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 […]
Global connectedness index of African countries
The DHL Global Connectedness Index 2014 report, prepared by a research team led by Pankaj Ghemawat – a colleague of mine at IESE Business School – has been published. Global connectedness refers to “the depth and breadth (geographic distribution) of a country’s integration with the rest of the world as manifested by its participation in […]
Oil scarcity in an oil-rich country
Look at the pictures below. In one you’ll see the line for a gas station: it’s about two or so miles long, and as it gets closer to the station the line doubles. In the other picture, people wait at the station to fill plastic containers. The average waiting time is 3 to 4 hours […]
Nigeria’s post-colonial impoversihment
Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a discussion about Nigeria’s post-colonial impoverishment, and its evolution since it became independent in 1960. I learned many things about the country, and I though it might be interesting to share some of these insights with you. The discussion was led by Professor Catherine Duggan from Harvard Business […]