Africa and the Scarcity Mentality

What is a Scarcity mentality? 
The scarcity mentality is the belief that if others have more you will have less. It is a belief about limitation.
Such a mindset is driven by fear and it demonstrates your lack of confidence and faith in God’s power to supply all your needs according to his purpose and abundance of resources.  And according to” Dorothy Smith, “It is based on the faulty assumption that if someone else has something, you can’t have it because there’s only one pie available and every slice that someone else gets, means less is available for you.
I personally believe it is Completely false!...
Why there’s a Scarcity Mentality in Africa. 
A scarcity mentality in some of our communities is rooted in the fact that  people are reluctant to share ideas because they are worried about their share of the pie being reduced, as though there wasn’t enough to go around. If someone stole your idea, at least they steal your brain. If you conceived one idea, you can conceive many more, one of which will that financial independence you are seeking...
Always fix your mind on the fact that there’s plenty to go around. 
Because by nourishing a scarcity mentality  your own financial independence is constrained by the fact that you refrain from trying something because you think there are too many people doing it already, even though the character or the idea of your project can well be completely different from that of the person next door.

The African scarcity mentality has a Nasty Side which is that;  

Some people in our communities would rather not promote each other for fear that one person is going to get all the business or money, or they’ll become too love, or they take all the communities’ loyalty and prominence.

So when I was in Douala, Cameroon I often bought fruits from an amazing lady at Rond Poulin  Makepe on my way home from work.  She was always so nice; I couldn’t bring myself to buy fruits from anyone else, though there were many others who sold the same fruits as her. I noticed cars would queue to buy from her, rather than buy from some of the others. One day a friend told me that she heard a rumour that the lady was using witchcraft to attract the clients to her so that she will have the entire pie.. ahahaha it just made me laugh!!!

First off, I didn’t think I was under a spell. I deliberately bought from this woman because she was very polite, sweet, kind, fast service and her kids were always there helping her after school, and above all she had fresh fruits at good prices... I don’t see what witchcraft has got to do with that. 

 If someone’s business is a success, some people are more inclined to sabotage it in the erroneous belief that they would get a bigger share of “the pie” as a consequence. 

Also, there’s a Common scenario of ignoring a friend’s request to like, share or promote their business on social media. And the only explanation I could come up with is that, people who do this have a scarcity mentality or are outright envious. If it does not cost you money to do it, why won’t you? 

If you seek financial independence, the first thing is to ensure that you are not a victim of the scarcity mentality. 
I’ll use two examples to validate the theory of abundance.. 
The first example is e is the music industry.  Think about how many songs are released yearly, yet you still have people dancing and listening to old songs and new songs alike. 
I remember when the famous Cameroonian song “koler la petite” was released. So many people embraced its beats and danced to it joyfully. Malox the artist would not have blessed his listeners with his art, if he allowed his inner critic or scarcity mentality to dominate his thoughts, we would never have had that song, and he sure would not have been the success that he is today. 

The second example is that of the Pop Star Roby Fenty, commonly known as Rihanna. 
Rihanna , launched her line of 40 different foundation shades in 2017, something which had never been done before.
 The aim of the line was to appeal to "every type of woman”. In just one year, the line had a total sale of over $550 million in annual revenue. 

Despite thousands of beauty and lingerie brands on the market, she simply identified her niche and decided to go all in.. She clearly didn’t go into that industry with a dearth mind or to play the fainthearted.
If Rihanna bought into that scarcity mentality story, she would never have become a billionaire or the second richest woman in the world. 
One key thing to mention about this story is that Rihanna had the vision but might not have had all the resources so she found someone to partner with.  Which underslines the importance of sharing ideas and forging partnerships. You can do the same.. Don’t be scared that your idea will be stolen… and if it ever was, don’t give up. Always remember, there’s plenty to go around.. 

Let me tell you four impacts of the Scarcity Mindset on your Success.
1.You remain stuck in your comfort zone for fear that striving for more might cost you the little you already have.

