To qualify for the start-up visa UK an applicant needs to meet the general and specific requirements under Part W3 and W5 of Appendix W, Immigration Rules, respectively. 

If an applicant meets the requirements, then the applicant gets the start-up visa for up to 2 years.

However, if an applicant fails to meet the general and specific requirements, then the start-up visa application is refused.

Checklist of UK Startup Visa General and Specific Requirements

  1. Evidence provided with applications
  2. Minute age of the applicant
  3. Immigration status in the UK
  4. Restrictions for Tier 4 (General) Students applying in the UK
  5. Breach of immigration laws
  6. General grounds for refusal
  7. Credibility assessment
  8. English language
  9. Maintenance funds
Applicants Must Have Secured Endorsement From Endorsing Bodies

A start-up visa applicant for entry clearance or leave to remain application needs to have an endorsement by an endorsing body listed on the gov.uk website. 

Moreover, an applicant needs to provide an endorsement letter of the endorsing body. 

The endorsement letter needs to confirm that the applicant’s business venture meets the innovation, viability and scalability criteria. The endorsement letter also needs to state that the endorsing body is reasonably satisfied that the applicant will spend the majority of his/her working time in the UK on developing business ventures.

English language Requirement For The UK Startup Visa

The start-up visa applicant is required to have a CEFR B2 level of English language ability. To this effect, the applicant needs to provide one of the following evidence to prove the English language requirement:

  1. A national of a majority English speaking country
  2. A degree taught in English — applicant needs to provide UK NARIC certificate confirming the qualification meets or exceeds the recognised standard of a Bachelor’s degree in the UK
  3. Applicant passing a Secure English Language Test
  4. The applicant met the requirement in a previous successful application for:
  • Start-up, Innovator, Tier 1 (General), Tier 1 (Post-Study Work), Tier 2 (Minister of Religion)
  • Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) under the rules in place before 13 December 2012
  • Tier 4 (General), supported by a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) assigned on or after 21 April 2011

Requirements for Start-up Visa UK Endorsing Bodies

To qualify as an endorsing body for the start-up visa, an organisation needs to meet all of the following requirements:

  1. The organisation should either be a UK higher education institution or have a proven track record of supporting UK entrepreneurs
  2. Ability to competently assess applicants’ business ventures against the endorsement criteria
  3. The endorsing body to stay in contact with applicants at 6, 12 and 24 months checkpoints. And also update the Home Office on an applicant’s progress. If necessary, then even withdraws the endorsement.
  4. No past or present involvement or connection with the abuse of the immigration system

The Bottom Line

As the UK gears up for Brexit, the new startup visa policy is one way of opening up its economy. Only the first, risk-taking startup owners may be able to take up the challenge and expand their businesses beyond their current borders, before the system becomes congested and the country considers the review of the visa policy.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

New Report: Blockchain Among The Fastest Growing Startup Areas In The World At A Growth Rate Of 101.5%

The Genome Group has just released its 2019 edition of the global startup ecosystem performance. The fastest growing startup sectors were listed as:

  • Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics, which grew to a five year high of 107.9% and accounts for about 1.8% of the share of global startups.
  • Blockchain, which grew to a five year high of 101.5% and accounts for about 2.7% of the share of global startups.
  • Agtech & New Food which also saw a five year growth rate of 88.8% and also accounts for 0.8% of the share of global startups
  • AI, Big Data, & Analytics, which saw a five year growth of 64.5% and has a highest growing share of global startups of 7.1%.

Below Are Key Insights From The Report

The Fastest Growing Startup Areas

The average growth of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics,Blockchain, Agtech & New Food, and AI, Big Data & Analytics over the last five years is 90.7% while their average exit success over the same period is 110.5%.

Among Growth-Phase sub-sectors AI, Big Data, & Analytics is the largest one, comprising 7.1% of all global startups. It is also the sub-sector that is growing the slowest among its Growth-Phase peers.

Nonetheless, if we separate AI by itself, excluding Big Data & Analytics startups from the cohort, we see that a standalone AI-sub-sector is growing about twice as fast as the AI, Big Data, & Analytics sub-sector as a whole.


*Genome Startup Ecosystem Report

Startup Areas That Are Fully Mature, Although Their Growth Is Slow

The four startup sub-sectors in the Mature Phase are :

  • Cybersecurity — with an 87.3% growth rate over the last five years and 0.9% share of global startups;
  • Cleantech — with a 26.2% growth rate over the last five years and 2.9% share of global startups;
  • Life Sciences — with a 15.0% growth rate over the last five years and 2.6% share of global startups;
  • Fintech — with an 105.8% growth rate over the last five years and 8.7% share of global startups;

Reasons:

These mature startup areas collectively still grew a respectable 15.9% in early-stage funding and 58.6% in exits during the past five years.

While this level of growth is sufficient to make them mature in terms of startup sub-sectors, these are figures most traditional industries would be envious of.

Fintech, an important startup sub-sector, shows two major signs of approaching a successful late Maturity: first, it has grown massively, and now nearly one of every 10 global startups is working in this sub-sector.

Second, it still shows very strong performance and growth in terms of exits. This shows that while not as much money is coming for early-stage startups (later stage and mega rounds are another story), founders and investors are able to still exit in impressive numbers.

Interestingly, Life Sciences and Cybersecurity are the only two startup
sub-sectors in the Mature Phase that have grown in the latest period. This could be a sign of renewed vigor for startups in these spaces.



