There is a bug of entrepreneurship sweeping the world and Africa in general. The current young generation is being encouraged and taking up the challenge of job creation or entrepreneurship as opposed to seeking employment. One of the most common excuses peddled around is lack of capital. However, have you ever wondered how much it took the most successful African entrepreneurs to build their multi-million business empires? Here are examples that will jolt you to get working on your idea.

When civil war hit Liberia, Fomba Trawally was forced to seek refuge in Gambia from 1989 until he returned to Liberia in 1991. From his life savings of 200 dollars, he started selling rubber slippers in Monrovia. It has taken him fifteen years within which he has diversified into import of cosmetics from allover the world. He also established a paper and toiletry manufacturing company that it turning-over more than a million dollar every year.

Zenabwork is a poor neighborhood where Bethlehem Alemu grew up. This did not dim her desire to succeed as she has established one of the fastest growing footwear company in Africa called SoleRebels. The products are made from recycled materials with the company having crossed the one million dollar mark in annual revenue. Her capital in 2004 was 10,000 dollars raised from relatives and friends.

IrokoTV would not be a sensational name were it not for its Nigerian CEO and Co-founder Jason Njoku. The station specializes on Nollywood Movies. The impressive growth witnessed has attracted capital from global investors. His contribution was a noble idea. His partner and other investors are putting in 90,000 pounds to transform it into biggest online movie streaming company in Africa.

Bootstrapping is a path that many budding entrepreneurs are not ready to take. It is a situation where you start with zero capital, no office, workers, etc. This was the path taken by Adii Pienaar, the South African tech entrepreneur behind WooThemes. He was 23 and in the university when he started working on WooThemes. He worked part time and as a consultant to raise money which he pumped into WooThemes. His company was bought by an American internet based tech giant for 30 million dollars.

Most 19 year old are partying, taking photos with hash tags or pursuing mundane courses in university. Patrick used his sunset teen year to set up a Chinese mobile phone selling business. He left for China with 1,800 dollars as capital, that was borrowed from his mother and topped by a friend. Today, the Tanzanian entrepreneur owns the largest solar company in Eastern Africa minting in excess of fifteen million dollars in 2015.

What do you see when a plastic container or a water bottle crosses your path? Lorna Rutto saw fencing posts that would save thousands of trees from the depleting Kenyan forests. Her business now employs thousands of Kenyans and has attracted funding from NGOs, beyond recognition for environmental conservation.

It is impossible to exhaust the spectacular entrepreneurship stories in Africa. Anna Phosa the pig farmer from South Africa, Aliko Dangote and his 500,000 naira loan from his grandfather, the bootstrapping Ghanaian entrepreneur by the name Fred Deegbe and others. They only demonstrate that the excuse of capital is lame. It only requires hard work and passion.