I had a chat with one of our clients who were interested in the African market, and during our discussion, I felt his concerns. He wanted to know how secure Africa was and how secure he would be coming to settle in Africa for business.
He asked me the
same questions repeatedly and I gave him the same answers, and at some point, I
told him there are people living in Africa, so you too can live and make it big
time here just like them.
Often, when
business executives want to go to a new market, and Africa in particular, they
seek to know about the political situation of the country, the judiciary, etc.
There is no country without its own problems, and if we focus only on problems without looking at the potential, then we miss the point.
Many business
organizations' rankings will always put African countries at the bottom of
their tables (though without justification) and yet they will turn back and
come to Africa and exploit all the minerals to take to their own countries.
Africa is safe
when it comes to the extraction of minerals, but not safe when it comes to
building businesses and developing countries.
Would it not be
far better to implant a chocolate production factory in a country like
Cameroon, Ghana, or Ivory Coast which are prime producers of cocoa beans in
Africa rather than pay the cost of transporting the cocoa beans to Europe and
the US to transform them there?
Would it not be
easy to have local representations in African countries to make business easier
for multinationals?
We must change
the narrative of doing business in the eyes of the colonial master who did
business in Africa with a colonial mindset and drive. Their main interest was
to extract all that is good in Africa to take it to their countries.
We are living in
a global village and problems are everywhere. There is more insecurity in the
US than in Cameroon and other countries.
Let’s learn to
focus on the potential of each market rather than its threats. For business, itself is a risk, and Africa can be a good risk for any business that wants to
enter a new market.
Do you want to enter the African market?
Contact us at business@claudicebusiness.com
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