By Jules NARTEY-TOKOLI
A quiet revolution is needed throughout the continent of Africa in the minds of young people to drive a new generation of progressive business leaders who would redefine the continent’s future.
This revolution should relentlessly pursue entrepreneurship by continuously humming creativity and innovation as a bedrock of our society.
Historically, governments in Africa, much like their colonial predecessors, were seen as the primary providers of employment. The state has sought to play a patriarchal or benefactor role, offering clerical and administrative jobs to the masses. However, as populations grew and economies evolved, this model became unsustainable.
Today, the reality is stark: governments can no longer be the sole employers. Instead, their role has shifted to creating an enabling environment—through policies, infrastructure, and support systems—that allows entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive. Yet, how can young leaders in Ghana and Africa develop this mindset of self-reliance, independence and entrepreneurship?
How to take charge of your future
As a young person the first step Towards developing a new mindset of self-reliance independence and entrepreneurship is recognizing your uniqueness. Remember that there is a reason why your thumbprint is unique to just you and no one else has it. Each one of us as humans has been endowed with a mind that can construct its own path in life.
However, the educational system seeks to put everyone in a box, so-to-speak. That is why there is standard testing for everyone. And that is also why systems have been created that are rigid and require us to fit into them instead of them adjusting to our development as humans and the ever-changing global dynamics. You don’t have to fit into everything to succeed.
By recognizing this fact and developing self-confidence you can be sure that you’ll be able to engender your thought processes that will in turn trigger your unique prowess of innovation and creativity.
Confidence is not arrogance or an inflated sense of self-worth. It is not about boastfulness, overestimating your abilities, or dismissing the contributions and worth of others. True confidence recognizes both strengths and limitations, allowing for humility and a willingness to learn and grow. It is not the absence of self-doubt, but rather the ability to act despite uncertainty and to use setbacks as opportunities for improvement.
Confidence is not about projecting an image of perfection; instead, it is the quiet assurance that comes from self-awareness, genuine competence, and a balanced understanding of your capabilities and vulnerabilities. By building true confidence, you would be authentic and develop businesses that accentuate your uniqueness.
In the process of building your confidence, you need to eschew fear. Fear is a very intricate emotion. It can protect us from danger, but at the same time it can debilitate us. In that context it is important for you to be able to define reasonable fear which would help you to be cautious and enable you to take calculated risks, and morbid fear—fear that would just disable you and render you powerless to the pressures and challenges of life, compelling you to seek the easy way out or compromise your cherished values just like everyone else may be doing.
By being confident in yourself and eschewing fear, the way is open for you to take control of your destiny and chat the way you want to go. You can learn from the lyrics of Whitney Houston’s song Greatest Love of All in which she said: “I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadows. If I fail, if I succeed at least I’ll live as I believe. No matter what they take from me they can’t take away my dignity…I found the greatest love of all inside of me.”
However, if you are confident and not fearful but are empty, that confidence and fearlessness would only make you a clown. Just as you are what you eat you are also what you know. It is, therefore, very important that in order to change your mindset for entrepreneurship you need to fill your mind with credible information.
It is very encouraging the democratization of information through the Internet and especially social media that is available to us today. However, therein lies the danger: Due to the ease of publishing information and the preponderance of electronic devices, any person at all can claim to be an authority on a subject matter, create videos and speak eloquently, and post them on the Internet. And since the media thrives on sensationalism, the more ridiculous the information is the more popular it is. As a result, there has come to be a lot of chaff or garbage on the Internet.
Going by the computing principle of garbage in garbage out (GIGO), if you choose to feed yourself or your mind on garbage you would only spew out garbage. What is required then is to be able to develop your power of perception in order to be able to separate bad information from good information.
Even more tricky is when the information is half-truth, but it comes from a respectable person. Your ability to fact-check such information and sift out the chaff or garbage would determine your life course, your mindset and your ability or otherwise to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Ditch the employee mindset
The common advice that is cherished by most people in our society is: Go to school, get good grades, find a good job, and your life is set. This is what I call the employee mindset. From when you start schooling to when you finish all your efforts are towards becoming an excellent employee but hardly an effective entrepreneur.
Since that is the way the school system is set up and society itself believes; and since you can’t go and change that, it is up to you to re-educate yourself to ditch the employee mindset. And yes, it’s a choice. As I said before, you can decide whether to take the path of least resistance by following the crowd or to chart a path of your own. This is the mindset that we need, that is, that self-reliant entrepreneurial mindset.
Even if you were to be employed (because mind you, it is not everyone that can be able to start their own business), your entrepreneurial mindset would be able to help you affect the direction of your employer positively by using innovation and creativity to enhance productivity. This in turn would lead to the creation of more employment opportunities.
So, as a young person, looking forward to becoming a credible entrepreneur/ business leader in the African economic space, whether as an entrepreneur or an employee, developing this entrepreneurial mindset is very critical for your success.
In conclusion, the path to transforming Africa’s future lies in the quiet revolution of the mind—a revolution that demands young leaders in Ghana and across the continent to embrace self-reliance, independence, and entrepreneurship. By recognizing your unique strengths and shedding the outdated employee mindset, your can cultivate genuine confidence, filter out misinformation, and harness the power of innovation to create sustainable change.
Platforms like nubianbiz.com play a pivotal role in this journey, offering essential resources, mentorship, and real-world insights that empower individuals like you to challenge traditional paradigms and redefine success on your own terms. Ultimately, every step taken towards emancipating your mind not only fuels personal growth but also contributes to laying the groundwork for a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that will propel Africa towards lasting economic and social prosperity.
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The author is a dynamic entrepreneur and the Founder and Group CEO of Groupe Soleil Vision, made up of Soleil Consults (US), LLC, NubianBiz.com and Soleil Publications. He has an extensive background In Strategy, Management, Entrepreneurship, Premium Audit Advisory, And Web Consulting. With professional experiences spanning both Ghana and the United States, Jules has developed a reputation as a thought leader in fields such as corporate governance, leadership, e-commerce, and customer service. His publications explore a variety of topics, including economics, information technology, marketing and branding, making him a prominent voice in discussions on development and business innovation across Africa. Through NubianBiz.com, he actively champions intra-African trade and technology-driven growth to empower SMEs across the continent.
