"We're only now coming around to fully cracking what it takes to reach the African consumer."

Jean-Claude Homawoo is the CEO of logistics firm Lori Systems. Founded in 2017, the company has now managed over 20,000 trucks across 12 African countries, moving goods worth more than $10 billion. Jean-Claude is an entrepreneur finding solutions to really practical problems: transport across Africa and across national borders... And that means potholes, border police, and variable road networks.

Plus: Why 'Buy Now Pay Later' is key to success in Africa

🌟 IN THIS EPISODE:

2:51 How to transport $10 billion-worth of goods across Africa

7:17 From Harvard back to Africa

11:35 What Lori's done so far

13:45 American money

14:46 Eight and a half years without profit

19:01 The number one problem for founders

23:51 Financing your customer

27:06 Why resilience matters

29:17 Why Africa should prize diversity

💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

"We're only now coming around to fully cracking what it takes to reach the African consumer."

"Resilience... It is something that is truly pretty quintessentially American. And it is also very African."

"If you come to the continent, and you speak to a dozen founders, I suspect that 10 of them will tell you that one of the biggest challenges they face is financing working capital."

"Keeping the lights on as a CEO is your number one job, period"

"What built Silicon Valley was diversity. It was diversity of thinking."

🌍 ABOUT LIMITLESS AFRICA

The podcast that asks how Africans and Americans can work together for shared prosperity

Every Monday: 15-minute episodes that dive into an issue that matters to Africans

Every Thursday: extended interview with someone unlocking Africa's limitless potential

➕ WANT MORE?

How to stop food waste in Africa https://trueafrica.co/article/podcast/how-i-made-it-the-entrepreneur-bringing-refrigeration-to-africa/

Adam Grant on the skills needed for African entrepreneurs to succeed https://trueafrica.co/article/podcast/adam-grant-how-to-rethink-africas-hidden-potential/

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Limitless Africa is sponsored by the US Department of State and the Seenfire Foundation.

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