Africa’s Business Revolution: How to Succeed in the World’s Next Big Growth Market

In this guide to doing business in Africa, McKinsey consultants Leke, Chironga, and Desvaux enthusiastically convey the sheer adventure of navigating the continent’s markets. They contend that Africa, long dismissed in Western business circles as too risky or undeveloped, presents the intrepid investor with vast opportunities: a population of 1.2 billion projected to double in the next three decades, substantial and unfulfilled needs for goods and services, a huge landmass with corresponding natural resources, and accelerating economic growth. Moreover, they observe, while the West debates taking the plunge, Chinese businesses have already jumped in. To make their case, the authors present attention-grabbing tales of how firms have forged ingenious and thrifty business solutions. Startup M-Kopa developed a solar-powered electricity generator and made it available for a $30 deposit, allowing customers to jettison widely used but inferior energy sources such as kerosene and batteries. Digital transaction company Interswitch’s founder noted the piles of cash Nigerians used for everyday purchases and built Nigeria’s electronic banking infrastructure from scratch. This is a truly disruptive book, suggesting that today’s ambitious entrepreneurs look not to space or silicon but to the savannah. (Nov.)