In a comment to an earlier post, Christian referred to how strongly Kenyans feel about tribal attributes. I think he has better insights about this than me but let me tell you about what I’ve heard, and maybe he and others will add some comments. Kenya’s ethnic diversity is high. The various tribes can be […]
The informal economy
Several African business leaders have warned me that we foreigners may easily misunderstand some clues that are critical for business. In particular, we may easily miss the role that the informal economy plays in most African countries. Official statistics may be misleading as they don’t include informal economic activities. Let me give you an example. […]
“In-spite-of” attitude: A necessary attitude for doing business in Africa
Don’t most of us have a perception that African countries are a tough environment for business? Yet, no matter how tough, you can succeed if you have an “in-spite-of” attitude. This is the experience of Nigerian entrepreneur Austin Okere, whose example illustrates this necessary attitude for doing business in Africa. Austin started Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) […]