*Genome Startup Ecosystem Report

Four Startup Areas Are Fast Declining

They are:

  • Edtech (educational technology)— with an early stage deal concluded by the startup sector declining by 15.8%, the sector still maintains a share of global startups of 3.1%;
  • Digital Media —with an early stage deal concluded by the startup sector declining by 38.9%, the sector still maintains a share of global startups of 20.7% ;
  • Gaming — with an early stage deal concluded by the startup sector declining by 40.4%, the sector still maintains a share of global startups of 4.5%;
  • Adtech ( advertising technology) — with an early stage deal concluded by the startup sector declining by 47.9%, the sector still maintains a share of global startups of 4.2% ;

Reasons:

Sub-sectors in the Decline Phase are shrinking in terms of early-stage funding deals, although mega rounds and later funding rounds might still be happening. In addition, each one of them is still experiencing growth in exits, although they are under-performing the typical startup sub-sector.

The main change to this group since last year when we published the Global Startup Ecosystem Report in 2018 is in Edtech — a sub-sector that was in Mature Phase that now has edged towards Decline Phase.

While exits Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2019 are still growing, early-stage funding deals — a key indicator of future potential from both founders and investors — are declining. While these sub-sectors are declining overall, they still have meaningful presence and size, and can be renewed by new technologies — for example with the potential for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to rejuvenate Gaming.


Why You Should Care About These Startup Areas and Their Performance

According to Startup Genome, these startup areas are the major part of their report for two main reasons:

1. It Will Enable Ecosystems Around The World To Focus on the Most Viable Startup Areas.

Identifying and building on local strengths is one of the main levers that policymakers and ecosystem builders can use to boost ecosystem performance. No small ecosystem can perform well and compete with places like Silicon Valley, London, Beijing, or New York across the board. But what they can do is be a hub of excellence in specific startup sub-sectors and use that advantage to build spillover effects that improve the ecosystem and the economy as a whole. 

Take San Diego, the #3 ecosystem in the world for Life Sciences even though it is relatively small with only 1,000 to 1,400 tech startups — less than 10% the size of Silicon Valley and only 14% of the size of New York. That strength spilled over and helped San Diego become a top 30 global startup ecosystem despite its small size. 

Frankfurt is a similar case. Although it is small, with only 300 to 500 startups, it is incredibly focused on Fintech. It has many Fintech accelerators and corporate startup innovation initiatives, about half of the VC funding in the ecosystem goes to the sub-sector, and the city is home to a very strong traditional financial industry with five Forbes 2000 companies in finance and the presence of the European Central Bank headquarters. That focus led to the largest German Fintech exit of all time taking place in the city (360T, for nearly $800 million) and high ecosystem performance across many Success Factors.

2.The Findings On These Startup Areas Would Provide Insights for Startup Founders

As a founder, knowing how your startup sub-sector of interest is growing — and which ecosystems have the biggest competitive advantage in them — can help you make better decisions. It tells you the places you should be considering networking or opening operations at (e.g., if you are Life Sciences founder in Europe, you would do well to make connections in London and Lausanne-Bern-Geneva) and it tells you about the funding and exit environment (e.g., if you need capital for a Gaming startup not overlapping with growth startup sub-sectors, be prepared for a tough funding environment and consider more bootstrapping).

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Lagos Emerges As The Only African City To Make The Top 30 Global Startup Ecosystem In Next 5 Years

Startup Genome has launched its latest report on the global startup ecosystem. The group says the report is a result of an independent research with data on over a million companies across 150 cities. It also said working side-by-side with more than 300 partner organizations, frameworks and methodologies.

Key Highlights Of The Report

  • The top five startup ecosystems overall in 2019 are Silicon Valley, New York City, London, Beijing, and Boston.
  • Based on Success Factors such as Funding and Knowledge, the top five ecosystems for Life Sciences are Silicon Valley, Boston, San Diego, New York City, and London. This is the very first global ranking of Life Sciences ecosystems.
  • Deep Tech startups — those relying heavily on intellectual property — are the fastest-growing group globally.
  • The four fastest-growing Startup Sub-Sectors are Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics, Blockchain, Agtech & New Food, and Artificial Intelligence.
  • Startup Sub-Sectors showing decline are Edtech, Digital Media, Gaming, and Adtech.

Related: Why Lagos Is The Most Valuable Startup Ecosystem In Africa

  • There is no “next” Silicon Valley — instead, there are 30 startup ecosystems around the world that will soon lay claim to a parallel vibrancy and economic productivity.
  • Movement within top 30 ranking: Paris cracked the top 10, moving up two spots to #9 overall; Amsterdam-StartupDelta moved up four spots to #15 overall; San Diego and Washington, D.C. cracked the top 20 for the first time.

So Who Are The Next 30?

  • The report that some ecosystems show the potential to make the top 30 within five years. The ecosystems are referred to as the Challenger.
  • The Challengers ecosystems are currently outside the top 30 ranking but growing rapidly.
  • This is a diverse group, with Lagos and Jakarta alongside Moscow and Melbourne.
  • Each Challenger ecosystem has at least one company in the billion-dollar club (unicorns and exits).
  • They also share key characteristics: – Regional leadership: some are major focus points in their areas of the world, as São Paulo is in South America, Lagos is in Africa, and Jakarta — the 4th most populous metropolitan area in the world and home to four unicorns — is in Southeast Asia.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

New Findings: Ethiopia Plans To Boost Her Economy With More Tax

Ethiopian authorities are resorting to more taxation to boost the country’s revenue, new report by the African Development Bank says. AfDB says in its findings that revenue collection in Ethiopia has increased significantly after the government implemented tax reforms.

