As a seasoned executive and serial entrepreneur, Lesego's illustrious career has taken him from roles in New York City to Gabs City. Passionate about seeing the next batch of Botswana's entrepreneurial talent succeed, his role at Social Capital Group entails nurturing entrepreneurs through the ethos of "purpose over profit".
In this interview, Mathware shares more on what exactly "purpose over profit is", which industries hold the most promise for Botswana, how collaboration is the key to success in Botswana, and how young Batswana entrepreneurs can build sustainable businesses that can compete on the global stage.
In your opinion, what sectors do you think hold the most potential for young entrepreneurs in Botswana?
I think tech. Tech is such a broad sector, but there are so many legs under tech. The other day, we were talking about AI and the power of AI. I think another sector would be manufacturing. With all the vast resources we have in Botswana and Africa in general, we’re the remaining place in the world where real value can be derived. But I'm also cautious not to define what works and what doesn't work. Look at the case of Airbnb; People thought the hotel's business was saturated, and Hilton, Marriott and all Sheraton had the market, but Airbnb came into that space and innovated the space.
So, we need to focus on innovation and also where our passion lies. I always say passion will get you to a market that people think is out of bounds and will make you figure out a new way of bringing a new offer into the marketplace. We need to build, and we need to start producing and stop consuming. So, my advice to any entrepreneur should be to be a producer and not a consumer of whatever they want to do.
Do you think we have the population size to sustain such business ventures?
Yes and no. Yes, because Botswana, for me, is a good test concept market. I think we, as Batswana, do hard things very well. But I also think if you're going to play globally, the world is much flatter now. It's much more reachable through technology. I would encourage every entrepreneur to focus on getting their systems right, testing their products here in Botswana and getting into the market. But it'd be unfair for me to expect anybody to grow at an exponential scale in Botswana. My advice would be for entrepreneurs to be largely export-oriented so that they can get to the numbers that make a big dent in whatever positive impact they want to take to the world.
How do you propose fostering a culture of collaboration among startups to enhance global competitiveness?
Case in point. I've got shareholders. When they started working with me in the beginning, I gave them equity, and I’m probably going to release more equity in the foreseeable future. I think it's important for us to want to join forces, but explain explicitly why joining forces is important because you might have an idea, but ideas never become anything until they are implemented. I also think it's selfish for an individual to think they can hold on to something and not invite other people to help them.
I think a culture of collaboration is growing in Botswana and will continue to grow. When you look at the most successful businesses or enterprises, it's collaboration, collaboration, collaboration. Like I said a few days ago, we're still a very immature market in terms of how things are being done in the outside world, but it brings comfort to me that the young generation is seeing the importance of at least talking about it and understanding that bringing people into your idea doesn't mean you're selling yourself short. It means you're continuously seeking ways to better your idea.
What steps can young entrepreneurs take to ensure that their businesses are sustainable and scalable?
They have to roll their sleeves up and work. It's important for each and every entrepreneur who aspires to get to a global scale to understand what amount of work and sacrifice goes into actually achieving that. When you talk about the steps, they need to identify like-minded people, first and foremost, who are interested in what they want to do. They have to continuously foster relationships outside Botswana for them to be current with the global trends of whatever business they're doing. I also think they need to knock down doors in terms of looking for financial assistance. You know, I'm comforted that our government is looking at capacitating local entrepreneurs as well into getting that, but oftentimes in life, we think success requires a lot of things. It doesn't really. It requires you to be locked into what you're doing and to have a purpose in what you're doing. People are watching. You'll be surprised how many people pay attention to real, dedicated entrepreneurs who don't give up, who get doors shut down on them daily, but continuously pursue.
But back to technology. I think the Internet gives us a leg up in terms of being able to connect with somebody in India or in the US in Silicon Valley, who's doing what you're doing. There are so many resources and programs, be it the Stanford Seed Program that connects you with global entrepreneurs or the Young Global Leaders Forum. There are so many summits happening that now you can just join virtually and connect. It's more about being resourceful.
