BUILDING A PAN-AFRICAN BUSINESS
Tony Alumelu – MFR, an entrepreneur, chairman of Heirs Holding Limited and a former CEO -United Bank of Africa (UBA) Plc gave a lecture on 10th August 2011 in Strathmore Business School.
His lecture was on BUILDING A PAN –AFRICAN BUSINESS, and spoke about his experiences and challenges faced in building and managing a pan African business. He drew his learning points from UBA, how a bank in distress (receivership?) was acquired and transformed it into a Pan -African institution currently serving 7 Million customer accounts in 20 African countries and operating across three continents.
Learning points (Lessons) from the lecture (my brief pick)
1. Vision –Having a clear vision for the organization
2. Develop a strategy – Develop strategies on how to achieve the vision.
3. Capital; raising required resource /finance. Striking a balance between debt/equity.
4. Human Resource; Recruiting, managing and retaining competent staff. (Question posed -should a CEO be involved in hiring of a junior staff say a driver?)
5. Have a long term focus
6. Discipline and focus – leadership by example
7. Resilience; when faced with challenges don’t give up approach them professionally
8. Professionalism
9. Growth; managing growth – to acquire critical mass –grow the product
10. Governance and institutionalism –
• Build institutions that will last beyond their founders
• Legacy of the institution – from deliberate actions that founders take while alive
Conclusion; (his conclusion)
There is need to grow more pan African companies
Enabling environments in place to achieve this –Govt’s responsibility
Parting Shot
Case studies for successful or failed companies
Successful Africa entrepreneurs should adopt Africa capitalism, -institutions creating prosperity and adding social value.
Not detailed, but this is what I managed to pick - Hope these are your experiences and add value
http://www.capitalfm.co....ares-skills-in-nairobi/ http://www.nation.co.ke/...6/-/4c6oyz/-/index.html and now striking the balance…..
The boy put the stones in his pouch. From then on, he would make his own decisions.
“Don’t forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else. And don’t forget the language of omens. And, above all, don’t forget to follow your Personal Legend through to its conclusion.
“But before I go, I want to tell you a little story.
“A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the forest for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.
“Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.
“The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.
“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something’, Said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. ‘As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.’
The boy began to climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.
“‘Well,’ asked the wise man, ‘did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dinning hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?’
“The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.
“‘Then go back and observe the marvels of my world,’ said the wise man. You cannot trust a man if you do not know his house.’
“‘Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all the works of art on the ceiling and walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.
“‘But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?’ asked the wise man.
“Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
“‘Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,’ said the wisest of the wise men. ‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil in the spoon.’”
The shepherd said nothing. He had understood the story the old king had told him. A shepherd may like to travel, but should never forget about his sheep.
The old man looked at the boy and, with his hands held together, made several strange gestures over the boy’s head. Then taking his sheep, he walked away.
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
Thiong’o