Key Findings From The Report

  • The study found that the introduction of electronic cash registers in Ethiopia increased value added tax (VAT) collections and payments by about 32%. This increase can be considered large, the bank said.
  • However, given the lack of capacity by many Ethiopians to pay tax, government is looking beyond the current reforms to third-party information on taxpayers, promoting electronic tax filing and payment systems, and enhancing analytical capacity using comprehensive national databases.
  • Another study however revealed that the threat of companies and businesses being audited by the government of Ethiopia could increase tax payments by 38%, while moral persuasion could increase collections by 32%.
  • The findings are merely presenting alternative ways to increase taxation on businesses in Ethiopia.

The Role of The African Development Bank In This Regard

  • In this regard, the Bank conducted original research to evaluate the impact of major tax policy reforms in Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) and the Ministry of Revenue and the Ethiopian Customs Commission (formerly Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority).
  • The African Development Bank said it would provide technical assistance to support the authorities in implementing the research findings.

Also See: Finding Money In The Bamboo: Ethiopia Signs New Deal With China

  • The assistance will complement ongoing advisory services to support reforms, notably to the Public-Private Partnerships Framework and the logistics sector.
  • Additional assistance is being designed to advance financial sector development, industrial policy and strategy development, and the mining and petroleum sectors.
  • Beyond implementing the emerging policy recommendations, the Ethiopian government and the African Development Bank pledged to explore additional areas for impactful policy research on domestic revenue mobilization, in line with the mutual commitment to improving the quality of life of the people of Ethiopia.


The findings were revealed at a workshop hosted by the African Development Bank and a high-level delegation from the Ethiopian government. The workshop formed part of the Bank’s commitment to helping the government fund its ambitious development plans.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Why Franchise Is A Good Business Model and How You Can Get One

‘‘Years ago, when I was fighting for the cell phone license in Zimbabwe, a friend of mine who ran Coca-Cola Africa, heard about my plight, and made me an interesting offer: “McDonald’s is looking for a master franchisee for Africa. I would like to put forward your name. You will have to go to their university for a year.” I declined the generous opportunity. I only had one regret from my decision: This was the equivalent of a young soccer player from a small African team being invited to train with Barcelona for a year!
It would have honed my craft skills as an entrepreneur. There are about 40,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide. Just imagine what it takes to build an operation like that
?’’ Writes Mr. Strive Masiyiwa Zimbabwe’s richest man, and the eight richest man in Africa.

A franchise is a type of license that a party (franchisee) acquires to allow them to have access to a business’s (the franchiser) proprietary knowledge, processes, and trademarks in order to allow the party to sell a product or provide a service under the business’ name. The next KFC or ShopRite on your street may not actually be a direct investment from KFC or ShopRite, but the hard work of a franchisee who has been licensed by the brands to run such businesses in their names within any locality they may choose. Below, we discuss why your may consider procuring a franchise to run your next big business.

Why Franchise?

Franchise is a good business model for entrepreneurs for many reasons.

You Require Little Or No Experience To Run A Franchise Business:

You do not necessarily need business experience to run a franchise. Most times, the franchisors provide the necessary training you need to operate their business model.

Franchise Has a Higher Rate of Success Than Most Startup Business.

This is mostly because you are opening an already established business with a good business plan already in place. Hence, there is less chance that the business will fail. When you sign an established and well-known brand, you can benefit from the name and goodwill, much more than small businesses or most startups.

It Costs Less To Own A Franchise Than You Think

Most financial institutions may be more ready to grant you loan or other forms of debt finance than would be the case if you start your own business of the same type.

Although I turned down the opportunity, I was intrigued by the franchise model and began to study it closely. I later used it when launching Econet stores.
There are some of you struggling with any of the following challenges:
#1. You do not have capital to start and expand a business;
Or
#2. You don’t know how to run a big business with more than one outlet;
Or
#3. You don’t know how to innovate a product or service continuously to keep customers interested;
Or
#4. You don’t know how to attract the best people to join your business;
Or
#5. You want to be an entrepreneur but you are risk-averse.
The answer for you lies in franchising from a tried and tested business with an established brand.
Franchising opportunities [as a franchisee] are found in almost every industry.
If you are shrewd, you can develop your business as a franchisor, and use other entrepreneurs and their capital to grow your business,’’
Mr. Masiyiwa continues.

Financial Benefits From Owning a Franchise: 

Franchise can be profitable if all the franchisees within your locality use the same suppliers in which case you can negotiate lower costs for the items you sell. You also have access to existing business infrastructure as well as the franchisor’s network which you may not have if you set up an independent small business. Most times, this includes preferential rates — discounts given to franchisees due to the large numbers using that particular supplier. All this means that you have a higher profit. 

As entrepreneurs, there is no point in discussing an idea unless we are prepared to put it into practice. Real entrepreneurs are practical! We learn to DO!!

Remember when I started talking about “the digital shared economy” model and my excitement about the “Uber model”? You should have known that I was working on something. Now we have our own business called Vaya Mobility and Logistics!

We are already scaling it in two markets: Zimbabwe and Nigeria! (Remember what I said about “execution”? Always start in one or two markets, otherwise you create execution risk).

Uber has almost 4m cars on its platform. The cost of so many cars would be over $60bn if Uber had to buy them! This would obviously been totally prohibitive for any #StartUp.

Franchising can be used in many different types of industries. We are currently developing a very interesting franchise model for Waste Collection!

# We have already recruited 10x private contractors (franchisees) and we have assigned them each an area of the city of Harare (franchise area).

