Sink your bucket (Part 2)
Strive Masiyiwa
Image credit: With thanks to Zaheer Ali of South Africa for his special photo posted on Touch the Heart Facebook page in October 2025. // Strive Masiyiwa Social Media (Facebook + LinkedIn)
__ Listen carefully, and with kindness, too
When I lived in South Africa, a white South African colleague who was very compassionate came to me for some advice: “My gardener who had been with me for a long time recently died," he explained.
"His relatives have asked for assistance to pay for his burial in his home country. Why can’t they bury him here, given that he has lived here for decades, and besides, it’s very expensive to repatriate a body," he sighed.
"What is your advice?”
“Please help them. It’s important for that man’s family, and it shows your own humanity," I replied gently.
He did as I suggested.
The bereaved family's "problem" is one that some of you may have experienced yourselves: the costs of a funeral and burial can lead to near total impoverishment for some families and relatives.
Hearing this, the philanthropist in me demanded from the entrepreneur in me... a #Solution.
“What if we could create an insurance product whereby people pay a small monthly subscription which covers the cost of a funeral?”
My solution was a #Product we called EcoSure which does just that: Customers take out a policy that can be as basic as funeral costs, or may even include cash payouts to cover the first few months after the loss of a breadwinner.
Today it is a business with millions of customers.
Now sometimes people who I respect mention various problems they see deeply impacting people, or the environment in which they live.
I generally listen carefully, and again... sometimes the philanthropist in me wants the #Entrepreneur in me to find a solution. This can include putting a team together to do research and explore business models.
For those of you in the #JuniorClass who don't yet know what I mean by "business model," here's a link to get the year started:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businessmodel.asp
Will it work? Of course, I don’t always know. But we all must apply our entrepreneurial #Mindset to try to find solutions, using whatever is in our hands.
This is what #SinkYourBucket is all about.
It’s time to stop thinking that someone else is coming to solve our problems.
#AfricanInnovation
#SolutionSeekers
#EntrepreneurIt
3 Key Business Lessons
Active listening is a crucial skill for entrepreneurs and leaders that can lead to meaningful insights and solutions. By engaging with others empathetically and attentively, leaders can identify the real challenges faced by their employees, customers, and communities. This compassion not only strengthens relationships but also uncovers opportunities for innovative products or services that address pressing needs.
Embrace social responsibility as a core part of your business strategy. The creation of EcoSure illustrates how a response to a personal tragedy can evolve into a sustainable business model that provides financial peace of mind to many. By developing solutions that not only generate profit but also benefit society, businesses can establish a loyal customer base and foster a positive brand image.
Maintain an entrepreneurial mindset towards problem-solving. Rather than waiting for external help, entrepreneurs should proactively seek out challenges in their environment and develop solutions using available resources. This approach not only drives innovation but also empowers individuals and communities to take charge of their circumstances, reinforcing the notion that self-sufficiency and creativity are key to lasting change.
Afterthoughts
"If you want to change the world, start by solving the problems in your own community. Entrepreneurship is not just about making money; it's about making a difference". - Muhammad Yunus
“Mr Masiyiwa, did you know that most snake victims are women?” the young entrepreneur explained to me.
“No, I did not”.
“I’m trying to develop an electronic device that gives off a type of vibration that chases them away. I will not only solve a huge problem that kills over 20,000 African women a year, but it is also a huge market.”
Now whether or not that guy will ultimately be successful is not the point. For me, this is what all entrepreneurs should be doing. I have shared this with some of you before.
This year, I want you to challenge yourself to identify a problem and reach out to solve it entrepreneurially. Not just by being a “keyboard warrior” on social media, but by sitting down to develop a #Product (#Solution) that can be supported by a #BusinessModel.
In some parts of West Africa, they take months before an actual burial.
For poor families, this can be very stressful (economically speaking), besides the actual loss.
My EcoSure solution would solve that problem. What a market opportunity!
I would happily license our platform and adapt it.This is not even my core business!
For those of you who are #SocialEntrepreneurs, you will be interested in learning about Ashoka which provides support to entrepreneurial #ChangeMakers globally.
https://www.ashoka.org/en-us/focus/social-entrepreneurship
One day I received a call from an American investor who ran a huge insurance company.
“Tell us about EcoSure," he said. "How did you come up with such an ingenious innovation?”
After telling him, he added: “Do you think it could scale across Africa? This could be an incredible platform to add other services”.
We actually met in London and although our negotiations for him to invest did not progress, it left me with one profound question:
“Why couldn’t others see it?”
A South African entrepreneur who lives in Switzerland called me about it and offered to buy it outright if I could migrate it outside Zimbabwe. He called it one of the most incredible innovations he had seen recently.
I asked my Gemini AI assistant to look at the photo we chose for this post.
“Why is that bird on the rhino?” I asked.
This is what it told me:
“The rhino and the red-billed oxpecker have a unique symbiotic relationship; the oxpecker feeds on ticks and gets a free meal, whilst the rhino gets free pest control!”
The entrepreneur cannot afford to be a casual observer in life... Always be prepared to ask the right questions!
Have questions about this topic?
Ask our AI, trained on Strive Masiyiwa's complete writings.
Ask Sahwira AI