OUR CORE BUSINESS
Africa is a vibrant continent full of life, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Unfortunately, most of this economic activity takes place in the informal economy, which limits the ability of people to build wealth based on their current resources and assets.
An understanding of this fundamental problem requires one to see the unseen. When people talk about the economy of Africa and countries in Africa, they refer to statistics based on information about the formal economy. However, what people do not see is the vibrant economic activities of the majority of people who operate in the informal economy. It is estimated by economists such as Hernando De Soto, that the informal economy can be twice the size of the formal economy in some countries. This informal economic activity is largely untapped and underutilized despite the activities being as impactful to people's lives as those operating in the formal economy.
Inspiring people through innovative solutions to help them overcome the challenges of operating in the informal economy is at the core of our business. We believe that helping people achieve their potential by creating value from their informal assets, will enable them to transition to the formal economy. This transition to the formal economy creates a whole new world of opportunity to build a prosperous life for people's families, communities and ultimately transform Africa into the gold continent.
OUR CORE VALUES
Our company prides itself on how we do business. We are led by our Six Core Values which we believe are essential to building a culture that enables us to fulfill our purpose.
Value Creation: Apply entrepreneurial judgement, responsibility, initiative, economic and critical thinking skills, and sense of urgency necessary to generate the greatest value, consistent with our purpose.
Collaboration: Discover, collaborate, and partner with those who can most effectively advance our purpose. Teamwork is the foundation of success.
Knowledge: Seek and use the best knowledge and research to innovate and validate the products and services we offer.
Change: The African economy is a continually changing landscape, both business wise and politically. Envision what could be, challenge the status quo, and drive creativity through experimental discovery.
Integrity and Compliance: Conduct all affairs with integrity. Strive for 10,000% compliance with all laws and regulations, which requires 100% of employees fully complying 100% of the time.
Fulfilment: Find fulfilment and meaning in your work by fully developing your capabilities to produce results that create the greatest value for our customers, organization and society. There is everything right in helping people become more prosperous.
OUR FOUNDERS
The Gold Continent Inc. was founded in 2020 by two Zambian diaspora living in Canada. They believe Africa has the ability to transform itself into a prosperous community where everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential. Our founders' purpose is to inspire Africa's transformation.
Dil Vashi, Co-Founder and CEO
Dil's leadership is based on understanding the importance of defining and practising our core values and business principles. These values ensure our company operates with integrity and a passion for creating maximum value for all stakeholders.
With over 10 years experience commercializing innovative technologies globally, Dil's management expertise enables our company to collaborate with people across the value chain in order to fulfill our purpose. Having been born and raised in Zambia before emigrating to Canada, Dil's passion for helping people in Africa realize their goals and dreams is what drives his ambition for The Gold Continent.
Musaba Chailunga, Co-Founder and CTO
Musaba is a highly experienced data technology professional with over 20 years developing platforms including a decade as Senior Programmer at Telus Health Solutions, one of Canada's largest e-health providers.
Having been born and raised in Zambia before emigrating to the United States and then Canada, Musaba has studied the economic differences between countries in Africa and those in the industrialized world. His ideas and solutions for economic problems faced in Africa have been published in his book, "Object Oriented Development in Africa". These lessons are at the heart of our company's technology development strategy, beginning with the need to create records of people's informal assets which we enable through the Gold Data Platform.
OUR BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
Doing business in Africa requires an understanding of the needs of the people and how they do business. In order to build a successful business, we have committed to the principles of doing business in the developing world based on the book "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" by C.K. Prahalad:
Awareness, Access, Affordability and Availability: Our company is committed to bringing awareness to problems, access to solutions at an affordable price and available to everyone.
Build an Ecosystem: Our company is committed to building an ecosystem that promotes our core values for people throughout the value chain.
Co-Create Solutions: Our company is committed to creating solutions to problems with all stakeholders by listening, learning and collaborating.
New Concept of Scale: Our company looks at every opportunity with the concept of scale in mind. Our goal is help as many people as possible transform their lives.
Use Technology: As with our flagship Gold Data Platform, our company is committed to using the best in class technologies from around the world to deliver world class products and services to our customers.
Sustainability: Our company is committed to sustainable solutions not just in terms of the environment but also in terms of sustainable economic growth.
Market Development: Our company is committed to developing the market by investing in the education of people to understand the full value our products and services provide.
Rapid Evolution: We understand that the market is constantly evolving and changing. Our company is committed to leading the evolution by being a driver of change for the better.