# Now we have begun to equip them with resources to collect waste from homes and businesses.

# In this model, we provide each franchisee with access to vehicles (using the Vaya Truck platform).

# We are using our #process# to ramp up these small companies so that they can handle 1m homes within three months, something they could not do on their own!

__We call this initiative: “Clean City Africa!

Imagine if we could scale this to cities like Lagos and Kinshasa!

Who knows… maybe you will be one of our franchisees!

My question for you: Can you ReImagine your business (model) today, as either a franchisor or franchisee?

Why Not Franchise?

Owning A Franchise Is Highly Costly

Most of the time, franchisors only specify the cost for getting franchises from them, but there are other hidden costs such as rent and tenancy fees to your landlord, travel, lodging expenses when attending franchise training; legal, insurance and accounting cost the franchisor may require you to obtain. In all. you may end up spending, on average, $50,000 to $200,000 to acquire a franchise. However remember, as have been noted above, that it is easier to obtain debt financing for most well known franchises. It is left for you to do the calculations based on your budget.

The Length of Franchise Agreements

The nature of franchise agreement is such that it can be extremely limiting. In most cases, once the franchise agreement ends, the franchisee may be prohibited from running the franchise independently. Most franchise terms provide for franchise duration anywhere from 5–10 years, often with an option to renew (at an additional cost). A better strategy for franchisees is to have an exit plan in place before the franchise ends, unless you desire to keep the franchise going.

Not Much Freedom In Owning A Franchise

  • Franchise agreements dictate how you run the business; so there may be little room for creativity.
  • There are usually restrictions on where you operate, the products you sell and the suppliers you use.
  • Buying a franchise means ongoing sharing of profit with the franchiser.
  • Bad performances by other franchisees may affect your franchise’s reputation.
  • Franchisers often limit their franchisees to a specific geographic region, preventing them from moving outside the area. If you cannot see yourself staying in the same place for 15 years, a franchise may not be a good fit for you.
  • The profit may not be glamorous, after all. This is because though it takes hard work to start your own business, if it became successful, the profit would be yours. This, however, is not the case for a franchise; you will owe a fee to the franchiser, and repeat customers might frequent other franchises of the same brand, rather than your particular store.

How To Get A Franchise Across Africa

  • Execute a franchise agreement after due diligence has been conducted on the franchiser, and the terms of the contracts are acceptable and agreed by the parties.
  • Make sure that the Franchise Agreement is executed in accordance with local laws.

Nigerian Law on Franchising

  • Nigeria does not have a specific law on franchise. A Bill on Franchise has been passed by Nigerian Parliament but has not been signed into law.
  • The Bill intends to provide a mandatory requirement of 20% minimum local content for all franchise operators in Nigeria. However, Nigeria regulates technology transfer and commercial agency agreements, which may impact on franchise agreements depending on how the franchise is structured and the sector it operates in. Such agreements are regarded as involving the transfer of technology and so is regulated by the provisions of the NOTAP Act. To know the guidelines you have to follow to register your franchise which has a touch of technology in Nigeria, click here.

South African Law On Franchising

  • There is no specific law on franchising in South Africa. The Consumer Protection Law of 2009, regulations pursuant to the law and the common law regulate franchising in South Africa. However, there is no registration requirement relating to franchising in South Africa. All the law requires to be done is that the franchiser shall disclose certain material information to the franchisee at least fourteen days prior to the signing of the franchise agreement. The format of the disclosure is prescribed by the regulation to the Consumer Protection Law.

Kenyan Law On Franchising

  • Kenya has no specific legislation on franchising. It, however, has laws regulating franchise agreements, including; the Competition Act, Consumer Protection Act and the Trademarks Act. The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), being a regulatory and supervisory institution, draws its powers from the Kenyan Competition Act in carrying out is mandate. There is no requirement for the registration of franchises in Kenya, although certain franchises may fall under the supervision of the CAK on requirements regarding market entrance on competition. 

Egyptian Law On Franchising

  • There is no specific law on franchising in Egypt. All that is needed is a franchising contract between parties which shall be subject to industry related laws in Egypt. However, the main law to be resorted to in franchising is the Civil Code. In addition to the Commercial Law, some relevant provisions can be found within the Intellectual Property rules, Taxation law, Labor law and Insurance law covering many aspects in the franchising contracts.

Angolan Law On Franchising

  • In Angola, if a franchise agreement contains service provisions [that is, part of the agreement relates to ‘services’ (such as initial training, guidance on the use of trademarks, etc.)], it is likely to be classified as a Technical Assistance and Management Agreement, which must satisfy certain criteria (including the requirement that the services cannot be obtained within Angola, and that the provision of the services will bring significant benefits to the ‘franchisee’ and the Angolan economy), must be licensed by the Ministry of Economy, and any fees paid thereunder will be subject to a higher tax burden. Other than that, there is no specific law on franchising in Angola

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

These Marketing Strategies Work Wonders For Startups

Can your startup really remain in business without marketing?

While most startup owners struggle on the best ways to pitch their deals, marketing still remains the only way to shoot your startups out there. Marketing is a hard game; sometimes nothing even comes out of it after a hard day’s labour.

Targeted markets have also become extremely intelligent and discerning. Below, we discuss some of the best marketing approaches for your startups.

Network With The Press and Journalists

  • While many people get all their stories from social media, a lot still has to be done about the trust they have on those stories. In fact, more than eight-in-ten U.S. adults (85%) got news on a mobile device, up from 72% in 2016. However, while 39 percent of Americans who got news in newspapers, on TV or on the radio believed the news is misinformation, more of them believed that 65 percent of news on social media is made up or can’t be verified as accurate. The implication of this to your startup can only be better imagined.
  • The role of journalists here is to help dig out your business, through press releases and other strategies and bring it out more into public domains. Therefore, look out for journalists with a track history of reporting on the subject areas your startup focuses on. ShapeShif is a list of journalists on Twitter worthy of note. 