Case in point, you sent me a message, and we had 50 or 60 people in that room when I was talking, but how many people actually followed through to be like "Okay, this could be interesting, let me reach out". You're probably 1 of 3 who reached out. Where are we now? We're here, face to face, having a chat about these things. So, this exercise on its own can show you that when Lesego talks about having the ability to actually dive down and go in and pursue relentlessly what you believe in, he's not just talking about it because it sounds good. Had I not responded, were you going to give up? Maybe next week, maybe the following week?
So, this is really about passion and how far you're willing to go to pursue what you want to pursue because eventually, it will happen. People think there's a science to this. They think there's a formula. They think there are metrics to it. It's really, most importantly, dependent on what lengths you are willing to go to get there.
What global trends in entrepreneurship and technology do you think Botswana startups should be paying attention to?
Climate. Personally, I'm very intrigued by climate business now, because there's nowhere we can run. We are disturbing the climate, and we need to start taking care of it. We've got one of the few places in the world with this amount of sun. So, you're looking at solar projects, you're looking at climate businesses that can make a lot of companies. Because we are largely a mining country, we can make a good business case in terms of transforming a lot of corporates to become carbon neutral. So, climate would be one.
Two, like I said, AI. AI could help us leapfrog and come from the back of the line in terms of predictive and preventive AI and large-scale infrastructure projects that can be monitored, be it in construction, or in utilities. And I also think, riding on the fact that Botswana has always been positioned as and has always been this peaceful, small country nestled in southern Africa, with the biggest herds of animals, tourism is a good business. The world is tired of big things. The world needs peace. I think we're going through a transformation where we just need calmness and nature. And what better way to take advantage of that need than building a solid business in the MICE business? The tourism business. Inviting the world to come and have a meeting in Botswana and explore our nature. I think those three particular industries show potential.
How can young entrepreneurs upskill themselves to understand and implement emerging AI technologies effectively?
There's a big conversation happening about how AI will replace jobs. And I laugh when I hear that because it reminds me of the days when the ATM machine came, and people thought, oh, people in the banks are not going to have their jobs because ATMs are going to take their jobs. After all, now it's just a machine there. Did jobs get lost in banks? No. I think what entrepreneurs can do is learn how to use AI to better our lives. There's that person who has to guide AI, he has to feed AI, who has to make sure that it performs his best ability.
There’s a school called ALX. ALX is founded by Fred Swaniker. I think Fred has maybe 250,000 students now annually in different campuses across the world, mainly in Africa, and they’re teaching kids the basics of AI. Education is very important, and the mistake I see entrepreneurs making is maybe thinking AI will make their lives easier. AI is meant to enhance an idea and cut tons of time that you'd take in figuring out if your idea will work or not and not necessarily do your idea.
AI is supposed to enhance and rewrite your proposal so it makes sense and not just write the proposal. The magic word is “rewrite”, and not write it. Entrepreneurs need to find a way of continuously educating themselves about AI. How do they tap into resources that are there? And because it's such a revolutionary thing, most of your Ivy League schools, your Wharton, your Stanford, your MIT, they have all these AI labs that if I’m an entrepreneur, really digging deep into AI, I'm going to be online and going into MIT AI labs and finding out, you know? The Internet has transformed a lot of things, and I think we're only scratching the surface. Young entrepreneurs should research, so that they fail quick, they fail fast, they fail hard, and get it done, right?
Do you not worry that too much reliance on AI might encourage laziness or maybe dull skills that people would otherwise have? Like research, for example, in academia, you know, and being able to find information.
If you kind of just type a prompt into Chat GPT, and it gives you all the information, a student might be tempted to just copy and paste what they see without really taking the effort to read through and find the information for themselves. So, do you think that constant reliance on AI technologies might dull certain skills that people would otherwise have to utilise in the business world?
It's a real threat to a lot of industries. In academia, there's AI now that's built to detect AI-generated papers. I don't think it's an AI issue. I think it's a human issue. I spoke [on Tuesday at GEW] about the importance of emotional intelligence compared to artificial intelligence. I think the winners of AI will be people who have won with or without AI, and AI has just enhanced that winning attitude towards doing hard things. The losers are the ones who will see AI as a competitive edge to try and jump groups and be ahead of the line without putting in the work.
