(Chia) Seed Investors: the surprising story of how chia seeds came to be grown in Africa

This week's episode comes from Kibera, Kenya's biggest, and one of Africa's largest, informal settlements. Life is tough here, and many talk about the "slum mentality" where a lack of opportunities leads to drug abuse, crime and a general sense of despair. Julius Otieno is an inspiration for those in his neighbourhood. After dropping out of high school as his family could no longer pay his school fees he combined the talents of his mother (a tailor) and his father (a cobbler) to make colourful, hand-made shoes from discarded pieces of African fabric. The shoes are a hit, with both Kibera residents and expatriates (such as myself). Julius and I talk about his story, how the shoes are made, and the impact of the business in reducing environmental waste and providing meaningful employment to the Kibera youth. We also discuss Julius' trip to Paris, after he was selected by an ambassador to present at a trade show there. This involved Julius needing to get funding to get a passport in order to leave the country, let alone have his experience on a plane. For more information on the business, head to the show notes where you can find the Re-afric website, as well as a blog post I wrote several months ago about meeting Julius for the first time. You can also head to www.theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com where you can learn about opportunities to help companies like Julius', whether that be expertise or funding, should you so wish.READ MORE AT:https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/12/19/from-rags-to-riches-re-afric-make-colourful-shoes-from-recycled-african-fabric-that-sell-worldwide

19 Dec 201957min

This week we're featuring what has to be one of my favourite business models to date. One of the dominant themes in East Africa is that individuals and businesses don't have the cash to afford products and services that would earn them more money, and make their lives better. To open up access to electricity, off-grid solar power systems are now commonplace, provided on a Pay As You Go basis. This model is being adopted in other markets too, such as cooking fuel, irrigation pumps and TVs. Where it becomes especially powerful is, in my opinion, if the financing can be for a revenue-generating asset. The new owner gets a top of the range piece of kit and is able to pay for it through the additional income they earn from it. This is what Ilara Health has done for medical diagnostics. Ilara Health takes the most advanced, modern equipment (often smartphone-based) that offer the same results and cost only a few thousand dollars, and then provide them to peri-urban medical clinics in Kenya who then pay back in installments. The result - routine ultrasound tests become available to a local population at an affordable rate, (rather than spending hours to travel to have one), medical clinics can grow their business, and Ilara Health has a sustainable business model.Emilian also has a number of top tips on starting any business in Africa which come from over 20 years of him running and investing in companies on the continent. I'd strongly recommend following him if you're interested in building ventures in the region. READ MORE AT:https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/12/12/affordable-healthcare-for-the-masses-ilara-healths-sustainable-business-model-saves-lives

12 Dec 201957min

This week we're talking with two friends who have set up a business making socks in Kenya. Both Vidyesh and Bishell grew up in Nairobi to entrepreneurial families, and after education in the UK returned home to begin a business. They are also friends with Sumit, who featured in the board game cafe episode. Vidyesh and Bishell decided on socks, as they felt there was a gap in the market and that by starting with a relatively discrete market (school socks) they could grow the business. It's a very interesting conversation that goes through the practicalities of building a manufacturing company in Kenya. One of the challenges they state is, for example, the high cost of electricity, and its unreliability, but also the opportunities that come from getting a loyal customer base in an emerging economy.READ MORE AT:https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/12/05/the-opportunities-and-challenges-of-making-affordable-socks-in-kenya

5 Dec 201944min

Do you know what the world's most expensive nut is? It's the macadamia nut. Similar in shape and colour to a chickpea, but up to twice the size, it's originally from Australia and is now grown in several tropical locations around the world. In Kenya, the first trees were grafted and planted in the 1970s with a few disparate growers and aggregators each individually trying to generate a market. Ten years ago Charles Muigai founded Nutpak an industry body for nut processors in Kenya. They deal with peanuts and cashews too, but the real business in macadamias where they represent Kenyan producers both at a national government level and internationally. Charles and I chat about all angles of how this industry is growing in Kenya including the minimum "farm gate" price set for macadamia farmers, the process by which they are packaged and ultimately exported, and lessons other burgeoning industries can take for their role on global stage.READ MORE AT:https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/11/28/cracking-the-nut-industry-how-kenya-adopted-the-worlds-most-valuable-nut-with-charles-muigai

28 Nov 201951min

In this episode, I catch up with Johannes, co-founder of Lynk.We initially spoke back in late 2016 along with his co-founder Adam. You can listen to the interview by searching for the episode on 'How Lynk is building a "TaskRabbit for Kenya"'.The company has continued to grow over the years, and this time we meet in the new Lynk house/ office. With a new round of funding secured their employee numbers are up to 45 and, well, they need a new place to house people.Johannes and I dig into how the business has grown and evolved over the past few years. The company began by offering services to individuals, and whilst this is still part of their platform, a much bigger side of the business that has grown is B2B.One of the things Lynk now it is effectively a construction company.They use their roster of workers to effectively and efficiently build factories, as well as do the interior design and facilities management. Regarding the individual services that are offered, such as beauticians, the model has also evolved into more of a micro-franchise. Practically this means that Lynk defines the services and how they should be delivered, and then give new workers on the platform a start-up loan to purchase the necessary materials and build their business on Lynk.READ MORE AT: https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/11/14/how-lynk-raised-1-3m-and-evolved-from-taskrabbit-for-kenya-to-micro-franchising-and-construction

14 Nov 201946min

In this catch-up episode, I chat with Caitlin who runs Flare.Caitlin and I first spoke in late 2016, and you can listen to the original interview by scrolling down to the episode named Ambulances.The premise then was that Flare would become a technology platform to connect people with ambulances much in the way that Uber has developed the model of hailing a driver through their app.Whilst the vision of providing world-class emergency dispatch services remains unchanged, the company has developed more of a human touch.As Caitlin and I discuss, a core offering they now have is a 24/7 dispatch hotline where trained medical professionals consult with callers before dispatching them to the appropriate provider.We also talk about other things that have come from running the business over the past three years.How they've been cautious to not scale too quickly, how large corporates are signing up to the Rescue.co service, and their considerations for international expansion.The interview takes place in the garden of the Flare house (you may notice a number of companies such as Lynk and SunCulture operate from residential homes) and so there may be some background noise, not least from Koko - the office dog who comes over halfway through.READ MORE AT:https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/11/07/from-uber-to-call-centre-why-flare-decided-on-the-human-touch-for-emergency-dispatch-in-kenya

7 Nov 201941min

In this second episode from Zambia, I speak with an entrepreneur who has found his niche and is fully focused on it. Paul Nyambe grew up farming goats in rural Zambia. He and his family were unable to earn money from the animals which always struck Paul as frustrating.Years later he built a career in food sales, specifically ice cream, which meant had relationships with large supermarkets and restaurants.One noticeable thing missing from the menus and shelves was goat meat.In 2012, Paul quit his job and started Zamgoat.The vision is simple: to sell high-quality goat meat to the public.In our conversation, we talk through various parts of the business such as the profit margin on a goat, the barriers to entry for getting a goat in supermarket aisles, and the reasons why Paul is so positive that goat products are the next big thing for consumers around the world.We also chat about the potential for more value creation in goat products, such as making rugs from goat skins and various other products.If, on the off chance, you happen to know someone who'd be interested in advising Paul in this regard, please let me know via the contact form on the podcast website - www.theeastafricabusinesspodcast.comREAD MORE AT:https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/10/31/why-zamgoat-believes-goats-are-the-next-big-meat-in-zambia-and-the-world-with-paul-nyambe

31 Okt 20191h