Today's guest entry highlights John Callaghan's project work in South Africa...
Well, that just about wraps it up for our work with companies here in Johannesburg. Yet while the class moves on to an interesting and exciting few of days seeing other aspects of South Africa – today visiting telecom company MTN, tomorrow hopefully seeing some of SA’s ‘big five’ on safari – the challenges facing township companies still continue.
Over the last week and a half, José Luiz (Brazil) and I have been working with a small bed manufacturing and sales company in Soweto, led by local entrepreneur Joshua Ngesman. At 26, Joshua brings a lot of energy and dynamism to the company, which is reflected in its progress to date and the respect with which it is held by business associates and the IDC, a state-owned development bank which has provided a loan.
Joshua’s business is to manufacture and sell low cost, high quality beds to township markets in Joburg and beyond. It seems a good proposition – as yet, there are relatively few furniture stores in the suburbs, and while he has some competitors, their quality is highly variable (you can tell by lying on the beds!) and their prices often higher than is reasonably affordable, given wage levels. Selling locally is also important; Joshua estimates that in the areas he’s targeting, only one in five people have their own transport.
But at the moment, the company faces big challenges. Demand for beds is lower than expected due to the recession, and with some customers (existing retail stores) exceeding their credit terms by many months while materials suppliers demand prompt payments, cash is tight. Considering this, we initially wondered if the company could ask consumers to pay in advance of manufacturing and delivery, as is common in some other countries and exemplified by the way Dell sells PCs. But Joshua advised this probably wouldn’t work, since consumers wouldn’t trust the company with advance payments.
And reflecting on the overall exercise, this issue of trust seems paramount. While large companies in SA operate in similar if not identical ways to those in advanced economies, it seems that successful trading in townships still relies very much on personal relationships, making building a solid network very important. This can start (as in Joshua’s case) with family links, then build into the local community. Indeed, as well as being physically local, an important part of Joshua’s value proposition is being culturally local; the fact his company is black-owned carries significant weight with customers.
Despite the current difficulties, there are good reasons to believe that Joshua can turn things around and build a successful business. In fact, it’s not inconceivable he could follow in the footsteps of his uncle (who is backing the company) and become a serial entrepreneur! During an interview with a local newspaper on Monday, he positively sparkled when asked about his dream for the years ahead, which is to set up a substantial manufacturing operation and a network of stores. And while he needs to focus on his cash flow in the short term, our best advice to him is to continue to believe in this dream and persuade others to do the same. We wish him all the best for the future.
John
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Delivery
Today was delivery day. Delivery of the projects we have been working on the past week. Judging from the many stories I have heard from my classmates South Africa have made an impact on us all and judging from the very same stories we made an impact on South Africa. Maybe not as a country, but for the entrepreneurs we have been working with. It is incredible how much you as a group can pick up, process and feed back in a week once you really set your mind to it.
The last two days we borrowed a room in the office of our host IDC, where we could digest and process the information we absorbed over the past week. For some reason, it did not feel much different than the dungeons back in Lausanne.
My concerns about us knowing absolutely nothing about hydraulic fittings evaporated already the first day and this week became an awesome demonstration of the power of a multi-skilled team. Eric – our financial genius – drew up a complete financial model from scratch and helped Peter sort some outstanding issues with his bank. Stone – our engineer – made a model that allows Peter to accurately calculate his production cost of each product, which ensures that the prices are set correctly. Stone also made suggestions to how Peter can make very significant improvements to the utilization of his machines. Shibu – our marketing wizard – draw up a plan for a more structured sales process than Peter has today. Myself, I got really good at getting coffee for everyone ☺ We wrapped it all up in a business plan that Peter can take to his bank to help him refinance his existing business and obtain new capital for his planned expansion. That was our deliverable and Peter seemed very happy with it.
Eric and Stone trying to get the financial and operational figures to match.
