VALUE FOR VALUE EXCHANGE...

From time to time we get trivial situations that conflict our business ethic with personal interests. In our society we tend to mistake charity for business through providing favors to people at the expense of profit. We are all too willing to do this, usually because somewhere in our culture we should help each other through sacrifice even though we lose money doing it. However as a business person, you have to be greedy because business is a value for value exchange.

What this means is that if you are providing a product or service to a customer, there should be a value for value exchange,  preferably in monetary form.

Successful people understand that when a service is provided to a market place, the other party parts away with cash. A lot of people mistake charity for business and what they don’t realize is that they need the money for bills, food, transport and to live. Therefore a product or service has to be paid for.

I had a situation where I was awarded a good chunk of prize money and I had no immediate need for my new found fortune. The story got out that I had some loose change and before I knew what was happening, my usual clients thought it would be the best time to request for heavy discounts, because I could afford to. This is a typical example of how business starts to struggle simply because the culture of having someone to subsidize your life through discounts and giveaways is rife. If I had accepted their suggestions that I could afford to lose some money, I would have to subsidize them at  my own expense. However, I decided to invest the money and expand my operations to generate more revenue for myself. This way I can afford to give discounts without impacting my income significantly.

It doesn’t make sense to try to save the world while you are struggling with your finances. Save yourself and make sure your income is right before you try to save the world by subsidizing. The world doesn’t need any more financially challenged or broke people. The world need s you to be able to sustain yourself and grow your wealth and to help other people to become financially independent.

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The 'business' of #Renewable #Energy

The 'Business' of Biofuels

Its a new dawn in Zambia as the biofuels industry received the much needed boost from the Ministry of Energy. The pronouncement of the buying price and blending ratio by the government, opens the doors for major investment opportunities.
Facts about Biofuels: Biofuels are produced from living organisms; they can be referred to as a solar energy source because they are derived from photosynthesis. More specific is Biodiesel fuel, which is more commonly produced from oils extracted from a variety of vegetable oil seeds which include soybean, jatropha, cottonseed, sunflower, Castor bean and used cooking oil. Biodiesel has been observed to reduce engine wear and produce less harmful emissions.
Recently, the government, through the Ministry of Energy announced their intention to purchase up to 31,000,000 liters each of biodiesel fuel and bi ethanol fuel annually; in order to meet the blending ratio targets set by the Ministry. What this means for the biofuel producers is that there is renewed hope to achieve a sustainable local liquid energy source in Zambia. The pronouncement is also a major milestone for the Biofuels Association of Zambia after years of advocating for the creation of a sustainable biofuel market.
Other such notable milestones in the biofuels industry include:
1. In December 2006:The announcement of the Biofuels Association of Zambia as a driver for the advancement of the biofuels industry in Zambia.
2. In 2008, the Statutory Instrument (SI42) was issued in order to officially recognize biofuels as an energy source. This move in turn led to the development of the technical framework to pave way for official licensing of biofuels.
3. In April 2011, the government announces the official blending ratio for biofuels to fossil fuel. This means that a demand has been created for the biofuels thus a market and further the industry has impetus to develop infrastructure around the biofuel market.
4. In August 2013, the announcement of the official gate wholesale price for biodiesel and bioethanol. At this point, anyone wishing to invest in the biofuels sector can use these prices to see the viability of any biofuel venture they want to undertake.
Some of the companies business in the biofuels are the Copperbelt Energy Cooperation, Schultz and Schultz Green fuels, Brunos Jatropha, Southern Biopower, Nakambala sugar estate, Tapera Industries Ltd and Oracle Biofuels just to mention a few. These businesses participate actively at different levels in the value chain of the industry starting from out-grower schemes providing seed for vegetable oil production, to processing the oil into a usable biodiesel fuel in unmodified diesel engines. Even though several companies have been in the biofuel industry over the years, the lack of a market made it impossible to stay in the business of biofuels without a foreseeable income, this led to diversification/ clearing of energy crop fields to grow stable food crops that can be sold easily. So in the case of biodiesel fuel, to achieve the 5% blending ratio, a crop like Castor beans would have to be cultivated on a minimum of 70,000 hectares. With the vast arable land under utilized, and holding 40% of sub-Sahara's fresh water, Zambia has the ideal conditions to achieve renewable energy independence.
Currently, due to the underdevelopment of the energy crops, the industry biggest challenge is access to a stable source of vegetable oil as a raw material. To address this challenge, several entities such as Tapera Industries Limited have embarked on a commercialized Castor bean farming exercise to cultivate and supply Castor bean oil to the biofuel processors. This will help stabilize already existing supply from small scale farmers and out growers, hence create jobs and reduce on the demand of biofuels production on food crops like soy bean oil. The processing entities like the Copper belt Energy Cooperation, Oracle Biofuels and Schultz & Schultz Green fuels will greatly benefit from a reliable source of raw materials through sustained and consistent biofuels production, hence the end users of the biofuels produced will have a consistent supply of a renewable energy source which will save costs and be cleaner for the environment..
The notable benefits of local biofuels production are:
-increased job base which include farmers transporters, processers and wholesalers.
-cheaper source of locally produced fuel for transport and industry ( biofuels price is determined by the raw materials processed).
-diversification of crops to include a significant portion of energy crops like Castor beans, will enhance Zambia's export potential and maximize on the efficient use of the vast land and abundant water resource.
According to the recent feasibility study conducted by the Brazilian government, Zambia has the full requirements and potential for a sustainable renewable energy industry. The business of biofuels is an industry which should be pursued by both environmentalists and business people, because apart from the financial benefits, the environment and the general health of the masses will be conserved due to the reduced pollution. The is an industry that addresses food security, climate change, fuel sustainability and a good return on investment. That's the 'business' of Biofuels...

