Africa’s Established Business Innovators Tell Us What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur

VENTURES AFRICA – Africa has its fair share of successful innovators, entrepreneurs and business people. We singled out three such people to ask what they believe makes a successful entrepreneur.
MAGATTE WADE, CEO Tiossan
Wade is a serial entrepreneur and a formidable advocate of positive change in business, gender roles and Africa. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2011, and is a TED Global

An entrepreneur must find creative ways to make things happen, usually with limited resources. They must be determined to push forward despite obstacles, and persist when it looks as if their project has stalled. They must be very careful about identifying business partners, as the core team with whom one works often determines success or failure. They must love a life of adventure and not long for safety and security, because an entrepreneur’s life is constant adventure, with both ups and downs.
ASHISH J THAKKAR, CEO Mara group
Thakkar is the founder of the pan-African, multi-sector business conglomerate, Mara Group.
You need to be bold and you need to surround yourself with good people; people with valuable input. Another thing is that if you do not learn from your mistakes, you are going to get into trouble. As an entrepreneur, you simply cannot afford to make the same mistake twice. And I always say, think big but start small. So you need a bold vision, but pace yourself and pay attention to detail.


JASON NJOKU, CEO iROKOTV
Njoku launched iROKOtv in 2011 (dubbed by CNN as the Netflix of Africa). Having grown his business from his London bedroom, to a YouTube channel, to a stand-alone venture-capital-backed, dedicated movie platform, Njoku has built one of Africa’s most talked about, and arguably one of the most, well-funded, internet companies on the continent.
A successful entrepreneur is a rare thing indeed – there are many more failed ones; I was once one myself. There are too many criteria to list but a few I could cite would be the ability to exist on very little sleep; the ability to take risks without living in fear of the consequences; and the ability to focus, always, at all times. To be a successful entrepreneur, I gave up everything – I moved home with my mum at the age of 29, I had no car, no girlfriend, no disposable income, and no time for anyone or anything outside of my little Nollywood idea. It was only this time, when I stripped everything from my life, that I actually found myself on the path to success.