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More than makeup: How Atsoko overcame the challenges of entrepreneurship in Tanzania
Author(s) -
Alon Ilan,
Shneor Rotem
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
global business and organizational excellence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.227
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1932-2062
pISSN - 1932-2054
DOI - 10.1002/joe.21811
Subject(s) - thriving , entrepreneurship , tanzania , creativity , business , salary , software deployment , marketing , competitive advantage , identity (music) , capital (architecture) , language change , beauty , productivity , public relations , industrial organization , economics , economic growth , market economy , political science , finance , sociology , law , art , social science , socioeconomics , history , literature , archaeology , computer science , acoustics , operating system , physics
Africa is an emerging economy with many institutional obstacles that complicate efforts to do business there. These include limited access to capital, a lack of skilled labor, inferior infrastructure, and corruption. The experiences of Marie Englesson, a Swedish entrepreneur, in establishing Atsoko, a thriving cosmetics distribution and retailing firm in Tanzania, offer valuable lessons in addressing those challenges through creativity, dedication, and wise and principled deployment of capital. Securing first mover advantage, establishing early brand identity, providing employee training, offering a basic salary higher than the local standard, rewarding good performance, and focusing on making a positive social impact were all part of her beauty company's formula for success.