A particular focus under the leadership of Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa at the World Economic Forum (WEF), is the “Scaling up Innovative Grassroots Technologies; dimensions include budget transparency, climate change, democracy, media and mobile banking.”

So, enter the scene in 2010, Thierry Boulanger responsible for the formulation and execution of product sales for IT in Africa. In expectation of a French speaking accent, I am completely surprised by a South African dialect.

Despite being caught between the expectation and surprise, we are greeted by the warmest, welcoming voice over a telephone you could possibly experience, lending to the vast and successful experience Thierry has as a top notch sales executive.

Thierry’s diary is penned to brim with the direct management of a 15 people strong team, the development of partner networks, as well as the development and maintenance of the service and logistics network for Samsung’s IT division as too is keeping appointments out in the public domain.

Additionally, with the launch of Samsung Business, in February last year, Thierry is responsible for the successful development of this business critical division as well as the development of the business-to-business team that is significantly making in-roads into the corporate market in Africa.

Chatting to Thierry is firstly rewarding in that this Central African born executive, first positions Samsung not as a global conglomerate, but almost as a continental concern with the African people, their needs and Samsung development, belonging to Africa. Thierry Says, “Samsung is in Africa for the long-term and has made considerable investments as proof of our (Samsung’s) belief Africa as a sustainable market.”

In 2011, Thierry had indicated that Samsung’s expansion into Africa will increase continental revenues by 40 percent. Thierry confirms confidently, “We are well set on achieving this goal.” Samsung Africa is set to generate, if not exceed the 10bn USD sales revenue mark by 2015.

An important characteristic of the African continent is the demand from especially the youth market, for digital devices and any electronic mechanism that fits into the growing internet usage growth in Africa.

Thierry highlighted that, “Important to Samsung’s in its strategic approach is that we (Samsung) consider and develop a strategy for each country where we have operations in Africa.” Thierry goes on to highlight that, “Samsung because of their wide product base, sees select products as applicable for a specific country.”

All in all Thierry executes a tiered strategy in 49 countries across the continent dealing with more advanced or less developed environments in ICT (Information Communication Technologies), teleco’s (telecommunications), mobile devices, 2G or 3G and some countries far less developed mobile environments. He iterates that in Ethiopia as an example, their focus in much more on teleco (telecommunications) and then in Nigeria the company has a more advanced approach to mobile communications.

To emphasize the precise and innovative strategy Samsung employs if Africa, Thierry explains that the approach to Africa is unique and has thus adapted their product development strategy approach. As an example he points out that Samsung has developed the DuraCool fridge that has added built-in insulation. Africa in many regions is synonymous with energy load-shedding. This technology aids the consumer in this event by trapping the cold air, maintaining temperature and prolonging the fridge-life of the food stored therein.

In addition and also based on the energy needs of Africa, Samsung has developed a unique and advanced TV electronics circuitry called SurgeSafe that protects the television set from multiple power-surges.

Shifting gears and focusing on the rural Thierry articulates (you can hear the pride in his voice) the development of Samsung’s solar-powered generator. My eyes light up as, for the last 12 years I have had a hands-on approach to helping small businesses, even survivalist micro-businesses in the enterprise development arena. Given this rural background, the heartstrings are ‘jingling’ with just the thought of how this development can aid such businesses and even households.

Thierry also mentions that given the need for energy and a global focus on education, this technology development, especially on this continent is completely applicable to helping kids work not only in the classroom but also in their homes.

Africa’s GDP is also largely made up of micro-businesses with limited to no energy in many regions. This technology now enhances the ability of such trading entities to add to their product range of perishable goods, bridging the divide between rural and urban settings, giving access to families.

Continuing, Thierry highlights the development of the first solar-powered laptop. It can absorb energy while you’re working and while after the user has closed it and it is left in direct light.

Thierry changes the direction to point out that Samsung does not have a one track mind. Having studied his presentation at the 2012 AfricanBrains – “Southern Africa ICT for Education Summit”, we can see that Samsung not only understands the needs of Africa, but that their product development is submerged in the facts that depict Africa as a burgeoning market.

To this effect, Thierry emphasizes Samsung’s “BUILT IN AFRICA, FOR AFRICA, BY AFRICA” corporate social responsibility initiative. The focus is on youth unemployment, emigration of talented graduates, high crime thus creating conditions for ethnic tension and violent conflict which is typically synonymous with Africa.

