‘Don’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime

For the past six years I have had the privilege of travelling to Southern African states with members of the FTW sales team. Our editor, Joy, invited me to share my musings with our readers, many of whom are still a little hesitant about investing serious resources and time in growing their businesses on the continent. My advice to anyone who asks is that if you wait much longer, you will have missed an opportunity of a lifetime. At a business level, it is an opportunity to diversify and spread your risk. In fact, it is more risky not to expand than it is to continue struggling to grow revenues while doing the same old thing along the same old corridors. The numbers speak for themselves: In 2011, according to the CIA World Factbook, Ghana had the second-fastest growth as measured by GDP at 18.7%. (The fastest is Qatar at 18.7%, with China fifth on 9.5%). Looking at South Africa’s direct neighbours, Mozambique weighs in at 7.2% (17th); Zambia 6.7% (27th); Botswana 6.2% (39th); Zimbabwe 6% (47th); Namibia 3.6% (105th). South Africa is 108th on this list, at 3.4%. The world average is 3.7%. Those are the numbers, but what is it like doing business in these fast-growing economies? In a word, “difficult”. Which is good news for anyone involved in logistics. If it wasn’t difficult, there would be no need for our services. With difficulty comes expense. Skills are at a premium, and the housing, transport and salary costs of expats are high. As is the cost of transporting goods over the potholed roads and hugely inefficient rail infrastructure. Customs bureaucracy and corruption, red tape, and delays in the ports all add to the stress. Not that you find too many stressed-looking expats working in the logistics field. Those who stay adapt to the African pace of life. They know that some things can’t be hurried. Germans, Swedes, Pakistanis, Indians, Brazilians and South Africans tell us that they enjoying the opportunity of a wonderful lifestyle. Many also stay because they have the opportunity to make a difference. Africa is emerging from years of decline, and it needs all the skills and help it can get. We don’t want colonialists (from any continent) who continue to exploit us. We need those who want to make a difference for Africans. There are many such people. We know because we’ve interviewed them in their offices, enjoyed meals with them, and chatted at the airport. So, if you are based in fast-paced Gauteng, Munich or Singapore, you may have the feeling that your agent in Beira doesn’t have quite the same sense of urgency as you do. Rest assured, they (usually) do – it’s just that they understand that things take time in Africa. Think of it as a vessel crossing the Atlantic. It doesn’t matter how much you shout at the captain, the container is not going to get there any faster than the economical speed of the vessel, the weather, and the efficiency of the ports allow. Speaking of ports, they are becoming more efficient, and with efficiency comes the confidence to start challenging the dominance of South African harbours. This is one of the most exciting trends I have seen over the past six years. There has been significant investment in ports like Maputo, Beira, Walvis Bay, Luanda, and Mombasa. Most are positioning themselves as hubs or gateways – competing against South African ports on both the east and west coasts. In the process South Africanbased companies are losing their market dominance. Indian-made pharmaceuticals that were shipped through Durban to Zambia now come through Dar es Salaam. Heavy vehicle manufacturers in Japan now export directly into other African ports rather than routing the trucks through South Africa. The shifting flows of trade have also opened up opportunities for locals to start their own freight forwarding and clearing agencies. Many are small, but they have the knowledge, the energy and the connections to move freight faster and more efficiently in their home countries than many bigger companies. That, as we have discovered, is pretty much the recipe for doing business in Africa – make sure you have a strong and trusted local partner. But you can’t establish that relationship over the phone. You have to go and see for yourself. An example is a member of our congregation in Port Elizabeth who, after an 8 000-kilometre road trip to Malawi and back, is packing up his irrigation business (literally into 40-foot containers) and moving to Tete in Mozambique. That’s where the demand is right now. Plus, working in Africa is the opportunity to have a lot of fun. The people you meet in our sub-region are generally really nice, as a rule the streets are safer than in South Africa, the food is great, and you can still find hand-made furniture. Attracted by the rapidly rising disposable income in Africa, the big chains are expanding as fast as they can. They are generally housed in sterile carbon copy malls, which could be anywhere in the world. That’s not the real Africa – rather go where the locals shop and eat. And, if your new business partner wants to experience standardised food chain fare, compromise – you take them to the shiny Western-style eating place in return for a meal at a more traditional restaurant. Come to think of it, that’s the African way – taste the best of different cultures and ways of doing business, adapt them and make them work for you. INSERT ‘Working in Africa is the opportunity to have a lot of fun.’ CAPTION 1 Dressed for action in Africa – sales executive Jodi Haigh at the Beitbridge border post. CAPTION 2 Beauty and the fish – sales executive Yolande Langenhoven about to tuck into fried bream at a restaurant in the Lusaka showgrounds