From Greenwich to Gauteng: Why African Graduates Still Seek Jobs Instead of Building Enterprises

It began as a casual conversation between two members of the Banking On Africa’s Future (BOAF) network — a Zambian named Nsama Katema and myself, a Zimbabwean based in South Africa. What started as a simple introduction turned into a deeper reflection on a question that defines the African condition:

Why would anyone attain a degree in Business Studies from a UK university, only to search for employment opportunities in South Africa?

The Paradox of Business Education

Nsama proudly shared that he holds a degree in Business Studies from the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom. Yet, moments later, he mentioned he was looking for administrative work — a clerkship or supervisory role — in South Africa.

That prompted a question that lingers long after the chat ended:

“You studied business to look for employment?”

This is not a question meant to embarrass or belittle. It is a mirror held up to a broader truth about Africa’s educational and economic systems. Across the continent, countless young graduates, armed with degrees in business, commerce, or entrepreneurship, return home not to start companies but to join queues for jobs that no longer exist.

Educated to Seek, Not Create

The contradiction lies not in Nsama’s intentions but in the conditioning of our education systems. We have institutionalized a culture of dependency — training graduates to manage other people’s visions rather than to craft their own.

Even Business Studies programs, especially those modeled on Western systems, often teach management over ownership, theory over practice, and compliance over creativity.

As a result, Africa continues to produce:

“Business graduates without businesses, economists without economies, and managers without companies to manage.”

Education, once the ladder to self-determination, has too often become a conveyor belt to unemployment.

The Harsh Economic Reality

When asked why he was seeking work instead of expanding his business, Nsama replied candidly:

“I do business but it’s difficult to sustain with the current economy.”

He runs a fitment center in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province — repairing vehicles and selling spare parts. But the odds are stacked against him. He faces:

• Severe load-shedding that disrupts operations;
• Inflation and high import costs that shrink profit margins;
• A sluggish domestic market and limited access to financing.

These are not excuses — they are realities shared by many entrepreneurs across Africa. Yet, it also highlights another truth: our economies make survival easier for employees than for employers, even when jobs are scarce.

A Cross-Border Lens: Zambia and South Africa

Our chat turned to trade between the two nations.
Nsama noted that Zambia imports vehicles, furniture, and foodstuffs from South Africa, while exporting copper and other minerals in return.

It was at this point that a spark appeared — he suggested we “start getting goods from South Africa to Zambia.”

Here was the entrepreneurial instinct Africa needs — the realization that trade, not employment, is the foundation of prosperity.

The challenge, however, is that young Africans like Nsama are rarely equipped or supported to turn such ideas into scalable cross-border ventures. The infrastructure, policy environment, and financial systems are not yet aligned to nurture small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as engines of regional trade.

Rethinking the Role of the Graduate

When I asked, “Why not look for business opportunities rather than employment?”, I was really asking something deeper:
What is the purpose of education if it does not inspire creation?

Africa’s youth are not short of talent — they are short of context, capital, and community. They have learned the language of success, but not the rhythm of enterprise.

If business education does not translate into problem-solving, value creation, and job generation, then it merely recycles dependence.

The Need for a New Mindset

What Africa urgently needs is not more graduates, but more builders — individuals who see crises as catalysts and markets as communities to serve.

Networks like BOAF (Banking On Africa’s Future) exist precisely for this purpose: to connect, mentor, and mobilize young Africans toward economic self-reliance. The path forward lies in collaboration, trade, and innovation, not in job applications.

Each graduate should ask themselves:

• What problem can I solve that others ignore?
• How can I turn my education into enterprise?
• What resources or partnerships already exist within the region that I can leverage?

Conclusion: The True Degree

Nsama’s story is not unique — it is the story of a continent in transition, caught between the old promise of employment and the new necessity of entrepreneurship.

But if Africa is to rise, its people must begin to view business not as a subject, but as a survival skill — one that transforms degrees into deeds and education into enterprise.

In the end, the most valuable qualification will not be from the University of Greenwich, or any other, but from the University of Experience — where Africans learn to build, trade, and thrive on their own terms.

Africa’s true degree must be in enterprise — the courage to create where others seek to be employed.