In 2023, I experienced a pain I never expected , I lost a friend, a colleague, a brother.
He wasn’t just any businessman.
He had built what was, at one point, the biggest panel beating company in Zimbabwe. From humble beginnings, he rose through sheer hard work, grit, and street wisdom. The company was making real money. It was the talk of the town.
He was everywhere. **Featured on the front page of The Sunday Mail. ** **Award after award. ** They called him a serial entrepreneur, a shining example of Zimbabwean innovation and resilience.
On the surface, everything looked like success.
But behind the scenes, trouble was quietly brewing.
He was in business with a partner — and like most partnerships in Africa, things started well. They shared the same vision. The same hunger. The same hustle. But over time, cracks started to appear. Egos clashed. Communication broke down. And soon, the relationship that had built an empire became the very reason it began to crumble.
I had advised him many times — like I do with all my clients — “Please draft a shareholders’ agreement.” “Do a proper business valuation before parting ways.” But as is often the case with early success, he was too deep in the business to see the cracks forming around him.
Things spiraled out of control. The conflict became unbearable. The business relationship turned toxic. And eventually, he took his own life.
I still struggle to talk about it without getting emotional.
After his passing, his wife tried to keep the business going. She gave it her best shot — but the sad truth was, she had never been involved in the operations. She didn’t know the suppliers, the pricing structures, the team, or the clients. It collapsed.
The panel beating company closed shop — just like that. A once-thriving enterprise gone. Not because it lacked customers. Not because it lacked capital. But because it lacked systems, structure, and foresight.
That tragedy birthed something in me.
I realised this wasn’t just his story. It’s the story of too many African businesses.
I’ve spent the past 11 years consulting with both small and large companies across Africa. And I’ve seen the same patterns, the same mistakes, the same emotional decisions that slowly poison businesses from the inside out.
Many African entrepreneurs believe business is just about hustle. About having a great product and “connections.” But real business is deeper than that. It’s about structure, systems, clarity, discipline, and governance.
We like to blame the economy, the government, sanctions — and yes, they do play a part. But the biggest enemy of African businesses is not external. It’s internal.
That’s why I wrote this book — Why African Businesses Die Young.
Not as a theory. Not from reading textbooks. But from the trenches of African business — from boardrooms to tuckshops, from entrepreneurs who failed silently, to CEOs who cried behind closed doors.
This book is not entertainment. It’s a warning. It’s a mirror. It’s a manual for survival.
If we want to build businesses that last… If we want to pass on wealth to the next generation… Then we must do better. We must stop glorifying hustle and start teaching structure.
This book is for every:
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Business owner who’s tired of firefighting
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Manager struggling to motivate teams
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Entrepreneur building without a blueprint
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Partner in a business that feels like war
Let’s stop the cycle. Let’s stop burying businesses before their time. Let’s build timeless enterprises.
Why African Businesses Die Young is my cry, my gift, and my tribute to a brother I lost — and to the many we’re still losing silently.
It’s time to fix what’s killing us — from the inside.
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