African nations are planning to set up a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by the end of 2017. This would create a single continental market for goods and services, and free movement of business persons and investments, accelerating the establishment of a continental customs union. Leaders at the African Union Summit agreed to this plan during […]
Where’s the talent?
Conversations with business leaders from a number of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries revealed that recruiting and retaining talent is one of the most important challenges they face – if not the most important. The 2017 African business outlook survey confirmed that this experience is generalized. How do companies cope with this challenge? Recruiting talent: digital […]
Cable-Cars: a System to Improve Urban Transport
I’ve shared with you in previous posts some traffic stories from Lagos and Nairobi (see Urban Transport, Transport Infrastructure Boosts Business). Could there be any more? Yes! The longer you sit there, the more stories you have to share – this is how bad traffic can get. Here’s another one: on my last day of […]
Trading across borders
Last week, in the post Reforms that make doing business easier, we discussed the Ease of Doing Business rankings. These appear in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report. We focused on a few sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, and what they did recently to improve their ranks. There are many important that the World Bank takes into […]
Partnerships for Growth
Last week, we welcomed at IESE a group of top executives from Kenya. They are participants in the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Strathmore Business School. A one-week module at IESE is part of this program. I had the opportunity to share with them two sessions about alliances and acquisitions as external growth options for a […]