Thierry repeats the Samsung belief that, “investment in education is felt to be ‘wasted’ if young people cannot apply their education to gaining a livelihood.”

To this extent Samsung has progressed by creating access to an enabling technology infrastructure at the bottom of the pyramid.

The three major programmes that are reaching the bottom-up approach (one of the guiding principles for Samsung) are depicted below;

Thierry alludes that Samsung understands well that success in Africa requires committing to help create the market and infrastructure around it- not just entering it, and says “We have set ourselves a goal to positively impact the lives of 5 million people in Africa by 2015.”

Making a success in Africa Thierry says is designing our ‘Built for Africa’ products with the preservation of the continent’s resources in mind, where partnering with local African governments to address critical environmental issues like waste and e-waste, carbon footprint reduction, chemicals and environmentally sensitive re-design practices.”

What makes Samsung special in many ways is that their corporate social responsibility speaks directly to their huge investments over the continent. From the ashes to the Mobile Education initiatives, to Solar Powered Internet Schools (such as the first set up in Botswana and Lesotho with pilots in Kenya, Angola, Nigeria, Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa) and Electronics Engineering Academy, youth could see themselves employed in the private sector or within the assembly plants being set up in Africa for Samsung technologies.

To a large extent Samsung is leading the charge, not only as a global brand but as a leading proponent leading product development and change for our African people.

The post Innovative Investment: From Samsung, To Africa appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

Majority-owned by UK’s Vodafone Group, Vodacom is poised to set up shop in two or three African countries in the next three years.

According to Fox Business News, CEO Shameel Joosub, told Dow Jones Newswires the firm wants to increase revenues generated from Africa to between 25 and 30 percent in the next three years.

Currently, Vodacom’s operations in Africa, excluding South Africa, make for only 17 percent of the firm’s revenue, the US news giant said this week.

Joosub would not disclose detailed specifics of the company’s planned merger and acquisition strategies.

One of the major drivers for mobile phone firms on the continent is the speedy launch of smartphones.

Vodacom currently paying more attention to bringing more smartphones in as many user’s hands as possible.

Vodafone has developed a cheap smartphone that Vodacom wants to start selling in Africa from June this year. It will sell for about $70.

According to Joosub, Vodacom has partnered with an unidentified manufacturer to create cheap smart phones, which will firstly be sold under the Vodafone brand.

Joosub told Fox Business News smartphone users in its markets surged from 1.2 million to 1.6 million in the year ended March 31 this year.

The post Vodacom On Lookout For Acquisition Opportunities In Africa appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

VENTURES AFRICA – The last quarter is upon us and this year has seen the introduction of a plethora of new, networked technology devices. The endless streams of new models cater to the different demographics at far-reaching corners of our increasingly connected world. We are slowly homogenising into a “global village”.

From high-end smart phones and tablets to basic feature phones, we are now able to reach most people at the click of a button or two, and research facts and figures online without thinking twice. New solutions are developed fast, news travels faster and all the information you need is literally at your fingertips 24/7. While this state of affairs provides immense opportunity for businesses globally, it does also result in a progressively more complex environment within which companies need to manage and compete for talent.

Employees have the opportunity to take greater control of their careers, to make an impact and get results. No longer can anyone use the excuse of not having access to information – Google has organised it all for you. If you really can’t be bothered to look for the information, follow someone who does on Twitter. If you want it, it is out there and with the right level of curiosity and ambition it can be yours.

The technology and civil infrastructure challenges in some emerging markets and the actions leaders are taking towards improvement has been played to death. What is much more interesting is what managers do with the people they have working for them today – the employees who go though the challenges of poor roads, who face the fourhour journey into work because of traffic jams. What differentiates successful companies from the rest is how, and to what extent, they invest in their people.

Working on a project to improve the operations of a struggling financial institution, I identified a talented worker, Jimmy, who was unfortunately relegated to the back office. Too critical in his role providing much-needed data to his superiors on an ad-hoc basis, Jimmy had not taken a holiday in over a year, had no training despite his wanting to develop project management skills, and had no mentor. Added to this, in the typical management chaos, Jimmy never got feedback on the outcomes of his delivered work. He worked ungodly hours but had lost the will to continue. Both Jimmy and I knew what he was really good at, so when he asked me why he should continue to work at this institution when he could work for himself, providing such expertise to corporations, I struggled to provide a good-enough answer.

