Starting a business? Do not copy others

For a long time, economists have opined that small businesses are the lifeline of the economy. Players in the financial sector have been pushed by the government to offer them financial inclusion so that they can grow and buttress the economy in a stronger way. Yet this has not become a reality. The “Hustlers”, informal traders, have remained far outside the financial realm, many with few options on how the can grow. After overseeing Equity bank’s growth, with a large customer base of small businesses, CEO James Mwangi (pictured)  today speaks on what the mama mboga, or the Gikomba trader can do to attract capital and generally grow his or her business.

If you were to give advice to small traders today, what would you tell them to do to grow their business?