Capturing Growth in 2023
January 6, 2023 - Growing up and still today, one of my all-time favorite movies in Sound of Music. I know every line and every lyric – much to my brothers’ chagrin when we would watch it!
One of the songs, is my motto for growth.
It goes like this…
Let’s start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with ABC
When you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi…
For me, growth has always been as straightforward as ABC – Appetite, Bandwidth, processes.
A successful business in Africa or anywhere in the world is as straightforward as ABC.
You first look at growing an Appetite to get on the ground in Africa, appreciating the different contexts, distinguishing between real and perceived risks, understanding why people do what they do and identifying accurate market intelligence. The right appetite eschews the junk food of outdated notions and craves doing business in Africa, feeding on facts that build a well-rounded understanding of the reality on the ground today and who your customers are by seeing it with your own eyes.
Once you know you have the Appetite, you identify and commit to the Bandwidth successful companies give their Africa-focused teams to build the relationships and learn how culture and history influence business in order to identify the best type of market entry and business setup. Bandwidth shows the readiness, willingness, and long-term commitment of a company to put in place the people, the time, the money, and the travel to operate a successful, sustainable business in Africa.
With the right Appetite and Bandwidth, you make better decisions regarding Capital. Without the foresight of Appetite and Bandwidth, your Capital is often misdirected because Capital is about more than just the money to run the business. Successful companies invest in social capital, cultural capital, and economic capital.
To find out more and read how different companies have achieved successful and sustainable growth across Africa, pick up a copy of my international best selling book, Africa: Open for Business. In it I share how I help my clients identify and grow their Appetite and Bandwidth for Africa so their Capital investments lead to game-changing sustainable growth.