2. Your success level is capped by your belief. You can’t really take the risk to expand your business because you believe there aren’t enough customers to buy from your completion and you as well. 

3.Makes you a bad team player. You don’t want to share valid information or give your colleague that review that will get him a promotion because you believe you deserve it more and there won’t be enough promotions to go round. 

4.You focus on the insufficiency and miss out on the unlimited opportunities. 

Now that you know what it does to you, this is how you overcome 
1-Rebrand your self 
2-Stick to a niche
3-Focus on your talent and not your inner critic or external influences
4- Remind yourself of God’s promise in 2 Corinthians 9;8 “ And God if able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times ...YOUR MIND & IMAGINATION = ABUNDANCE OR LACK!.

To conclude;
If you are a victim of the scarcity mentality in your professional life, business, relationships or any other area, please consider the 3rd Law of motion(for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction). When you stand in the way of someone’s success, success cannot come to you.

Thank you all so much for listening.
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Africa and the Scarcity Mentality

Ms Brenda Nzanda was today's guest. She is the "CEO of Black Goddess Concept" a business she started with just 45000frs, less than $100 and has since gone to grow it. She is one of the most confident young black women I know and i was honored to have her on the show. 
Afrter her BSc she tried to find work in the corporate world and was unsuccessful in her pursuit. So Brenda decided to venture into entrepreneurship. Despite having a new born baby, she just did not let her circumstances take the better part of her. She started by buying and selling used clothes amongst her university peers. "Entrepreneuship is not easy, but we keep pushing". Right now the economic conditions of Cameroon have caused business to slow down, but Brenda keeps striving for the sky. 
Her business name was insoired by her one and only mentor "her mom". She says he mom has been her rock and the best thing that happened to her. She grew up watching her mom display self confidence and the love for her black Africa queen. 
Brenda thinks women are not holding each other's hand. She says more women should be supportive towrads each other and that women can achieve great things. Her advice to young women is to focus on their self development, to get on the internet and learn Forex and Crypto related ventured. She recommends for them to attend seminars , to build their self confidence, to find a mentor to hold on to for guidance, to start their own business no matter how small and to love themselves.

Entrepreneurship. Starting With What You Have.

Africans should get more Scholarships.
Todays’s topic is one that I am very passionate about because it falls in line with the vision and mission of the Young Black and Independent Project.
The only way we can be heard and seen, is if we improve our socio-economic conditions. 
Remember that when you have financial independence, you are able to go about your business without being a burden to anyone. 
This is the only way we can be seen and accepted by the global village. We have to understand this and wake up from our slumber. 
Most countries on the African continent are either poor or developing countries.
After my research, I feel so blessed and privileged to be counted amongst the educated women from the African continent with an MBA and Aspiring for a PhD.
I would like to mention Some disheartening facts about education in Africa
Did you know that; 
 
1.Africa has the highest rates of educational exclusion in the world. Over one-fifth of children between the ages of 6 and 11 and one-third between the ages of 12 and 14 are out of school

2.Almost 60% of children in sub-Saharan Africa between the ages of 15 and 17 are not in school.


3.Girls are much more likely to stay out of school than boys. Nine million girls between the ages of about 6 and 11 in Africa will never go to school at all, compared to six million boys.

4.A UNESCO study in 2012 showed that the number of primary-aged children not attending school in Africa accounted for more than half of the global total.


5.The rate of gross enrolment in tertiary education in sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest in the world, sitting at only eight percent as of 2014. This is far lower than the gross enrolment of the second-lowest country, Southern Asia, which is at 23%, where the global average is 34%.
6.If every girl in sub-Saharan Africa completed even just primary education, the maternal mortality rate would likely decrease by 70%.

The statistics mentioned above should be a powering force for those of us who have been priviledged to receive an education in Africa, all the way up to A levels, and Bachelors especially. 

All the young smart Africans who are currently going through secondary school should strive for excellence.  The governance may have let us down, but we can’t let ourselves down. 

