How to Succeed in Africa (Series 1 of 4)“Do Business in Africa — Really?”
(This is a 4 series Article based on experience on working in Africa, HBR, McKinsey Reviews, Book (Africa Business revolution) and many other local articles.) Inspiration of this series comes from the Book — Africa Business Revolution and must give due credit to the Authors to have written with such clarity of thought….. if you like this then please pick up the book and read.
Any business needs consumers and if you have them in abundance then they work as magnets attracting businesses and investments and therefore development and growth.
The world’s most populous region is Asia and we are all witnesses to the massive amount of development and growth the region has undergone in the last 2 decades.
The world’s most populous country is now the Factory of Earth ie China. Almost everything and anything we consume — there is a high change that it was produced in China and this is only a 20-year-old phenomenon.
The world second most populous nation i.e India is now trending to be the largest consumer country in the world. With the phenomenal GDP growth over the last decade and new business models targeting the bottom of the pyramid, wealth and prosperity is being created in India like never before and we can only predict a further increase in growth…. the only way from here is UP.
All this has been possible largely due to technology and Internet and therefore I believe that any place on earth is not going to be left unaffected anymore because tech and internet are omnipresent and all pervasive phenomenon.
Just like Wind flows from the Warmer to Colder region, development and people in search of growth move from developed and developing to emerging and underdeveloped markets. That is exactly what I was doing in Africa when I first started working here in 2012.
There are metrics / pointers to Growth which seldom go wrong in terms of predicting whether the region, continent or country is on a path of confirmed growth or not.These are tested and tried metrics and are definitely a baseline for decision making in terms of where and what to invest in for businesses.
Let’s look at what these metrics show for Africa:
- Africa is a Continent with a population of 1.2 Billion People
- Median Age is less than 20
- It is the youngest continent in the world
· There are 58 countries / settlements that account for this population
· The Landmass of Africa is bigger than India, China, US and Europe combined.
· There are 7 countries with population more than 50 million, with Nigeria leading with 200 million people. These 7 countries account for more than 50% of Africa population
· There are 25 countries with a population range of 10m — 50 m and they are all growing with great speed.
· The land area is 21m sqkm — possibly 1/3 of the entire earth’s landmass sits in Africa and therefore can we say 1/3 of the mineral and natural wealth also sits in Africa.
· African Diaspora is all over the world and has been for decades and we can see a phenomenon of them heading back home either for green pastures or home calling or for an urge to develop their country. In all scenarios, it is going to drive further growth in Africa
· The net migrants to Africa is still negative but over the last 10 years there has been an influx of immigrants in Africa especially from China, India, Europe and migrants moving within Africa. This again is a great pointer to — in which direction the wind is blowing.
· You thought Africa was all about rural and forests… Right? Wrong. The total African population that is urban is 44%. Over 50 million people in Africa live in Urban areas. A very good metric for anyone targeting to do business in Africa.
· Population in Africa continues to grow with an average of 2.3% growth every year.
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SEDA Analysis of African countries (BCG)
Courtsey — BCG
Some Metrics to Sway your decision towards Africa
Source — Book — Africa Business Revolution
How China is investing in Africa
courtesy — Visual Capitalist
When you get on a plane to Africa — any country you can see wealth and prosperity. I have been to so many African countries and my experience on every flight is
· Africans are very well dressed and forward looking
· They are all full of energy and want to create wealth and be successful
· They are great in English, articulation and ideation
· The technical skills are very good
· The Africans buy the most duty free goods sold in-flight
· They are very brand conscious
· They are very tech savvy and use the latest gadgets
· They work hard — very hard. They leave their homes before dawn to reach their places of work and put in great effort every day in their work.
· They are very keen to learn and grow.
· Also, they are not afraid to take on the world… they are very entrepreneurial.
Hope all this gets you thinking on “Why not Africa” as your next business destination.
Next Article — PEST DRIVES SUCCESS IN AFRICA
