There are significant investment opportunities for U.S. businesses in Africa, Wallace Ford '70, president and chief operating officer for Goodworks International, said at a dinner held in the Hanover Inn. Goodworks is a business advisory firm specializing in emerging markets in Africa and the Caribbean. Even if he were working for a large investment bank such as Merill Lynch, Ford said his message would be the same: invest in Africa.
Ford's address marked the end of the Tuck-Minority Business Development Agency partnership program, which brings 47 minority business owners and service providers to the Tuck School of Business to take classes and learn new business skills.
Simple economics justify investment in Africa, Ford said, explaining that companies can make the most money where there is the greatest demand for their goods and services. Ford recalled giving a presentation to the multinational corporation Raytheon in which Raytheon had a map with a blue dot for every location where they sold an airport radar guidance system; Europe and North America were covered in blue dots, while Africa only had four.
"You can't sell something if someone already has it," Ford said. "You'd go where there is the greatest opportunity, and the most under-served market where there is the most opportunity is Africa."
Africa is no longer a continent hostile to business and investment, Ford said. Corruption is on the decline, and foreign aid is beginning to have a positive effect. Ford gave most of the credit to the Bush administration for substantially increasing aid and for making sure it had an effect.
"Bush does not get the credit he deserves," Ford said. "I will tell you there is no president who has been as active and substantially supportive in Africa in our country's history...We need to maintain the momentum."
Ford told the participants in the partnership that small minority companies can succeed in Africa and overseas in general so long as they understand the foreign market. The Export-Import Bank and the U.S. Department of Commerce both offer assistance to companies looking for help investing overseas.
"You're paying for these services already, so you might as well use them," Ford said. "Someone has an answer for you. Don't think you can't make money this way."
For instance, he said auto companies used to sell big cars in Japan with steering wheels on the left side that had no place in the Tokyo market where the roads are small and people drive on the left side. The leader of Toyota's U.S. operations, in contrast, is an American because the Japanese realized they needed someone who understands the U.S. market, he said.
The key to getting to know the African market is to form local partnerships, Ford explained. Goodworks offices in Africa and the Caribbean have experience doing business in those areas and have helped companies such as Nike and Coca-Cola form the local connections they need to succeed.
"It's important to have someone on your side, because the learning curve can be tremendously expensive if not disastrous," Ford said.
Minority businesses are the fastest growing sector in the U.S. economy, Minority Business Development Agency national director Richard Langston said at the event. It is crucial they have the tools to thrive in the new global economy, he added.
"This is not about love -- it's a business decision," Langston said. "If minority enterprises are not strong, the U.S. government and economy will not be strong."
