Learn from continent’s most remarkable entrepreneurs in new 'How we made it in Africa' edition

Every week The Money Show interviews the author or reviewer of a new or trending business book.

This week Stephen Grootes talked to local media entrepreneur and Africa expert Jaco Maritz, founder of How we made it in Africa, a business publication that highlights the real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit on the continent.

Following the success of his first book, Maritz has brought out the follow-up simply titled How we made it in Africa II.

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It contains 15 new deep dives into the journeys of entrepreneurs building successful companies in over ten countries on the continent:

"Each story takes a frank look at the path from idea to established business. The mistakes. The challenges. The lessons learnt."

The book features two South African movers and shakers - Yoco co-founder Katlego Maphai and Godiragetse Mogajane, founder of Delivery ka Speed.

When it comes to selecting the entrepreneurs, above all it's about finding people with interesting stories that others can learn from, Maritz says.

"But we also try to have a good mix of countries, and also a good mix between sectors in which they operate, so the entrepreneurs featured in the book come from a variety of sectors - from retail to agriculture and technology to healthcare."

"I'd say one of the common traits they exhibit is the ability to adapt their original business model... For instance, SA's Godiragetse Mogajane now owns a township logistics business but when they first started it was a food delivery app. When that initial model didn't quite work they changed direction and became a general logistics business for companies needing to make deliveries to townships."

"You'll see that with many other stories featured in the book - the ability to adjust a business model from what you thought it was going to be."

"Geting funding for their businesses is something that many of the entrepreneurs highlighted. With the Yoco founders for instance, even after they had quite a few thousand customers they still struggled to secure funding from South African investors and basically had to go overseas where investors were more willing to back them."

"While 11 of the 15 fastest growing economies in the world this year will be in Africa, we need to realise that the bulk of the population is still very price sensitive - when people look at these economic growth figures they can get a bit carried away in terms of the spending power. I think they need to keep in mind that, yes the continent is growing fast but it's from a low base, and you need to have products that are correctly priced for the mass market."

Jaco Maritz, Author - How we made it in Africa II

Description on Amazon:

Following the success of the widely acclaimed first book, How we made it in Africa is back with 15 fresh deep dives into the journeys of entrepreneurs building remarkable companies.

Each story takes a frank look at the path from idea to established business. 

Discover how Rwanda’s Herve Tuyishime went from losing his home when his sausage company couldn't pay its debts, to listing the business on the stock exchange. Find out how Kenyan real estate developers Leonard and Emily Mcharo were able to stop worrying about money by their 40s. And learn how Calisto Radithipa evolved from selling fake jeans to becoming a major supplier to mining companies in the Congo.

These are the stories of the people making it happen – from Johannesburg to Lagos, Cairo to Harare.

Scroll up to the audio player to hear more from author Jaco Maritz