Africa has for long existed as a consumer-based economy, heavily dependent on importation but budding entrepreneurs across Africa are changing this narrative and exploring the potentials we have. As a result there has been a surge of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) on the continent. Statistics indicate strongly, that Africa has the largest proportion of entrepreneurs in the world(1).
Yet! African countries rank high on global poverty hierarchy (2)
These two realities are hard to merge. Why is Africa consistently at the bottom of the sustainable development pyramid? Why does her level of entrepreneurship not coincide with the level of economic activities within her borders?
Here’s why!
1. Lack of Business Influence – Only a handful of African enterprises influence global economies. Small businesses have been seen to propel the development in several developed countries, even in the United States. Small businesses are, however, not yielding the same results in Africa.
2. Lack of Business Longetivity – According to a 2017 research into the survival rates of businesses in Africa, 20% of small businesses in Africa fail in their first year, 30% in their second year, and 50% after five years. Eventually, only about 30% of small businesses make it to 10 years (3). This shows that many of the business engagements in Africa lack significant momentum to pivot the development of her people or influence the world’s economic discuss.
3. Lack of Proper Planning – Several reasons have been identified to be responsible for this bottleneck in Africa’s drive towards global economic relevance. These issues include; poor succession planning, lack of a strategic drive/direction, absence of systems and structures, ignorance of industry trends and changes and the ostentatious living/lifestyle of some business leaders, amongst others(4).
This reality suggests that there is a need to review the business and economic model in Africa because something has to change. It’s NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL, and the 4th edition of the Under 40 CEOs forum takes a look at the dilemmas of Businesses in Africa, to provide relevant and strategic information to rewrite Africa’s story and answer the questions;
• How can we build sustainable businesses?
• How can we foster collaborations that go beyond Africa?
• How can we channel our efforts for bigger gains and rewards for our continent?
The business dilemmas Africa faces aren’t insurmountable, as the provision of relevant information and strategic networking platforms can help overcome these gridlocks, rewrite the narrative of the continent’s economic development and position this high-potential continent on the heart of global economies.
This event is a must-attend for business leaders and CEOs willing to change the narrative, build businesses that influence and make a mark on, in and out of Africa.
Tickets for the 2 day event- 9th and 10th of December 2019 are available here https://qkt.io/under-40-ceos
Bronze and Student members of the Under 40 CEOs Network get 25% off, Gold members get 50% off and Platinum members get free access.
To find out more about Under 40 CEOs membership, visit https://under40ceos.com/become-a-member
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