africa: 4 businesses you can start with less than 5000 usd in africa.

trends-and-insights-africa by: mutungi johnstar

Despite massive challenges in the entrepreneurship space especially the limited access to cheap capital, Africa is growing and has tremendous opportunities to build thriving businesses. In fact, a lot of entrepreneurs from around the world especially in tech are venturing into Africa.

Africa may be big and diverse, but there are general similarities and statistics that can help paint a picture for those looking to start a business in Africa.

US$5000 is not a lot of cash especially when you are looking to start a business but there are still plenty of options to start small and build a massive respectable business that will thrive. Here are 4 businesses one can start in pretty much any of Africa's 54 countries for just under $5000.

Food and Agribusiness

There is an unending opportunity across the agriculture value chain. Whether as a farmer, value addition, distribution, or retail.

Keeping in mind that agribusiness accounts for more than a quarter of the African continent's GDP and nearly 70% of all employment on the continent, venturing into agriculture or agribusiness presents great prospects for a thriving and sustainable business.

Africa's agribusiness sector is predicted to reach US$1tn by 2030, agribusiness will become the "new oil" on the continent. Agriculture is mooted as a key priority sector by the African development bank and the transformation of the agriculture sector will become the engine that drives Africa's economic transformation through increased income also better jobs higher on the value chain.

As more money is getting invested in the agribusiness sector by both governments and the private sector, the need for more investment and participants are needed bearing in mind that not all will come on a medium and large scale, one can start small.

Whether you choose to grow corn, add value to cassava and bananas, or supply restaurant business, you can start with under US$ 5000 and build a thriving business anywhere along the value chain of this trillion-dollar industry anywhere on the African continent.

Small-scale Retail

With a rising population across the continent and a growing middle-income class, Africa's retail market is growing. Mushrooming shopping malls that are going along with growing African cities are attracting the middle class to high value shopping experience which means a lot of retail stores are coming up and a great way to make money.

Even with the growth in the online retail space with players like Jumia, this segment accounts for less than 5% of the continent's entire retail market which leaves traditional retail stores/shops a lot of ground to cover.

Globally, talk about retail and what comes to mind are international retail brands like Carrefour and Walmart. Even some are expanding onto the continent along with African brands like Uchumi or Nakumatt. The vast number of African consumers make their purchases at small individual or family-owned shops lining the streets and the middle class plus a few top class make their way to the shopping malls.

Cloth store, phone accessories store, African wear store, bridal shop, name it...With under US$5000, one can start a profitable and growing retail business in any city in Africa.

Create and sell a product

African art and craft items are such an example of products one can create and sell. African craft items are always in high demand, especially by tourists. If one has a knack for creativity, there are many products based on African cultures everywhere that one can create and sell.

That includes crocheting, candle making, African-based art, home decor, jewelry and so many more.

After creating a variety of items one can then take high-quality photos using a phone and post them on the internet and social media. One could opt to set up a well-lit outlet in a shopping center that can be set up with less than US$2000 and expose your products to customers including tourists looking to buy some souvenirs.

Even better, one can create a website and also join online marketplaces like Jumia, art fire, amazon and so many more.

Develop mobile apps and games

As the tech industry and the use of mobile phones continue to take root, there is an existing gap for pretty much everyone in this space especially if you are a programmer.

You can create apps and games for clients at a fee and also build personal apps for ideas you are passionate about. This will involve putting in a bit of money to market them. Then start making money monthly from downloads and adverts on the play store plus subscriptions depending on the idea.

Even if you are not a programmer, with many smart young people willing to do freelance coding for a buck, with $5000, you can pay a couple of young programmers to translate your idea into a mobile app or game that you can market, build and make it profitable which will enable you get it acquired by a bigger company at a later stage.

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