For the past 12 years, I’ve been building businesses across the African continent—creating platforms, services, and programs that I knew had value. And yet, one question kept echoing through every boardroom, brainstorm, and budget meeting:
“Why aren’t we making enough money?”
“Why aren’t we sustainable?”
“Why isn’t this working?”
I was walking around my kitchen, and it hit me: it would be really fun, as an entrepreneur, to run not just a business, but a whole country. Then, I thought of my country, Malawi, as a business, and immediately cringed at the idea of running Malawi as a business.
Over the past few years, I’ve witnessed this conversation bubble up online — often concerns around Malawian politicians and their frequent international travels. One user asked (genuinely, I think), “Don’t they come back inspired? Don’t they want to make things better after seeing how things work out there?” It’s a fair question. One I’ve asked myself many times — not just about politicians, but even about myself.
When we talk about creativity, we often romanticize talent — the singer born with perfect pitch, the painter who sees light in ways the rest of us don’t, the writer whose prose makes your heart skip. And now.. in the age of artificial intelligence, talent is no longer just about skill.