You all have to strive towards academic excellence in order to comeback and support those who were not opportune like us. 

What are you doing to live a footprint on the planet? 

Why haven’t you done everything within your powers to be awarded any type of international scholarship? 

There are so many young brilliant Africans who are listening to me right now in Cameroon, in Chad, in Nigeria, in Uganda, in Burundi, in Kenya, in Guinea, in Congo, who simply have given up. 

It is understandable that we all grief about the governance in most of our countries, and there’s a way to go around it.
It will be very refreshing to see more young black Africans emerge into the global space as medical doctors, professors, engineers, scientist, project managers, financiers, agricultural specialists and much more. 
We are such a smart race and we definitely can do better. 


There are hundreds of scholarships and financial aid waiting for your application, what are you waiting for? 

Get up, cease the opportunity, get that scholarship and go abroad. Change your life and come back to your country and impact the lives of other young kids who are yet to be inspired.

There are so many scholarships out there, and you will be surprise how easy and straight forward the application process actually is. 

Read about it, prepare the needful and submit that application today. 

The most popular scholarship for Africans is the Chevening Scholarships are the UK government’s global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations. The programme offers awards to outstanding scholars with leadership potential from around the world to study for a master’s degree in any subject at any UK university. A Chevening Scholarship normally covers university tuition fees, a monthly living allowance, an economy class return airfare to the UK, and additional grants and allowances to cover essential expenditure.
Issued to Around 1,500 applicants globally 
As at today the date and time of this recording, the Deadline  to make the application for this scholarship is Nov 2021, two months from now. And the Course starts Sept/Oct 2022
Eligibility:
What are the eligibility criteria for a Chevening Scholarship?
• Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country or territory.
• Return to your country of citizenship for a minimum of two years after your scholarship has ended
• Have completed all components of an undergraduate degree that will enable you to gain entry onto a postgraduate programme at a UK university by the time you submit your application. This is typically equivalent to an upper second-class 2:1 honours degree in the UK but may be different depending on your course and university choice.
• Have at least two years (equivalent to 2,800 hours) of work experience.
• Apply to three different eligible UK university courses and have received an unconditional offer from one of these choices by 15 July 2022.
Applications for Chevening Awards can only be submitted using the Chevening online application system, available through the ‘apply’ button on your country’s page. The deadline for applications is 2 November 2021 at 12:00 GMT (midday).
It is important to visit your individual country page at the official website for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

For more scholarships in the UK, USA, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Netherlands and Switzerland, please visit www.youngandindependent.com

We have come to the end of today’s episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. 
It would be nice if you share this recording with everyone you know and ask them to share too. It may not be for you, but you never know whose life you just might change for the best. 

I really hope this goes viral. 

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Africans Sholuld Get More Scholarships

Today we shall be discussing  How to Apply for an Undergraduate Scholarship in the UK.


What is a Scholarship?
It is defined as “a grant or payment made to support a student's education, awarded on the basis of academic or other achievement” (Oxford Dictionary).

What does it mean to be an International Student?
An International students is anyone who leaves his or her home country and travel to another country under the status of a “non-immigrant" visitors to temporarily undertake studies in any field of their choice on campus or they could also do so virtually from any part of the world. 
There are four types of scholarships
1. University Specific scholarships
This is a common scholarship, mostly available only to the university you want to study at. These scholarships can be applied for after you have received an offer from that university.
If you have a good academic student, you are able to get to secure generous funding from top universities like;
King’s College London
Imperial College London
University College London (UCL)
University of Cambridge
University of Oxford
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

2. Course specific scholarships
This is another common scholarship, available only to applicants who want to study a particular course. For example, some of the best scholarships for women engineers are;
•The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) Scholarship

