Beautiful Steps

JUST GO ALONE!

: You must be prepared to go it alone
__"If there's a will, there's a way..."

I have told you here before the story of how I started my business: After work, I would go for drinks with some of my workmates, mostly engineers and other professionals, and I would introduce the idea of starting our own business, or push the conversation to something I had read about young guys like us in America [aka Bill Gates!] who seemed to be doing amazing things.

Whilst there was interest, I realised that for some of them, it was just an excuse to order another beer or make eyes at the girls! So I tried to spot who was really seriously interested in doing more than talking, and we started meeting at home every weekend.

Then one day I suggested we start putting aside some money into an account from our salaries. I even suggested that we quit our jobs, just like that guy Bill Gates had quit studying at Harvard to focus on his business... Well, then the people literally vanished!

The only guy who put money in the account was me, the equivalent today of US$75!

One day I dropped in to see my mother and told her about my disappointment. I will never forget what she said: “Always be prepared to go it alone. This is not going to work if you do not believe in yourself.”

Not long afterwards, I went to an accounting company over lunch and asked them how I could register my own business. [Don't get intimidated. Just get started by asking questions!] Then I went to my boss and told him I would be leaving, and they should start looking for my successor.

After failing to get a loan from a bank, I sold my car. The rest is history [which you can read about in my posts from long ago]. Whatever stage of business you are in, challenges will arise, sometimes huge ones, caused by things totally out of your control. When that happens, and it will, it's very tough but stay strong.

If you are determined to be a successful entrepreneur, nothing will stop you.

# It’s great to have a co-founder, if you can convince someone who shares your values and vision, but that should not stop you.

# It’s great to start with a million dollars, if you can find someone to invest in you or you have it in your own pocket, but that should not stop you.

# It’s great to have a mentor who can show you the ropes at every stage, and hear your frustrations, but not having one should not stop you.

# It’s great to have a progressive government that is sympathetic to young entrepreneurs, but not having one should not stop you from getting on with it.

# It’s great to have venture capitalists and impact investing philanthropists come to your country, but it should not be a showstopper if they shun your country!

Come on, get started, if you haven’t already done so! And if you have, don't fixate your energies on what you don’t have. Rather focus on what you DO have, and believe me, it’s enough! "If there's a will, there's a way..."

By the way, this year's $160,000 Annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize competition just opened on 18 May. As most of you know, I co-founded it in 2019 for young entrepreneurs like some of you! Here's a link to apply: https://gogettazafrica.com/

One more thing I've shared before and will again because it's important: I stopped going to pubs and other social gatherings unless there was someone I was specifically looking for. I was almost maniacally focused. I often slept in my office or even the car.

In those days it was not uncommon for me to go 48 hrs without sleeping. I was young and my body could handle that so I took full advantage. I was also not married at the time.

"In every success story you will find someone who has made a courageous decision," Peter Drucker once remarked.

Most of you know how much I respect Peter Drucker, but let me respectfully correct him in this case: Your own success story will require much more than just one courageous decision, that I can promise you.

One type of courageous decision involves learning to say no, not just sometimes but many times. Stay focused.

Selah.

Image credit: AI photo, with thanks to page called Feel the Moment [all digitally created images].

By Strive Masiyiwa

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫 – 𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐚, 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚

Lusaka experienced a powerful night of inspiration as world-renowned evangelist Nick Vujicic delivered a life-changing message of hope, faith, and purpose at the Champion Arise Africa Tour. He reminded everyone that disability is not inability, encouraging people to rise above limitations and believe in their potential.
A powerful takeaway from his message was: “If you add GOD to DISABLE, it becomes GOD IS ABLE,” a reminder that with faith in God, nothing is impossible.
Chairman Pompi Abel Chungu Musuka Chileshe Bwalya Mag44 Solomon Plate

📸 Beautiful Steps was privileged to cover this impactful and historic event.

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𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐢- 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐄𝐎 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐮 𝐒𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬!

