'Relationships make the difference'

ONE OF the important points that most
people don’t consider when writing about
business in Africa is the importance of
relationships, according to Daisy Uyirwoth,
Africa sales executive for Spedag.
“Not bribes,” she told FTW, “but
relationships.
“Your personal relationship with your
business partners could mean the difference
between the success and failure of the
business venture or project.”
Uyirwoth points out that most African
cultures emphasise the importance of
social and personal relationships. “This is an
influence that certainly spills over to the
business and corporate sector,” she said, “to
the point where it is sometimes impossible
to distinguish between business and personal.
“My point is that, if a company is going
to be successful in Africa, it is important that
they understand not just their core business
in the region, but also the cultural/social
environment in which they are operating."
Uyirwoth aimed the same philosophy at
her own company’s policy.
“Spedag East Africa,” she said, “maintains
transparent and open relationships with
individuals and groups at every level of
society, and this has been one of the pillars of
its success in the region.”
This has seen the company generate
a large amount of business through its
extensive network of offices in the region
– with full representation in Uganda, Kenya,
Rwanda and Tanzania.
“One of Spedag’s ongoing projects for the
Ugandan government is the 300-megaWatt
Bugagali hydro-power plant – a contract with
a duration of 44-months, and seeing the
company providing global freight logistics/
forwarding services ex works.