Paul Cook, co-Managing Director of Silvertree Internet Holdings, the investment growth partner behind some of South Africa’s internet brands, on what startup companies must do to survive.

<h3>Resilience</h3>
There are many reasons why a business could fail within the first year. In some cases, the plan itself does not make sense and in some cases, it is the execution of it that fails. Whenever someone starts a business, they are often doing it out of a sense of personal passion or a sense of excitement and that can lead to overly optimistic projections, and we see this all the time.
There is always going to be a tough period during the first year or two when reality bites. It will happen in some way and it will happen in some form – there will be some piece of bad luck or a difficult time. It is at this time a real make-or-break situation happens.
If you have the right people around you, if you have the right personal resilience; that is what gets companies through.
If you don’t get past that point, the business fails. It is about resilience when you start a new company.
By definition, you don’t know what is going to happen…no matter how hard you plan for a new business, you will face unexpected events.
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<h3>Planning</h3>
Make sure that you are good for the good and bad times during your entrepreneurial journey.
Your family too should be ready for the good and bad times&#8230; Try and build the right partnerships earlier on. Make sure that your relationships with whoever might be funding you – if there is an external funder – is right.
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<blockquote>&#8220;No matter how hard you plan for a new business, you will face unexpected events.&#8221;</blockquote>
<h3>Finances</h3>
You should not be seeking funding for its own sake. It is very seductive to suddenly have a lot of money in the bank. You can also fail if you don’t have money, but if you have too much money, then you are tempted to focus on the wrong Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Your objective in a startup is not to raise money; it is not to build revenue for its own sake, it is to build a business.
A business requires cost-control and it requires good unit economics. The more money you have in the bank, the harder it is to focus on cost-control. What you will end up doing is build a business that keeps growing but could never make any money&#8230; Also, if you raise too much money as an entrepreneur, you will end up not taking as many good terms [in deals] as you can.
Have a clear mind about what you want to get out of an investment&#8230;If you have proven as much as you can with a certain amount of money, you will be able to invest in marketing, stocks etc., then that makes sense.
<h3>Communication</h3>
When you are at an early stage of your business and are less than 10 employees, typically, everybody is in, not because of the salary but because of their passion for the business. You need to be a team and everybody needs to be on the same page.The period when you grow, from 10 to 50 employees, then all of a sudden, that is no longer the case. That is an extremely dangerous time for many companies.
We have seen several companies not succeeding, and that is a very sad part of the journey. It is then that you need to think who your core management is, [and] who are staff who don’t necessarily need to know everything. But you can also go too far the other way. Everyone needs to know the broad outlines of your thinking; keep the message simple for your team.
<h3>Transparency</h3>
Be honest about where you need help and make sure your partners are able to help you on those topics. You should look at all the different [aspects] of your business.
<h3>Marketing and sales</h3>
Marketing and sales are absolutely vital, it is non-negotiable. But how you do it depends on your business. In some cases, it is going to be marketing and in some cases, it is going to be sales. So you need to work out the strategy and how it will be different as well.
<h3>Tips ForStartup Success</h3>
<ol>
<li>Build a business that can make money: We are very tempted to copy Silicon Valley’s approach where you come up with an idea and you work out how to make money at a later stage. That makes sense in Silicon Valley but it doesn’t make sense here [in Africa], because there isn’t that tonne of money that is going to postpone your day of reckoning…You need to have a revenue model and whatever you are selling needs to be a lot more than your cost price.</li>
<li>Find the right business partner: If you look for investment, make sure that you find the right partner whose incentives and offerings match your own, for now, and in the future.</li>
<li>Build resilience: Make sure you are ready for tough times because there will be tough times.</li>
</ol>

