By Shepherd Kembo
THERE can only be one Steve Jobs, one Zuckerberg, one Strive Masiyiwa, one Dangote, these icons are immortalised not merely because they have built billion-dollar empires, but because they did it their way. They saw gaps others ignored, walked roads no map could guide them through, and built doors where walls stood tall.
Yet across Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, and the entire entrepreneurial world, too many dreamers get stuck trying frantically to become the next Steve Jobs instead of becoming the first one. This is the silent trap that suffocates potential, imitation masquerading as inspiration.
The Mirage of Mimicry
Let us be clear, it is very wise to learn from the greats, study them, dissect their failures and wins, and absorb their grit, but to copy them exactly is to stand in a queue that absolutely leads nowhere new.
Strive Masiyiwa did not become Africa’s telecoms giant by copying anyone at all. He saw the gate shut for African voices in global telecommunication, and he built Econet. Dangote did not become Africa’s richest man by replicating the same trade patterns; he deepened his roots in commodities Africans needed daily, cement, sugar, flour, and scaled them beyond borders. Jobs did not invent computers; he reinvented the experience. Zuckerberg did not invent social interaction; he digitised a human instinct and coded it into billions of screens.
Look for Gaps, Not Shadows
Today, our towns are brimming with young entrepreneurs trying to build the “Facebook of Africa”, the “Apple of Zimbabwe”, the “Tesla of Nigeria”. Admirable dreams, but sometimes they miss the point, true innovation comes when you fill the gap others overlook, not when you fight to stand in another man’s shadow.
Look around, real money still lives in places many snub, traditional supply chains that link farmers in Mutoko to supermarkets in Harare, mining ventures that dig not just minerals, but local value, cold chains that stop tomatoes from rotting on dusty highways, digital solutions that help SMEs in Soweto or Lagos accept mobile payments and thrive.
Practical Pockets of Opportunity
In Zimbabwe, an entrepreneur is making waves connecting rural chicken farmers directly with city retailers through WhatsApp orders and the use of digital payment platforms. In South Africa, tech start-ups are bridging the gap between informal spaza shops and big wholesalers through mobile inventory management. In Nigeria, innovators are building solar mini-grids for communities that the national grid forgot. None of these are glamorous “next Apple” stories, but each is authentic, urgent, and real. Each one solves a local problem, and therein lies the profit and the purpose that many do not want to look at.
The Rule for Today’s Entrepreneurs
So, here is the unwritten rule for anyone serious about business, never waste time trying to be the next Jobs. Be the first you, just do it brilliantly, deliberately, and differently. Learn from Jobs’ daring, not his designs. Learn from Strive Masiyiwa’s faith, not just his telecommunication towers. Learn from Dangote’s audacity, not merely his cement bags. Then apply that energy where you stand in your street, your city, and your region.
Innovation is not only in Silicon Valley’s billion-dollar labs, it is also in a tomato truck that does not break down halfway to the market from Dotito, Mutorashanga or Charehwa in Mtoko. It is in digitising a street vendor’s ledger. It is in mining lithium, but adding local value before the minerals board boards a ship.
Whether you are a rural hustler, a township trader, a city techie, or a boardroom dreamer, the question is the same, what gap will you fill that no one else sees, or no one else dares to touch?
A New Generation, A New Playbook
So, to every Zimbabwean, South African, Nigerian and global entrepreneur, your job is not to repeat what was done. It is to respect the trailblazers, but to cease the moment, spot your own cracks in the system, and slip through them with your ideas, because at the end of the day, there can only be one Steve Jobs, but there has never been you, and maybe, just maybe, that is exactly what the world is waiting for.
So go out there. See the gaps. Think differently. Start where you stand, and whatever you do, do not try to be next.
Be first.
Shephard Kembo (Managing Partner for Globavel International PVT LTD)
