Think of Ivory Coast and what comes to mind? The war? The one that ended 4 years ago? I would hope that what comes to mind is what the Financial Times reported recently, that Ivory Coast has been transformed “from the worst performer in Africa in 2011 to one of its fastest-growing economies today.” What […]
Africa Powering Ahead
In the middle of the Lagos heat, I said to a colleague: “I feel very fortunate to have air conditioning, there are so many people here who just have to bear this heat, that I feel bad about it”. Half-joking, he answered, “On the other hand, everybody has a heater!” Not that Lagos is sunny, […]
Launching Consumer Brands in sub-Saharan Africa
“GDP is not the best way to determine whether or not to go into an African country“, the founder of a successful Nigerian company with operations across the continent told me. This wisdom also applies to launching a consumer brand in Africa. Nielsen’s recent report “Africa: How to navigate the retail distribution labyrinth” confirms this. […]
Job creation: an engaging business purpose
In my interviews with managers from sub-Saharan African countries, I was surprised that – without my bringing up the topic – a large majority of them made a comment of this sort: “You know, what drives this company is job creation… Of course, we want to make money, and we do make money, but what […]