Success in Africa

"We are beginning to see Africa's moment in the sun--it has been home to some of the world's fastest growing economies over the last two decades, while extreme poverty rates have sharply declined and key health indicators have improved. In Success in Africa, some of today's most influential business leaders share their firsthand insights about working on a continent bright with shared opportunity, and explain why Africa's future is more promising than ever." --President Bill Clinton "Africa is bigger, faster growing, more profitable and significantly more important than you'd like to admit. If you've been overlooking a $2 trillion economy, it's time to start paying attention." --Seth Godin, best-selling author of Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and others "In the early 2000s, Africa's future seemed grim. The Economist's May 13, 2000 cover declared "Africa: The Hopeless Continent." But over a decade later, when The Economist again devoted a feature story to the continent, the message had changed entirely to "Africa Rising." A new book by Jonathan Berman, Success in Africa: CEO Insights from a Continent on the Rise, aims to explain how this transformation happened and what the world can expect from a now-hopeful continent. Berman profiles hard-charging African CEOs such as James Mwangi, the CEO of Kenya's Equity Bank, which boasts nearly 8 million accounts and a market capitalization of over $1 billion; and Funke Opeke, a Nigerian businesswoman and CEO of Main One Cable who is helping wire and bring transformational high-speed, affordable Internet access to the continent. These business leaders, with their world-class skills and long-term visions, are forging new markets, driving growth, and raising both economic and political expectations along the way...Success in Africa helps change the lens through which Africa is viewed. Readers will come away with a greater appreciation for the dynamism, innovation, and economic potential of the continent." --Council on Foreign Relations "Jonathan Berman beautifully puts the lurid popular press headlines about Africa into perspective and helps us peek behind that curtain of stereotypes with insights regarding how investors can prosper in Africa. His extensive experience on a wide range of Africa projects is dynamite. I particularly loved his human insights -- the energetic resourceful ambitious Africans surmounting the enormous barriers of poor infrastructure and inefficient governments. Altogether, it's a very important book." --Mark Mobius, executive chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets "Success in Africa is an admirable piece of cross-cutting analysis, delivering a new understanding of Africa from the viewpoint of global business leaders and the new class of rising African businessmen. Jonathan Berman brings both networks to bear on the question of what drives success in Africa, and indeed in fast growth markets worldwide. While explaining the very significant challenges of business in Africa, he also highlights how some in Africa are defining a new path to growth, one that improves on the mistakes of the past (including those of the West)." --Paul Collier, Oxford University professor, best-selling author of The Bottom Billion "This is a not to be missed primer on not only where Africa has come from but how the future is unfolding. It will help change the skeptic's view of Africa. Great book." --Neville Isdell, former CEO, The Coca Cola Company "Offers a welcome perspective on Africa. What captains of industry have to say is a critical contribution. A realistic account of what it takes to run a successful business in Africa." --Brookings Institution "Breezy...provides real insight. Berman's interlocutors represent a new class of risk-taking businesspeople." --Foreign Affairs