ZAMBIA EXPLAINS
When the People You Trust Become the Biggest Risk to Your Business
Article by Rodgers Mangwela | KASONDE24
Imagine spending years saving money, sacrificing family comforts and working long hours to build a small business, only to discover that the very people entrusted with protecting your investment are quietly destroying it from within. Your customers are still coming, your shop is still open, and your employees are still reporting for work, but the money is disappearing. By the time you discover the truth, it may already be too late.
This is not merely a story about dishonesty in the workplace. It is a warning about how a lack of integrity can destroy livelihoods, eliminate jobs and weaken the economic foundations of communities.
A recent report by BBC News, published on 25 October 2026, titled 'I cannot teach you integrity': How employee theft is hurting small businesses in Africa, examines how employee theft has pushed entrepreneurs in Kenya and Ghana towards devastating financial losses and, in some cases, business closure. The experiences documented in the report offer important lessons for Zambia, where small businesses are essential to household incomes, employment and local economic activity.
For entrepreneurs in Kabwe, traders in Katondo and business owners across Zambia, the message is clear: building a successful business requires more than capital, customers and hard work. It requires integrity, accountability and systems that protect the investment.
The African Business Owner's Nightmare
One of the most striking cases in the BBC report concerns Kenyan entrepreneur and food creator That Girl Boina, who established Waxaholic Studio, a waxing and facial treatment business in Nairobi.
After hiring a receptionist and two specialists, Boina believed she had assembled a team capable of running the business while she attended to other responsibilities. However, while she was on holiday in Europe, a customer contacted her with a troubling message: staff had requested payment to a different telephone number from the one officially displayed at the studio.
The discovery prompted her to examine the business more closely. Revenue had been declining, and what initially appeared to be a seasonal slowdown had become a serious concern.
Boina eventually closed the business in October 2025. Despite the investment, the time she had dedicated to building the studio and the employment opportunities it provided, she could no longer justify keeping it open.
Her experience illustrates a painful reality for entrepreneurs: a business can appear healthy on the outside while financial losses accumulate behind the scenes.
The BBC also reported on Ghanaian journalist Muftawu Nabila, whose electronics shop nearly collapsed after an employee allegedly diverted part of the daily sales. He realised something was wrong when the money available could no longer adequately replenish his stock.
These experiences demonstrate how apparently small acts of dishonesty can accumulate into losses large enough to threaten an entire business.
What Does This Mean for Zambia?
In Zambia, small businesses are part of everyday life. From grocery shops and salons to electronics stores, restaurants, pharmacies, market stalls and small manufacturing enterprises, entrepreneurs invest their money hoping to build a better future.
In Kabwe, for example, businesses contribute to the livelihoods of families, create employment for young people and provide essential goods and services. Trading areas such as Katondo are part of the wider local economy in which trust between business owners, employees, suppliers and customers matters.
However, the lessons from the BBC report should not be interpreted as evidence that employee theft is widespread in Kabwe or Zambia. Rather, they highlight risks that any business can face when financial controls are weak and workplace integrity is taken for granted.
Consider a small shop owner who employs a cashier to receive payments, a storekeeper to manage stock and another worker to purchase supplies. If one person can collect money, change sales records and control stock without anyone checking the figures, the business becomes vulnerable.
The same danger arises when a salon employee directs customers to pay through a personal mobile money number or when a worker and supplier secretly agree to inflate the price of goods.
Such practices can undermine a business even when customers continue buying its products.
For Zambia, preventing these risks is not simply about catching dishonest workers. It is about building businesses that can survive, expand and employ more people.
Lesson One: Trust People, but Verify the Numbers
One of the most important lessons for entrepreneurs in Africa is that trust should never replace accountability.
A business owner may have known an employee for years, attended the same church with them or even considered them part of the family. Those relationships may be valuable, but financial responsibilities still require proper checks.
Business owners in Kabwe and Katondo should regularly compare daily sales with cash received, mobile money transactions and the stock remaining in their shops.
If a business records K2,000 in sales, for example, the owner should have a clear way of confirming how much money was received and whether the goods sold match the inventory records.
Regular checks are not necessarily an accusation against employees. They are a responsible way to protect the business and everyone whose livelihood depends on it.
A well-managed business does not rely entirely on the honesty of individuals; it creates a system in which honesty is expected and financial discrepancies can be detected early.
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Lesson Two: Separate Business Money From Personal Money
The BBC report describes how Kenyan clothing entrepreneur Cris Njoki discovered that an employee was allegedly colluding with a supplier to inflate the prices of raw materials.
Following the incident, her business tightened its procurement procedures, centralising purchasing and ensuring that financial transactions left a clear record.
Zambian entrepreneurs can learn from this approach.
Where possible, the person ordering goods should not have unrestricted control over approving the supplier's invoice and making the final payment. Business owners should request receipts, compare prices and verify deliveries before settling invoices.
For smaller enterprises that cannot afford separate departments, simple measures can make a difference. An owner can approve significant purchases personally, confirm orders directly with suppliers and keep copies of receipts in a notebook or digital record.
Mobile money payments should also be made through clearly designated business numbers rather than unofficial personal accounts.
These precautions can reduce opportunities for theft, misunderstandings and financial disputes.
