Dismissed as not possible BUT we are ready because we have all it takes to succeed

The technology we now have makes it possible for us to learn & use what's already there
Our youths who aspire for a better tomorrow shall be key in this

A bit of background of how I got here 3/

In 2017 I was disillusioned by everything, i begun my journey of discovery on eCommerce

What I found then was that it was well set up for the West & developed countries
If you were from Africa it just didn't work
You would spend months to get items received in USA in 7days 4/

I also realised that the Chinese didn't use the channels we knew, they had their own markets where they paid cheaper than us
This led to my aquisition of knowledge about sourcing from China. Others wanted me to help.
I wrote a guide on how to shop in China online 5/

This was received by thousands of mainly women from Southern Africa
As more women came on Board the capacity we had of offline sourcing became overwhelmed, hence the need to develop an online platform that would make it possible for Africa to source quicker cheaper & directly 6/

It was clear then that whatever solution we come up with, we should bring on board all the women and men who had become part of this journey. As we speak over 2000 sellers (mainly from ) have stores where they research & load the items to the platform 7/

I met @MorakeStanley & @vndala within the process who had the Technical muscle I didn't have

We developed http://zoppah.com  whose job is to simplify how we source & sell especially here in Africa.
We begun testing in Dec 2019 & then the Chinese Holidays happened 8/

Followed by the CoronaVirus
It was tough BUT once the Chinese suppliers came back we begun fulfilling orders, unfortunately some have been stuck due to the changes in the cargo regulations in Africa
Our whole focus was that we should utilise the knowledge we have ammased 9/

To ensure Africa sources the raw materials & machinery & produce locally. Those who were on my timeline in Dec/Jan you might have seen my direction saying Africa shall & will consume what Africa produces. We were to begin early this year and well the Pandemic happened 10/

We used the time to work on a few outstanding issues on the platform BUT as we have started seeing how desperate we are becoming due to the unavailability of the important materials needed in the fight against COVID-19 we have thought that the fact that we can support people 11/

Source we shouldn't waste anymore time so that we help people save through sourcing cheaper & also ensure the budgets people have can procure more

Most countries still allow Cargo, it usually takes 10-14 days to receive. We should be able to push needed Materials 12/

It's been a long 3 years BUT what I know is that once we win this fight against the CoronaVirus Africa shall turn around & that turn around will be led and driven by us

The fact that we are sourcing where the Chinese source to manufacture means we too shall source to produce 13/

For those who can & would want to start producing you can join our Made in Africa group where we would want to utilise this timelag to help import the vital raw materials & machinery from China

It's our hope that the long process of Sea shipping will arrive here after we win 14/

So what does Made in Africa mean given where we are at when all our industries are decimated & everything is gone
Why am I having the confidence that we can produce & start buying made in Africa
This position has come about after noting that since 2017 when we begun sourcing 15/

From China like the Chinese
We noted that almost everything we were sourcing as an end product, there were also sources for the raw materials producing the same items
China is as big as our continent. It meant that if someone is making certain items they too have to source 16/

As we bought the end products most of which you have seen being sold on social media there were raw materials for the same. So instead of just being a platform that helps people source finished products from China why can't we also help people source the vital raw materials 17/

& machinery needed to produce the end products. I will give an example of Fascinators. On our platform we help people source thousands of these and truly speaking when we begun debating this issue in the Fascinators group we found people already making these in Botswana 18/

BUT access to the raw materials was a challenge & I believe that if such a producer has access to the raw materials they can be competitive.

This comes down to the fact that our industries are currently nonexistent and can't supply

In the interim we expect people to source 19/

The raw materials to make the final products
BUT we are sure that once demand by these different producers pick, industries will be revived to start serving them
Even though we expect to be importing machinery one would also worry about how these machines will be serviced 20/

Very soon our young technicians will start servicing these machines BUT with time engineers will start producing the machines locally
It has to start with sorting the demand for the products. If the product is of value and the quality & pricing is competitive people will buy 21/

http://zoppah.com  comes in to make it possible to buy. We are working towards 1st week of June for intra Africa trade. We expect our system to be set & make it possible for the sellers to list from within. We are using the next two months to prepare the supply 22/

Currently people are buying items from China for mainly retail on http://zoppah.com  most of which is doable and simple items that have been made possible by the good supply chain

We are saying that supply chain can also be found within Africa. We just have to build it 23/

By year 5 at least 50% of what we sell on @zoppah_ should be made in Africa
We are working with @DHLAfrica eCommerce to make it possible for our merchants to deliver within Africa
We are not saying it will be easy BUT with all of us hands on deck we can do it 24/

Our job as an eCommerce platform by Africans for Africa is not just to end with intra Africa trade http://zoppah.com  shall be the window for the world to access Made in Africa Products

We still think 2020 is the Year for Africa's turn around despite the tough start.

I will share some of the links I have seen shared of what one can produce mostly machines

This is a Noodle press machine.

We are seeing more and more people switching to noodles
https://zoppah.com/product/ag35-noodle-press-machine__trashed/

This is a bottled water packaging machine / 2000 per hour

https://zoppah.com/product/small-bottled-mineral-water-production-line-2000-bottles-hour-bottled-mineral-water-production-line-bottle-filling-machine/

This is an oil press machine

https://zoppah.com/product/guangzhou-factory-direct-sales-commercial-oil-press-machine160/

This is a commercial food shop set up
https://zoppah.com/product/commercial-food-shop-equipment-full-set/

This one wraps the shoes

https://zoppah.com/product/kpu-shoe-upper-%ef%bd%9c-kpu-wrap-forming-machine-%ef%bd%9c-kpu-shoe-material-%ef%bd%9c-kpu-processing-equipment-free-on-site-training/

The fact that we import socks is just on of those issues that erk me anyway here we go

https://zoppah.com/product/socks-making-machine/

The machine looks like this

Have you ever wondered about keys

Currently in our City a few Indians have monopoly on this

https://zoppah.com/product/key-making-machine/

There is a growing demand for coconut oil

https://zoppah.com/product/coconut-oil-press-machine/