Delivery of the business plan took place at ‘The Mug & The Bean’ coffee shop. Here Shibu and Peter are discussing the marketing plan. Please note the huge cup of coffee in the front. This is on the menu as a so-called ‘Serious Cappuccino’ and consists of almost half a liter of warm milk and coffee. Not only in America!
What better way to end it all than with a team phoon in front of the Mandela statue on Mandela Square here in Sandton City. From left it is myself, our entrepreneur Peter, Stone, Eric, Shibu and our driver Sharl.
We had lunch at a Thai restaurant today. My teammates apparently thought I needed to relax and bought me a massage in the restaurant. For the equivalent of 5 dollars you get about 20 minutes of massage of neck, shoulders and arms before and after you eat. I could really get used to that. Although we were in a Thai restaurant the girl proved to be Chinese. As Stone and her started talking in their native tongue we learned that she was from a place in China not far from Stone’s and that she had migrated to South Africa a couple of years ago to work. Interesting, I thought, that someone would migrate to find work in a country with 25% unemployment. Stone explained that many Chinese go abroad these days, most of them to set up their own businesses, though.
We have also experienced the diversity of our group in a culinary way this week. Thursday Shibu treated us for Indian food, Friday Stone treated us for Chinese and today Eric took us out for Thai. There are unfortunately very few traditional Danish restaurants outside of Denmark, but I can always buy you a Carlsberg! ☺
South Africa is now seeing the rise of a new term: ‘White poverty’. This little exhibition was set up today across the street from our hotel.
The poster reads: ‘…poverty in South Africa no longer has an exclusively black face….. Poverty is becoming less of a racial issue and more of a South African problem…. Having been deprived of their previously ‘privileged’ position, the white poor are now seeking new ways to adapt or at least survive.’
In some bizarre way this is a good sign. Not that people get poor, but than when there is poverty, that it is evenly split among races. This is the precondition for eventually bringing South Africa out of the poverty!
Less than 50m from where the previous picture was taken we found this display of material wealth. Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Audi R8 in front of the posh Michelangelo Hotel reminds us that South Africa still is a country full of contrasts.
Thorsten
The last two days we borrowed a room in the office of our host IDC, where we could digest and process the information we absorbed over the past week. For some reason, it did not feel much different than the dungeons back in Lausanne.My concerns about us knowing absolutely nothing about hydraulic fittings evaporated already the first day and this week became an awesome demonstration of the power of a multi-skilled team. Eric – our financial genius – drew up a complete financial model from scratch and helped Peter sort some outstanding issues with his bank. Stone – our engineer – made a model that allows Peter to accurately calculate his production cost of each product, which ensures that the prices are set correctly. Stone also made suggestions to how Peter can make very significant improvements to the utilization of his machines. Shibu – our marketing wizard – draw up a plan for a more structured sales process than Peter has today. Myself, I got really good at getting coffee for everyone ☺ We wrapped it all up in a business plan that Peter can take to his bank to help him refinance his existing business and obtain new capital for his planned expansion. That was our deliverable and Peter seemed very happy with it.
Eric and Stone trying to get the financial and operational figures to match.
Delivery of the business plan took place at ‘The Mug & The Bean’ coffee shop. Here Shibu and Peter are discussing the marketing plan. Please note the huge cup of coffee in the front. This is on the menu as a so-called ‘Serious Cappuccino’ and consists of almost half a liter of warm milk and coffee. Not only in America!
What better way to end it all than with a team phoon in front of the Mandela statue on Mandela Square here in Sandton City. From left it is myself, our entrepreneur Peter, Stone, Eric, Shibu and our driver Sharl.
We had lunch at a Thai restaurant today. My teammates apparently thought I needed to relax and bought me a massage in the restaurant. For the equivalent of 5 dollars you get about 20 minutes of massage of neck, shoulders and arms before and after you eat. I could really get used to that. Although we were in a Thai restaurant the girl proved to be Chinese. As Stone and her started talking in their native tongue we learned that she was from a place in China not far from Stone’s and that she had migrated to South Africa a couple of years ago to work. Interesting, I thought, that someone would migrate to find work in a country with 25% unemployment. Stone explained that many Chinese go abroad these days, most of them to set up their own businesses, though.
