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Inclusive Business in Africa

September 10, 2010 By 3 Comments

Ethnic Supplies was invited to join Business Fights Poverty and the Department for International Development  UK (DFID)  in organising a Practitioners workshop in Kampala Uganda on 10 May 2010.

The aim of the workshop was to bring together International Businesses, Ugandan businesses and Donors to look at some of the innovative ways of running inclusive businesses.  Inclusive businesses are those businesses that incorporate the poor both as consumers and or producers, or if you like they are businesses that look beyond the traditional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

I was a panelist at that workshop and we had a few questions to explore in relation to inclusive business. I will explore  one at a time over the next few posts

Question 1

WHAT ARE THE MSOT IMPORTANT  LESSONS YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT HOW TO START AND SCALE AN INCLUSIVE BUSINESS MODEL?

  1. The women I work with are  producers in developing economies producing goods for  sophisticated consumers in developed economies and as such what looks good in their workshops/homes does not necessarily translate to commercial success. It is therefore necessary to do thorough market research when selecting products to bring to market
  2. Managing expectations that arise as a result of cultural differences such as time keeping. Whilst here in the West we are used to instant information, timely  deliveries the sense of urgency may not necessarily filter through. In other words whilst producers in the developing economies want access to markets in the developed economies they are not always willing to adapt to market expectations of the developed economies and as such they have sometimes missed out on opportunities to trade with folk in the developed economies.

An example of point 2 : We recently had an opportunity to tap into funding for the benefit of a group of women in Uganda. Part of the of the application criteria to access the funding was that we had to demonstrate that we were indeed working in partnership/ with this group and they were happy for us to apply for this funding on their  behalf. The group was required to send us their accounts and project outline. They confirmed in a telephone conversation that they had this information and would email it through before  the deadline. The deadline for submission of the application was 1/9/2010 and the women sent us their information on 6/9/10. I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed by this whole episode, but there we are. All we could say to the group leader was..Oh Well! perhaps there will be other opportunities!

KNOWING WHAT I  KNOW NOW WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?

  1. I am a  strong believer in helping people to help themselves   and as such I believe that information and skills sharing is vital in this area of work to ensure that business in developing economies are ready to supply quality products that the market wants at the right price and on time. I would therefore seek to work with partners with expertise in product development
  2. I would also be more selective when choosing who to work with on the ground as a mismatch of ideals can lead to poor working relations and disappointment on either side

In the next post I will be answering a question on the role of financial institutions in inclusive businesses, in the mean time if you have a view on any of the points raised here please leave a comment

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Do you know where Gordon Brown is?

July 25, 2010 By 1 Comment

Back in May 2010 Gordon Brown’s labour party lost power to a Conservative/Liberal Democratic coalition  and since then most of us haven’t seen nor heard from Mr Brown, he appeared to have dropped off the face of the earth!

It turns out that he is alive and kicking and unexpectedly turned up in Kampala the capital of Uganda to attend the 15th African Union Summit

Why? If you read this BBC report and are a cynic you would conclude that he is job hunting!  Please do forgive me but it does really sound that way. But who in Africa is Hiring? Can they afford him? Perhaps Libya or South Africa? Libya can certainly afford him but what sort of job would they offer him? Special envoy? Image consultantGordon Brown

One thing for sure Gordon Brown’s (GB) presence will boost Uganda’s confidence following the bombings on 11/7  in kampala that left 76 people dead and some badly injured!

He however made an interesting observation the “world should turn to Africa for future growth of the world economic” . Is this why the Chinese are all over Africa?

What did GB do about ensuring that African was treated as an equal economic partner and not simply as a continent from which to fetch raw materials and give hand outs to?

An observation that I made of GB he has a high sense of that which is fair and as Chancellor he appeared to be fighting Africa’s corner, although I would argue that he could have done more than throwing money at problems in Africa. For this reason he will be amongst friends at African Union summit and some will wish he was still Great Britain’s Prime Minister or at the very least Chancellor of the Exchequer . Mind you they need not worry as the Overseas Budget he left in place has been ring fenced.  I do suspect though that  GB may feel uneasy mixing with some who have not had the dignity to stand down when the electorate booted them out and are hanging on to power by the gun! This may not appeal to his values!

But what about the ICT industry in Africa? Is it really the key to unleashing African Growth?

The growth of ICT in Africa is very exciting indeed, the talent is certainly out there, it is certainly an area to watch!

So why is GB really in Africa?


Against Malaria

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City bombings in Uganda- some afterthoughts Part 2

July 18, 2010 By 1 Comment

In the last thread I talked about the bombings of Kampala Uganda by Al-Shabab, a Somali militia group. I also expressed my fears/concerns in as far as the economic development of Uganda is concerned.

My fears or concerns  stem from a reference point dated 25 years ago. The country was finally rid of  Idi Amin and such like and had hailed in Yoweri Museveni. It was a terrible place to be and certainly folk would not have been out watching football  in such big numbers. I can imagine too Uganda was a no go area to the outsiders. For those of us that lived in the country at the time everything was scarce and I mean everything. There was no high street to speak of and certainly Al-Shabab,  would not have wanted to be in the Uganda of 1986.

The immediate change back then as I recall, we were free to go anywhere without the fear of being stopped or “taken away” for no apparent reason. This has remained the case as far as I am aware and I noticed that roadblocks on the Ugandan Roads had disappeared too.

I think it is safe to say generally people felt relaxed and the country did a lot to encourage investors to go there and invest and as such this improved life for most folk. My fear therefore is if the current government re- introduces some of the old practices from the old regimes, as a reaction to Al-Shabab or in effort to stamp them out,  the investors might live as well as the skilled Ugandan citizens, taking their skills and capital with them.

I sincerely hope I am over reacting here but only time will tell.

For now Kampala Uganda is getting ready to welcome all manner of people including African heads of state for the 15 African Union Summit. I have already asked  the question, WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE AFRICAN UNION? and as I understand it security is at the top of their agenda.

In the next thread I will look at one of the issues that is being discussed at the AU. In the meantime, if you have a view, please share it!

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