•The BHW Group’s annual Women in STEM Scholarship

•The Virtix IT STEM Studies scholarship

•Scholarships provided by The Society of Women Engineers
•
3. Country Specific Scholarships
These are scholarships available only to nationals of a specific country, and not tied down to any particular program, university or course. 
For example, Cameroon specific scholarships are 
•Cameroon Erasmus Mundus Scholarships
•Scholarships for Cameroon Muslims
•UNDP-TEF Youth Entrepreneurship Grants in Sahel Africa
4. Global Scholarships.
These are scholarships that are not tied to any country, university or course. They are available for applicants around the world, who are seeking financial support for their education abroad.
-The Chevening scholarship
-The Common wealth scholarship 


Studying the UK
 Many people aspire to study most famous UK Universities like Oxford and Cambridge, but have little or no financial capacity to do so. It is true that the UK provides some of the best higher education in the world; however it does not come cheap. Therefore, for students from low income back grounds, scholarships can be the best route to these excellent opportunities.
The United Kingdom government is known for its generous scholarships, bursaries and financial support to students from developing countries. To know if your country is a beneficiary to these scholarships, you should visit The UK’s council for development affairs …..
It is important to note that 90% of the programmes require English test score, particular for non English speaking countries. 

Anglophone Cameroonian and students from other angloxanson countries can get exoneration from proof of English proficiency if they have a good grade in Ordinary Levels GCE English Language. 

If you want to study and book for the IELTS test, you should check the British council website in your country. For Cameroonians it cost about XAF162000. 




Steps to apply for undergraduate scholarship; 
You must pass through the UCAs system to apply for undergraduate universities in the UK. 
What is the UCAS?
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is a UK-based organisation whose main role is to operate the application process for British universities. It operates as an independent charity, funded by fees charged to applicants and to universities, plus advertising income.
For upper sixth students who are yet to write their GCE exams, now is the best time to apply for your university choices via the UCAS system.
For those of you who have had your GCE, you can consider this year as a gap year, and make your applications via UCAS for the next academic year.

So let me tell you how it works;
1-Research the university you want to go to and check what their scholarships are 

2-You have to chose a maximum number of 5 universities 


3-After choosing your universities, you must pay a processing fee of £20 around XAF 15000 for Cameroonian students.

4-Once the payment is made, you will be given login details and you will have a UCAS account through which you can make your application and chose the universities you already researched on 


5-Once you submit the applications for all 5 universities, they will come back to you with an offer or a decline.

6-Once you received a response from all the universities, you have a limited amount of time to choose the 2 best from your list. And amongst the two, you will have to make one your firm choice and the other, your second choice.

Lastly 
7-Once that is done, if you meet the admission criteria from the firm choice, all the other choices are automatically cancelled and you now have to start travel procedures. This will be discussed in the next episode…
Final Thoughts
Despite the tight competition, the UK offers one of the best financial aids for needy students. However, it is important to perform an effective research on the funding options for your dream university, reach out to the local foreign embassies, large organisations and even the local government education bodies.
The UK will be a fantastic study destination for you.  
I haven’t done the research yet, but I shall find out if students on scholarship are able to apply for work for at least 2 years after their graduation.  Or if you are able to engage in 20 hours of part time work as a student.

I hope this information was useful. 
Please DO NOT keep it to yourself.
Some of you have information that can bless your friend or neighbour, but you never share. You are simply suffering from a scarcity mentality and we have an blog article that can heal you from that disease.. Check it out on our website. 

 I gave it to you for free and you should share with everyone you can and bless somebody too.

In our next episode, we shall discuss the steps of preparing for a UK visa Interview 

If you haven’t already, please follow us on all our social media platforms
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Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Get links to scholarships, job opportunities and much more on www.youngandindependent.com












2. Euraxess UK 
This is a scholarship managed by the British council to support both international researchers who want to move to the UK and national researchers who want to leave the UK and go abroad. This scholarship covers the Post graduate level, postdoctoral level and over 6 years post doctorate level.

How to Apply for the UK Undergraduate Scholarships.

