Failing To Win - Hard-Earned Lessons From A Purpose-Driven African Startup (Paperback)

In 2009, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Quinn packed his backpack and moved to Lusaka, Zambia on a mission to find African entrepreneurs building scalable, high-impact businesses. There he stumbled across two South African brothers who had founded a business to help unbanked smallholder farmers receive mobile payments in a market where cash was king. After convincing his retired parents to mortgage their house and lend him $100,000, Mike joined as a co-founder of Zoona and became CEO for nine of the next ten years.

With his partners, Mike built a network of more than 3,000 entrepreneur agents across Zambia and Malawi that enabled millions of unbanked consumers to send and receive $2.5-billion in money transfers and remittances. Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, Zoona raised over $35-million of venture investment and operated on the leading edge of Africa’s emerging fintech ecosystem.

Mike’s remarkable story gives a rare and honest glimpse into the workings of a pioneering African startup through the lens of a purpose-driven entrepreneur who went “all in”. Zoona faced tremendous adversity along the way: currency crises, investment round collapses, ruthless pushback from the major mobile network operators, and a continuous internal struggle to discover and execute a growth strategy that matched the company’s billion-dollar ambition.

It was by failing to win that Mike learned what entrepreneurship – specifically entrepreneurship in Africa – is all about, and it was what motivated him to double down and try again.

General

Imprint:	Mercury
Country of origin:	South Africa
Release date:	October 2021
Authors:	Mike Quinn
Dimensions:	230 x 150 x 15mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	288
ISBN-13:	978-1-990956-31-7
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > General Books > Business & Economics > Business & management > Ownership & organization of enterprises > Entrepreneurship Books > Biography > General Books > Local Author Showcase > Business Promotions > January Sale > Books > Biography
LSN:	1-990956-31-9
Barcode:	9781990956317

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[Refreshing]

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 | Review by: Gary L.

[Refreshing] I used to read a lot of business books, but over time I began finding them repetitive and the advice given theoretical and impractical — this is not that! It is a story about an African startup, and in that, an enthraling read. It's also a view into the 'hard earned' lessons of failure, seldom told, and refreshingly practical insight into how things might have gone differently. Highly recommended!

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