‘Back when I was a teaching assistant, I saw a television piece done by the BBC and thought, hey, I can do better’ says Patrick Quarcoo, Founder and Group CEO at Radio Africa Group. He proactively went on to shoot three pieces for the BBC, submitted them, and to his utter surprise, and they were all broadcasted. BBC paid him more in one week for the pieces than what the average lecturer earned for a whole month.

Mr Quarcoo says when he later decided to go into Radio, he applied for a license for a radio station. The man in charge laughed at him. It was unheard of at that time in Uganda to be looking for a license for private Radio stations as all the stations were Government owned, but he persisted. At the time, the government was not very friendly to people wanting to start media companies. He finally got one after he found out that there was no law against having a license.

‘Always ask for the thing that you fear most’ says Patrick.

When he later came to Kenya, he was also told that there is no space for more radio stations. Only one person actually believed in him and said maybe. He later went out to open the thirteenth radio station in the country. ‘We have built a fairly big business.’ says Patrick. Today about 13 million Kenyans consume products from Radio Africa Group, be it radio stations such as Kiss 100 and Classic fm, newspapers like the star magazine or or websites like the Mpasho website.

Learn to push for what you want. Sometimes people might think that you are mad but great things come from that. Go to that office, ask for what you want. Look for those partnerships. As long as it is not against the law, do not fear going for what you want.

Patrick Quarcoo was a guest at Un.thinkable roast (our monthly 10X Growth Challenges Leaders meet-up) in February 2020. Click here to apply for membership in Un.thinkable.