Work colleagues brainstorming in creative office

Why Most Startups Fail In The First Year

The once thriving Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is a shadow of itself. It has declined as sharply as the economy.
Last March, the African Development Bank ranked the country’s bourse as the worst performer in the region due to a lack of investor confidence. The trend is down.
At its peak, the ZSE had 79 counters, now it has 52 – with 90% of trade concentrated on the top market capitalization companies.
The ZSE saw turnover value fall from $66 million year-on-year in August 2014 to $17 million in September this year.
According to analysts, President Robert Mugabe’s inconsistent policy and controversial indigenization laws have pushed even the most resilient investors from the exchange.
The ZSE’s Chief Executive, Alban Chirume, says the country’s bourse was also suffering after the global financial crisis.
“Most companies on our exchange are failing to raise capital with foreign investors having somewhat withdrawn participating on our market,” says Chirume.
He added that international investors were wary of investing in Zimbabwe because of the country’s risk.
The exchange lost more than $1.7 billion in value for the 12-month period ending August 31, 2015.
“The bourse’s market capitalization stood at $5.2 billion in August 2014 but has been in free fall since then and is now valued at $3.5 billion, a 32.69 percent decline,” reported a South African business news website.
The decline in disposable incomes is also believed to be forcing large capitalization companies from the bourse.
Momentum SP Reid Securities’ Pan-African Sales Trader, Sebastian Gumbo, says large capitalization companies, like Delta Corporation, have not been spared economic hardships. He says the beer and soft drink company has seen a drop in volume, especially with high-margin products.
“The beer and soft drink company saw a sharp drop as consumers’ base has been moving to cheaper lower margin products, like opaque beer and Maheu,” says Gumbo.
In an attempt to stem losses, Harare has been revising some of its controversial laws.
Mugabe’s deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in July, said government was working on reform to win back investors.
Leading economist, John Robertson, blames Mugabe’s Zanu–PF party for the decline.
“At the core of Zimbabwe’s economic malaise is the controversial and disastrous land reform program, rising costs of production and the indigenization policies driving away investors,” says Robertson.
“Zimbabwe should also have reduced the wage bill costs as the country does not have the leverage of devaluation of the US dollar.”
Twenty seven counters stopped trading on the ZSE since the economy was dollarized in February 2009.
Robertson says the country’s woes have been worsened by rising labor costs. He says this is a result of the strengthening dollar, since 2011, as commodity prices fell.
“Due to rising production and labor costs, the country has seen no more production as companies now import goods they used to produce, the factories are now warehouses. We have become a nation of buyers and sellers and we have turned consumers into dependents of people working in the diaspora.”
Big companies are cutting back. Analysts say this is a sign of the tough trading conditions.
“Most companies are either retrenching or changing their business models in an effort to sustain operations,” says one analyst.
The Division Chief of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Simon Nyarota, said in June, activity on the local bourse was a reflection of the slowdown in the economy.
“Since 2009, a total of 14 counters were suspended and 15 counters were delisted from the stock exchange,” he said.
It all means more uncertainty for an exchange that used to be the jewel of Southern Africa.

how Zimbabwe stocks lost $1.7 Billion in a year

In the last two years, a steady decline in the price of gold has brought the operations of many mining companies in Ghana to an abrupt halt. As a result, job losses and a reduction in royalties and tax revenues have been felt. Ghana is Africa’s biggest gold producer after South Africa, and with the mining sector contributing to 5% of Ghana’s economic output, the downturn in the sector has served a serious blow to the nation’s coffers.
Chinese investors, often depicted as parasitic investors, are keen to tap into this opportunity. The Chinese owner of the Akroma Gold project recently completed the purchase of Viking Mines in Ghana for $10 million. There are other new discoveries taking place and, while the sector might not be buoyant now, requisite preliminary studies should be done to mechanize deposits there.
Despite the tough economic climate, gold mining companies are able to meet their obligations, with Goldfields recently paying a $4.5-million dividend to the Ghanaian government and a total of $25.3 million since 2010. The fiscal framework that governs the mining sector in Ghana is a shining example to mineral-rich countries with a porous system due to a lack of transparency and regulation.
The Chinese have pumped billions into the Ghanaian economy. Mining in Ghana is integral to the development of communities; it brings jobs and economic vibrancy. But, for all the synergistic Sino-African trade partnerships being developed, an ability on the part of the Chinese to disregard the honesty and statutes that govern Ghana, especially in the mining sector, raises concerns over whether these agreements are lopsided.
Also, the Ghanaian government’s clampdown on illegal mining has only been marginally successful. Chinese companies use locals to front their mining activity, thus appearing to be credible operations. The lack of rehabilitation done by these companies also further exacerbates the problem. Many sites are left abandoned with no consideration for the environment.
Many large firms neglect their duties to rehabilitate the areas they have worked in, making them inhabitable. Companies, surveyed between 2009 and 2012, failed dismally to keep in line with the environmental protection agency requirements – a damning indictment of the attitude adopted by many foreign firms.
The inability of most locals to get finance to start their own enterprise ensures that development remains at an artisanal level.
Other areas in West Africa are showing promise though. Both Liberia and Sierra Leone are showing signs of reviving their mining sectors. Sierra Rutile is a company that was able to withstand the pressures brought by the Ebola epidemic. They recently raised $44 million to construct a dry mine at Gangama in Sierra Leone. The funds will be used to expand the existing mine. Rutile is used for the production of metal, specifically titanium. The investment will increase production and will provide more jobs.
Another mining company, Aureus Mining, has also signaled its intent to bring a new mine in Liberia into production. With the relative successes emerging in the region, there is confidence being shown by investors to reignite their interests in the mining sector and with it the hope that the sentiment spreads to other countries across West Africa.
The next step for the region is to engage stakeholders to develop concessions and form strategic partnerships. With industry being the buzzword for Africa to reach its full economic potential, the fact remains that infrastructural challenges are still an obstacle. Poor roads affect the transportation of materials. A lack or railways reduces the amount of goods that can be transported. The lack of power is another thorn in the side. The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) must integrate by encouraging free trade between the regional countries. By identifying the above issues, governments can make a concerted effort to tackle them.

