My first trip to Africa was in 2013. I was 41 years old. I had just sold my business in the US and was preparing for a more relaxed lifestyle involving family time, financially supporting global missions, doing business-advisory work, and working some golf into my schedule. I’d worked hard for the last few years to successfully complete the earnout portion of the sale of my company, so I was ready for a new chapter. I had no idea that God had a very different plan in store for me.

In January of that year, I took a trip to Ethiopia. Our family had been supporting an orphan rescue ministry in the capital city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I expected to be sobered by their difficult circumstances and encouraged to give more money toward the ministry. The result was quite different than expected.

What I discovered was that some of the children in the orphanage had two living parents as well as living siblings. This was quite different from my experience of the orphan and adoption system in the US, which is largely populated by unwanted pregnancies and severely broken families. The reality in Ethiopia was that these children were given up to the government orphanage because their parents felt so burdened by their own joblessness and bleak hope for employment that they gave their kids up for the government to take care of them.

It was this experience, my own entrepreneurial background, and the growing business opportunities in Ethiopia that precipitated my decision to launch Verdant Frontiers. Our mission as stated today is to “build large-scale businesses to create compelling investor returns and life-changing jobs in Africa.”

Since 2013, we have started nine businesses which now have a combined market value of $200M with an (unrealized) IRR of 16%, and we have created 2,596 jobs. Initiating and advancing economic development in areas that need it desperately is where this problem can be solved, and this solution to poverty at scale is best provided by thriving businesses with a servant leadership mission at their core.

For the majority of the workers on our farms in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Zambia, their job with Verdant is the first job they or any of their ancestors have ever had. The difference for these families who previously lived in extreme poverty is dramatic…especially for the children. In most rural African communities where our businesses are located, children will drop out of school once they are able to generate an income for their families, which typically is around the ages of 10–13. They do this to provide immediate support and relief for their families, but this leaves them without the education to escape the same cycle of poverty that has gripped their family for generations.

The workers on our farms are experiencing the ability to sustain their families, allowing their children to complete their schooling and develop skills necessary to become successful themselves and for future generations.

Breaking Generational Cycles of Poverty

We’ve seen the breaking of this cycle of poverty firsthand with our employees, and history has shown this same pattern at work globally. In 1790, 95% of the world lived in extreme poverty. In 1950, 50% of the world was impoverished, and now today, approximately 10% of the world still lives in extreme poverty. This has been brought about by the massive economic growth which has occurred through the agricultural, industrial, and technological revolutions, furthered by economic globalization. The challenge which remains today is to extend these economic advances into the farthest reaches of Africa.

A worker we met in Zambia has experienced this process firsthand. One of the two senior supervisors on our farm there, Pathias, came from a very remote area of Macha. Desperate for work and having no real income for a few years, he applied for a position at the farm. He has worked so diligently over the years that he has been promoted multiple times and has managed to not only purchase a piece of land and build a home for his family but also to pay for all his children’s schooling and further education.

His two oldest daughters have both been trained as teachers and are now qualified. His eldest son joined him in working on the farm for a year and a half and is now studying at the University of Zambia to become a midwife. His second oldest son is currently employed on the farm and awaiting his acceptance into the University to start in September. In one generation, because of the presence of a new business in their community, Pathias has broken the cycle of poverty.

A husband and wife, Ivy and Sepiso, became employed on the farm, escaping extreme poverty and now have their own home on the farm and have also built two additional rental homes to make more income. Ivy and Sepiso’s two children are also still in school. A beautiful cultural aspect in many regions where we operate businesses is that people see the wellbeing of the broader community as part of their responsibility, so they tend to be very willing to help others who are in need, furthering the blessing of their economic advancement.

Creating Jobs that Provide for Needs

Having the privilege of getting to meet some of these people whose lives have been changed for the better and who can now see hope for generations ahead reinforces my goal to allow God to work through me in facilitating this in the livelihoods of others through Ephesians 4:28: “...rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Every job created in a place where very few exist represents the potential for a life to change. Opportunities for employment and a stable income impact not just the worker but also the family.

I’m doing my part in the work to which God has called me: starting Verdant Frontiers, building and growing companies, recruiting management teams, raising capital, and solving problems. As a result of this calling, together we’ve created thousands of jobs which are opportunities for others to do honest work with their hands to provide for the needs of others. We won’t end this kind of poverty in my lifetime, but with continued work and by God’s grace, we can see thousands freed from the crushing blow of poverty.

This is not the life I thought I’d lead after selling my business ten years ago, but I’m thankful for God’s mercy in calling me down a different path so that others could be freed from poverty. I now can’t imagine living any other way.

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s 2019 Global Event.