Who are the business builders?

I am impressed by some of the entrepreneurs I met so far. They know their business, competitors and industry. They understand their finances. They now where they want to go and their future plans are ambitious. And their present business proof they are capable in building businesses. In this blog I will shortly introduce three members of the target group: strong entrepreneurs with a (potentially) fast growing business that are motivated, capable and ready for an investor. Investments in their businesses promises both interesting financial and social return.

Andrew
Andrew is a reputable businessman and a real entrepreneur with high energy level and charisma. Five years ago he established a coffee company. Presently he exports coffee under his own brand to Great Britain to several retailers. It is the only African owned coffee brand sold in the West. His company owns four coffee shops in Kampala.
The strength of the business is the vision of Andrew. Andrew works closely together with his suppliers, several thousands of farmers, to improve the quality of the coffee. Quality of supply is key and reason for Andrew to involve the farmers to his company. Half of the profits of the company are invested in the communities of the farmers, in education and training, saving and credit facilities, etc. Investments that help the farmers to improve the quality and quantity of their output and Andrew to secure his inputs.
Andrew thinks big. His vision is to build an African owned premium brand with different processed agricultural products like tea and potato’s.
The business currently employs 20 people in the coffee processing and 60 in the coffee shops. Present turnover is around 1 million (euro). He needs an investment for hiring stronger management, building an IT infrastructure and to increase his working capital for expansion. The investment sought is around $700k, equity and/or loan. Besides the 50 new jobs created this will positively affect the live of several thousand farmers that get a premium for their (quality) coffee and part of the profit is invested in their communities.

Ahmed
Another entrepreneur. As Andrew, Ahmed also has the vision that the quality of his products depends on his partners in the value chain. With his family he owns a slaughterhouse, the second largest of Uganda. What surprised me when I visited the slaughterhouse is that animal slaughtering is not central element of this business. The primary function of his company is providing a marketplace with hundreds of people selling and buying animals and meat. His position as buyer of animals and seller of meat is highly important in the meat value chain. To improve the quality and quantity of his supply he establishes long term relationships with his suppliers. He assist farmers with the many facets of raising the animals.
Currently the meat is processed under hygienically dubious circumstances. Ahmed’s dream is to build the first modern slaughterhouse of East Africa, adhering to international hygienic standards, well packaged, ready for export. The value added will lead to a price premium and an advantage over competitors. He needs €1 million to build the facility. The social benefits of this investment is the creation of another 20 direct jobs and, more important, improved food quality for the local market.

Stephen
Three years ago Stephen started a weekly publication with three partners for East Africa. The current print run is 5000 per week (for European standards this is a very small number, but in Uganda the print run of the biggest daily newspaper is 40.000 copies). Half of the copies are going to subscribers in Uganda, Kenya en Tanzania. Presently the company is profitable, but to increase the growth speed the business is looking for an investor. The investment sought is around $250k for expansion of presence in Kenya and Tanzania and working capital (to increase the print run and number of pages). The social return on this investment are both direct job creation and income opportunities for newspaper sellers.

Three strong entrepreneurs for whom it is hard to mobilize the financial resources needed for maximizing the growth of their businesses. They are looking for an outside investor. For potential investors who want to know more: a.stoel@dutch.com