Africa is not making progress because of the dishonesty from the people who run businesses . When there is no foreign direct investment, there is capital flight. 
when you steal from your employer, you are shooting yourself on the foot. When you take 5000 francs everyday from the business's coffers, a time will come when the business will have to short down, when that happens, not only have you become unemployed, you have also destroyed a business that would have hired other people, you have jeopardised your chances of a salary increase, growth or promotion.  You have destroyed the propects anyone else would hav ehad to earn a living from that business.

Dishonesty in Cameroon & Africa

Youngsters in Africa go to school and are taught how to read, write exams and pass, but not how to face the realities of life. Young people in Africa, and Cameroon  particularly have conveniently held very tight unto a long blame list which blinds them from their talents and full potential.  According to Caleb, kids j
Our Guest Caleb a maths teacher from the Horizon Complex, discusses the colonial aspects impeding the growth of Africa. He thinks kids should be inducted from the classroom on how to become outstanding members of the society.
However, Caleb thinks that young people in Africa must shift their mindset in order to  become independent.

Mama Africa. Changing Young Mindsets From Classrooms

Sorry about the poor sound quality!

Our Guest Kevin Parfait is a successful and seasoned entrepreneur . He advices all young people who are willing to venture into entreprenuership and who do not have start up capita to work on two things
1. To build trust with his immediate contacts in other to make them comfortable and confident enough to invest their money into his or her business.
2. Focus on finding suitable people to partner with. He recommends for people who have the talent and business idea to actively search for people who hav ethe cash and are willing to grow their money by investing into their business. 
He says entrepreneurship is not for the fainthearted or a quick money making scheme. He compared entrepreneurship to the chinese bamboo which takes 5 years of nurturing before a seed germinates , and in just 5 weeks, it grows upto 90ft tall. I find that fascinating. This is a perfect demonstration of what success is. You have to put in the work before you can harvest the fruits of your labour. 
Kevin suggested 4 best businesses to venture into with a capital of 100,000 CFA Francs.
1. Agriculture : His recommednation is to lease a piece of land from seasonal farmers, like cocoa farmers for just under 25,000frs, buy and plant seddlings like cucumber, pepper and tomato. 
2. Extraction of fruit juices .Buy rejected fruits from farmers and convert to fruit juices. All you need is a fruit processor to kick start. 
3. Buy and sell cotton underwear for men and women who work for adminstrative offices like CNPS , who may not have time to go the market and source them out.
5. Branding Tshirts and Polo shirts for sale. Looking for people who have occassions like birthdays, funerals, partiess etc who need branded shirts. 

Hope you enjoyed the episode.  
Please share on all your social media platforms and bless someone with this information


Young Black and Independent.

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Starting a Profitable Business with Little or no Capital.

Hey beautiful people, hope you all are doing very well today 

Welcome back to the Young Black and Independent Show, where we discuss a variety of topics to help young black folks live lives that spiritually fulfilled, lives that are value added, lives that are less materialistic and lives that are financially independent. 

Its your host Syl, and the topic of today's discussion is : Who are your Friends? 

Hmmm... Who are your friends?

You all know I am  obsessed with definitions, so let's dive into one. 

According to the Oxford dictionary, a friend is person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations. 

Hmmmm very interesting definition. 

You most probably have heard the saying, "show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are" 

On the back drop of the official definition, I decided to form an unorthodox definition of a friend which will be the back bone of today's content. 

I am of the opinion that a friend is anything or anyone who can impact your life in one way or the other. 
They often have the ability to influence  your 
-thoughts
-actions
-decisions 
And your life in a general sense. 

That's a friend. 

You have probably wondered why some people are so close to their pet animals, or extremely loyal to a radio station host, or a TV series etc... 

These are their friends.. They would put a hult to everything else to attend to these friends. 

Friends are not only physical human beings like Mary, Kuden, Tracy. 

Your friends are equally the books you read. 

Your friends are the podcasts you are subscribed to.
 
Your friends are the movies you watch. 

Your friends are the mentor you look up to.
 
