Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

“A” IS FOR APPETITE

Many businesses in the West haven’t yet developed an appetite for Africa. To them, Africa is a vague place that might have huge opportunities for growth but also has too many unfamiliar rules, people, borders, infrastructure, and cultures.

The key to growing an appetite for doing business in Africa is to be honest about how much you like – or don’t like – brussels sprouts.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

How Culture and Context Develop the Resilience Companies need for Growth

In a forthcoming chapter of mine in an anthology on resilience, I highlight two simple things most companies forget or unaware of when they expand into new markets: culture and context.

Making the time and effort to understand local culture and context is the difference between companies that succeed or fail when entering new markets because it is this awareness that makes companies truly resilient.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Female Authors Outnumber Male Authors

Women have gone from publishing just 18% of books in the 1960s to more than half of books written today. That includes me!

Not only are women publishing more books, but we add diversity, introduce new narratives and increase readership.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

What You Can Learn about Africa from Observing Traffic

A favorite pastime of mine is to observe traffic when I travel. It tells me a lot about a country and the resourcefulness of its people.

In Africa where car ownership is often prohibitively expensive and government-run public transport is often too sparse, a lot of ingenuity is on display on Africa’s roads.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Two Truths and a Lie About Africa (part 2)

When we see something different, our natural response is, “That’s weird,” which often equates with saying, “That’s wrong.” But is it necessarily wrong?

Read on and discover some amazing truths about Africa and Africans…

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Two Truths and a Lie About Africa (part 1)

What has someone said about you that was wrong? How did that make you feel? What conclusions did people jump to about you because of your skin color, your nationality or even your height? “Oh you are so tall, you must play basketball!” How often are these stereotypes later shown to be wrong, our assumptions to be misinformed or jaded? No where is this truer than the continent of Africa.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Three immediately useful ideas for investing in Africa

With 1.3 billion people, 55 countries, over 2,100 languages and 3,000 ethnic groups, investing in Africa may seem complicated! Sure. Africa, with all its diversity and largesse, can be difficult to understand, to grasp. Just like most new business ventures. However, this profile also makes doing business in Africa not only desirable but essential to companies looking for growth opportunities.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Aligning C-Suites – Part 2

In this second post on aligning senior leadership teams, discover how to succesfully address the specific concerns the finance, legal and HR teams probably have about taking your company’s growth to any new location, including Africa.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Where My Clients are Finding Growth in 2023

As we're looking ahead into 2023, I hear so many people asking me the same question: “Where can growth be found amidst a global recession, supply chain challenges, shortage of certain foodstuffs and energy?”

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Capturing Growth in 2023

Companies need people and processes that identify and capture growth. Do you have those in place? Are you ready to find and capture growth in 2023?

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Gender Equity in Politics in Africa

“I was the first elected female president of an African country, and I do believe more countries ought to try that!”

- President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, at TEDWomen 2019

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

DEI from the perspective of African Heads of State

My interviews with Africa’s Heads of State revealed how Africa has been at the forefront of fighting for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Long before DEI became something consultants and journalists wrote about and companies tracked, Africa’s Heads of State were leading the quest for DEI.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

85 Million

By 2030, Korn Ferry has estimated that there will be a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people. Where will the world find 85 million workers? Africa.

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Deanne M DeVries Deanne M DeVries

Africa's Female Entrepreneurs are Leading the Globe

African women are twice as likely to start a business as women elsewhere in the world. Unlocking women’s potential can make a huge contribution, not only to your business but also to the overall growth and prosperity of the continent. Working with women entrepreneurs is simply smart economics.

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If you’d like to go deeper on any of the topics I write about, would like me to speak at your next event or meet with your board or staff, please reach out!

Let’s continue the conversation….