Instead of Attending Others’ Events, Try Organizing Your Own Events

  • Plan and host a memorable event to make an impact. Through events, you allow people to experience and interact with your startup, product or service while participating in the event. Most times, the events may not even cost much; just a space, a time slot and a few people sharing a few ideas or inviting discussion. You get a great opportunity to do a bit of informal market research/user testing. Events could be done online through Webinars, Virtual Events, Live Streaming Events, or physical events through workshops, conferences,trade-shows, breakfast, launches or dinners.

According to — Craig Hanna, EVP North America, Econsultancy, @Cragster

“Not all events are created equal. Companies must consider live events an extension of their brand and content marketing and build events that really engage. For me that means thinking about the customer experience you REALLY want to portray!”

Book A Stand At Major Events

According to a 2018 event trends study, a majority of senior-level marketers agreed that live events are the single-most effective marketing channel, beating out content marketing, email, social media, paid, and search. A good strategy is to look out for any industry-specific events in your area where the audience is more suited to your product, hoist your stand and do the real marketing.

Be A Panelist or Do A Keynote Speech At Major Events

Participating in panel discussions or being a keynote speaker at a major industry event is a powerful way to share your ideas and get recognized for what you do. To find events to feature in, get yourself closer to events in your area. Once you are accepted, make sure to include links to your social pages and encourage people to reach out. According to a Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) survey, 80 percent of marketers targeting Health Care Professionals in 2015 said they relied on meetings and events, 64 percent used printed sales materials, 57 percent used patient education materials, and 50 percent relied on paid speaker programs.

Pull Down Your Out-of-Fashion Websites and Put Up A More Professional One

Having a good website can never be overemphasized. Among the first things a potential investor or buyer will look out for is your website. According to the Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) survey, 59 percent of marketers say they use websites, 45 percent use social media, 32 percent use digital ads, and 20 percent use mobile apps for their marketing efforts. For example, Forty-one percent of Americans search online for health information, and digital-savvy consumers are more than two times as likely to say their healthcare quality has increased due to their digital engagement, according to a 2016 Adobe Digital Insights U.S. Digital Health Survey

Tom Swanson, head of Healthcare Industry Strategy at Adobe, has this to say about the increasing online presence of consumers:

“If pharma companies are attempting to reach patients or consumers, digital channels are where those consumers are, where they’re conducting their research, and where they want to be engaged.”

It is your job to make sure they get a great experience when they do. The best strategy is to keep the website simple, informative and easy to read

Use Podcast To Spread The Message

Podcasting has generated immense prominence as a tool for marketing over the years. A podcast is a set of digital audio files that are available on the internet for downloading. A user can subscribe to the podcast to receive the digital files once they are uploaded.

In fact, the increased usage of mobile phones has led to the explosive growth of podcasting. Podcast subscriptions on iTunes alone surpassed 1 billion in 2014. RawVoice, which tracks 20,000 shows, said the number of unique monthly podcast listeners has tripled to 75 million from 25 million five years ago. Podcast is alternative marketing tool because not everyone is comfortable to shoot videos and some small businesses may not have the right equipment to shoot videos that will stand out.

In a survey conducted on 300,000 podcast listeners, it was found that 63 percent of the respondents had bought what the host had promoted. This indicates the effect of using podcast to reach out to the audience and influence their buying decisions.Once you have created the podcast, you can start promoting it to increase its exposure and reach out to a larger audience. John Levy on Forbes has a good primer on what you need to get started.

TGIM (Shopify) As A Case

Thank God It’s Monday” is a phrase Shopify is banking on in their new podcast. Shopify calls it the podcast for people who can’t wait for the week to start. The TGIM shows aim to inspire Shopify’s audience of innovators by telling success stories of like-minded entrepreneurs, packaged in 30 to 45 minute themed episodes.

Partner with Another company In Related Industries To Boost Marketing

Partnering with other companies in your space can help your marketing strategy in a big way. In the decentralized space, even your competitors are your greatest collaborators. Therefore, prepare list of companies in your industry and look for ways to work on projects together.

Shyp As A Case Study

An interesting scenario about how such partnership has worked is that of on-demand shipping startup, Shyp which partnered with Banana Republic, in the Christmas of 2014 to help last-minute shoppers get presents to family and friends. Shyp representatives handled wrapping and shipping, offering a more traditional concierge for those who didn’t want to wait to use the service until they got to their home or office. Banana Republic got to experience working with Shyp, while the start-up got visibility and the opportunity to meet many potential customers.

Stage A Viral Campaign On Social Media

Creating a viral content might seem impossible. While this may be the case, each of the viral video marketing campaigns has proved that viral content creation can be done, any time. For most businesses, using a combination of social sharing and PPC video campaigns to give your campaigns the initial visibility they need to go viral is going to be a great choice, regardless of whether you have a big or small social following. The goal will be to get the ad in front of as many relevant audience members as you possibly can so that it can gain momentum in share.

Branded videos are increasing in popularity, with one in five social media users willing to share them on their news feed, and 85% of people actually saying they would like to see more video content from brands

Coca Cola Benefited From Viral Marketing

  • In 2013 carbonated soft drinks were down 3.3% . Coca-Cola has not been immune to these pressures. For generations, Coca-Cola has been one of the world’s most iconic brands. 
  • But something is different for teens today. There are so many more beverage options that ‘iconic’ does not readily translate into ‘for me.’ In fact, half of all US teens had not enjoyed a Coke in 2012. 
  • In order to increase sales, Coke needed to make a personal connection with teens. There is nothing more personal than your name. That is where the ‘Share a Coke’ concept was born: take the Coca-Cola brand name off 20-ounce bottles and replace it with 250 of the most common teen names, a simple, powerful idea that would connect teens to Coca-Cola. 
  • Overall, paid media drove 10% of incremental sales for Coca Cola. It also drove sales directly and indirectly through owned/earned channels which in turn generated another 9% of incremental sales lift. Static and interactive outdoor drove 3.3% of sales and paid influencer content programmes drove 2.1% of sales— the highest paid media contributions.

Write Guest Posts or Articles on News Sites or Newspapers

Guest blogging is one of the best online marketing strategies to invest in. It is a way of spreading your brand’s message and wining the trust of your target audience. This could be a useful way to help position yourself as an authority on certain subjects.

Andrew Youderian, an eCommerce entrepreneur and owner of numerous online stores using the dropshipping model is a regular guest blogger on Shopify.com. According to him:

‘‘ Despite having only three guest posts published, traffic from the Shopify blog made up the fourth largest traffic stream to my blog, sending nearly 2,400 visits! Even more important, the Shopify readers were the most engaged, spending significantly more time on my site than direct or Google visitors.

The conversion data was even more impressive. My analytics are set up to track conversions/goals as anyone who subscribes to my blog by downloading my eBook. Despite being #4 in traffic, Shopify visitors were the second biggest source of subscribers — even beating out visitors from Google! Over three months, those few articles generated more than 550 subscribers.’’

Give Out Token and Free Gifts To Customers

These can be a great way of rewarding your community.

Zappos Is A Game Changer

In 2015, Zappos decided to deliver a free gift to every household in Hanover, New Hampshire (a town reportedly heavy with customers particularly loyal to Zappos) — nearly 1,900 gift boxes were personally delivered by more than 30 Zappos employees.

The commitment brought the Zappos brand closer to more customers. Indeed, in 2009, a very impressive 44% of new Zappos customers heard about the retailer simply by word of mouth.

Make Use of A Wide Range of Social Media Platforms:

Source

Become More Strategic Marketing on Twitter

Twitter is such a good platform for its users. Your business could get such an instant retweet that may spiral into thousands of retweets. To be more strategic, increase your following by tweeting regularly, day and night (use staff/freelancers in other countries) and make sure to engage with other leaders in the space. 

Use Medium Blog for Announcements

A blog is the place for major announcements, roadmap updates, and more technical pieces. According to the New York Times, as of May 2017, Medium was up to 60 million unique visitors each month What makes Medium unique is that it has a 93 Domain Authority (DA). DA is a 0–100 statistical measure of a website’s reputation.

Because of Medium’s high Domain Authority, you have a higher likelihood of getting traffic to your content from Search. All things being equal, the same content has a higher likelihood of ranking on Medium than on your own domain that has a substantially lower domain authority — especially when you are just getting started. Domain Authority is a significant factor in how a website will rank in search engines.

Airbnb Engineering & Data Science

Airbnb Engineering & Data Science is one of the numerous companies that have presence on Medium. The company has more than 80k followers on the platform.

Blogging on Medium is a far quicker way of establishing yourself. You get to publish into specific categories with millions of followers in each. 

Post Regularly on Reddit

Reddit is a popular forum for all things internet-based. The trick is to take part in the communities you want to join. Upvote, comment, and share articles–not just your own–to show that you’re a valid part of the community. Once you have done that, you can create a sub-Reddit for your product specifically and invite your new found fellow Redditors to discuss and explore your content.

Ghost Influence Is A Case In Point

Brian Swichkow, founder of the social-marketing firm Ghost Influence, said he now “gets calls all of the time” from agencies wanting to subcontract his work, which has the potential to quadruple a brand’s social impressions, from Reddit. Swichkow said he attracted $500,000 in new business in just a few weeks after a campaign for an unnamed wearables product went viral. 

You have to present value to the community in the voice of the community. If you don’t do that, you will fail. There’s no way around it, ”Swichkow said.

Use LinkedIn To Grow Your Business

Although much of the attention goes to Facebook, Twitter and Telegram for marketing channels, LinkedIn is a powerful marketing tool. Some of its 87 million Millennial users are highly influential: nearly 11 million of them have decision making authority for their companies. When executives were asked about the top places to find relevant, high-quality content, 91 percent cited LinkedIn, while only 29 percent said Twitter, and 27 percent said Facebook. So open your own LinkedIn profile and head straight to groups. There are a number of groups with high profile individuals you should be targeting with your startup marketing campaign. 

Answers Questions on Quora as an Expert

Quora, the Q&A hub has seen every tech entrepreneur, and occasional billionaire CEO and former President answer questions for the curious public. Answering questions for people on all matters gives you an opportunity to include links to resources, you have found useful, and even your website! It is a smart tool for marketing that many other industries have overlooked. But note that Quora answers are upvoted. The implication of this is that if you use it to spam others, you may have difficulty getting very far.

Facebook?

Only a small percentage — maybe 1% to 5% — of people who have liked your page will see your updates. To get a wider reach, you will need to spend more money. This can range from $5 to $300 to reach 500 to 50,000 people; not just your fans. However, ‘reaching’ these people will only put your ad into their newsfeeds; there is no guarantee that they will click or even see it. Actual engagements can then prove expensive, sometimes reaching $12 each — far too expensive considering advertising alternatives. 

