Welcome back after the break! When I came back from Africa, one of my colleagues at IESE told me: “Africa, you’re re-energized!” Indeed, I am. One of the energy shots came from meeting the CEO of a leading bank in Kenya and East Africa. His approach illustrates that thinking long-term pays off in Africa. To the […]
Advice to invest in Africa
The other day, I attended a panel discussion on “The global strategic landscape.” Panelists were members of IESE’s International Advisory Board. Among them, Ibukun Awosika, founder and CEO The Chair Center Group, and Chairperson of the First Bank of Nigeria. I thought of sharing with you some of her advice for foreign companies willing to invest […]
Rethinking Growth in Emerging Markets
Last week I had the opportunity to moderate a panel on “How companies need to rethink growth in emerging markets.” Panel members were stellar, all members of IESE’s International Advisory Board (IAB). While four of them work for and/or seat on Boards of Western companies, Ibukun Awosika is founder and CEO of a Nigerian company: The […]
Patient Capital
In an earlier post, I talked about a Kenyan bank that began operations in South Sudan in 2006. At the time, the country was just emerging from the war, and no bank operated in the country. The perspective of making profits in South Sudan was in the distant horizon for the Kenyan bank. But the management team […]
Even Neighboring Countries are Distant
As I ventured into Nigeria and Kenya, the locals warned me: “don’t think all of Africa is like us.” In fact, This has important implications for companies doing business in Africa and expanding in the continent: whether traditional multinationals, emerging market multinationals (EMMs), Pan-African companies, and even African regional companies. What does country distance mean? In his CAGE […]
