everything.” From Kampala to Kigali, every second pitch deck screamed“ blockchain for agritech,”“ ChatGPT for supply chains,” or“ neobank for informal retail.”
What was missing? Strategy. What problem are you solving? For whom? How will you win? And how will you defend that position over time?
At a recent regional hub for early-stage African founders, I took 17 brilliant entrepreneurs through Roger Martin’ s Playing to Win framework and Richard Rumelt’ s Good Strategy, Bad Strategy. The room went silent when I asked:“ What are you choosing not to do?”
That’ s when strategy begins- not with ambition, but with clarity. With choice. With trade-offs.
Lesson 3: Strategy isn’ t a buzzword. It’ s a blade. And if you’ re not wielding it, you’ re just meat for the lions.
Scale-Up Or Sell-Out- The Crossroad Of Growth
If you survive the early jungle, you enter the growth plateau. Here, the threats evolve. The killers now are culture drift, governance gaps, delegation paralysis, and founder centrality.
A Kenyan regional manufacturer I helped expand into Uganda cracked the code using a tight B2C strategy- targeting schools and salons, one SKU at a time. But after our project ended, they hit a wall. Growth stalled. Why? The founder couldn’ t let go. Strategy was solid. Execution became the bottleneck.
In another case, I led a Ugandan company that grew 5x in three years- but nearly
Private capital is pouring into Africa. But not all capital is kind. Some predators wear tailored suits and speak fluent empathy. Understand capital- or you become capital.
buckled because we delayed ERP implementation. Speed without systems is scale’ s worst enemy.
Lesson 4: In the jungle, survival is instinct. Scale is architecture. If you scale chaos, you just get bigger chaos.
Finding Your Fire In The Middle Of Fog
This jungle has a cost. It devours sleep. It feeds on burnout. It strips visionaries of their fire.
In 2024, I advised one of Kampala’ s most profitable SMEs. Not because they were failing- but because the founder was. Burnt out. Emotionally exhausted. Disconnected from purpose. Investor meetings replaced customer conversations. Staff turnover soared. The brand was winning. The soul was dying.
We held a two-day offsite in the leafy suburbs of Kampala. No spreadsheets. Just re-centering: purpose, people, clarity. He came back different. So did the business.
Lesson 5: In this jungle, protect your soul. Revenue can be rebuilt. Meaning cannot.
The Pathmakers- Building Without Breaking The Future
Despite the predators, I remain bullish. Why? Because I meet outliers every month. Builders. Pathmakers.
• The fintech founder creating real financial inclusion for boda-boda drivers- without extraction.
• The rural innovator from Buwama turning indigenous cassava into export-grade starch, now sold in the US and KSA.
These are not survivors. They are architects of a new economy. They don’ t just build to win. They build to endure. To matter. They are the future.
Conclusion: Predators Don’ t Scare Me. Cowards Do
Africa doesn’ t need more founders chasing unicorn status.
We need rhinoceroses- thick-skinned, focused, grounded builders who charge with clarity.
We need eagles- who fly above hype and spot threats from miles away.
We need philosopher-warriors- fluent in EBITDA and empathy, who read both Michael Porter and their people, who write strategy decks and sweep factory floors.
If you’ re building in this jungle, don’ t fear the predators. Become the new species- a builder with teeth, a leader with vision, and a human with soul. Because in this jungle, we don’ t just survive. We lead.
Postscript: A Word To Investors, Policymakers And Ecosystem Leaders
Don’ t just fund the loud. Fund the disciplined. Fund those who understand their customers like they understand their children. Fund those with books audited- and values unshaken. Fund those who build factories, not just follower accounts.
And to the founder with fire in your gut and clarity in your mind- You are not alone. There are pathmakers among us. The jungle is harsh- but conquerable. The future is not for the fearful. It is for the builders.
• The Kenyan app developer arming SMEs with tools to manage value chains from their phones.
• The Ugandan homecare entrepreneur who pays school fees for every staff member’ s child.
Innocent Bagumira Tibayeita is an Executive Coach, Private Equity Buyer and M & A Expert. You can commune with him via email at: Bagumira78 @ gmail. com.