Your friends are the Facebook, whatsapp or other groups you belong to. 

Your friends are the YouTube, tiktok or other videos you consume 

These unorthodox friends impact you life in ways that are beyond your imagination!

Having said that, does that make any sense to you?

A very  wise man once said ;

"Your friends determine your values, and your values will determine your decisions. Your decisions will most likely determine your actions and your actions will most likely be reflected on the results you get" .

It definitely gets more interesting if we turn it around. 

If your results are nothing to write home about, you should check your actions that led to the results you got. 
If your actions were not so good, you want to check the decisions you made. And if your decisions where not all that, you must check your values. And if you values were not good, please check your friends immediately. 

If you want to change your life today, all you need to do is change your friends. 

What you consume is a direct result of your friends (the environment you're in, the physical friends you hang out with, the books you read or don't read, the Netflix shows you binge watch the YouTube channel or podcast you are subscribed to or not subscribed to). 

These are the uncommon friends you must welcome with open arms today, in order to change your life for the best. 

Number 1: Books 
Books can be extremely resourceful for your independence. Warren buffet, the 6th richest man in the world recommends this and I quote " read 500 pages everyday. That's how knowledge works. It builds up like compound interest".
 
Books provide you with a compressed format of knowledge acquired by other people, decades of researched work and even solutions to problems that you face in different areas of your life and your business. If you live in a poor neighbourhood, or have not so good physical friends etc.. Immerse yourself in books and bask in that wealth of knowledge and wisdom that you wouldn't gain otherwise. 

Number 2 : online research. 
You probably have heard the saying " don't be Google frugal". 
You can find a wealth of free information on serch engines like Google, Baidu, bing and yahoo. 
Google however is the most popular amongst them, always ready to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

This particular friend can help you learn a actual information about your school work, your heath, your business, your relationship, your religion and much more to help you set the right priorities for your life. After all, even the bible warned us in Hosea 4:1 and I quotr" my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge "

Remember however, that not everything on the Internet is true. You must learn good research skills like, 

- double checking that some other sources are in agreement with what you already found. 

- verify the credibility if the information (academic or expertise) 

Number 3: Audio Recordings 

An example of a friend under this category is a good and solid podcast like the young, black and independent show. Instead of listening to gossips, focus on listening to value added programs that make you smarter, rather foolish. 
A study performed by the Cambridge University found that "sample groups of subjects regularly make thesame assumptions about people's personalities, values, social class and even their ethnicity, based on their musical preferences!. 
I found that mind blowing. 
The results of this research definitely remind me of the " show me your friends and I'll you who you are" quote.

You may not realise it immediately, but the information you listen to has a direct effect in your hormones. Listening to enjoyable music like the one I have on the background reduces levels of the hormone cortisol in your body, preventing the effects of chronic stress. Remember that 60% of all illnesses and deseases are caused by stress. Chose what you listen to meticulously and wisely . 

The last but not the least friends are videos. 
You can consume video information via TV programs, YouTube, teacherTube, tiktok and so on... 
According to a Elaine, a PhD holder in psychology, people who watch as little as 15 minutes of "negative TV news" have shown a rise in depressed moods, uneasiness, and a tendency to be more "catastrophic" about their personal worries. 

Which is why focusing on positive and less dramatic news, movies or videos in general increases your likelihood of experiencing an increased of the productive immuno - globin A( which is one of our first four lines of defense against attacking micro-organisms). 

So... I will end today's show by saying that instead of consuming music, videos, audios, and magazines that are a torture to your body and spirit, perhaps it's best to make it a habit of exclusively letting in only the type of content that impacts your life in all the good ways 

Thank you so much for listening. 
Please share this with all your contacts you watch all the negative news about covid 19, watch horror movies all day, watch despicable videos being circulated on social media and all the like.. 
You can follow us in twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and our website is www.youngandindependent.com for weekly job opportunities and much more.

Dishonesty in Cameroon & Africa

Young and Independent

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