31/10/2026
Africa: A continent of Hustlers, But Where Are the Builders?
Why Africa must move beyond survival-driven entrepreneurship towards productive, sustainable and institutionally sound businesses.
Across Africa, entrepreneurship has become an increasingly visible feature of everyday economic life. From street vendors and informal traders, to social-media entrepreneurs, cross border runners, small retailers and independent service providers, millions of African are finding creative ways to generate income.
This entrepreneurial spirit is admirable. It demonstrates resilience, resourcefulness and an extraordinary ability to adapt under difficult economic circumstances.
However, a fundamental question deserves our attention:
Are we building economies, or are we simply becoming better at surviving within them?
There is a growing concern that economic participation across much of the continent is increasingly characterized by short term income generation rather than long term enterprise development.
The distinction matters.
A society cannot sustainably develop simply because more people are selling something. It develops when businesses become productive, create employment, invest in infrastructure, develop skills, manufacture goods, provide essential services and contribute to a broader economic ecosystem.
The difference between hustling and building?
Hustling is often driven by immediate financial needs. It focuses on generating today's income, meeting tomorrow's expenses and maintaining a basic standard of living.
Building an enterprise requires a different mindset:
Strategic business planning.
Proper financial management and record keeping.
Capital accumulation and reinvestment.
Long term operational planning.
Employment creation and staff development.
Compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Sustainable business models capable of surviving beyond the founders. The real question is whether we are creating businesses that can grow beyond the individuals who established them.
The African Development Bank's 2025 SDR estimates that approximately 83.11% of African workers were in informal employment in 2024. This is a staggering number ! It reflects deeper structural challenges, including limited formal employment opportunities, inadequate access to capital, weak industrial capacity and barriers to business growth. We must also recognize that many informal businesses are not informal by choice. For many households, informal economic activity is the only available means of survival. A worrying issue which Governments must deal with. Therefore, the objective should not be to criminalize or dismiss informal entrepreneurship. It should be to create an environment in which small businesses can gradually become structured, productive and sustainable enterprises.
Governments must create environments that reward production.
The responsibility does not rest exclusively with entrepreneurs. African governments must reconsider how their economic policies support enterprise development. Regulatory requirements should be reasonable. Infrastructure must be reliable. Financing should be available to productive enterprises, and education systems must equip young people with relevant technical and commercial skills. Governments must therefore move beyond celebrating the number of registered businesses. The critical questions are:
How many businesses are expanding operations.
How many businesses are surviving beyond five years.
How many are creating sustainable employment.
How much value are they adding to the domestic economy. A very critical issue for Namibia at this present moment.
Our ambition must be to build businesses that can outlive us.
"Your money must work for you, not the other way round".
