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

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

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

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

In this episode, I speak with Sabina Karumba about how she and her husband started Chia Africa.

Most businesses have an interesting formation story, though this one is one of the best I've heard in a while.

Sabina and her husband were watching TV one evening in 2012 when a doctor came on the show and explained the health benefits of chia seeds.

Compelled to learn more they undertake research and a few months later are planting their own chia plants in Western Uganda.

This is the first commercial plantation of chia seeds on the continent, and after going around with samples of what they grew they both quit their day jobs and go full time on the business.

A few years later and they are the premier producer in the region, trying to keep up with demand despite other people entering the market too.

Sabina and I talk about lots of interesting things such as how chia seeds should only be grown within 5 degrees of the equator, the genesis of becoming Africa's first chia seed producers (despite never having farmed), and keeping up with the demand for the superfood.

One thing which Sabina downplays, but I thought was particularly impressive is her attitude to sales.

Two of the biggest breaks for the company came with being listed by a major supermarket,  and then one of the region's largest distributors.

In both cases, she just turned up unannounced at their offices, asked to see the owner and after sitting down with them, sold them on making big orders for Chia Africa in just one meeting.

The reason I think is that Sabina is clearly incredibly passionate about the power of chia seeds, and believes everyone should have them in their diet.

Her pitch is pretty simple: it has amazing health benefits that can change people's lives,  people just don't know about it yet, make sure you have some in stock.

You can learn more about the health benefits, the company, as well as pictures of the chia plant which yields chia seeds (which I'll admit, I never knew what they looked like) by heading to the show notes for this episode at www.theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com

READ MORE AT:
https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/11/21/chia-seed-investors-the-surprising-story-of-how-chia-seeds-came-to-be-grown-in-africa

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

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

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.com

READ 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

The landlocked country is just south of Malawi, Tanzania and DRC, and has the great Zambezi river as it's border with Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.

Economically there's a lot of copper and mining exports, and my sense is that the development of local services is most in line with Uganda or Tanzania, rather than Kenya (more developed) or Rwanda (less developed).

In this episode, I speak with Greg, who runs a car hire company from the capital Lusaka.

It started 10 years ago and now has operations across the country.

I really enjoy hearing how businesses in the region adapt traditional business models to provide a superior service to existing alternatives.

Yes, there's a lot of excitement in developing off-grid solar solutions using mobile money,  but there's also a lot of merit in running a business with professional service that an emerging economy is going to demand.

In this case, good quality and reliable car rentals.

Greg and I discuss the company's formation, how they modify their cars for Zambian roads (such as switching out the Japanese cold weather tyres), how their fleet is now over 500 cars through an innovative leasing programme, and how the payback on vehicles they purchase, is just 4-6 months.

There's also lots of good advice from Greg about building a company organically and strategically thinking about where you can be valuable to clients.

As always, you can head to www.theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com to learn more about the company featured.

READ MORE AT:
https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/10/24/no-credit-card-to-drive-how-city-drive-hire-have-opened-up-the-zambian-car-hire-market

In this episode, I catch up with Audrey Cheng, the founder of Moringa School.

We first did an interview in October of 2016, and so it had been over 2.5 years since we last spoke.

The initial episode is called "Coding Schools", and so be sure to scroll back through the archives to give it a listen, if you're interested.

Moringa School is still going strong, and now has a presence in Rwanda, as well as having taught over 1,500 students.

The fundamentals remain the same - providing a relevant skill set to people entering the workforce in emerging markets - and we chat about how the company has evolved recently.

This includes expansion into different fields from just coding (such as data science), greater outreach (such as programmes for low-income students), partnerships they've brokered with international agencies, and how they are at the stage of codifying their culture for the next phase of expansion.

We did this interview in a hotel lobby and so at times, you might hear some background noise from other tables.

I hope, however, that this doesn't detract from what is a very interesting interview from the founder of a company clearly on an upward trajectory.

READ MORE AT:
https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/10/17/moringa-revisited-catching-up-with-audrey-cheng-on-the-coding-schools-international-expansion/