Facebook has also announced a new algorithm that prefer contents shared by a user’s friends over any advertising or branded content. As a part of this, they warned brands that their “post reach and referral traffic could potentially decline”. See more about how Facebook is shifting its focus away from advertising

Social Media Influencers Can Help

Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to quickly build your brand online and raise awareness among your target audience.

According to Forbes, influencer marketing is growing faster than digital ads, with emphasis placed on leveraging an industry leaders’ followers to foster growth in your own business. By having their own highly curated following, social influencers represent a great way to directly access a certain target audience. The most important thing is in finding which social influencer has created a target market that matches yours, and how effective their campaigns have been. Instagram has some of the most sophisticated tools for measuring the success of an influencer. Here’s a decent list

Engage Celebrities or Music Artistes Who Use Tech

What better way to share your project than by turning it into a work of art? This can be a really good way of letting your audience find out what you do in an interactive way. Who said marketing needed to be dull?

Spotify  Owes Much Of Its Early Success To This

Spotify made the best move linking the music streaming company with the best of celebrity bloggers. These bloggers not only danced to the music but spread the good news.The result: they kept coming back for more of the music.

Related: How Spotify Bult A 36 $Billion Music Business And Lessons To Learn

In just one year, Spotify had built a product that music bloggers were already excited about. This was followed by negotiations with record labels. With sales falling, negotiation with the American “Big Four” record labels — EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner Music — became an option. A couple of smaller labels also agreed to make their entire back catalogs available to Spotify for use outside the U.S. on a limited basis. Indeed, this was a game-changing deal. In fact, Spotify needed the labels — and their back catalogs — as much as the labels needed a new way to reach young music fans.

Create Referral Links To Business

A referral program is a deliberate, systematic way of getting people to make referrals to your business. People are twice as likely to pay attention to referrals from a friend. Plus, referrals get some of the best new customers you can get, with higher brand loyalty and profit margins. Here’s a substantial list of great examples of referral programs by some of the world’s most successful companies.

Scribe Writing Is A Perfect Example

A book publishing company called Scribe Writing offers $2,000 for every referral made. Authors who have already published a book with the company can refer other authors. If they sign up, the referrer gets the money in cash, or have it applied as credit to their Scribe Writing account. There’s also a third option to donate the referral reward to charity. With this strategy, Scribe Writing leverages their customers’ network to get more authors to publish with them. The monetary reward is compelling, and new authors are more likely to trust other authors who have experienced the service, and recommend it. In fact, a Harris Poll survey says that 77% of Americans prefer cash as a reward in exchange for referrals. 

However, not many small businesses have the cash to splash out on such programs like this. You need to have a solid strategy if you want to make this worth your while.

Get A PR Team Who Can Place Your Adverts On The Right Places

PR marketers help put you reach your target audience. Since they are usually agents who help place your brands in all media, they are one sure-fire way of producing results. Implementing a PR plan enables you to establish your brand identity in a practical, cost-efficient manner, and helps you market your business in several important ways.The biggest piece of advice is to work out what your company is and what it is trying to promote before heading out to an agency. You will be burn through cash if your key selling points are not clear enough.

Optimise Your Website’s Search Engine Capacity

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing the visibility of a website or a web page to users of a web search engine. Good SEO however takes time, and ranking for certain terms can feel endless. Doing an audit on what terms you currently rank for and what you would like to rank for is a great place to start. Here are six free resources to help get you started.

Use Telegram to Communicate Directly

Telegram — a cloud-based messaging app, available for desktop and mobile devices with a high level of information security. In March 2018 telegram hit 200 million monthly active users. It also has 15 billion daily messages.

More than 220 000 new users sign up every day. Budget spent on app promotion: $0. Telegram is free of charge; its main financial source is donations. This brings countless opportunities for Telegram advertising. Since there is still little competition, new comers stand a chance reaping the rewards from it. That is good news for small and middle-sized companies, because they can build their presence without competing against large ad budgets. Telegram’s services include: Concierge; Online ordering; Real-time support; Individual assistance; Customer feedback processing; Team communication and coordination; Up-to-date information; Product promotion; Additional traffic to the site; Increasing brand awareness; Non-stop client support; Additional channel for payment processing.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

A Look At Where A Majority of South African Businessmen Travel To Most

More South African businessmen are headed for London, Lagos and Mauritius than you think. Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT) has revealed in its recent data that the fastest growing international business destinations for South African travellers in 2018 were London, Lagos and Mauritius.

Here Is A Breakdown of How The Business Travels Happened

London, UK


London witnessed a growth of 47% in the number of business travellers in 2018, according to the data.


“Year after year, the city of London remains at the top of South African lists for both business and leisure travellers. The city of London itself is also enjoying rapid growth with independent studies continually ranking it above rivals such as New York and Hong Kong. It is one of the world’s leading finance centres and offers a huge variety of business venues and conference centres. said Andrew Grunewald, FCBT team leader. 2018 was no different despite the threat of Brexit, he said.

Lagos, Nigeria


Lagos witnessed a growth of 35% in 2018.

‘‘With more South African companies seeking to exploit opportunities north of our borders, it is not surprising to see Lagos place as the second fastest growing business destination for South African travellers. This African city is the main financial, economic and commercial centre of the Nigeria. Lagos accounts for over 60% of industrial and commercial activities in the nation and is a financially viable city,’’ said Grunewald.

Mauritius

Mauritius also saw a growth of 34% in 2018.