In my experience, most people want to do a good job. What hinders them is the lack of appropriate mentoring to learn and grow, an environment devoid of encouragement to take ownership of outcomes. The best managers nurture talent. They take the time to identify what drives an individual, and then give them clear goals which enable them to tap into their inner drive to produce outstanding results. In a world where everyone can easily become an expert with the help of the Internet, and where everyone can become an entrepreneur or have a far-reaching voice blogging on the Internet, managers need to find the voice that their employees desire and enable them to grow wings and fly. Or they risk losing perfectly good talent.

A so-called “B” player can very easily become an “A” player with a clear remit within an appropriately formed team. Great companies invest in their team leaders and managers to equip them with the tools necessary to form balanced, effective teams, comprised of complementary skilled teammembers, with tangible objectives. I daresay that in emerging economies there is simply not enough emphasis placed on developing people.

This is not an issue that requires advanced infrastructure to solve. It simply requires awareness and a willingness to invest in the parts that inevitably make up the whole.

The post Management Lessons As Seen By Successful Africans In The Diaspora appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

VENTURES AFRICA – The political instability in Egypt and neighbouring countries has hindered the influx of investment. Businesses’ are nervous about the political outlook and this has aggravated worries about Egypt’s infrastructure and regulation.

Nevertheless, Egypt offers longstanding benefits for both local and international companies. And it is possible to cut through or minimise the infrastructure problems and political risk. So despite the challenges, there remain compelling reasons for doing business there.

The post Finding Business Stability In Egypt During Political Uncertainty appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

In addition, the company has positioned Pete Buresh, its regional vice president for International Aircraft Sales/Africa, in Cape Town, South Africa.

“These additional resources put us closer to our customers and position us for growth opportunities in these regions,” said Scott Neal, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Gulfstream. “The momentum we carry following the entry-into-service of our two new aircraft, the G650 and G280, makes this an ideal time for renewed focus, particularly in Europe, a traditionally strong business jet market.”

The London sales and design center will give European, African and other international customers convenient access to the acquisition and design stages of a Gulfstream business jet. Its centerpiece will be a showroom filled with a range of veneers, leathers and fabrics from which to create an aircraft interior.

The facility is located in the Mayfair district of central London.

Gulfstream’s new authorized sales representatives for aircraft transactions in Europe are Tim Leacock Aircraft Sales in the United Kingdom, ATP Aviation in Ankara, Turkey, and Loyd’s Aviation Group in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Gulfstream appointed Evergreen Apple Nigeria in Lagos to the same role.

Each firm has access to a network of entrepreneurs and operators that value and utilize business aviation. ATP Aviation and Loyd’s are Gulfstream operators.

“All of these partners have extensive knowledge of Gulfstream aircraft and what models are the best fits for their respective markets,” Neal said. “Customers will appreciate their expertise and attention to service.”

Buresh, a 20-year Gulfstream employee, was named sales director for Africa in March 2010.

Gullfstream is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), which designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. The company has approximately 65 aircraft based in Africa, including more than a third that are G450s or GIVs. Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are each home to more than 10 company-built aircraft.

The post Gulfstream Enhances Aircraft Sales Support In Europe, Africa appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

This emerged a two-day J-SUMIT conference held in Japan. Japan organised the conference in an effort to prove the attractiveness of the long-term investment tactic characteristic of Japanese firms.

This money will be used over the next five years in direct loans, underwriting of debt offerings and equity stakes in crude oil, natural gas, coal and minerals, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

The business newspaper reported that Japan is in serious need to secure long-term dependable base for natural materials.

Japan is also prepared to give its technologies to build roads, railways and utilities, giving a viable alternative to the Chinese state-owned firms, it said.

“This conference has put in place the building blocks to encourage investment from Japanese companies and to help create Africa’s sustainable growth,” WSJ quoted Toshimitsu Motegi, minister of economy, trade and industry in Japan, as saying.

It is understood that many African states have started to protest over the heavy-handed style of China’s investments.

The post Japan To Invest $2 Billion In Africa’s Energy Projects appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

Rupert who has already reduced some of his day-to-day duty as the group’s Chief executive said he is taking a year leave to read books and possibly travel to Antarctica.

”After 25 years, I think I have got the right to just take a break,” he said.

”There are things I want to see and do. I want to be a master of my own time for sometime. It is ironic that someone in the watch business should not be in control of his time.”

Rupert, who founded Richemont as an offshoot of his father’s business today owns the world’s second largest luxury goods group. His company has luxurious brand such as Alfred Dunhill (Men clothing brand), Jaeger-Le Coultre (wristwatch) and online fashion retail business- Net-a-profit.

