Doing Business in Africa

By Terri Morrison
© Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved

There is also the enormous area sometimes called Sub-Saharan Africa or “black Africa.” Sub-Saharan Africa can be further divided in different ways. You can differentiate between primarily Muslim and primarily non-Muslim (which could be Christian or various traditional beliefs). Or you can separate African countries by their former colonial overlords: Britain and France, and (to a much lesser extent) Portugal, Italy, Germany and Spain. However, using this methodology will not endear you to most Africans today.

The latter classification is linguistically useful for foreign visitors. No one expects foreigners to be fluent in the myriad indigenous languages used in Africa. But most of Africa was ruled at one time by the United Kingdom or France. In these countries, it is not difficult to find people who speak the old colonial languages. Indeed, since most African nations encompass several linguistic groups, the old colonial language is sometimes seen as a unifying force (as English is in India). So, in most of Africa, you can usually make yourself understood if you speak English and French..

Corruption and Bribery
Business travelers should be aware of the hazards involved in doing business—wherever they go. In his groundbreaking 1990 book Tropical Gangsters, writer Robert Klitgaard examined the effects of African nations that are run as kleptocracies, for the benefit of the rulers. Travelers to these countries can expect to pay bribes for basic services..

World touring investor Jim Rogers has traveled through Africa twice—once on a motorcycle, once in a car. He related his most recent trip in the 2003 book Adventure Capitalist. As he anticipated, Rogers had to pay bribes at various places, especially border crossings. He was particularly incensed when, upon exiting Mozambique, he was required to buy 30 days’ worth of road insurance—good only in Mozambique, a country he was leaving for good!.

Despite his travel savvy, Rogers was deceived several more times. Once, arriving in the Congo, he discovered that the Congolese visas he purchased from a man in the Congolese consulate in the Ivory Coast were fake. (Or perhaps the Congolese official who claimed they were fakes was cheating him—Rogers never found out.).

Travelers who would like to learn more about the levels of corruption and bribery around the world should refer to the German organization, Transparency International ranks countries based on a variety of statistical surveys, and is definitely worth reviewing before any trip..

Muslim Africa
The northern half of Africa is primarily Muslim, and Muslim mores apply to travelers and citizens alike. Your clothes must be modest. Women, especially, must cover their upper arms and legs. Observant Muslims consume neither alcohol nor pork, and the sale of these may be prohibited in Muslim areas. And always use your right hand in preference to your left; the left hand is considered unclean..

While you might get away with violating these customs, your actions may affect future visitors. For example, the city of Djenné in Mali has a remarkable mosque—the largest mud-brick building in the world. This beautiful building is now off limits to non-Muslim foreigners because a European magazine used it as a photo backdrop for lingerie models. .

Curiously, the preference for the right hand over the left extends over much of Africa, far beyond the influence of Islam. And even Christian Africans can be quite conservative. The general rule for dress in Africa is: the more conservative, the better..

Of course, Africa is no stranger to violence. At any one time, there are wars raging in several African countries. But within countries, much of the worst violence occurs between Muslims and Christians. Such violence ranges from Nigeria on Africa’s west coast to Sudan on the east coast. The violence may have other subtexts (such as oil revenues), but it manifests as religious friction..

Africa for Women Travelers
Africa presents particular challenges for women travelers. The lives of most African women are not easy; in addition to poverty, disease and political instability, they are burdened with cultural limitations. Among many African groups, such as the Masai of east Africa, women do almost all of the daily chores. Such work is considered beneath Masai men, who consider themselves warriors. (Since there is little work for warriors outside of the armed forces, many Masai men spend their days drinking tea.).

Because of the subordinate position of women in many African societies, foreign women should not expect the automatic courtesies or credibility they find in the West. In Africa, men go through doors first, not women. In some countries, such as Uganda, women greet men by kneeling! (Fortunately, this is not expected of foreign women.).

If you are invited to dine with a traditional African family, you may have to wait while the men eat first, then dine later with the women. (On the other hand, you might be granted the status of “honorary male” and invited to eat with the men.) And a single woman will have difficulty inviting an African male to a business meal; an invitation to be alone with a male will be misconstrued as a romantic overture..

In case you are still not clear about the variety of customs around the African continent, here are a few common behaviors—and their African variations:.

• Clapping one’s hands in applause indicates approval. (No, in much of southern Africa that’s how one expresses thanks.)



• You rise from your chair when someone important enters the room. (Not if you’re taller than the V.I.P. Among the Bantu, you show respect by placing yourself at a lower level, even if that means remaining seated.)



• Africans will eat most forms of wildlife, including cooked python. (True, except in Togo and Benin, where voodoo is a religion and the python is venerated—there is even a Temple of the Python in Ouidah, Benin.)



• Coca-Cola is a carbonated beverage available almost anywhere in the world, including Africa. (True, but “Coca-Cola” is also a code phrase in Tanzania meaning “charge me half price and I won’t demand a receipt.”)

As you can see, Africa is a vast, ethnically rich environment full of contrasts and contradictions. Expending the effort to learn about each country independently is well worth your time. After all, as they say: C’est L’Afrique; on a le temps. (This is Africa; we have time.)

Excerpted from OAG Frequent Flyer, March 15, 2004