By Khalifa Hemed
Published December 2, 2018
Africa is poised for economic acceleration akin to the Asian boom.
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That Africa has a fast-growing, rapidly urbanizing population with big unmet needs means there is a trillion-dollar opportunity to industrialise the continent, to meet rising domestic demand and create a bridge-head in global export markets, write Acha Leke, Mutsa Chironga, and Georges Desvaux in a new book by McKinsey & Company.
The big push by governments and the private sector to close infrastructure gaps, continued resource abundance in agriculture, mining, and oil and gas with innovation and investment in these sectors unlocking new production on the continent and the rapid adoption of mobile and digital technologies could leapfrog Africa past many obstacles to growth, the researchers say.
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But to build a successful business in Africa, say Leke, Chironga and Desvaux in In Africa’s Business Revolution: How to Succeed in the World’s Next Big Growth Market, requires a long-term approach and four essential practices:
- Mapping an Africa strategy – setting a clear aspiration, prioritising markets, defining how to achieve scale and relevance and creating an ecosystem to thrive
- Innovating business models – truly engaging with customers, creating products and services to fulfill unmet needs, getting lean to drive down costs and price points, and harnessing technology
- Building resilience for the long term – riding out short-term volatility, diversifying portfolios, integrating up and down the value chain, understanding local context and engaging with governments, and
- Unleashing talent – developing skills in frontline workers, creating robust talent development processes and harnessing the power of women’s advancement.