Registered Technologist - MEIZ

Work culture...

I'm standing at the Mt Meru gas station, Great north road, at Spar Northrise. Attendant is topping up flammable petrol in my car. Right in front of a "no cells phone allowed" sign, a phone rings, not surprisingly, the fuel attending in mid service answers the call and after a few seconds I'm expecting her to say "sorry i'm decanting fuel, i'll call back" she continues clucking on the phone and i decide thats its not right so I say to her, 'my dear, do you know that phones are not allowed during service' she responds (still on the phone) "i know, its my job, just go away"... I was left with no option but to report to her supervisor, who was equally surprised at me complaining about her subordinates conduct. Apparently they didn't think it was a big deal to have an ignition source active near an explosive substance, in a densely populated area.
That scenario is 1 of thousands that occur every working hour in Lusaka city. We can say the attendant is bad at her job, obviously; what about her supervisor who is indifferent to their subordinates not following the rules, obviously they are to blame; then again does the Energy Regulation Board, regulate the personnel who handle materials that could have devastating consequences if mishandled.
Our work culture in Zambia borders on mediocrity simply because no one cares enough to point out atrocity, well except me, 1 in 13 million me.
i wish we could stop overlooking such atrocities and confront the wrong doers, who knows, we might get Zambia moving forward with employees who are accountable for their actions.

Zed wars, Bubble almost bursting....

I got  so much to say, but cant say much. sometimes I think we live in a society that has at war with itself, lucky me to have the opportunity to see all sides of our little bubble we call zed...
I live in a relatively affluent neighborhood, Zambia vice president is my neighbor. but when i leave for work in the morning, all that is thrown out the window, simply because when i go to work in the industrial area, i have to get in touch with reality. In my hood, theres no traffic, no noise, no cars honking indiscriminately, just peaceful noise birds chirping, trees swaying n Lil boys smoking trees. however, just on my way to the industrial area, i drive through a lil known place called chibloya (most direct non congested route). Most have only heard about it, Trevor Noah even joked about it, the fact is that, its one of those places that a spoilt brat would never dare venture into. Granted our country is a country of laws, but those guys didn't get that memo, trust me. Its a place where you can find Mary Jane sold freely, and with my dread i got offered it, (quite a lot actually lol) and we got self imposed toll booth attendants (without the mandate, authority, uniform, health benefits, lil mogadishu actually), very enterprising individuals actually funnel traffic into one direction by simply placing boulders in strategic positions  and demand a toll charge to let motorists pass. Well they have to make money somehow.
To be honest, i'm OK with the status quo (as long as i work hard to live in a high security area), my only fear is that, they will get hungrier and will demand much more than toll charges i.e. a bus driver got frustrated by passengers nagging him for delaying their journey, he simply parked in Chibolya and let the get robbed. but hey, i'm the VP's neighbor too bad for whoever has to catch the first hit (first line of defense)...