So, the threat is there, yes, but smart people are working around the clock to intercept such threats. But, like in any other industry, we're going through a global diamond meltdown now. Lab-grown diamonds are there, but for every innovation, there are risks. The question is, do we let the risks supersede the potential, or do we work out to ensure that the potential keeps the momentum going? So yes, there's this real threat of dumbing down a lot of things, but I don't think dedicated smart people will be dumbed down by AI. I think dedicated smart people will be enhanced and improved by AI, and mediocracy will continue being mediocracy, with or without AI,
What networking strategies have been most effective for you as an entrepreneur, and how can young business people try to replicate them?
A very passionate topic that I am about is mentorship. I think we've discounted or just looked away from the power of seeking out mentors, especially in Botswana. I don't know if it's just a culture of being scared and reserved people. But the best advice that I can give any entrepreneur is to get yourself a mentor. My networks are not networks that just follow. My networks are ones that have i pursued without fear or favour. Be it on LinkedIn or just going on to your search engine and finding out who's good at this and reading about them. Travel helps, but not everybody can travel, and it's a very sensitive topic, because when you talk about travel, people are like, yeah, you're doing it because you can travel. What about us who can't travel?
But I don't think a kid who's got a Wi-Fi connection in Maitengwe is far more different than I am here in Gaborone with my Wi-Fi and I bet you they have a smartphone because I see them commenting on Facebook. So, are they spending time commenting on Facebook, or are they spending time on Google search, finding out who the best sneaker designer is, if they want to design sneakers? There's a lot of low-hanging fruit that we seem to not take advantage of as young entrepreneurs, because it's a state of mind thing, and the environment obviously sort of limits, and dictates how you think, depending on where you are. But mentorship is one thing that I will encourage every entrepreneur, young or old, big or small, to continuously foster, and to be bold and confident to reach out and shamelessly seek mentorship.
I've realised, with my mentors, people who are somewhat successful in life, all they want to do is give back. I believe a man's life, or a human being's life, is cut into three. They are born, and they gain as much knowledge through school or upbringing. They then take that knowledge to the second trimester, and that knowledge is used to work and accumulate as many resources as possible, be it houses, cars, or just travelling and enjoying yourself, having a family, or having kids. And then the third and last part is where you want to give it up. You want to show it back. You want to leave the world a better place. So, reaching out to your mentor, 9 out of 10 times they'll be happy to engage with you.
I travel and meet a lot of individuals around the world, and my biggest purpose when meeting somebody influential has always been about what do I say to him once the doors open and make him say, "You know what? Just get my private number". Most times, we are quick to want to show the world through a photo that i'm with so and so, instead of actually taking that moment in with so and so. Because it’s not like they're stupid. They see that, oh, she's here to just show the world that she met me. Or she's here to be like, I don't even care about taking a photo with so and so, I just want to learn.
I'll give you an example. I met one of the founders of Hollard Insurance at a Pearl Market in Asia. He had my accent and asked where I was from. I said I'm from Botswana. And he's like, okay, I'm from South Africa, but I live in Beverly Hills. And from there, the conversation was not about being with the founder of Hollard Insurance, it was now more about what I could learn. This is my story. This is what I want to do. This was like maybe eight years ago. And it moved from there to, “Do you mind if I get your email so I can just maybe always bounce some ideas too?” My first email to him was asking what book I can read. Such a simple little thing like that. “What book can I read?” goes a long way, and not just taking a photo, posting it on my Instagram and thinking that's all. So, get yourself a mentor if you want to be successful, multiple mentors from multiple industries who know what they do. Don't be shy.
Do you have any nuggets of wisdom or pieces of advice that you would like to offer our readers?
Purpose over profit. You have to relentlessly pursue your dreams and let nothing step in your way, by any means necessary. Passion will take you across when there's nothing left in the tank to carry you further. But I also think we need to do a lot of work to ensure that we as people, believe in ourselves, we believe in our capacity to do great things. And my advice to anyone out there, and I posted this in the morning, you know, hold your power, maintain your peace and let God lead.
NB: Interview has been slightly edited for clarity