'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.