New year, new goals —
With a new year comes new ambition and as the world envisions their hopes for the year ahead, CNN's African Start-Up went back to nine of the entrepreneurs it profiled in 2014 to discover their plans for greater success in 2015.
Bringing brioche to Kigali —
Rwandan businessman Jean-Philippe Kayobotsi, 39, opened his boutique bakery, Brioche, in 2013. Last year the company grew as Kayobotsi bought two further store locations in the country's capital Kigali and his dreams remain big for 2015."Brioche's resolutions include to bring more treats, happiness and pride to more people in Africa by growing our network of point of sales in Rwanda and the region," says Kayobotsi, whose ultimate goal with the company is to "create a different Africa."
Read: Entrepreneur swaps business suits to launch 'Starbucks of Africa'.
Opening up the Closet —
In 2013, Serah Kanyua co-founded online marketplace, Closet49, connecting those looking to buy, sell and trade clothes in Nairobi, Kenya. In the year ahead Kanyua plans to improve the "Customer Experience.""We'll be experimenting with new ways to sell, order, receive, and return items. We want to be more that just another online store, but create an experience that the customer will remember every time they wear that dress (or shoe, or skirt)," she says.
Watch: Closet49: Kenya's 'guilt-free' shopping?
More nakedness in Nairobi —
The all natural Naked Pizza arrived in Nairobi, Kenya in 2012 courtesy of Ritesh Joshi, 33. The native Kenyan left a career in banking to bring good, fast pizza to his hometown population and in 2015 he wants to grow both his business and his staff."In 2015, we have introduced a learning allowance for our star performers and leaders...The continued personal development of our leaders not only helps our business grow, but shapes the future leaders of our country." he says.
Read: Investment banker turned pizza maker 'gets Nairobi naked'.
![Twenty-year old Rosebill Satha-Sambo is bringing an old skill back to the Malawian market. The young entrepreneur began selling her handmade bamboo baskets in 2009 and by 2011 she'd set up <a href="https://jardsproducts.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">JARDS Products</a> -- a wide range of eco-friendly bamboo furniture and baskets for all. The goal for 2015 is to go global.<br /><br />"[Our resolution is to] lobby with government to find ways in making exports cheaper and easier for small entrepreneurs otherwise no matter how beautiful our products are... we will not be able to compete with global market prices," she says. <br /><br /><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/29/business/bamboo-rising-basket-weaving-jards-products/" target="_blank">Read: Bamboo business weaves a brighter future for Malawian youth.</a>](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150112172714-african-start-up-new-years-resolutions-3-jards-products.jpg?q=w_1603,h_901,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Weaving through 2015 —
Twenty-year old Rosebill Satha-Sambo is bringing an old skill back to the Malawian market. The young entrepreneur began selling her handmade bamboo baskets in 2009 and by 2011 she'd set up JARDS Products -- a wide range of eco-friendly bamboo furniture and baskets for all. The goal for 2015 is to go global."[Our resolution is to] lobby with government to find ways in making exports cheaper and easier for small entrepreneurs otherwise no matter how beautiful our products are... we will not be able to compete with global market prices," she says.
Read: Bamboo business weaves a brighter future for Malawian youth.
Getting girls into technology —
Ghanaian software development company Soronko Solutions is led by tech entrepreneur Regina Agyare. The startup builds websites and e-commerce portals for over 30 small and medium business in Ghana and in 2013 it launched the "Tech Needs Girls" initiative to teach computer skills to young females living in poor areas. Agyare plans to expand further in 2015."Our New Year resolution is to hire new developers for our developer team. We will be taking advantage of the above 100% mobile penetration in Ghana to build innovative solutions to dominate the mobile technology market. We will also work at bridging the gender gap in technology...by taking our Tech Needs Girls Mentorship Program and coding workshops to seven regions in Ghana and two other African countries," she says.
Read: Tech entrepreneur Regina Agyare.
Flip-flop masterpieces —
Kenyan recycling company, Ocean Sole, take the rubbish washing up on Kenya's coastlines and transform the harmful waste into bespoke artwork. To date, their main source material has been discarded flip-flops and plastics but the company's co-founder, Julie Church, has a new idea up her sleeve for 2015."Ocean Sole will launch an ethically produced flip-flop, created from rubber waste, that will persuade the world to think and act responsibly when it comes to our fragile environment," she says.
Read: Where do flip-flops go when they break? They turn into eye-popping artwork, of course.
![Mauritian-based app company <a href="http://www.ojuafrica.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Oju Africa</a> released a range of Afro emoticons in 2014 to tackle a lack of diversity in mobile characters. The company is led by Alpesh Patel who beat leading companies to the mark with his idea, including Apple. <br /><br />Patel has big plans for Oju Africa in 2015 whilst continuing to question the status quo. "[We will] make sure we execute our plans on time every time and... improve the user experience of our customers," he says.<br /><br /><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/30/tech/african-startup-trumped-apple-black-emoticons/" target="_blank">Read: The African app company that trumped Apple to launch first black emoticons.</a>](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150112173404-african-start-up-new-years-resolutions-5-oju-africa.jpg?q=w_1603,h_901,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
An Emotive year ahead —
Mauritian-based app company Oju Africa released a range of Afro emoticons in 2014 to tackle a lack of diversity in mobile characters. The company is led by Alpesh Patel who beat leading companies to the mark with his idea, including Apple. Patel has big plans for Oju Africa in 2015 whilst continuing to question the status quo. "[We will] make sure we execute our plans on time every time and... improve the user experience of our customers," he says.
Read: The African app company that trumped Apple to launch first black emoticons.
Making music in Kenya —
Kenya-based online music distributor, Mdundo, has become a key provider of East African music since its launch two years ago. The mobile platform, run by CEO Martin Nielsen, has over 20,000 songs in its library from an estimated 600 artists signed to the service. With a growth of 200 tracks each week, 2015 will be a further year of musical ingenuity."We are experiencing rapid artist growth in 10 African countries...In 2015 Mdundo is expecting more musicians from outside East Africa to join our platform," says Nielsen.
Read: 'Mdundo': East African tunes for the mobile generation.
Keeping things sweet —
The Sweet Temptations cake-making business was launched in 2013 by former lawyer Sungeni Mtalimanja. Based in the city of Blantyre, Malawi's chief commercial and industrial hub, Mtalimanja's baking business produces all sorts of custom-made "sweet temptations" and she plans on expanding her portfolio in 2015."I would like to grow and consolidate on the niche market, being birthday cakes and venture into the wedding cake market. I would also like to offer healthy alternative, for example, sugar-free or gluten free cakes and I plan to train in pastry making and cake decoration formally to stay up to date with cake business trends," she says.
Read: Icing on the cake: Young lawyer finds sweet success with baking business.