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒛𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔

As the saying goes, “third time’s a charm.” However, for tenacious and visionary South African entrepreneur Theo Baloyi, it is 14.
Baloyi is the founder and CEO of Bathu Sneakers, a uniquely South African sneaker brand that is taking the footwear market by storm.
He has been featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and won GQ’s Business Leader of the Year. His company has been listed among the most admired brands for three years running.
Yet, it has been far from a walk in the park with pretty cool sneakers, having being rejected by 13 different shoe factories before building one of Africa’s biggest sneaker brands.
Baloyi was born in 1989 in the small village of Phake near Hammanskraal. He started school at Shalom Primary School and completed it at Mabothe Senior Secondary School.
During those years, he dreamed of working for an accounting firm. In 2009, he enrolled in a BCom Accounting at the University of South Africa (Unisa) and moved to Alexandra to stay with his uncle.
While at Unisa, he dipped his toes in entrepreneurship by selling perfumes door-to-door.
Baloyi was selected to work for PwC South Africa under their graduate program. Impressed by his work, the company hired him full-time and transferred him to PwC Middle East in Dubai.
There, he maintained the same lifestyle in Dubai as he did before moving there, saving up crucial capital for his future venture.
After a few years, he decided to move back to South Africa to establish a black-owned business that could create sustainable jobs, particularly in underprivileged communities.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒖
His inspiration for starting a sneaker brand stemmed from his deep love for sneakers and the realisation that no African sneaker brands represented the region.
“All of these brands that I loved dearly were all international footwear brands; nothing represented Africa as a region, nothing that resonated with me as a young African man,” Baloyi said in an interview.
“We as Africans consume so much footwear, predominantly sneakers. Why don’t we have a sneaker brand that represents our region?” he asked.
In 2015, he registered Bathu, a common universal slang word primarily used in townships across South Africa to describe a shoe.
He conducted 18 months of research and development. With the concept in hand, he pitched his idea to manufacturers.
He was rejected by the shoe factory 13 times because he wanted to make a shoe entirely out of mesh, which is typically only used as a component in footwear.
Knowing that he would not give up that easily, he flew down to the factory, and they gave him a shot after seeing the desire in his eyes. In 2016, the Mesh Edition Sneaker was born.
Baloyi started the business with 100 pairs as a proof of concept, using the capital he had saved up while working in Dubai.
He began selling from the boot of his car, then a small room in Alexandra. They began selling like hotcakes.
In two weeks, he was back with an order of 400 pairs, then 1,000 in about three weeks, and 4,000 in a month.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
Baloyi studied how retail businesses function to expand their businesses. He knew that if he wanted to achieve sustainable growth, he needed to corporatise the business and reinvest in the right areas.
This allowed him to learn how crucial it is to have a business with the right skill set. He set out to employ qualified people with experience in logistics and supply chain management.
Bathu bought its first delivery vehicle and opened its first physical store in Newtown Junction Mall in Johannesburg.
An important choice was Bathu products are exclusively available at Bathu stores as part of the company’s retail strategy.
This exclusivity allows them to maintain quality control by inspecting each pair of shoes by hand before shipping to consumers.
As such, the sales kept growing, and so the stores kept opening. The company began rolling out fresh designs, catering to larger audiences.
A big appeal is that Bathu integrates African heritage, culture, and stories into its products.
For example, the Kalanga shoe incorporates the story of the Kalanga clan, which exists in several African countries. Baloyi says it symbolises the unity and diversity of the continent.
From the start, one of Baloyi’s pillars for Bathu was to create 100 meaningful jobs, which was achieved in 2020.
To date, Bathu has close to 40 brick-and-mortar stores, one of which is in Namibia. It also has an online store that contributes 30% of the revenue.
It currently employs about 500 people, of whom approximately 90% are directly involved in the value chain. The remaining 10% are indirectly employed.
Baloyi believes Bathu’s success goes beyond just selling shoes; it is a brand with a strong sense of purpose and community.
That said, Bathu admits to facing the challenge of convincing African consumers to support a local brand, as there is a perception that international brands offer better quality, style, and pricing.
However, this is a feat they believe that they can overcome.
“People are waking up to the fact that this is not just a shoe…we are a shoe brand with a soul because we care about the communities we trade in. We care about our region and the future of the continent,” said Baloyi.

𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔
Bathu has ambitious plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities in South Africa and its reach across the African continent.
The company is actively pursuing the establishment of a shoe manufacturing facility in South Africa through a collaboration with Chinese partners via the BRICS community.
The aim of this initiative is to foster skills exchange and provide training to local South Africans.
This strategic move is intended to create a local production base and increase employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector.
Simultaneously, Bathu intends to broaden its presence throughout Africa, followed by expansions into East and West African markets.

Source: https://businesstech.co.za
Image Credit: Bathu/Theo Baloyi
Complied by Beautiful Steps

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐊𝐈: 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐊, 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄!
𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕 Chomba Mwansa 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝑪𝒂𝒇é 𝑳𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂.

Chomba is the founder of Meraki Cafe Lusaka , a brand many have come to know for its coffee, cakes, and welcoming spaces across the city. But behind the counters and daily operations is a journey that began far from café life.
For over 11 years, she has been running Meraki, often quietly and without much public reflection. Most of that time was spent in the trenches baking, managing staff, solving operational challenges, and doing what it takes to keep a growing business alive.
But the journey didn’t start there.
Before Meraki, Chomba worked in banking a stable career with structure and predictability. Yet, beneath that stability was a deeper calling to build something of her own. That decision eventually led her to walk away from comfort into uncertainty.
She reflects on that decision and says, “I left a banking career with nothing but a name I found in a Greek dictionary.”
With no guaranteed income and no established brand, the journey began humbly baking from a home kitchen, experimenting, learning, failing, and trying again. There were days filled with doubt, when success felt far away. And there were moments of clarity, when the vision became undeniable.
She remembers those early days clearly and shares, “There were mornings I wasn’t sure it would work, and moments I knew without a doubt that it would.”
What started as a small personal risk slowly grew into Meraki — a café brand now part of Lusaka’s everyday life. But the growth was not overnight. It was built through consistency, patience, and persistence in the unseen hours when no one was watching.
Looking back, she says, “Meraki has always been about more than just food — it’s about building with soul from scratch.”
Now, after years of staying behind the scenes, she is beginning to share the story more openly — not as a success highlight, but as a journey of lessons, setbacks, faith, and growth.
To those starting out, hesitating, or rebuilding after failure, the message is simple:
You don’t need perfect conditions to begin. You need courage to start, and discipline to continue.
Meraki stands today as a reminder that small beginnings can grow into something lasting — when built with consistency and belief.
And to every customer who has supported along the way — whether by visiting, recommending, or simply engaging you are part of that story.

What dream are you currently sitting on?

Image Source: Chomba Mwansa
Story Complied by Beautiful Steps

Photo highlights of the Kenneth Kaunda Marathon held on 27.04.2026 in Lusaka Zambia in commemoration of Dr. Kenneth Kaunda's legacy.

📸Beautiful Steps

Stanbic Bank Zambia Professional Insurance Corporation Zambia LTD Lusaka Fitness Squad Zambia Tourism Ministry of Tourism Zambia

𝑲𝑲 𝑫𝒂𝒚- 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎!
On this Kenneth Kaunda Day - 28th April, we remember and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda , Zambia’s First Republican President , founding father if the nation and a true symbol of peace, unity, and liberation.
His vision, courage, and unwavering commitment to the nation laid the foundation for the Zambia we proudly call home today. He reminded us that “One Zambia, One Nation” is more than a motto but it is a way of life.
As we commemorate this day, may we continue to uphold his values of love, humility, and togetherness in building a stronger and more united Zambia.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑴𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑩𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕!

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Debo Rah thanx for trusting us in creating timeless memories for you on your birthday.

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐲𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐄𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐮!
𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓. 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒓. 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒕.

