Inspirational stories of entrepreneurs seeking gold in Africa

During the Spring Festival of 20xx, Guo Lin did not go home for the Spring Festival, but continued his "gold rush" in Burkina Faso, Africa. "In the last semester of my senior year, the teacher once said that she had a college classmate who was mining in Africa and asked her to help introduce the translation. But when I heard that I was going to Africa, no one dared to sign up, including me. " No one can imagine that after graduating from China Geo University (Wuhan) in 20xx, Guo Lin chose to travel to Africa.

At first, I just wanted to go out while I was young and increase my knowledge. In the later period of my work, I discovered that Burkina Faso's gold mining machinery market had great potential, so Guo Lin started a business. He said: "In the whole West African market, only Ghana has the gold panning machinery sold by China Company. Although there are markets in other countries, there are no companies run by China people, so customers have to purchase from Ghana. Although the Burkina Faso market is not as big as Ghana, it is an emerging market and a blue ocean. "

Entrepreneurship talents in colleges and universities

Guo Lin was keenly aware of the business opportunities in Africa. He said it was no accident, because he had many entrepreneurial experiences before going to Africa.

When I was a sophomore, there was a shortage of laundry equipment in the school dormitory. Many students thought washing clothes was troublesome, so Guo Lin decided to start a business. He chipped in 600 yuan with two classmates, bought a second-hand semi-automatic washing machine, and began to provide laundry service for the classmates, charging 5 yuan a barrel. "At that time, business was good. When my classmates call, we will send someone to pick up the clothes and send them back after washing. At most, we can wash thirty or forty barrels a day. " The laundry is closed during the holidays. However, after the start of the new semester, due to various reasons, the laundry did not continue to open, and when we broke up, we found that it was "still meager profit."

In his senior year, Guo Lin found that many employers required applicants to submit English resumes, so he and several students with good English scores set up a translation center to provide translation services for resumes and papers. "There are many advertisements posted, but few customers. Most of them are classmates who ask us for help in translation, so I am sorry to charge. " Guo Lin found that students who need translation turn to friends or classmates for help, and it is completely free. He summed up the lesson of the failure of this venture: "Before starting a business, we should comprehensively analyze the market potential by combining the characteristics, purchasing power and psychology of consumers."

With excellent English level, Guo Lin entered Huangshi New Oriental School as a teacher before graduating from University. The summer after graduating from college, he and several teachers from New Oriental School went to Yangzhou to set up an English training school. A month later, the training class only enrolled six students, and the tuition fees collected were not enough for the class. Guo Lin later analyzed that the market demand was still not grasped at that time, because few local students took part in extracurricular training courses, and all of them memorized at school.

Africa's first adventure failed.

After Yangzhou failed to start a business, Guo Lin thought of the employment opportunities in Africa mentioned by his teacher. "With his good English, he can travel abroad." Under the teacher's introduction, he arrived in Ghana, West Africa on 20xx 10 as a translator.

When he got there, he found that the so-called translation was just selling gold mining machinery in English in the shop, which made him very disappointed. So he proposed to the boss to be a salesman. West Africa is rich in gold, and there is a great demand for China's advanced gold mining machinery and equipment. As a result, a large number of businessmen from China poured in, and the market competition was extremely fierce. Guo Lin took pains to visit important gold mines, contacted wholesalers and gold mine owners, and got a large order. At the end of that year, he got a bonus of $6.5438+0 million. "During my boss's illness and returning to China for treatment, the business of the store was completely taken care of by me, so I began to understand the whole operation process of the company, from domestic procurement to customs declaration and delivery, from Ghana to Hong Kong customs clearance to store sales, which laid the foundation for my own business in the future." Guo Lin said.

Guo Lin also found that when the rainy season came, customers from gold mining countries around Ghana increased rapidly, with Burkina Faso accounting for the majority. "The gold production in West Africa is the first in Ghana and the second in Burkina Faso. I am very optimistic about Burkina Faso-there are few people in China, which means that the market potential is huge. " Guo Lin has mastered basic French in his daily work. He asked his boss to visit Burkina Faso, but his boss refused because it was too risky. He decided to take a risk, so he resigned and began his investigation tour.

After a week's investigation, Guo Lin returned to Ghana, wrote a complete business plan and sought financing from his peers' bosses. Many people think that the project is good and the market has potential, but they refuse to pay. "Because they are not optimistic about the political environment there, if there is a little trouble, all the investment may be lost." Finally, Guo Lin contacted a boss and got an investment of 6.5438+200,000 yuan. Because investors also suffer from the lack of suitable talents to develop Burkina Faso's market, he thinks Guo Lin has three advantages. First, he is proficient in English and can talk in French; Second, have industry experience; Third, we should have independent courage and ability. In this way, Burkina Faso also has the first gold mine machinery agency company run by Chinese mainland people, and Guo Lin only holds 5% of the shares. "At that time, he was eager to start a business and readily agreed."

No matter how detailed the plan is, there will always be some unpredictable problems in actual operation. First, language. Although Guo Lin's English is very good, he is still at a loss when facing some problems in French-speaking countries. He finally found a local translator who knew both English and French to help him with the preliminary work. I just registered my company, and it took me nearly a month to find a good shop and warehouse. Guo Lin and his assistant rode motorcycles around more than 20 gold mines in Burkina Faso. "Let all customers in Burkina Faso know that a China store selling gold mining machinery is about to open in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and will never have to go to Ghana to buy it again."

The publicity effect is really good. The company earned $65,438+0,000 on the first day of its opening. However, when the store operation was on the right track, the contradiction between Guo Lin and investors appeared. "I don't have any say in the company except expanding my business. For example, the price control of large customers is very important, and the price set by investors is even higher than the cost of purchasing and transporting to Ghana by large customers, which is extremely unfavorable for companies in Burkina Faso. " When Guo Lin asked for control of the company, the investors took out the contract and said it was written in black and white. The control is indisputable, so he has no choice but to leave.

Guo Lin said that during the university's start-up, the contract issue was not taken seriously at all. "I feel that everyone is a classmate, with deep feelings, doing business together, and there is no clear sense of company shares." . He hopes that college students' entrepreneurs can take a warning, and their rights and responsibilities must be clear at the beginning of their business.

Entrepreneurship in Africa has begun again.

Without the control of the company, it can't be regarded as a complete venture. Guo Lin boarded the plane back home and made up his mind to make a comeback.

After returning home, he continued to look for partners.

"I met a boss in China. He was moved by my persistence and * * * and expressed his willingness to cooperate with me. I became very cautious this time. After building trust, we finally signed a share agreement. " Guo Lin sold the house his parents had saved for his wedding, and with his savings, he raised 400,000 yuan, and his partner took out 800,000 yuan. They returned to Burkina Faso with 6.5438+200,000 yuan.

This time, the establishment of the company was much smoother. Guo Lin took the form of joint venture, found an original customer and gave him 5% of the shares. With the advantages of local shareholders, it is more convenient to communicate with local tax and industrial and commercial departments. With the arrival of goods in Hong Kong as scheduled, the publicity work is also full. With its own business experience and major customer resources, Guo Lin's company achieved a performance of 2 million yuan in the first two months.

Due to the lack of rain in the dry season, the gold rush market became deserted, and the company's performance showed a downward trend. Guo Lin alone went to other gold mining countries in West Africa to expand business and received orders of nearly one million yuan. He said: "From the establishment of the company in July last year to now, in half a year, we have achieved sales of nearly 5 million yuan and net profit of 1 more than 10,000 yuan."

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