World-Class African Entrepreneurs

Filed in: entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs

Written by Wesley Cate on May 13, 2015

Senegalese entrepreneur Magette Wade believes that African entrepreneurs should aspire to build world-class businesses, and that financiers should expect the same from them.

Wade is the founder and CEO of Toissan, an all-natural skin care brand. Her first business, Adina World Beat Beverages, raised more than $30 million of venture capital and had exceeded $3.5 million in revenue when she stepped down as CEO in 2009.

Speaking to PovertyCure, Wade pressed, “I don’t want for the vision for Africans to be, ‘Be the next big micro-entrepreneur in the world.’ We have to dream bigger.”

According to Wade, and a cadre of other voices, those that would like to see Africa prosper should set their sights on excellent, scalable businesses instead of microfinance or charity. While there is a place for microfinance and charity, the conversation about prosperity doesn’t stop there.

“We’ve got to start looking at the Africans that are doing things—whether its for-profit or non-profit—that are innovative in the way it’s done, that have world-class stature.” she told PovertyCure.

Apart from Wade, other entrepreneurs from across Africa are building world-class businesses in everything from ICT to gaming. Forbes’ 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa showcases the cream of the crop from 2015.