So a fun, happy story about things that could never have happened even twenty years ago:
I have a friend from church in Japan. He’s from Benin, and has worked in a series of factories as a QA engineer.
You can probably predict some of the challenges. Those are not the focus of the story, because he is planning a way out.
You can probably predict some of the challenges. Those are not the focus of the story, because he is planning a way out.
Benin, according to my friend, is hot and does not yet have strong domestic supply of ice cream. My friend, naturally, decided to open an ice cream factory to sell DTC ice cream.
This did not strike me as the easiest possible business to get in on the ground floor of, but then you’re not him.
He just got back from China, where he solo negotiated a small factory worth of ice cream equipment.
He just got back from China, where he solo negotiated a small factory worth of ice cream equipment.
Where’s the capital coming from? His engineering job and then moonlighting at, fudging this for deniability because moonlighting African engineers in Tokyo are rare, bartending. Plus a small loan. “Didn’t want to do the whole thing on a loan. Way too risky.”
He’s hired a local manager, somehow leased a site, the equipment arrives in a few weeks, and he’ll then go to Benin personally to configure everything and train staff, then go back to tending bar to pay for OpEx while his factory starts (literally) churning out ice cream.
He’ll manage the manager remotely using standard techniques that he’s learned in Japan.
“Japanese manufacturing management, Chinese machines, Benin soul. It can’t not work.”
“Japanese manufacturing management, Chinese machines, Benin soul. It can’t not work.”