In his absence, the company will be controlled by Co-chief executives Bernard Fornas, Richard Lepeu; Chief finance officer, Gary Saage and Deputy Yves-Andre Istel who will chair group’s board meeting.

None of these executives are family members, a rather suprising move since Richemont is a family business.

Rupert however said that he has confidence in them.

Rupert’s announcement came at a time when his company recorded its strongest growth ever. The company recorded a 14 percent rise in sales to €10.15billion for the year ended March 31. Its pretax profit rose 32 percent.

The company however face weaker demands in recent time.

Rupert said despite slow down, Richemont sales were 12 percent higher than the same month in 2012.

”However, one month of sales should not necessarily be taken as an indication of the year as a whole. ”

The post Billionaire Johann Rupert To Take A Break From Business appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

It was speculated on Friday that these JSE-listed companies were at an advanced stage to take over the company.

A well-placed source told Ventures Africa: “Things look positive and the deal is definitely possible.”

Neotel holds great value for Vodacom and MTN partly because of its well-established fibre network and its valuable frequency spectrum.

Neotel’s current shareholders are Tata Communications (68.5 percent), Nexus Connection (19 percent) and Communitel (12.5 percent).

Introduced in South Africa in August 2006, as the second national operator (SNO), Neotel had Eskom (15 percent), Transtel (15 percent) , Nexus Connection (19 percent) and SEPCO (51 percent) as shareholders.

SEPCO was made up of the Tata Group of India, which held a 51 percent stake in SEPCO, and two private consortia, Communitel and Two Consortium.

Eskom, Transtel, and Two Consortium sold their stakes to Tata Communications, giving the Indian company a 68.5 percent stake in Neotel.

Neotel was evasive when asked for comment on the rumour. “Neotel is experiencing good growth and will soon be announcing its results as well as the company direction for the next financial year,” it said.

However, Ventures Africa has it on good authority that a strict non disclosures agreement prevents the companies from disclosing the takeover deal.

Richard Boorman, Vodacom spokesperson, said Neotel said that it is not company policy to comment on market rumour and speculation.

Boorman said: “We explore investment opportunities on a regular basis, but for obvious reasons I have to decline to comment on any specific companies”.

Nik Kershaw, executive for investor relations at MTN Group, could not comment further than only say: “MTN does not comment on market speculation”.

The post South Africa’s Telecoms Giants Prepare Neotel’s Hostile Takeover appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

VENTURES AFRICA – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation, has assembled financial players to build further momentum for mobile financial services in Ivory Coast.

Considering mobile access to financial services a key element in the fight against poverty, the IFC held a seminar yesterday in Abidjan to discuss the eradication of poverty amongst citizens.

Though Ivory Coast has more than 90 percent mobile penetration, only 14 percent of the population have access to financial services.

Cassandra Colbert, IFC resident representative in Ivory Coast, said: “IFC and the MasterCard Foundation want to help local financial institutions realize the opportunity in Cote d’Ivoire for the development of agent banking and mobile financial services that will accelerate the reach of financial services to those currently without banking services.”

During the event the market potential for financial increases to small scale businesses in rural areas and low income households were emphasised.

Through a four year plan the collaboration will work on the improvement of the Ivorian financial situation through mobility.

“Improving access to finance is important for supporting shared prosperity in Cote d’Ivoire,” Colbert added.

The post IFC Promotes Mobile Finance In Ivory Coast appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The plant will be situated in Egypt’s Kom Abu Radi Industrial Zone, Al Wasta City, Beni Suef and is likely to be functional sometime this year.

The new factory, which will be spread over 366.000 square meters of land, is poised to grow the diversity of Samsung’s creative products that will be accessible to clients across the region.

The plant is likely to put more emphasis on making TV sets and monitors and other state-of-the-art tools.

Products made in Beni Suef will be supplied and made accessible all over Egypt and in 10 other MEA countries by the close of 2016.

“As technology is constantly becoming an integral component of everyday life, we welcome the first Samsung factory in MEA,” said Dr. Hesham Kandil, the Prime Minister of Egypt.

“As a market, we recognize that there are diverse business opportunities across a broad range of industry sectors which is why we always welcome and encourage foreign investment, such as Samsung’s.”

In the next five years, the plant’s yearly manufacturing output is set to be over 2 million units.

The post Samsung To Build Factory In Egypt, Enter MEA Region appeared first on Ventures Africa | .