Related: Mauritius Where A Majority Of South Africans Are Migrating To And Their Reasons

‘The fact that Mauritius with its attractive tax regime and stable economy is the third fastest growing business destination comes hardly as a surprise. The country ranked as the highest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa on the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing. Business’ Index and the country’s banks have become beacons of growth and stability in sub-Saharan Africa,’’Grunewald said.


Harare, Zimbabwe

Traffic to Harare from South Africa increased by 24% according to the data.
Grunewald explains that the latest EY Africa Attractiveness report 2018 shows that Zimbabwe is the second most popular foreign investment destination in Southern Africa.

 Dubai, United Arab Emirates


Traffic to Dubai from South Africa also increased by 17% according to the data.

The city’s regular summits, conferences and expos bring together business leaders from around the globe, Flight Centre said.

Within South Africa

  • Within South Africa, FCBT reported that although Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban continue to be the most popular air travel routes, the three fastest growing domestic airports in 2018 were in fact George (with a 70% growth year on year), followed by Kimberley (36%) and Lanseria (31%).
  • The phenomenal growth George experienced in 2018 as a business destination might come as a surprise, but this Garden Route town was in fact hailed as one of the Western Cape cities offering the highest quality of life, beating Cape Town.
  • “George has become increasingly popular as a business and investment destination thanks to its ideal location and low crime rate,” said Grunewald.
  • The Northern Cape and Kimberley remain an important business destination thanks to its mining and agriculture sectors. The area is also growing as a result of its renewable energy initiatives with a great number of solar plants developed over the past few years.
  • Kimberley Airport and Upington International Airport were voted in 2019 as the best airports in Africa by size and region, in the under 2 million passengers category.
  • Lanseria is steadily gaining ground as the third fastest growing domestic airport, Flight Centre said. This growth is not likely to slow down as the airport has announced it is aiming to double its passenger numbers to more than 4 million within the next six years.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Kenyan Loan Guarantors May Soon Be Hard To Be Sued

Barring any last minutes changes, loan guarantors in Kenya may soon be hard to be dragged to court. This is because Kenyan National Assembly’s Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs has approved, for passage into law, the Kenyan Law of Contract (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill proposes that in case of a default to repay loan by the principal borrower, the creditor should first auction the assets of the principal borrower before making for the property of guarantors. 

A Breakdown of The Bill:

  • The law will only apply to cases that take place after the Bill becomes law, while the status quo shall remain for current cases.
  • The Bill seeks to amend Law of Contract Act, Cap 23 of Kenya.
  • The new position also provides that no suit shall be brought against a guarantor of any debt or promise unless the agreement is in writing and signed by the guarantor. 

Related: World Bank Approves $250 Million Loan for Kenya’s Affordable Housing Project

  • The move may not be unconnected with the decision of the Kenyan high court last year which allowed banks and other financial service providers to blacklist guarantors with Credit Reference Bureaus (CRB) in case of bad loans.
  • The ruling was made in a case where one Obadiah Gitonga had sued Cooperative Bank for blacklisting him over a defaulted loan where he was the guarantor. Mr Gitonga demanded to be delisted from CRB, a request the court denied saying that the bank acted within the precincts of the law.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Kenyan e-Health Startup Raises $3m For Expansion

An e-health Startup in Kenya, MYDAWA,founded in 2017, which enables consumers to conveniently purchase authentic high-quality medicines, health and wellness products through partnerships with healthcare practitioners and suppliers has raised US$3 million in funding from the Africa HealthCare Master Fund for accelerating a planned expansion into the Kenyan market. The startup has over 80,000 registered users.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • With this, the startup has now completed its first round of external funding from the Africa HealthCare Master Fund, also established in 2017 and which is an investor in healthcare and related sectors across the continent.
  • The US$3 million round is expected to assist MYDAWA in expanding across Kenya, and further advancing its vision of providing access to affordable, genuine and high-quality medicine and healthcare products.
  • MYDAWA users are assured of genuine medicines and products as the application has secured the entire supply chain by getting medicines and other products directly from manufacturers and branded drugs that are made by World Health Organisation (WHO) approved centers, tackling the counterfeit issue in the market. 

Also See: Ghanaian Startup mPharma Acquires Kenyan Second Largest Pharmacy Chain

  • A unique track and trace mechanism have also been put in place to allow users to authenticate products through the app with a QR code or SMS to verify its source and genuineness. All products and medicines are secured with tamper-proof seals that contain the scratch to reveal authentication code.
  • Kenya is seen as a leader in innovation, and with solutions such as MYDAWA, the future of healthcare in Kenya and Africa is set for transformation where access to affordable and safe healthcare products will be experienced by all, MYDAWA managing director Tony Wood.
  • The startup has also partnered with a number of Insurance companies to ensure that medical policy holders also benefit from the solution, giving longevity to their insurance cover since prescription medicines are on average 20 per cent cheaper. Insurance companies are also beneficiaries as there are less fraudulent and illegitimate claims.

It was very important that a new partner shared this goal which is inspired by the Kenyan aim of improving access to healthcare for all. I am delighted to add the Africa HealthCare Fund to the team which brings expertise and international reach as well as funds,” said Neil O’Leary founder and chairman of MYDAWA.


Africa HealthCare Master Fund director Susumu Tsubaki said it was commendable that startups such as MYDAWA were leveraging on the power of new technologies to disrupt the healthcare industry to tackle the region’s challenges of access, quality and affordability of healthcare.

Our mission has always been to support healthcare related initiatives in Africa to help them accelerate their operations towards a healthy continent,” he said.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.