Lauri Elliott

Stakeholder management is one of those areas in which leaders often find it difficult to navigate.  Over the years, I have used a few basic tools when serving as a project or work stream leader.  First, you can check out a series of articles I wrote for TechRepublic almost a decade ago.  Second, I developed a Stakeholder Strategy Tool that you can download from here. 

And finally, check out a presentation I made on Stakeholder Management at the annual conference of the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA) in 2007.  This speaks of the evolving environment and how stakeholder management is changing, as well as introduces the initial framework on a stakeholder management methodology on which I am working.

Originaly posted at www.afribiz.info.

Another strategy for building a business portfolio in Africa is investing in businesses listed on African stock exchanges.  Even during these turbulent times, there are companies worldwide sustaining well and set for growth.  Looking at companies listed on African stock exchanges helps you more readily identify solid performers in Africa.

You might be surprised to know there are actually 20 active stock exchanges on the African continent.  To learn more about them, start with two resources.  First, the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) serves as a professional organization supporting African stock exchanges.  From here, learn about the landscape of African stock exchanges, as well as link to any of the African stock exchanges.  Second, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) sponsored a handbook entitled, “African Stock Markets Handbook.”

There is discussion on forming a central Pan-African Stock Exchange to strengthen the African stock markets structure and strength.  However, this will not develop soon, according to progress within the African Union.  However, you can deal with the individual stock exchanges when making your investment choices.  As with any stock exchange, the primary intermediary to manage stocks is through an approved broker.  You can contact a stock exchange directly to get a list of approved brokers.  The African Stock Markets Handbook also lists brokers for each stock exchange.

Since the Pan-African Stock Exchange is not developing more quickly, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa is allowing companies located and mainly operating in Africa, not just South Africa, to list.  The structure, called the Africa Board, just launched so there are very few companies not headquartered in South Africa listed on the JSE.  However, keep your eye on its progress.  This may be another path for investing in companies throughout Africa.

Another path for investing in African companies are exploring companies who offer indexes of African companies.  An index is simply a basket of companies pooled together, working as one stock opportunity.  For example, an index might comprise of 100 companies in the telecommunications sector from the major markets in Africa.  When you buy stock in the index, you are buying a portion of stock in each of the 100 companies.  Many of the stock exchanges themselves will have indexes on the entire list of companies listed on the stock exchange, sectors, etc.  There are also investment groups like Africa Investor who manage indexes.

When you invest, you should have sufficient knowledge, goals and plans.  If you are new to stock investing, look for resources to educate yourself – books, classes, websites.  The video, “Africa Investment Horizons,” opens your eyes to the potential in the African market.

The principles for investing are true worldwide, so you can look for local sources to help you.  You might want to try working with a small group of people in an investment club to make your initial investment funds go further and reduce the individual risk.  There will be local variations in the stock markets, so identify resources to help you understand these areas as well.

Next, you will want to identify a broker with which you can work.  You might want to ask a broker locally to identify another broker in your area or country who can purchase on the African stock exchanges through affiliations.  This way your broker is closer to you.

As you start researching African companies, choose a few solid performers in the African markets, e.g., MTN and Murray and Roberts, as test cases to become familiar with analyzing African firms and the process for investing in them.  Both are South African companies, having operations and markets throughout Africa.  MTN is a cell phone giant while Murray and Roberts is a large construction and engineering firm.

Always keep your objectives, constraints and plans in mind while you research, invest in, manage and monitor stocks.  And, consider getting professional advice when making investment decisions.

A society is “an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another,” as well “a part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living or conduct” as defined by the Merriam-Webster (www.m-w.com) dictionary.  In other words, a society is a group of people in relationship and interacting with one another cooperatively focused on a common purpose.

A Vision Society is one filled with purpose.  The distinct drive of a Vision Society is that its members function in the pursuit of purpose, both individually and corporately.  It has a unique tapestry of people, individually distinct yet woven together for a common future.  It is neither a collective or individualistic society characterized by dependence or independence, but interdependence and interconnectedness.  Each person has a “unique” space, identity and purpose, serving a particular function in the corporate body of a Vision Society.

The interplay between the individual and corporate aspect of a Vision Society is best described by an analogy to the human body.  The human body is a system designed to work as one but with individual parts performing their own function.  A well-performing body means each part is fulfilling its function working in harmony with the other parts.

While I cannot say there is complete harmony, there is a greater harmony in the Vision Society because people understand their “unique” space and their individual identities.  They focus on fulfilling the purpose of their “unique” space, which means they are less likely to focus on what others are doing or not doing and freely working within their space to achieve their unlimited potential.

At the individual level, each person lives a life continually learning, exploring and fulfilling his or her unique purpose on this world. Visions that derive from their purposes serve people, intending to benefit the greater good.  Their lives of purpose operate on selflessness not selfishness.