Tony O. Elumelu is one of Africa’s leading investors and philanthropists. He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, his family-owned investment company, committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy, including financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology and healthcare. Tony is the Chairman of pan-African financial services group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), which operates in 20 countries across Africa, the United Kingdom, France, the UAE, and is the only African bank with a commercial deposit taking presence in the United States. UBA provides corporate, commercial, SME and consumer banking services to more than 35 million customers globally. He also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, Transcorp, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, one of the leading producers of electricity in Nigeria and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand. He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Energies, an upstream oil and gas company, whose assets include Nigerian oil block OML17, with a current production capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 2P reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with an additional 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources of further exploration potential. Heirs Energies is committed to creating resource-based added value on the African continent.

𝑬𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑
Nigerian-born and Nigerian-trained, Tony began his career as a copier salesman. He spent most of his career life in banking, rising from the position of an analyst to become the CEO of pan-African financial services group, United Bank for Africa.
In 2010, Tony left banking to the next chapter of his life as an investor and a philanthropist, channelling his passion, commitment, and dedication to realising the development of the African continent. Tony's investments span a wide range of sectors and are spread across 20 African countries and beyond. Tony is married to Dr Awele Vivien Elumelu. They are blessed with seven lovely children.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝑨𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕
A year after earning his master’s degree in economics from the University of Lagos, Tony applied to join Allstates Trust Bank, despite not meeting the qualification criteria. By a stroke of luck, the CEO of the bank came across his application letter, and he was handpicked to interview. He subsequently got the job.

At 26, Tony was offered the opportunity of a lifetime to become a branch manager at AllStates Trust Bank, making him the youngest bank branch manager in the country at the time. This opportunity influenced his life, prompting him to give young employees the same opportunity he was given. Tony's success in this role ignited his passion for investing in the lives of young people.
Tony's accomplishments became public when he achieved the seemingly impossible. He was relatively unknown in the Nigerian banking industry when he acquired a distressed financial institution, Crystal Bank and became its CEO; an action that earned him and his circle of peers, the endearing nickname - "the cowboys of banking".
Audacious at 34 – and the country's youngest banking CEO – he renamed the struggling bank Standard Trust Bank (STB) and pursued an aggressive strategy that catapulted STB from obscurity into becoming Nigeria's fifth-largest bank within seven years.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒃-𝑺𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂
In 2005, Tony made history again when he led the biggest merger in sub-Saharan Africa at the time combining Standard Trust Bank Plc with the older, more established United Bank for Africa (UBA), which at the time was Nigeria's 3rd largest financial services institution. In less than ten years, he transformed UBA from a single-country bank to a pan-African institution with over 1million customers, operations in 20 African countries, and offices in Paris, London, and New York. This action sealed his reputation as a business turnaround expert and one of Africa's most influential business leaders.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝑬𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒖 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
In 2010, Tony left UBA to replicate his turnaround success across various industries. Armed with the knowledge, expertise, and understanding of economic opportunities that exist in Africa, he founded Heirs Holdings (HH) in 2010. Heirs Holdings is a family-owned African proprietary investment company committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy including financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology and healthcare. Today, HH and its investee companies employ over 30,000 people, while empowering thousands more across Africa.
Tony also set up The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) in the same year as an extension of his unwavering belief in the youth as catalysts for Africa's transformation. The Tony Elumelu Foundation has become the hallmark for Africa's sustainable development and a leading champion of youth entrepreneurship on the continent. It lives its mission, empowering young African entrepreneurs, through its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, a 10-year $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 young African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries. Since inception, the Foundation has funded just under 10,000 entrepreneurs and created a digital ecosystem of over one million Africans.
𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒎
Tony's businesses and Foundation are inspired by his economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly, entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent. He galvanises support for the Foundation's mandate by addressing world leaders at public and private convenings, as well as serving on sector and issue- specific global, regional, and local councils and committees. Some of the boards include the Global Advisory Council of the Harvard Kennedy School's Centre for Public Leadership, World Economic Forum Community of Chairmen and the Global Board of UNICEF's Generation Unlimited. He was named in the 2020 Time100 Most Influential People in the World, and honoured with Belgium’s highest national honour recognised for his business leadership and economic empowerment of young Africans.

Source: https://tonyelumelu.com/
Images Source: Tony Elumelu
Complied by Beautiful Steps