Chapati

22/07/2017

Founder & Executive Chairman, Econet Group (Cassava Technologies & Econet Wireless)

28/02/2017

A Kwesé Inc. Moment:
__First, start "seeing" like an entrepreneur!

The other day, I went to a restaurant in Johannesburg, South Africa. As I sat down to eat, some of the waiters came up to me and asked me for the usual "selfie." A while later, some of them came up again and said, "Mr Masiyiwa, we follow you on Facebook and we're always inspired by what you write. We would like to be entrepreneurs. What advice can you give us?"

I looked at them intently at first, then I asked one of them to get a piece of paper.

"I want you to write down these 10 questions, and see if you can answer them next time I pass through here."

1. How well is YOUR existing business doing?

2. How much money did you do yesterday?

3. What does it cost to run this business?

4. This restaurant you work for -- what would you do to make it more successful?

5. Have you suggested any of these things to the owner?

6. Which of these other restaurants (around you) is your most serious competitor?

7. How many customers come and ask for you personally?

8. Which waiter does the owner value the most?

9. How much do you think it cost to set up and run this business?

10. What do you do with you own money?

As I asked each of the questions, I studied their reactions. I was looking for the entrepreneur amongst them.

How would you react if I asked you these questions about the business where you work? If you work in a restaurant like these guys, can you say to me:

# "We get about 50 customers per day, and they spend about R200 each. That means we make about R10,000 per day."

# "Our costs are staff, rent, food, security..." (and so forth).

# "Customers have been going down because of the new guy next door. I think he has a better menu than we do..."

# "I saw some guys here the other day. I think they were from the bank. I think they gave us a loan..."

Do you actually know what's happening in the business you work for, or do you think, "It's none of my business; I'm just here to get my pay. I will think about those things when I start something on my own..."

When we meet, I want a business discussion with you. And it must show that you "see" as an entrepreneur, first and foremost. How long can you sustain a business discussion before you take refuge in politics or sport?

__But you said you want to be an entrepreneur, so let's talk!

On Kwesé Inc., there's a weekly show called "Restaurant Start-Up." I first saw it when I was flipping through the channels whilst I was in the US; I then asked my people to get it. I have watched many of their episodes, not because I'm interested in owning a restaurant, but because I'm interested in entrepreneurship.

To be honest with you, entrepreneurship is my passion; I would rather watch something like that, than listen to endless political talk shows.

What about you?

A while back, I saw a poster somewhere that said: "You are the books you read, the movies you watch, the music you listen to, the people you spend time with, the conversations you engage in. Choose wisely what you feed your mind."

Food for thought!

To be continued....

18/01/2017

Looking for the perfect place to relax and enjoy good food during your lunch break? Come by and brighten up your day with a tasty and fresh chapati wrap. Feel free to create your own - just tell us what you want inside!
We're open Monday to Friday--- 8am to 8pm and Saturday--- 8am to 4pm.
# Rwanda

13/01/2017

Franchising might be a solution for your business (Part 1)
__A powerful model to consider.

There’s a very popular television show for entrepreneurs in the US called “The Profit” in which a billionaire entrepreneur called Mark Lemonis goes around the country investing in struggling small businesses, usually with a great product, but who don’t yet have the processes (or capital) needed to be successful.

It’s one of many such shows that will be aired on Kwesé TV, as we hold the exclusive rights to broadcast this show in Africa. Kwesé TV will have a 24-hour channel dedicated to entrepreneurs called Kwesé Inc.

Mark Lemonis argues that three things are necessary for a business to be successful: People, Process and Product. I agree with him completely, and have written here recently about my experiences with some of these issues.

This brings me to what I want to talk about in this short series:

THE FRANCHISE BUSINESS MODEL

__This is one of the most powerful business models ever devised and it creates literally millions of jobs around the world.

# Franchising significantly reduces the risks associated with starting and running a business successfully.

# As a "franchisee" you don’t have to spend time trying to develop a product or service yourself, but you take a proven product or service which people already want.

# A good franchise normally comes with well-established processes, and training and support done by highly-skilled professionals. This helps take out the risk associated with creating and managing your own processes.

Having passion and being prepared to work is simply not enough, you have to know what you’re doing. A franchise helps you learn at the feet of experienced entrepreneurs who have done it before.

