Org Chart For My Zambia Gold Trading Business Idea
Me, C suite executives, and the support team ultimately work for and support the success of our Territory CEOs. They manage their business and generate sales for the company as a whole. You build country by country, region by region, until we have a strong network of business contacts, supply chains, and skilled personnel managing hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars a year in gold trades and potentially other mineral trades.
Territory CEO needs more security? Me, C suite execs, and support team will take care of it.
Territory CEO needs more help operationally? Me, C suite execs, and support team will take care of it.
Territory CEO needs help with compliance? Me, C suite execs, and support team will take care of it.
It is about empowering people.
The Idea
My idea is to make this gold trading business idea a legitimate fortune 500 like business. Above is an organization structure I imagined. Maybe one day we could sell the business for a nice multiple of our earnings. My plan would be to build the framework for the gold trading business using the capital and connections I develop in Africa and around the world. We could have a COO, CFO, CCO, CMO that I and the board (the investors) choose to hire. These positions would be responsible for making sure everything in the business flows smoothly. They would be responsible for the day to day business and I would be responsible for leading with the vision and taking the business for where I believe it can go.
Team Atmosphere
The team is what matters the most. Doing things in the best interest of the team and financial partners is what is important. My goal is to build something to where if I am not there the business can continue to function normally. I have reviewed many small businesses over the years and when you look at the org structure and how the business is set up the founder is often held captive by the business. If they are not there the business falls apart. That is not what I am trying to build here. From day one I am building the foundation that can give a new competent CEO the tools necessary to easily run the business.
One Valuable Thing I Learned From Working At Enterprise Rent A Car Out of College
The way Enterprise set up their org structure was that of what I would call “states”. It was more than just territories although ultimately that is what it really was. Take Tennessee for example, Tennessee was its own territory. It was ran by someone that had worked their way up the company and had an entrepreneurial mindset. The head person made a lot of money, he and the people below him were empowered to do better. They were not micromanaged. That is something we could incorporate here. How you might ask? We could breed a culture of entrepreneurism where we create what I call “Territory CEOs” that have autonomy over their country or region. Their paycheck is directly influenced by how well they manage the business they are given to manage. For example one territory CEO might manage Zambia, another might manage Mali, another might might manage Peru, and another might manage Brazil. Why do it this way? Partners from the beginning would not have to give up equity but more importantly this creates a culture that I think people could buy into. This way of business will generate higher sales and it will generate the territory CEOs or entrepreneurs a lot of money for their pockets. Turnover costs companies lots of money. Turnover is bad, I do not want it. Creating a culture that gives people real hope for a better life and real money in their pocket empowers them. One of my goals outside of management is to empower people and promote talent that shows merit.
Headquarters
My thought was we could put our HQ in Dubai but I am flexible on this. If the team or financial partner has a different suggestion I am all ears. When it came to the USA office presence I was thinking east coast for the USA office. Potential prospect cities: Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, or Boston. These cities provide the shortest distance to Africa, UAE, and South America. We could have a US office out west but the travel time would take longer. My idea once we hit scale would be to have satellite offices all over the world strategically located next to our gold sourcing locations.
Building A Fortune 500 Company And Culture
Companies I Respect
I am going to try to convey why I respect them in one word. These are values I wish to convey to the world through how the business is practiced.
JPMorgan Chase: Trust
Does our word mean anything?
McDonalds: Consistency
Can I rely on the organization to give me the same quality product every time?
Apple: Excellence
Do we export greatness into the world or a bunch of useless slop?
Berkshire Hathaway: Patient
Are we willing to take our time to make sure we get it right?
One Page Teaser + Pro Forma
Attached is a link to another blog post I made outlining the financial potential for our first location, Zambia. URL: https://www.belvedereinvestmentsco.com/blog/pro-forma-gold-opportunity-zambia-gt-export-to-dubai
This can be our ground zero. This can be where we build our gold trading empire to start off.
What other minerals could we expand into over time?
Maybe we expand into other minerals, maybe we don’t. Those are business decisions that would have to be decided on in the future.
Emeralds — Zambia's Kagem mine, world's top producer; rides directly on your existing sourcing relationships and DMCC's gemstone center
Copper — Zambia's core export, bulk-logistics model rather than artisanal sourcing
Cobalt — copper by-product, tied to EV battery demand and DRC supply chains
Lithium — Zambia has emerging hard-rock deposits (Southern Province's Choma Belt — Misika, Kandela, Tonga, Konayuma) still largely at exploration stage, not production. Regionally, Zimbabwe holds Africa's largest lithium reserves and just imposed an immediate ban on raw mineral and lithium concentrate exports in February 2026 — a reminder that lithium export policy across the region is unstable
Amethyst — smaller Zambian production, often bundled with emerald operations
Aquamarine — same, minor output alongside emeralds
Tourmaline — occurs in the same gem belts as emerald/amethyst in Zambia
Garnet — similar regional gemstone byproduct
Silver — trades through the same DMCC bullion infrastructure as gold; easiest metal to bolt onto your existing Dubai leg
Platinum group metals — DMCC-traded, but sourcing would mean South Africa/Zimbabwe, not Zambia
Nickel — smaller Zambian deposits (e.g., Munali); bulk commodity, different buyers than gold
Diamonds — Dubai has its own diamond exchange, but sourcing means extending into DRC/Angola/Botswana
Tanzanite — Tanzania's Merelani mines; extends your East African footprint beyond Zambia
Manganese — used in battery/steel supply chains, present in the broader Copperbelt region
Uranium — Zambia has deposits (Lumwana area); heavily regulated, distinct licensing regime from gold/gems
Coal — Zambia's Maamba Collieries; bulk energy commodity, unrelated buyer base
Iron ore — bulk commodity, would require entirely separate shipping/logistics infrastructure
Zinc/lead — occur together in Zambian polymetallic deposits (e.g., Kabwe), bulk-traded
Tin/tantalum — Maamba Collieries holds exploration licenses covering these alongside lithium and amethyst in Southern Province, so the same tenement could eventually yield multiple products
Graphite — battery-supply-chain mineral, present in parts of southern/east Africa, would be a new sourcing relationship
Are you investor that wants to learn more? Connect with me on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-allen-9b44a4361 or email me at jon@belvedereinvestmentsco.com or call me at 865-375-3027 on my business line. Phone calls only, no texts.
