Transcriber: Luiza Bender Reviewer: David DeRuwe
Where can you find 60% of the world’s arable land available for cultivating,
over 50% of the globe’s 1.2 billion mobile money accounts,
a fifth of the world’s population,
a population with an average age of 19.7 years old,
and at 27%, the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs in the world?
Where? Africa, or as I like to say: “Afri-can,” the “can-do” continent.
Doing business in Africa is not only desirable,
it’s essential to companies looking for growth and investment opportunities.
The continent’s vibrancy and diversity across its 55 countries
means there are plenty of opportunities in all areas.
Let’s tap into the wisdom of three African proverbs
for insight on starting and growing businesses in Africa.
In honor of this being a TEDxWomen event,
we’ll look specifically at how women are a cornerstone of this growth.
Even if you aren’t in business,
there’s a lot to learn from African proverbs,
as well as the women and organizations doing business across Africa.
One of my favorite African proverbs is from the Sundi
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It says this one brings a string, the other brings another,
and together we finish the net.
An unfinished fishing net has no purpose because it cannot be used.
For many, Africa is full of unknown or different cultures, languages,
challenges, and ways of doing business, but different isn’t wrong.
Different is simply different.
One of Africa’s most well-known businessmen and philanthropists,
Strive Masiyiwa regularly tells audiences:
Africa is a continent with extraordinary challenges
and it’s a cop-out just to wait for governments to deal with them.
If you see a problem, then think about how you can solve a piece of it.
Balbina Gulam, a young teenager in Tanzania, taught herself coding.
She noticed that house cleaners looking for employment in her area
were having a hard time,
so she created an app that connects people who clean
with families looking for assistance.
Former Rwandan refugee Pauline Koelbl
noticed the difficulties female businesses have raising funding
and set up ShEquity, a company that facilitates access to finance,
operational support, and de-risk deals.
This allows African female entrepreneurs
and innovators to unlock their full potential.
Mariam Lawani, founder of Green Hill Recycling in Nigeria,
came up with an absolutely novel idea for waste collection.
Her company collects household waste,
processes, and sells it as raw materials to manufacturers.
Each household is then given green points for their recyclable materials,
which they can trade in for items such as school supplies, groceries,
or even paying the utility bill.
Three examples of women solving pieces of problems.
Three examples of women
bringing their piece of string to finish the fishing net.
In Africa, successful and sustainable entrepreneurs and companies
are not necessarily looking to build the next Tik Tok app.
They're looking to build something much more practical.
They’re focused on businesses and technology
that are going to help their neighbors, their community, their country.
Successful companies and entrepreneurs across Africa
have this we’re-in-this-together attitude, each one bringing its string,
so that together they’ll finish and can use the net,
improving not just their life, but the lives of all of those around them.
Another favorite proverb is from the Amharic in Ethiopia,
“There are no better witnesses than our own eyes.”
In my 30 years working and living across the continent of Africa,
I found that the key to successful sustainable business
is getting on the ground, meeting the people,
experiencing firsthand this vibrancy and diversity.
As you mingle and observe, you gain insight,
identify trends and opportunities,
meet talented people,
and find the individuals and companies that will be your suppliers,
customers, partners, sources of talent, and sources of inspiration.
You meet women-owned and women-led companies
that build robots in Cameroon for waste collection;
tackle freight and logistical challenges in Ghana;
address low insurance penetration in Kenya;
offer female-driven taxi cabs in the DRC;
develop an app that connects truck owners
with companies needing transportation in Mozambique;
write and publish educational textbooks in Rwanda;
design eco-friendly shoes sold around the world,
using local materials and centuries old craftsmanship from Ethiopia;
who set up and run tech hubs for coding and STEM classes;
women CEOs of banks, oil companies, security firms, and aviation companies.
You can see how unlocking women’s potential
can make a huge contribution, not only to your business and your bottom line,
but also to the overall growth and prosperity of Africa.
Working with women is simply smart economics.
It merely requires being on the ground
because “there are no better witnesses than our own eyes.”
Finally, from the Wolof in Senegal is a proverb where we learn
that the chameleon changes colors to match the Earth.
The Earth does not change colors to match the chameleon.
Transsion is a mobile phone manufacturer that in less than 10 years
has captured over 68% of the mobile phone market across Africa.
How?
They observed, spoke with, and listened
to what their potential customers liked and didn’t like about their mobile phones.
Then they created the ideal suite of phones for Africa:
dual SIM card holders, multilingual keyboards, super-long battery life,
models at differing price points so everyone can afford one,
manufactured in Africa in Ethiopia.
Most importantly, they adapted the camera to provide more light
for darker skin tones, thus guaranteeing the perfect picture every time.
Transsion did not assume that consumers across Africa were the same
as those elsewhere in the world.
They made the time, put in the effort, the investment
to research, observe, and speak directly with their potential customers.
Like the chameleon changes colors to match the Earth,
Transsion changed the phone to match their customers.
Today, eight of every 10 phones sold in Africa are manufactured by Transsion.
Africa is open for business, your business.
African women are a powerful, often untapped economic force
and an integral part of growing and improving
not only your company’s bottom line,
but the lives and families of your employees,
your stakeholders, and the communities we all live and work in.
Successful and sustainable companies in Africa know
that working together, each person bringing a stream,
the net can be finished and used by all.
Being on the ground is vital,
meeting people, experiencing life and challenges firsthand,
because there are no better witnesses than our own eyes.
And like the chameleon changes color to match the Earth,
we change our products or services to match the needs of our local customers.
Africa is open for business - your business, today.
Join me and the men and women of Africa
in investing in “Afri-can,” the “can-do” continent.
Thank you.