Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs [Paperback]

Moky Makura (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2009

"Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs" comprises of a series of profiles on some of the most successful and dynamic businesspeople currently operating in Africa. Each chapter is dedicated to a single entrepreneur and will focus on the personality as well as the story of how they achieved their success in their particular environment or field. The narrative will focus on the personal success stories of these self-starters in the context of the economic and political climate of their respective markets. Issues discussed include: how they started in business; their defining moments; the challenges they faced and how they overcame them; their frustrations and achievements; what kept them going; what they learned in the process; things they would have done differently; their relationship with the political power structures; their opinions on leadership, on Africa's future; their heroes and villains; and, finally, the legacy they leave behind. The book is inspiring and will provide a better understanding of who the real powerbrokers in Africa are. It will give an unprecedented insight into unique and successful African entrepreneurs as well as first-hand experiences of the realities of how to get things done on the continent. "Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs" will feature an eclectic mix of the most well-known and notable entrepreneurs in Africa. Some of the names included in the book are: Kagiso Mmusi (Botswana), Victor Fotso (Cameroon), Jean Kacou Diagou (Cote d'Ivoire), Gerald Mangoua (Cote d'Ivoire), Kofi Amoabeng(Ghana), Kwabena Adjai (Ghana), Chris Kirubi (Kenya), Daniel David (Mozambique), Wale Tinubu (Nigeria), Aliko Dangote (Nigeria), Aliou Sow (Senegal), Mzi Khumalo (South Africa), Keith Kunene (SA), Ndaba Ntsele (SA), Herman Mashaba (SA), Richard Maponya (SA), Mo Ibrahim (Sudan), Reginald Mengi (Tanzania), Ali Mufuruki (Tanzania) and Wavamunno (Uganda).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Moky Makura is a freelance writer and TV producer based in South Africa. She is passionate about ensuring that Africans tell their own stories and highlight their own heroes and achievements.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Global (August 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143024302
• ISBN-13: 978-0143024309
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #978,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sixteen of Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs, August 26, 2009

By 

David Fick "Author: Africa: Continent of Econ... (Overland Park, Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

Moky Makura was born in Nigeria, educated in England and now lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. A TV presenter/producer, writer and a successful businesswoman in her own right, Moky Makura holds an honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law from Buckingham University in the UK.

From 2001 to 2006, Moky Makura was the African Anchor presenter and field reporter for South Africa's award winning news and actuality show - Carte Blanche. She has presented numerous field reports on Africa and Nigeria in particular; including stories on the Nigerian Film industry; Zimbabwean farmers in Kwara, People trafficking in Edo State, Child soldiers in the DRC and Democracy in Zimbabwe She has conducted interviews with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, Chinua Achebe, Femi Kuti, Danny Glover and Seal.

In 2004, Moky Makura presented an hour long interview format show called African Pioneers which was syndicated to commercial stations in 5 African countries including Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi. In 2005, she hosted a 26 part marketing show on the South African business channel; Summit TV. She is currently appearing in the ground breaking Pan-African drama series on M-Net called Jacob's Cross.

Moky Makura is an editorial contributor to various magazines on African related subjects including The Business Day; Maverick Magazine, O Magazine and Tribute Magazine.

She is also producer and presenter on an entertainment TV series called "Living it", which focuses on the lifestyle's of the continent's wealthy elite. As part of her passion to present a positive image of Africa and showcase its heroes and achievements, she has started a website where visitors can contribute to creating a repository of all the positive aspects about Africa.

Moky set about finding and interviewing some of the continent's bravest and most successful entrepreneurs and recently completed a book; Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs which features the success stories of the top entrepreneurs on the continent.

Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs comprises a series of profiles on 16 of some of the most successful and dynamic business people to have emerged from across Africa, with a diverse range of ages and educational backgrounds.

The first chapter is about (1) Wale Tinubu, who began an oil trading business working out of an office that doubled as his family's garage. Using a loan from his mother as capital to build Oando, today, the company has a market capitalisation of $2bn and a presence in the industry across most of West Africa with interests in exploration, refining, distribution and power plant development. This might sound like an extraordinary rags-to-riches story, but plenty more follow.

We next learn about Ghana's (2) Prince Kofi Amoabeng, who dropped a military career to pursue a profession in finance, evolving from an introductory service linking friends who had money to invest with those that needed to borrow for their businesses. Today, Amoabeng is the chief executive of Unique Trust, a company with a near $30m turnover and 300 employees, ranked as one of Ghana's best-performing companies.

Unique Trust is a non-bank financial Institution (Finance House) licensed by the Bank of Ghana. Founded in 1997, they aim at providing customers with fast and efficient short-term loans and real returns on investments. The company seeks to serve the needs of indigenous traders, exporters and importers as well as business organizations/people not catered for by the traditional banks. Their clients are their most prized assets thus providing them with quality and prompt services is their first priority. From a very humble beginning, UT Financial Services is now the No.2 company in the Ghana Club 100.