Lesson Three: Integrity Is More Valuable Than Qualifications
Education, professional experience and technical skills can help someone perform a job, but they cannot automatically guarantee honesty.
An employee may have excellent qualifications and impressive communication skills yet still make decisions that damage the organisation. Conversely, someone with limited formal education may demonstrate exceptional honesty, responsibility and commitment.
For employers, this means recruitment should involve more than checking certificates and conducting interviews. Reference checks, clearly defined responsibilities, transparent employment agreements and fair performance assessments can help businesses make better decisions.
For employees, the lesson is equally important.
A salary is payment for work performed, not permission to take what belongs to the employer. An employee who diverts customer payments, steals merchandise or manipulates financial records risks damaging not only the business but also their own reputation and future employment opportunities.
In a competitive economy, integrity is an asset. Once trust is lost, rebuilding it can be difficult.
Lesson Four: Small Businesses Cannot Afford to Ignore Small Losses
Some entrepreneurs may dismiss missing money or stock as insignificant, particularly when the business is still making sales.
However, repeated losses can gradually consume the profit needed to pay rent, electricity bills, wages, transport costs and suppliers.
Imagine a shop losing K50 every working day. Over 26 working days, that amounts to K1,300. Over 12 months, the total would reach K15,600 if the losses continued at that rate.
For a small business operating on narrow profit margins, that money could have helped purchase additional stock, repair equipment or support expansion.
The figures are illustrative, but the principle is real: small, repeated losses can become a major financial problem when they go undetected.
Business owners should therefore investigate unexplained discrepancies early rather than waiting until they can no longer restock their shelves.
Lesson Five: Protect Employees Without Abandoning Accountability
Preventing employee theft does not mean treating every worker as a suspect.
Most workplaces depend on cooperation, mutual respect and employees who take pride in their responsibilities. Excessive suspicion can damage morale, undermine productivity and create unnecessary conflict.
The challenge is to establish fair procedures that protect both the employer and the employee.
Employers should explain workplace rules, document financial responsibilities and investigate suspected wrongdoing before making accusations. Employees should be given an appropriate opportunity to respond to allegations, and disciplinary decisions should follow applicable Zambian labour laws and fair procedures.
Where there is credible evidence of criminal conduct, business owners should consider seeking appropriate legal advice and reporting the matter to the relevant authorities.
Suspicion alone is not proof of guilt, and dismissing someone without following the law can expose a business to further problems.
Accountability works best when it is supported by evidence, consistency and fairness.
Lesson Six: Business Integrity Begins With Leadership
Business owners cannot demand accountability from employees while refusing to practise it themselves.
An employer who misuses company money, deceives customers, avoids legitimate obligations or treats workers unfairly undermines the very values expected of the workforce.
In Katondo and across Zambia, entrepreneurs can strengthen their businesses by paying employees as agreed, treating customers honestly, keeping accurate records and honouring commitments to suppliers.
Leaders set the tone for the workplace. When honesty is practised consistently, it becomes easier to establish clear expectations for everyone.
A business culture built on integrity also strengthens customer confidence. People are more likely to return to businesses where prices are transparent, payments are properly handled and complaints are taken seriously.
Lesson Seven: Protecting Businesses Means Protecting Jobs
Behind every small business is a human story.
An entrepreneur may be using the proceeds to pay school fees, support elderly parents, feed children or save enough money to open another branch. Employees, meanwhile, may depend on their wages to support entire households.
When a business collapses, the consequences can extend far beyond the owner.
Workers lose their jobs, suppliers lose customers, families lose income and communities lose access to goods and services. Young people who might have found employment may be forced to look elsewhere for opportunities.
This is why business integrity should be understood as an economic issue, not merely a personal moral choice.
For Zambia, supporting sustainable entrepreneurship means encouraging responsible business practices, financial literacy and workplace accountability. It also means helping small businesses understand that basic financial controls are not luxuries reserved for large corporations.
They are essential tools for survival.
The Final Word: Zambia Must Build a Culture of Integrity
The BBC's report offers a sobering reminder that a business can be destroyed not only by economic hardship, competition or a shortage of customers, but also by dishonesty within its own walls.
For business owners in Kabwe, traders in Katondo and entrepreneurs across Zambia, the lesson is to combine trust with verification, opportunity with accountability, and ambition with ethical leadership.
Employees, too, must understand that protecting an employer's business is not simply a favour to the person who pays their salary. It helps protect jobs, sustain families and preserve opportunities for future workers.
At the same time, employers must remember that strong systems should complement trust, not eliminate it. Honest workers deserve respect, fair treatment and opportunities to grow.
Africa needs entrepreneurs who create jobs and employees who help businesses thrive. Neither can achieve lasting success where dishonesty becomes normalised.
Ultimately, integrity cannot be forced into someone's character through workplace rules alone. But organisations can create environments in which honesty is valued, financial misconduct is harder to conceal and wrongdoing is addressed fairly.
For Zambia's small-business community, that may be one of the most important lessons to take from this BBC World News report: a business is built with money and hard work, but it survives through trust, discipline and integrity.
Article by Rodgers Mangwela | KASONDE24
published by KASONDE24
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