Background & Life Journey

Musiata Akafekwa was born in Zambia and spent his early years between Zambia and Botswana. Growing up in a middle-class family, he was constantly surrounded by books, magazines, and a stream of news from around the world—news about Apartheid South Africa, Vietnam, and Argentina—though these were just seeds planted in a young mind.

He attended Chengelo, a Christian boarding school nestled in Zambia’s Mkushi Valley. More than just academics, Musiata’s education there introduced him to nature, initiative, survival skills, and critical thinking—forming the basis of his global awareness and character. Later, he pursued higher education at St. Louis University, majoring in Philosophy and Political Science, initially with the intent of going into law.

Entrepreneurial Ventures and Early Insights

After high school, Musiata began his entrepreneurial journey in Zambia, though a tightening economy led him to the United Kingdom. There, he engaged in door-to-door sales before learning from mentors about venture capital, business angels, and start-up ecosystems.

While in the UK, Musiata was offered £250,000 to support an online venture importing flowers from Zambia and Ecuador to sell directly to consumers. However, after careful consideration, Musiata turned down the offer. He saw early on that the logistical infrastructure necessary to handle this growing demand in online retail was insufficient. As the dot-com boom grew, the challenges for fulfillment increased, eventually leading to the infamous dot-com bust—confirming Musiata’s foresight.

Musiata’s entrepreneurial foresight didn’t stop there. He later predicted that the future lay in data-driven marketing, launching a startup in Manchester aimed at using consumer data to influence purchasing behavior. “The more information you have about a consumer, the easier it is to give them what they want, even if they don’t need it,” he would say, foreshadowing today’s targeted marketing practices.

The American Chapter, Blue-Collar Experience, and the Dark Realities

A vacation to America took an unexpected turn when Musiata experienced an impacted tooth, followed by surgery, a haze of painkillers, and, unexpectedly, marriage. This drastic change in his life led him on a whirlwind journey through the United States, where he experienced firsthand the contrasts and contradictions of American life. He ventured into trucking and hoped to export tractors to Southern Africa, traveling through nearly every state in the country (except Hawaii and Alaska) as well as through Canada.

Musiata’s time on the road brought him face to face with blue-collar America—working alongside the very people who drive the nation forward. His allegiance to these hardworking individuals, who represent the backbone of the country, grew as he saw firsthand the struggles and resilience of those often overlooked in discussions of power and influence. This experience further solidified his understanding of the unspoken class divisions in the United States and the social fractures that often go unnoticed but fuel the nation’s underlying tensions.

However, as Musiata’s marriage began to crumble, so did some of his aspirations. This challenging period opened his eyes to the darker realities of America—class divisions, racial tensions, and an undercurrent of social unrest. Musiata used this time to pursue further education, driven by a desire to understand the socio-political mechanisms at play in both his personal and professional life. Through this experience, he gained a clearer understanding of psychological warfare, polarization, and how unseen forces tear families and nations apart from within.

His exposure to the diverse, often conflicting realities of American life has given him unparalleled insight into the societal divisions that exist beneath the surface, mirroring the invisible battles that are increasingly tearing apart the world on a global scale.