From 1 million yen to a 30 billion yen business in 4 years. A young Japanese who made it big in Africa.

Putaro, 30 Billion Yen in Africa!

https://amzn.asia/d/gqfaogz

I quoted this for study.

http://www.dreamgate.gr.jp/news/184

Author: Eimiko Suzuki

Update: October 25, 2011

Group annual sales of 30 billion yen in 4 years of start-up!　Doing business in 6 African countries.

Businesses being developed and features

Mr. Takuma Kinjo started his business in 2007 by selling used cars to Africa. He now operates real estate, cab, bottling, gold trading, machinery manufacturing plant, and various wholesale businesses in six African countries: Tanzania, Madagascar, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Niger. The company is currently operating in six African countries. It is a major venture company with annual sales of 30 billion yen for the entire group.

The Japanese corporation is called Shinryo Boeki Co. We interviewed Mr. Kaneshiro, the president of Shinryo Boeki, about how and why he started his current business, and the secret of his success.

He started his business through a business he learned about from a poor foreign friend.

How he came up with the business idea

When Mr. Kaneshiro was a student, he wanted to become a civil servant. He wanted to go to a university where he could study to become a civil servant, but university tuition was too expensive for his family of four siblings. So he turned his attention to universities abroad. He then entered a university in South Korea.

During his time at the Korean university, the house he rented became a hangout for foreign students who could not eat Korean food. One day, five of his good friends were having a meal together, and one of his poor Georgian friends, who always lacked even money for food, said, "I'll buy you a meal today.

When I asked him about it, he said, "My relatives asked me to send some Korean tea and a used car to Georgia, so I got some money from them. This story rang a bell, and Mr. Kaneshiro then heard from his Angolan friend who was there that used cars could be sold in Africa as well. He and four others, including his friend, invested a total of 1 million yen to purchase six used Korean cars and export them to Angola.

This original 1 million yen was then returned three months later as 3.5 million yen. This was Mr. Kaneshiro's first business venture into the African market.

Tasteful of this small success, Mr. Kaneshiro chose Tanzania because "people want right-hand-drive cars just like in Japan," and he returned to Japan and began exporting Japanese cars. And soon after, he flew to Tanzania with a friend. Like the first time, it was supposed to be an easy sell and profitable. However, our expectations were far off, and as the days went by without a single used car sale, the cost of our stay gradually began to dry up. When he was ready to have his car deported, a helper came to his rescue.

Different countries have different business practices.

He happened to have an opportunity to talk with a local insurance agent, whom he had taken out a policy with the hope that he would be able to sell the policy to someone in need. The next day, through the introduction of this insurer, one of the cars was sold immediately. Introductions followed introductions, and in the blink of an eye, all the Japanese cars he purchased were sold out. From there, Mr. Kaneshiro's meteoric rise began.

What he learned at that time was that in Tanzania, the selling price of a car is indicated as "the price of the car itself only. It is hard to imagine in Japan, but when one buys a used car in Africa, it is common to find the audio system and clock removed, the interior in shambles, and the car full of holes and holes ....... Unaware of this, Mr. Kaneshiro sold clean Japanese cars, and his reputation as a vendor of good used cars at low prices quickly spread.

However, he could no longer do business only in Tanzania. Africa is full of countries with internal conflicts and dictatorships, and business is not stable. Therefore, as a risk hedge, he diversified his business to other countries such as Madagascar and Benin.

However, different countries have different business practices. Some countries have a weekly settlement of accounts, some like to discount, and some don't. They speak different languages, and they don't like to buy what they want. Different countries speak different languages and want different things. This is why major Japanese companies that try to do business in the Japanese style fail because of the differences in business customs.

The key to success in doing business overseas is to understand that business practices differ from country to country and to respect those practices," says President Kaneshiro.

But even so, the market is Africa. When he was not familiar with the market, he was once detained in a detention center for being falsely accused of a crime, and once had a gun held to his forehead after being kidnapped by a gang.

However, he respected the business customs of each country and continued to do business. He also made efforts to convey Japanese business practices to his customers. He believes that "when the other party makes a concession, that's when they really accept us.

His goal is to survive.

Prospects for the Future

When we asked Mr. Kaneshiro about the future prospects for his current business, he reminded us of the difficulty of doing business in Africa. He replied, "You never know when you will go under, so the first thing I always keep in mind is to survive.

Africa's population is expected to double from the current level by 2040, but the market fluctuates wildly and people move around a lot. And the climate is harsh. Civil strife and dictatorships abound, and difficulties arise that we cannot anticipate.

That is why Mr. Kaneshiro has diversified his business bases and industries in order to survive. It is precisely because Mr. Kaneshiro respects the lifestyles and business customs of the local people that he has been able to take a small business he started and turn it into a big business.

Mr. Kaneshiro is actually a young businessman of just under 30 years of age. He has a soft and gentle demeanor, which is hard to imagine from the scale and content of his business. He is an entrepreneur who makes us excited to see what kind of business he will develop and how far he will grow in the future.

Shinryo Trading Co.

Representative: Takuma Kinjo Established: 2007

Sales: Approx. 30 billion yen for the entire group (as of 2011) URL: http://ameblo.jp/africabusiness

Africa Economy Study Session - To develop and succeed in business in Africa