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)…

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…

Daily life in Lagos – and for that matter, I guess in most of Nigeria and Africa – offers certain small excitements. One of them is the blackout excitement: some time(s) during the day, the light and/or the power goes off. Nobody gets disturbed; they just go about their business. There are generators both at…

The first time I heard the term “corporate compliance,” I must confess it didn’t sit well with me.  The term seemed to transform social responsibility – or worse yet, ethics – into mere compliance with policy, norms and rules as dictated by law and regulation or corporate self-regulation. (An example of the latter would be…