Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone :: ‘We sell bananas’: The journey so far: Christian Ngan, CEO, Madlyn Cazalis Group

[Bulls n Bears]

Christian Ngan is the founder and CEO of Madlyn Cazalis, a Cameroon-based
cosmetics company that manufactures natural lotions, oils, creams, scrubs,
masks and soaps made for African skin. The company has a footprint in more
than 50 chemist stores, beauty institutes and retail outlets in Central
Africa. It also distributes its own products.


 1. Tell us about one of the toughest situations you’ve found yourself in
as a business owner.


As entrepreneurs, we face a lot of challenging situations all the time. One
day, my lessor decided to bribe the administration to foreclose my company,
even though I had no debt and my company paid its rent. The official
motivation was “illegal activity”, but the real motivation was jealousy. We
were closed for a week, but I stayed calm, knowing this action was illegal.
After a week of discussion, the administration decided to unseal my office.
That’s one of the many stories I can share.


 2. Which business achievement are you most proud of?


It’s probably the new factory Madlyn Cazalis is building in the Yaoundé
suburb. After only six years in the business, I managed to invest more than
US$2m in a 2,000m² factory to enhance productivity and capacity for my
business. I did it in less than a year and in August 2018 the plant will be
fully operational.

It’s probably the biggest organic cosmetic factory in West Africa. The
company projects to produce more than three million products a year by 2021,
hire more than 100 people and export to more than 20 countries. That’s the
business achievement I’m most proud of.


 3. Describe your greatest weakness as an entrepreneur.


My greatest weakness was not having enough talent around me for a long
time. It was difficult to find the right people. Then I decided to train,
motivate and coach. Training is important in Africa because we often tend to
choose between honesty and competency. It was difficult to find honest,
skilled people. But, with time, I managed to empower my employees and they
are now good managers.


 4. Which popular entrepreneurial advice do you disagree with?


I don’t believe in luck, I believe in work. Some people say that you also
need luck to succeed, but I think that when you work, it’s for attracting
luck. If you are often lucky, for me, it means you are working toward your
success.


 5. Is there anything you wish you knew about entrepreneurship before you
got started?


I wish I knew more about the way business works in Africa, and especially
in Cameroon: how people act, how people behave and what’s important for
people when they do business. But I don’t regret it, it’s part of my
learning curve.—Howwemadeitinafrica 



Christian Ngan

 

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

Telephone:    <tel:%2B263%204%202927658> +263 4 2927658

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:    <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

Website:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AF
QjCNH8LYgdY55h-XKseuM8Kpr-JKdfhQ> www.bulls.co.zw 

Blog:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1
&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw> www.bulls.co.zw/blog

Twitter:                  @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:               Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimba
bwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA>
www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 217695 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20180801/fd258eb3/attachment-0001.bin>