Starting a business in Africa is not easy. There are a lot of challenges and hardships that young entrepreneurs face. Let’s discuss.

4. 1. Difficulty in getting funds

5. 1. Difficulty in getting funds
Strict conditions by financial institutions make it more difficult for the entrepreneurs to launch or sustain their business.
The financial institutions are skeptical to grant them loans because the entrepreneurs usually do not have any collateral to offer against the loan.

6. 2. Lack of proper infrastructure
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7. 2. Lack of proper infrastructure
There is absence of basic infrastructure like regular electricity supply, efficient telephone systems, developed water way and well constructed roads which diminishes efficiency and effectiveness of the business and increase operational costs.
This has resulted in shutting down of numerous local firms due to their inability to compete with the foreign giants.

8. 3. Numerous taxes
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9. 3. Numerous taxes
Small businesses find it difficult to cope up with the taxes levied on them.
Huge amount of taxes escalate the cost of running a business and hence the young entrepreneurs struggle to sustain the business.

10. 4. Corruption
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11. 4. Corruption
This holds true for almost all the developing countries.
Corruption can make procurement of licenses, permits, and other official documents difficult. The firms struggle to get these important documents and are sometimes left with no option but to shut.

12. 5. No guidance
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13. 5. No guidance
There is lack of proper guidance and formal training for the entrepreneurs which is very important to launch and run a start up successfully.
Training and education, along with the right exposure contributes to an entrepreneur’s practical knowledge and leads to developing their decision making skills.

15. Mara Foundation’s Ambition
We enable, inspire and empower ambitious entrepreneurs in Africa. With the support of our Mara Mentors we will:
Inspire millions of young people in Africa to become entrepreneurs.
Teach entrepreneurs new skills.
Enable entrepreneurs to turn business ideas into reality.
Guide business owners to grow businesses and hire (more) employees.
Empower entrepreneurs by providing a platform to showcase their business and build their network.

16. THANK YOU
Website: mentor.mara.com
App: iTunes, Blackberry, Android, and Nokia.
Customer Support: support@mentor.mara.com
Mara Foundation is supported by a
number of partners, including: