What do African start-ups actually need? I have been thinking about this question for months now, and seeking to find the best answer/s for it. I am not sure I have all of them yet, but from my experiences as a young entrepreneur, I know what we do not need.

A lot of work and research has been done by many on this topic, some of which were written from direct experiences and firsthand engagements and others from a thorough analysis of the circumstances and growth of various economies and businesses.

However, the statistics show that the theories are not working. It all makes sense on paper, but on the verge of implementation, people and by extension businesses just do what safeguards their interests. According to a report by the World Bank, the overall start-up failure rate in Africa is estimated to be between 70–80 percent — which is higher than the global average. Suffice it to say that, for every 10 startups that are launched in Africa, only 2 or 3 are likely to survive the first few years. That is not only scary but worrying for a continent that is still largely underdeveloped.

In this volume, I will examine and explore one of the factors s that has gone unnoticed and question what has become the norm.

As a young person growing up in Africa, you quickly realize with time that depending on your government for support will drain the last set of resources you have provided by nature. African governments do a lot more to support their parties and cronies than they do for their people. You had better-started something on your own or starve.

Coming from a humble home, I learned this rather early than usual. I grew up in a deprived community that had no hospital, pharmacy, market, road, or even better schools. Just a few chemical shops and some dilapidated government schools were patronized by everyone in the community.

Despite these odds, I was fortunate to sail through and attend some of the “good schools’ around which broadened my horizon and deepened my interests, particularly in health and entrepreneurship. I did not decide to be an entrepreneur by choice although I fancied being called a business mogul one day. As I mentioned earlier, if you are born in Africa, you are an entrepreneur by default.

Why Entrepreneurship? and why did I choose to enter the health space first? I remember during one of my classes in senior high school, my business management teacher kept hammering on the significance of identifying the problem before venturing into any business. For me, this came quite easily because I lived in the problem, bathed in it, and took it as my daily meal.

On many occasions, I almost lost my siblings due to the absence of medical care. The nearest hospital was four communities away, and the chemical shops had better closed down than operate. We did not even regard them as such, they were almost always empty, and one could not even do a simple window shopping.

I had to do something, my family also thought the same. We began the construction of a community pharmacy from the little we had; we believed that we must tailor it according to the direct needs of the people. It was evident that the community and the people needed it, at least someone had to try. It took us four years, and in spite of the glaring odds, we finished with the first pharmacy.

Many people were joyous about the development but it was short-lived. Gradually some of the people grew apathetic towards the pharmacy, not because of any wrongdoing, but mainly because someone who they all saw growing up had come to start something and it was not them.

On several occasions I witnessed them travel far to get drugs from other pharmacies built by people who were not from the community. To them, it’s better that an outsider excels than an insider. I have overheard a few of them say in the Akan dialect(twi) “y3 ne wo nyinaaa na anyini, seisia wab3si pharmacy” meaning, “We all grew up together, just now you have a pharmacy”.

Albeit these developments have not worried us much, it is worth examining. We built our company according to the needs of the people so we have withstood many shocks and will keep doing so. I grew up in the community, I know the people and I know what matters to them. The only thing I did not know was what I just mentioned.

Often times when we talk about what start-ups need, we forget to examine the impact communal harmony could have on companies. Hostility kills businesses faster than inadequate funds.

Just as Herbert Spencer espoused, society is a living organism that interacts with other sections. This interdependence is what makes society thrive and evolve. If one of the sections of society is down, it affects every other aspect of it.

Similarly, a business is a living organism that interacts with other sections of society to thrive. Every start-up needs an accommodating ecosystem- a closed system in which every element is connected and mutually dependent and helps it to thrive. If any section of the community is in disharmony, the business will be affected.

In Africa, particularly Ghana, the level of apathy towards locally owned businesses is unfathomable. People will find issues with everything- from price to infrastructure, to services among others but will extend grace to outsiders who may even be providing lesser quality.

This attitudinal gap must be examined- is it our culture and the impact of socialization? is it the high rate of poverty? in that the rise and breakthrough of one person summarily create enmity? There are more questions I could ask but we all get to the crux of the conversation.

The impact of this hostility leads to low patronage, which slows down innovation and patriotism. If we find a solution to this problem, our start-ups and other locally grown may start recording a surge in production and growth.

This is a clarion call to all.

Authored By: Joshua Worship Frimpong