Episode
Episode 181 - Farayi Ziswa On Selling To Africa’s Informal Markets, Route-To-Market Strategy & The Future Of African Retail
- Published
- Jun 29, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4169
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Summary
In this episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I had an in-depth conversation with Farayi Ziswa, Founder & Executive Director of BTL Consulting Ltd, Co-Founder of Mapepa Karatasi, Founder & Executive Coach at Inheritege Coaches, and author of Selling to Informal Markets. This is a deep and practical conversation about how African commerce actually works on the ground. Farayi shares his journey from growing up around a family farm in Zimbabwe, studying business and finance at the University of Hull, joining Unilever’s UK International Management Trainee programme, and becoming National Sales Manager for Unilever South-East Africa, to later working across African Sun Hotels, SPAR Zimbabwe, SIT Distribution in Dubai and the GCC, BTL Consulting, Copia Global, Farm Shop, Mapepa Karatasi, and Inheritege Coaches. The conversation explores why Africa’s informal markets are so often misunderstood, why sales and route-to-market execution deserve more respect, and how mobile technology, field intelligence, data, and modern sales systems can help corporates, entrepreneurs, and distributors serve informal retail markets more effectively. Farayi also discusses his book, Selling to Informal Markets, which provides a practical blueprint for corporates, entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and training institutions looking to successfully sell to Africa’s informal retailers. In This Episode, We Discuss: Farayi’s early life in Zimbabwe and his exposure to commerce through the family farm Studying business accounting and financial management at the University of Hull Lessons from Unilever’s UK International Management Trainee programme Why sales is one of the most strategic disciplines in business What corporates misunderstand about Africa’s informal markets How BTL Consulti…