What It Takes To Successfully Do Business In Africa
September 22, 2022 - As more CEOs, C-Suites and Corporate Directors are looking for sustainable opportunities for business growth, Africa is not only desirable but essential to companies looking for growth opportunities.
Many of the long held beliefs about Africa being rather backward and not very economically vibrant are simply wrong. There are genuine and manifold opportunities across the continent.
A lot of people today, especially leaders, remember Africa from the 1980s and 1990s when we were all singing along with We Are The World and Do They Know It's Christmas? And unfortunately, for many, their ideas of Africa haven't changed since those days. I enjoy asking people to think of their high school yearbook picture. Would they prefer that everyone remember that rather than what they look like today? Most laugh and say “absolutely, not!!”
Africa is no different. Just like, thankfully, we've all changed from our high school yearbook pictures. Africa also has moved in a positive way from the 80s and 90s.
However to know that, you have to get on the ground. And by that, I mean, seeing more than just the road from the airport to the hotel to your meetings. For example, if you're selling anything like consumer goods or in retail, you need to go to the shopping malls but also the open air markets and the corner kiosks where things are being sold. If you're building a road or a power plant in a rural area, you need to go out there and see it with your own eyes.
“There's really no better witnesses than your own eyes.”
Amharic proverb from Ethiopia
Yes, you can definitely read things on the internet, but it's no different than you'll be sitting, talking with somebody in Africa, and they'll be like, "Why don't you look like George Clooney or Angelina Jolie?" Because their picture of America is often what they see in Hollywood movies. And so, just like their misconceptions about us can be incorrect, our ideas that we gather from the internet or things that we read might not be 100% correct either.
During my 30 years working and living across Africa, I found that too many business people thought that all they needed was a product or service and some money to get their business off the ground. Most of their ideas rarely left their briefcase as they
I wrote Africa: Open for Business to highlight the missing pieces to starting and growing a successful business in Africa. It is a call to go beyond the imagery of the past and to explore, embrace and invest in a twenty-first century continent.
It’s as simple as ABC: Appetite, Bandwidth, Capital. How big is your Appetite to get on the ground and learn first-hand about the countries, cultures, risks, business environment and customers? Once you are hungry, you need Bandwidth to build relationships, find local leaders and understand the best market entry strategy and location. Only once you have the Appetite and Bandwidth will you know how to correctly invest your Capital as it is so much more than just your business. You’ll need to invest n social, cultural and economic capital as well.
Get your copy of Africa: Open for Business on Amazon in print, audio or e-book format. And reach out to me – I’d be glad to help you set up and grow your own mega successful business in Africa.