Societies have evolved over time.  Sociologists suggest that societies have evolved according to their primary manner of subsistence, e.g., hunter/gathers, agrarian.  Subsistence is what is necessary to support life like food and shelter.  If you are familiar with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, subsistence represents the lowest level of needs – physiological.

I suggest that societies have evolved according to paradigm shifts between driving needs rather than forms of systems maintaining subsistence.  However, concepts of subsistence and wealth are embedded in the continuum.  Subsistence represents the bare essentials for a human body to function not to be fulfilled or satisfied.  Fulfillment includes the entire completion of spirit, mind and body.  If we take a closer look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we see paradigm shifts occurring at each level.  As a person develops or as certain needs are met, he or she first moves from focusing on physiological needs to safety needs.  From there, the focus shifts to belonging to esteem to self-actualization.  Kurt Goldstein described self-actualization as a driving force which leads to people realizing their full potential.  Maslow later added another level called self-transcendence in which an individual, or self, gives to an inner experience of a greater unity of entities.

The human being is composed of spirit, mind and body.  As a person develops upward through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, he or she shifts the center of his or her mode of operation from body (physical) to mind (soul) to spirit.  Self-transcendence represents operating out of the spirit and self-actualization represents operating out of the mind.  In the eye of the spirit, a person recognizes his or her true purpose, identity and vision connected to the greater society.

Human societies have evolved in the same manner in which the primary influence on how people operate shifted from physical to mental to spiritual.  The primary influence on how people operate in the Vision Society is the spiritual dimension.  We are on the cusp between human society operating under the primary influence of the mind to the primary influence of the spirit.

The concept of wealth also evolved as human society evolved.  First, it shifted from living a life of subsistence to one of accumulation of wealth.  The definition of wealth also shifted from monetary or physical assets to intellectual to spiritual.  In today’s society, there is a more holistic approach to wealth, which includes spiritual, social, intellectual, physical, financial, etc.  However, the seat of true wealth is the spirit.  Wealth is an inner-orientation not an outer-orientation.

As mentioned before, human society is on the cusp of entering the Vision Society age.  Who will be the standard bearers for this?  It will be the children of today and tomorrow.  As adults, we will help usher our children into the Vision Society as we learn more and dip into it ourselves.  However, the children will innately and inherently have an affinity and perception for the Vision Society, working through each of their spirits.

The Vision Society will ultimately dominate how our economic, social and political systems and institutions evolve and operate.

Originally posted at www.afribiz.info.

Originally posted at www.afribiz.info.

Economic growth continues in Africa during this global financial crisis.  However, while it may be easy to identify vast business opportunities in Africa, it is another thing to navigate the business environment successfully.  One of the key strategies we have learned is identifying and focusing energy on “hubs” of business.  The concept of hubs is not new.  Historical trade routes developed hubs, or cities, through which major intersections of business and society connected.

There is even a relatively new field of science called network science that looks at networks in many facets, including business.  The right hubs are very important because if interacted with correctly, what you pass through them will diffuse to the entire network.  So, one way of succeeding in Africa is to identify strategic business and societal hubs and work through them to diffuse your business interest to the entire business network.

Taking a look at the largest economic hubs in Africa by region, Nigeria serves as the major economic hub for West Africa.  Egypt serves as the key economic hub for North Africa.  Kenya serves as the key economic hub for East Africa.  And, South Africa serves as the major economic hub for Southern Africa and for the entire continent.

South Africa generates about 20% of the economic activity for the entire African continent.  Within South Africa, the Gauteng Province is the economic hub for the country with about 30% of the economic activity centered there.  The Gauteng Province not only serves as a key economic hub for South Africa but for the entire continent.

In Gauteng Province, you find Sandton, a suburb of Johannesburg.  I like to call it the “Wall Street” or “Manhattan” of Africa.  Within the few square kilometers of Sandton, you will find a great concentration of financial and economic activity, multinational firms and visitors/representatives from almost every country.  Many of the largest and significant business, political and social conferences, workshops and forums for the continent are held in Sandton.

In addition, Pretoria in the Gauteng Province has a large number of embassies and consulates, representing African countries.  Generally, each country will have representatives that deal with commercial and economic interests housed in the embassy or consulate.

While Gauteng Province is not the only economic hub, it is a strategic one you can learn to navigate so that you can launch your business into Africa.  The Gauteng Economic Development Agency provides a few guides on the economic environment and doing business in Gauteng.

We have also put together a list of the African economies in rank order by size, as well as our monthly collection of resources for you.  If you want to learn more about, each of the key regional economic hubs, you can visit our posts on Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa.  In subsequent posts, we will provide ideas for navigating economic hubs successfully, as well as more detailed information on each of the economic hubs.