Prince Kofi Amoabeng has been on the board since he founded Unique Trust in 1997. He is the Chief Executive Officer of the company, an investment consultant, and a retired military officer (Captain). He is a holder of B. Sc. Admin (Accounting), ICMA, ACMA (UK) & ACA (GH) and has significant experience gained from working with and managing a number of companies. He is also a resource person for the Ghana Stock Exchange. Unique Trust is committed to providing timely financial assistance, business education, and advice through short-term financial services to their clients, be they individuals or corporate bodies. Kofi Amoabeng was voted by his peers as Ghana's most respected CEO for 2007.

Makura next profiles the extraordinary story of (3) Mo Ibrahim, one of the pioneers of Africa's mobile phone revolution. In fact, Makura was at one time the public relation's director at Ibrahim's company Celtel, which perhaps explains why, although Ibrahim says he simply has "no heroes in the business world" and is honestly irritated by what he calls the idolising of business leaders, he was still prepared to be a subject for this book.

(4) Kwabena Adjei's of Ghana is one of the book's stranger stories. He is the chief executive of Kasapreko Co Ltd, a company with a $30m turnover. It began by creating a herbal remedy, Alomo Bitters, that not only claimed to cure malaria but also help men's sexual performance!

(5) Herman Mashaba is the 50-year-old South African founder of Black Like Me, an extremely successful cosmetics company with a R2bn (approx $200m) turnover. This is the first of a number of South African entrepreneurs in the book who had to contend with the many obstacles thrown up in the path of black businesspeople by the apartheid system.

Other entrepreneurs had other challenges, such as (6) Strive Masiyiwa of Zimbabwe, the founder and chairman of Econet Group, the second telecoms pioneer to be featured in this book. Masiyiwa spent five years in an epic legal battle with the Zimbabwean government to win a GSM licence that finally loosened the state's stranglehold on the country's telecom sector.

(7) Kagiso Mmusi is the founder and executive chairman of Pula Holdings, a diversified holding company with total assets of around Pulal70m ($20.83m). Mmusi is from a famous Botswana family, his father Peter having been Sir Ketumile Masire's vice-president, but his story is less about privilege, more about self-discipline and tenacity. Mmusi began by operating a single petrol station 19 years ago to build one of Botswana's largest home-grown companies.

Sadly, (8) Miko Rwayitare died in 2007, but his remarkable story is told by a close friend, Dr Gabriel Twagira. Rwayitare is the third telecoms pioneer in the book. An electrical engineer, he was perhaps the first African to spot the potential of mobile phone technology building the first pan-African mobile phone network and the first person in Africa to make a mobile phone call.

After selling a major share of the company he founded, Telecel, to the Egyptian-based Orascom, Rwayitare diversified into hotels and was also passionate about the potential of his investment in Goal Technology Solutions, which promised to deliver affordable broadband to almost every home in South Africa by using the national grid power lines.

(9) Nigel Chanakira, like his compatriot Strive Masiyiwa, had to contend with the opposition of the Zimbabwean authorities. Chanakira built a successful financial holdings company - Kingdom Financial Holdings (KFH) - but "got into trouble" when he began to comment on the country's economic policies.
He fled to South Africa in 2001, during his exile building KFH businesses in Zambia, Malawi and Botswana.

He took the chance to return to Zimbabwe in 2004. Most commercial banks were in serious trouble, and KFH was on the brink of failing, but Strive Masiyiwa bought a 25% stake in the business and Chanakira achieved a merger with Meikles Group, one of Zimbabwe's foremost conglomerates.

The resulting conglomerate, Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd, has ambitions for a New York listing and wants to raise US$l billion for expansion plans.

(10) Regi Mengi, the Tanzanian media magnate, has an unlikely story. From a humble rural home he did well at school, and joined Coopers, the accountancy firm. But his ambitions were far greater than the accountancy profession.

Like many successful business stories, Mengi's begins with spotting a business opportunity - he was unable to buy a ballpoint pen in Dar es Salaam. The government would not permit the importation of finished pens but he could bring in component parts. From this initial business venture Mengi built a business empire in East Africa with interests in manufacturing, mining, bottling as well as broadcast and print media.

Uganda's (11) Gordon Wavamunno has a story that closely mirrors the fortunes of his country. From an early age, Wavamunno knew he wanted to be a businessman, and he began by trading in agricultural produce, building a business that secured the Ugandan Mercedes Benz distributorship and encompassed transport, hotels and tourism.

Then the turbulent years of the Obote/Amin era saw his efforts almost completely dashed but, undeterred, he resolved to build up his company, Spear Group, again. He persuaded Mercedes Benz to retain him, then moved into textiles and clothing.

Since then he has added broadcast media as well as banking, bottled water and pharmaceuticals to his rapidly expanding portfolio, winning the coveted Ugandan Businessman of the Year award for seven years running.

Pamodzi Investment Holdings, one of South Africa's first black-owned and run investment companies, successfully raised $1.3bn in 2007 to become the country's largest private equity fund. At the helm of Pamodzi is chief executive (12) Ndaba Ntsele, who has another rags-to-riches story, growing up in Soweto and learning business... Read more ›