Work To Be Done But There Is Hope

Various consumer brands are facing overwhelming challenges. Slowing global sales are placing pressure on companies aiming to expand their footprint and achieve real sales growth in sub-Saharan Africa, a region boasting a growing middle class and strong economic growth.
Financial results of two of the world’s largest breweries, SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev, show declining global sales, and many other companies are feeling the pinch as well. These consumer brands are affected by getting their products to the African consumer and inefficiencies in the supply chain is a thorn preventing them from succeeding on a continent with over a billion people.
Some other challenges could be that despite strong distribution strategies, products are simply not available and brand visibility is inconsistent due to stock exchange. South African food and clothing retailer, Woolworths Holdings, cited difficulties in their supply chain among other reasons for closing down three stores in the continent’s most populous nation, Nigeria, in 2013.
According to Jeremy Haysom, the Vice President of Business Development and Supply Chain Solutions for DHL in the Middle East and Africa, the greatest challenge facing consumer brands as they venture into Africa is establishing an efficient route to the consumer.
“With growing urbanization, city populations have shown exponential growth in recent years and are expected to grow by over 25% over the next 10 years. There has been an explosion in the number of supermarkets and convenience stores established in cities to serve the customer,” he says.
“While these stores are located in prime locations, the back-end of the supply chain serving this retail revolution is in its infancy. This results in inconsistent stock availability and regular outages, a lack of brand visibility and most importantly product availability.”
Retailers handle their own international supply chain, which is managed from a distribution center, quite well. But the problem lies at the back of shop where manufacturers have to manage their own deliveries into the retail outlets. This causes a number of issues, including multiple deliveries from multiple suppliers at any given time causing considerable congestion at the back of retail outlets.
“Unless there is collaboration between a retailer and a consumer manufacturer you will continue to see inefficiencies at the back of shop and you will continue to have the knock-on effect that has on congestion and other issues around these developing cities,” says Haysom.
He adds that this is a general challenge seen in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa. The South African market is mature and has ironed out many challenges and multiple deliveries into retail outlets do not occur anymore.
“You’ve got consolidation, collaboration between consumer manufacturers and retailers to ensure that multiple deliveries of one vehicle going to a retail outlet. Therefore pretty much the brand and the brand market can be taken onto the shelf, where you’d expect everything to arrive at the shop and there would be a certain high percentage of on-shelf availability in the retail store,” says Haysom.
“What you see outside of South Africa is different. Consumer manufacturers are having to undertake a part of the supply chain deliveries from their side onto a retail side and inefficiencies occur and on-shelf availability is affected.”
So what must be done in 2015 for retail to deliver on Africa’s promise? Haysom says there is little or no collaboration between the supermarket and the supplier which results in regular out-of-stock situations. Retailers, both multinationals and regional, need to invest in bolstering the back-end or supply chain serving this retail revolution. Consumer brand companies that are keen to translate Africa’s latent potential into real success need to recognize the relative immaturity of the African supermarket industry and put in place strategies that will successfully navigate inventory management.
In his book, Africa’s Future Darkness to Destiny &#8211; How The Past Is Shaping Africa’s Economic Evolution, Duncan Clarke says the state of Africa and its economies today marks the departure point for the future. We know the past has shaped the present: for the future, what do we really know? And those words couldn’t be any truer.
The key to winning in Africa is through the little things that are done in 2015 which will help retailers overcome supply chain inefficiencies.

Tag: Companies

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Why Most Startups Fail In The First Year

how Zimbabwe stocks lost $1.7 Billion in a year

Work To Be Done But There Is Hope

African Retail Needs To grow up