Focus on creating businesses that solve problems

It may seem like common sense, but if you create an innovative new product or service that solves a problem for your customers, then you have the basis of a good business. So it’s interesting to hear that many startup businesses spend more time pitching their concepts and looking for fundraising money, than they do actually focusing on the product development. This was one of the findings emerging from the 5th Annual AESIS (Africa Early Stage Investor Summit) which took place in Cape Town, South Africa this week. The strong message from the event was that value creation for customers is the key to making good business and investment decisions. “The point is providing value.  If you can provide value, you can make returns,” Wale Ayeni, regional head for Africa of VC investments at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said. “A lot of time, people come to us with business models or plans that don’t understand the demographic of the mass market in Africa. Startups have to touch the lives of the majority of the population.” Good advice for all entrepreneurs looking to build sustainable, impact-driven businesses on the continent.