I’ve experienced both sides of franchising:

# Franchisee: This is when you operate a business as a franchise from someone else. For instance, I’ve operated a Coca-Cola franchise for many years. It's a beautiful business: I don't have to think about the product or do research into what customers want. Coca-Cola takes care of everything! All I have to do is manage my people and the cash register!

# Franchisor: I’ve learnt more than a thing or two from the masters like Coke and McDonalds, and I’ve also used the Franchise Model to expand my own businesses:

When we set up Mascom Wireless in Botswana, I wanted to get shops up and running quickly. I wanted them in the cities’ best locations, so I went round the cities and literally chose the sites myself. These were usually occupied by businesses doing different things. I would approach the current owners and tell them they could make more money in a new industry called mobile phones… This was Franchising!

We would then strip out their stores and re-brand them. Their people were trained by us and wore the same uniforms as our own staff.

This meant I didn’t need the headache of operating so many stores, and I shared the entrepreneurial burden with others.

I’ve used this model time and time again to scale quickly, reduce capital requirements, and also to use the entrepreneurial zeal that staff sometimes cannot provide.

Growing your business by franchising is also a way of reducing the capital required to scale your business. In fact, if you really understand franchising you will realize it's another way to raise capital to expand your business.

Ray Kroc who grew McDonald's into the most successful franchise in the world, said something interesting: “The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it...”

Do you think he’s right? What are some other requirements we’ve discussed?

To be continued. . .

25/12/2016

We wish all our Chapati fam a very Merry Christmas. We are closed today and tomorrow so that our team can celebrate with their family and friends but we shall be back on Tuesday with more Chapati awesomeness!

17/11/2016

The hardest thing in business: building an efficient organization (Part 2)

__Talking a good game is not enough.

I was meeting with one of New York’s most successful bankers, when he quipped, "In my business we don’t rely on intellectual property. There’s nothing we do that’s so special; we’re just damned good managers of businesses!"

I could immediately understand what he meant because when, for instance, you stop to think about a business like McDonald’s, you ask "What’s so special about a hamburger?"

But somehow out of that humble hamburger they’ve built a $96bn business… a global business bigger than the GDP of Kenya ($70bn)!

__They are "just damn good managers of business!"

When we launched our Mobile Money business in Zimbabwe, it wasn’t a new idea in Zimbabwe, or in Africa. To be honest, one of our competitors was a year ahead of us, but it really didn’t matter to me. I knew that when we finally launched our own service, it would be bigger and better because "We're good managers of businesses! It's not all IP and innovation!"

Whenever I see a business, as a management practitioner, I'm interested in how it’s run. I'm always asking myself, "How are they organized?"

We hear a lot spoken about good leaders, but a good leader who doesn’t know how to manage effectively, using the latest management techniques, is a total waste of time as far as I'm concerned.

You've heard the expression, "He talks a good game, but he can't play."

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs are like that. They can talk a good game, but they cannot manage an organization. Talking a good game can be important, but it's not enough!

If you want to build a profitable and growing business organization, you must first have an acute awareness of the role that organizational management plays. Your awareness must extend to an appreciation that it is a "technical discipline" which must be learnt.

It doesn’t happen naturally: Good management is something you must apply yourself to. Never fool yourself into believing that if you have a good idea, and some money, you just hire the right people and "Hey presto, you have a big successful business!"

I want you to be different: I want you to be able to pick up an idea, any idea, and turn it into a successful business organization that generates profits, and can grow into a national, regional, and continental champion, even a global one.

To be continued. . .

15/09/2016

Come out to Cafe'/Rwandan Speciality coffee tonight for great art, music, and of course great Chapati wraps by yours truly!

26/08/2016

Symbole de l'évolution de la société rwandaise, les food trucks gagnent du terrain dans un pays où la nourriture est traditionnellement presque un sujet tabou.

16/07/2016

Get to know our story, lifestyle and food - especially our chapati wraps, a unique taste of Africa!

14/07/2016

We’re available as long as you need a bite to eat. Pass by and taste the wonders of African cuisine brought to you in our city, .

11/07/2016

We welcome our sisters and brothers for the African Union Summit in Kigali and invite you to try the freshest and tastiest chapati wraps in town.


Feel free to come by for lunch or dinner and try our affordable chapati wraps made from all local ingredients.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

04/07/2016

Chapati is proudly Rwandan and we’re proud of our heroes who fought for our country and stopped the Genocide against the Tutsi twenty-two years ago.

Today we are closed as we celebrate Liberation Day and we wish the Chapati family a happy .