The Good, the Gaps, and the Grind: Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs on their Journey to Success

Egyptian-American writer Suzy Kassem once wrote that “fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.” Luckily for Africa, this continent is not short of brave young people. To see that, one need look no further than the continent’s young entrepreneurs, who are sidestepping the lack of formal employment opportunities in their societies and boldly writing their own economic futures. More than three-quarters of all young Africans say they plan to start a business in the next five years, joining the one in five working-age Africans who already run one. ¹

This entrepreneurial hustle is impressive, but is also borne of necessity. Millions of young Africans start businesses because the lack of other productive economic opportunities in their societies leaves them little choice.² That’s where the Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) and Mastercard Foundation “Going Beyond – Partnering for a Youth-Led Future” project comes in. We aim to help young people break through this cycle of “survival entrepreneurship” and build resilient, scalable businesses that can provide them dignified, fulfilling work for as long as they want it. Over the next few years, we will support 300,000 ambitious young entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania with the resources to act on their bravery and build their brightest future. 

In celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2024, we spoke with some of the young entrepreneurs Going Beyond has already supported. They shared with us some of the critical challenges that they face in their work, illuminating both the opportunities and hurdles that lie ahead as we work to transform the future of Africa’s young people. 

Alicia: Shake up the supply chain

Alicia started her business – selling skin and beauty care products in Mwanza, Tanzania – with one goal in mind. She wanted her clients to feel confident in their own skin. And she is willing to scour the earth to make that happen, sourcing the highest-quality beauty products she can find. The problem is that these often come from foreign companies, meaning that Alicia has to import them. That makes her business vulnerable to many factors outside her control. For instance, the price of her goods fluctuates depending on the value of the Tanzanian shilling, and she is vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. She has also received counterfeit goods from her suppliers that she was unable to sell, nipping into her already-thin profit margins. Alicia’s story highlights the need to invest in local product development and African industrial entrepreneurs in order to address the continent’s import dependency and free up business owners like Alicia to focus on what they do best: helping their customers thrive.³

Athumani: Invest for an impact 

The handmade leather bags that Athumani makes in Mwanza, Tanzania would hardly look out of place on the pages of Vogue or the runways of Johannesburg Fashion Week. Like for so many young African entrepreneurs, his problem isn’t his product – it’s selling it. Since he started his business in 2022, Athumani has struggled to compete with larger suppliers who sell cheaper, lower-quality imported bags. He dreams of finding the capital to invest in more up-to-date handbag manufacturing technologies so that he can scale up his production and make it more efficient. Athumani is a prime example of a young African entrepreneur who would benefit from an innovative financing scheme like impact investing, where investors pursue a “double bottom line” of profit and social impact. After all, Athumani isn’t just trying to make a quick buck and get out. He is building a business that will create local jobs and generate profits that will stay within his community, even as his gorgeous bags travel the world. 

Alekeni: A ripple effect

When Alekeni noticed that photography, videography, and digital design services were difficult to come by in his hometown of Rumphi, Malawi, he decided to step into the gap. At first, his family was skeptical, but he persevered and created Mzuzu E-Hub, an organization promoting youth business development in Malawi through incubation, investment support, digital skills training, and other support services. So big was his success that he was able to purchase a home for his family and start several successful side hustles as well, including an electronics shop and a crop husbandry business. His story illustrates how successful entrepreneurship in Africa can have a massive ripple effect, transforming the lives of not only individuals but entire communities and economies. 

Lucy: Don’t operate on the legal margins 

Lucy’s soft drink business, Swan Freezes, is booming. So much so that she’s now started four others. But if she could start from scratch again tomorrow, she says there’s something important she would do differently. “I wish I had followed all business regulations, like registering my business and obtaining certification from the Malawi Bureau of Standards,” she says. Like Lucy, many young African entrepreneurs are afraid to formalize their businesses, or simply don’t know how to. But operating on the margins leaves them more susceptible to risks that can halt them in their tracks, like fines from regulatory bodies. Informal businesses also often miss out on opportunities for partnership and investment. Lucy’s words of caution should serve as a rallying cry for anyone interested in African entrepreneurship. Small business owners need support to formalize so that they can enhance their chances of achieving a success like hers. 

A better business future for Africa, together

As Alekeni, Alicia, Athumani, and Lucy epitomize, there is no shortage of entrepreneurial talent in Africa. But for the businesses of young Africans to truly be the engine of the continent’s development, they need more support. We urge African governments to do more to create a conducive environment for small and medium enterprises. This means creating and sustaining favorable regulatory, political, and tax regimes while maintaining pre­dictable macro-eco­nomic pol­icies. Furthermore, they must address the infrastructure challenges that affect the cost of doing business on the continent. Going Beyond is here to support this work by strengthening the entrepreneurial capacity of 300,000 young people. Together, we can build the future for Africa’s young people that we all want to see. 

¹ The African Youth Survey, 2022

² Jobs for Youth in Africa: Catalyzing Youth Opportunity Across Africa, African Development Bank

³ Africa needs a surge in entrepreneurship

About Digital Opportunity Trust

DOT is a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with locally managed offices across 6 countries in Africa and the Middle East: Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Lebanon and Jordan as well as the UK. DOT extends its reach to Ghana, Uganda, Côte D’Ivoire, Malawi, and Zambia through local partnerships with youth-led and youth-serving organizations. DOT’s proven youth-led model has created an impact in over 25 countries for over two decades, mobilizing and inspiring all underserved and disadvantaged young people with digital literacy, 21st-century skills, and the self-confidence that will enable them to thrive in an inclusive digital economy. For more information, please visit www.dotrust.org

About Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation is a Canadian Foundation and one of the world’s largest foundations, with a mission to advance education and financial inclusion. It works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. The Foundation was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. The Foundation is an independent organization and separate from the company. Its policies, operations, and programs are determined by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and leadership. For more information on the Foundation, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org