BTA Admin Tanzanian entrepreneur Diana Orembe is on track to push her company, NovFeed, past $1 million in revenue this year.
But her biggest insight isn’t about scaling production or raising capital.
It’s simpler—and more brutal:
“All businesses are hard. But selling is the hardest.”
Entrepreneurship Reality Check: There Is No Easy Business
Orembe’s journey challenges one of the biggest myths in entrepreneurship—that some industries are “easier” than others.
From market traders to CEOs, she argues the struggle is universal. The real shift for founders is not finding an easy business—but accepting difficulty as the baseline.
That mindset shaped how she built NovFeed.
Spotting Opportunity in a Local Problem
Growing up near Lake Victoria, Orembe saw firsthand how fish farmers struggled with expensive and scarce feed.
Instead of chasing trends, she built around a clear, local problem:
- Tanzania relied heavily on imported fish feed
- Prices were high
- Farmers were underserved
Her solution? Turn food waste into affordable fish feed and organic fertiliser—a model that combines cost efficiency with sustainability.
The Smartest Move: Sell Benefits, Not Technology
One of NovFeed’s biggest breakthroughs came from how it sold—not what it sold.
Early on, the team realised that explaining the science behind their product (“bacteria-based feed”) scared customers away.
So they simplified the message:
- Cheaper feed
- Better results
- Practical value
For small-scale farmers, clarity beats complexity every time.
Distribution Is Strategy, Not an Afterthought
Instead of relying on direct sales alone, NovFeed used a grassroots distribution model:
- Selling through agro-dealers
- Setting up demonstration farms
- Providing after-sales support
This helped overcome one of the biggest barriers in African markets: trust.
Because in reality, farmers don’t just buy products—they buy proof.
The Turning Point: Repeat Customers
Orembe didn’t consider NovFeed a “real business” until one key moment:
customers started coming back.
That’s when product-market fit became clear.
Retention—not hype—is the real validation of a startup.
Growth Brings a New Problem: Demand
After winning $300,000 in the Africa’s Business Heroes competition, NovFeed scaled production from 30 tonnes per month to over 20 tonnes per day.
Now, the challenge has flipped.
It’s no longer: Can we produce?
It’s: Can we sell everything we produce?
This is where many startups struggle—and fail.
The Core Lesson for Entrepreneurs
Orembe’s story reveals a hard truth most founders learn late:
- Production is exciting
- Funding is attractive
- Innovation is celebrated
But none of it matters if you cannot sell.
Bottom Line
NovFeed’s journey to $1M is not just a growth story.
It’s a reminder that in entrepreneurship:
“Your biggest risk is not building the product—it’s finding customers for it”.
