By Marc Reflects In brief • Three of us started EBM Farm, a pig farm, in June 2022 and closed it in January 2024. • The herd grew from 2 pigs to 63 at its peak, and we spent about RWF 11 million in total, but the farm never covered its own running costs. • The six lessons below cover feasibility, cash flow, partners, supervision, location, and facing problems early. • These are lessons from one experience, not universal rules In January 2024, we closed EBM Farm, our pig farm. Nineteen months earlier, in June 2022, three of us had started it with two adult female pigs, one Duroc and one Pietrain, a bank loan, and an idea we had carried since our university days in 2007. On paper, it made sense. We believed there was demand for pork in Rwanda and neighboring countries, an...
How to identify real opportunities, develop valuable skills, and use artificial intelligence without falling for unrealistic promises. By Marc Reflects Key Takeaways AI is more likely to transform tasks within many jobs than to eliminate entire occupations. A tool is not a business. Income comes from solving problems that people are willing to pay to have solved. AI can assist with your work, but you must verify its output. It can misunderstand context, make language errors, and provide inaccurate or unverifiable sources. Test an idea on a small scale before investing significant money or giving up a steady source of income. AI is not a guaranteed source of income. Success depends on your skills, the value you deliver, customer demand, and your ability to reach paying customers. Introduction: Beyond the Promises of Easy Money If you spend time on YouTube or TikTok, you have probably seen the message: AI...