Zambian CEO on his new satellite town, and which sectors not to invest in
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- Published: Tuesday, 05 September 2017 08:03
- Written by SolutionsTeam
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“If you build it, they will come,” says Mwiya Musokotwane, the 28-year-old CEO behind Zambia-based investment firm, Thebe Investment Management. “Part of the challenge here in Zambia is that there is a huge deficit of residences – something between 1.5 – 3 million homes.” While the country’s demand for housing is strong across all income groups, he believes middle-class residential investments to be a particularly lucrative opportunity. Urban areas like Lusaka (the capital) and Kitwe (Zambia’s second largest city) are expanding so quickly that municipalities simply can’t keep up. As a result, Musokotwane says it is not surprising to find middle-class neighbourhoods without access to paved roads, water or sanitation – and residents relying on septic tanks and boreholes.
Often a business idea stems from a personal passion, and in the case of Miyoba Buumba, founder of Mwabonwa Designs in Zambia, that passion came from her interest in proudly African design. Today, her brand is a reflection of her own design inspiration and her love of African style and culture.
Personality-led brands and businesses connect with audiences because of precisely that - they are created by women entrepreneurs who are big on passion and personality. Rose Sibisi is an entrepreneur who has both of these traits in huge quantities, and her passion for what she does is infectious. Her popular Talk Show, StylewithRoseS, is must-watch television.
In 1789, Benjamin Franklin made famous the phrase, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” observing that in a world filled with uncertainty, there are two things we can count on: that we will all eventually meet our maker, and that taxation has been a feature of every civilisations since ancient Egypt. This is a civic duty that we accept as citizens of a nation. Taxation, after all, is the foundation of a prosperous, well functioning and cohesive society. It is at the heart of what binds us as members of our wider community, funds essential services and redistributes resources in order for us all to prosper collectively. But although the benefits afforded to society through taxation are plentiful, it is a complicated balancing act with as many potential pitfalls as benefits.
