Freedom Mukanga's entrepreneurial journey suggests entrepreneurs may be born, not made. His natural business instincts led him through internet cafés, mining ventures, and agricultural projects before establishing a specialized meteorological company, demonstrating how an innate entrepreneurial spirit combined with formal education creates lasting business success.
The age-old debate on whether entrepreneurs are born or made remains unresolved but Freedom Mukanga's story offers compelling evidence for the "born" argument. By his own account, entrepreneurship has always been a part of him, with his business instincts manifesting long before he encountered formal business education.
Early Ventures
In 2009, fresh from high school, Freedom began working as a relief teacher in rural Marondera. Rather than settling into the predictable rhythm of teaching, he quickly channeled his modest savings into an internet café venture with a friend. The business flourished until 2010 when mobile internet technology rendered the business model obsolete.
With limited prospects in Marondera, Freedom secured employment with the Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department (MSD) as a technician and moved to Harare. While building his conventional career, the entrepreneurial desire beckoned so he went on to invest in a student canteen at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. The venture ultimately collapsed due to partnership conflicts and inadequate oversight.
The Mining Chapter
2011 brought an unexpected opportunity when British investors seeking to enter Zimbabwe's gold mining sector approached Freedom. Serving as their ‘boots on the ground” across multiple sites between 2011 and 2013, he navigated the treacherous terrain of resource extraction.
"The experience was challenging," he recalled describing the rocky experience characterized by deceit, undue political interference and lost investments. These setbacks were his masterclasses in resilience and risk management that would prove invaluable in his future endeavors.
The Weather Instruments Opportunity
While still employed at the MSD, Freedom identified a significant market gap of specialized weather instruments. When the mining operations faltered in 2013, Freedom and two colleagues from his office launched a side business to fill this gap. Their business model required advance payment from clients to finance orders to minimize upfront capital requirements. "It was a matter of boldness, risk and faith as we were asking clients to pay upfront to a new company with no prior trade references," Freedom acknowledged. As the venture grew, so did tensions with his primary employer. Despite operating the side business legitimately, there were suspicions of conflict of interest and resource misappropriation which forced him and his team to suspend operations in 2017.
Agricultural Interlude and Strategic Focus
In 2019 Freedom married into a family with a structured business operation and this inspired him to focus on a single venture which he could scale. Together with his wife, they established a Sasso chicken farm on a peri-urban plot, creating not just a business but a community asset that provided training and employment opportunities. The community impact of this project set him up for selection into the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship at the University of Iowa's venture school.
"The fellowship favors applicants with demonstrated achievements and who have tried and tested ideas that have impact on their communities," Freedom explained. The program together with his further educational qualifications including an MBA, equipped him with sophisticated skills in business leadership, pitch development, and grant acquisition and this gave him the tenacity to leave conventional employment behind.
The Birth of FreedPer Scientific
The dormant meteorological instruments business was revived by a chance encounter with visitors who noticed some remaining inventory which had been packed away in their home. The visitors went on to connect Freedom with a school that was in need of a weather station leading to the re-establishment of the business, aptly named FreedPer Scientific in 2022.
Although the meteorological service and product industry is a small, specialized global niche, Freedom recognized its critical importance in an era of climate change and increasing natural disasters. The business operates on a low-volume, high-value model, where the high profit margins compensate for the long intervals between sales.
Navigating Zimbabwe's Dual Economy
Operating a formal business within Zimbabwe's dual economic landscape, where formal and informal sectors coexist has been a challenge for Freedom. "Our government offers little support or incentives to small formal businesses; the compliance related costs care burdensome to entrepreneurs. Our motivation to comply is that we work with institutional clients that require us to be formal to do business with us,” he pointed out.
Freedom described the entrepreneurial journey as a lonely road that demanded extraordinary sacrifices. He described the times he has had to push 16-hour work days to get the business running efficiently. To top that up he has had to overcome reputational damage and smear campaigns through meticulous documentation, robust warranties, and transparent client communication. "My years in formal employment gave me a foundation to handle business relations and to operate my business in a credible manner. I think this is what sets us apart from entrepreneurs who have never been in a formal establishment," he reflected.
We have moved beyond just selling products to providing training and connecting clients with valuable partnerships
Future Horizons
Looking ahead, Freedom's five-year vision for FreedPer Scientific is to impact 1.4 million people directly and indirectly through meteorological products and services. This strategy includes aggressive expansion into other African markets and innovative financing partnerships, exemplified by their recent collaboration with BancABC where they are providing accessible payment models to customers. The company has already begun exporting to neighboring countries which is a significant milestone in its growth trajectory. "We have moved beyond just selling products to providing training and connecting clients with valuable partnerships," Freedom noted.
The Entrepreneur Transformed
Just as Freedom has transformed his businesses, entrepreneurship has profoundly changed him. He now approaches interactions with strategic deliberation. "I now carefully evaluate if a networking opportunity will be beneficial to the business. I have become cautious on how I spend my time and it has cost me some friends in the process," he stated
For aspiring entrepreneurs, he recommends The Founders by Jimmy Soni as a critical read. The book gives insights on fundraising and bold self-promotion. It also chronicles the origins of PayPal's and some of the entrepreneurs who shaped Silicon Valley.
From relief teacher to founder of a specialized meteorological company, Freedom Mukanga's journey offers evidence that while entrepreneurial skills can be honed, the entrepreneurial spirit might indeed be innate.