We have also experienced the diversity of our group in a culinary way this week. Thursday Shibu treated us for Indian food, Friday Stone treated us for Chinese and today Eric took us out for Thai. There are unfortunately very few traditional Danish restaurants outside of Denmark, but I can always buy you a Carlsberg! ☺
South Africa is now seeing the rise of a new term: ‘White poverty’. This little exhibition was set up today across the street from our hotel.The poster reads: ‘…poverty in South Africa no longer has an exclusively black face….. Poverty is becoming less of a racial issue and more of a South African problem…. Having been deprived of their previously ‘privileged’ position, the white poor are now seeking new ways to adapt or at least survive.’
In some bizarre way this is a good sign. Not that people get poor, but than when there is poverty, that it is evenly split among races. This is the precondition for eventually bringing South Africa out of the poverty!
Less than 50m from where the previous picture was taken we found this display of material wealth. Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Audi R8 in front of the posh Michelangelo Hotel reminds us that South Africa still is a country full of contrasts.Thorsten
Monday, July 27, 2009
Energy through Empowerment
My team is working with IFAW Holdings, which is a holding company with the mission of empowering women across South Africa through investments in local companies. Our entrepreneur, Lorraine Mpahlele, partners with small businesses in the hopes of both making a profit and expanding employment, training, and funding opportunities for women throughout the business. The company’s mandate aligns closely with BBBEE legislation, which encourages black and female empowerment; the legislation requires diversity in equity and executive composition and encourages companies to partner with women owned and black owned companies.
In our learnings about South Africa, I have been very impressed in the country’s efforts to right the wrongs of apartheid. The Black Economic Empowerment Legislation explicitly tries to redistribute wealth across the population similarly to how political power was redistributed after the end of apartheid. There are mixed opinions about how successful this legislation has been, as there are millions of people still living in poverty that have not seen its benefits. However, the imbalance is being openly discussed and managed, which is very different than in many other countries where racial or social inequities are considered taboo.
The fact that the country has acknowledged the inequity and announced explicit goals for improvement has given the country a sense of energy and entrepreneurial spirit that is hard to describe. Lorraine is filled with a passion for business but wants to make sure that this economic growth is accompanies by social change. From what I’ve heard from other teams, this idea of giving back to the community is shared by many of the entrepreneurs we are working with. It has been very inspiration to be partnered with Lorraine, and as we work with her to solidify the company strategy we are looking forward to seeing all of her dreams turn to reality.
Kristin
In our learnings about South Africa, I have been very impressed in the country’s efforts to right the wrongs of apartheid. The Black Economic Empowerment Legislation explicitly tries to redistribute wealth across the population similarly to how political power was redistributed after the end of apartheid. There are mixed opinions about how successful this legislation has been, as there are millions of people still living in poverty that have not seen its benefits. However, the imbalance is being openly discussed and managed, which is very different than in many other countries where racial or social inequities are considered taboo.
The fact that the country has acknowledged the inequity and announced explicit goals for improvement has given the country a sense of energy and entrepreneurial spirit that is hard to describe. Lorraine is filled with a passion for business but wants to make sure that this economic growth is accompanies by social change. From what I’ve heard from other teams, this idea of giving back to the community is shared by many of the entrepreneurs we are working with. It has been very inspiration to be partnered with Lorraine, and as we work with her to solidify the company strategy we are looking forward to seeing all of her dreams turn to reality.
Kristin
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Umoja – The spirit of togetherness
What a weekend it has been! Apartheid museum Saturday afternoon and the Mandoza musical in the evening. Up early today to spend the day in Soweto, first attending a church ceremony, then visiting the museum for the Soweto uprising, Mandela’s house, lunch at a Soweto restaurant and finishing with a visit to the Cotlands hospice and orphanage.The apartheid museum gave an almost too real description of the rise and the fall of the apartheid regime, the principles behind and the cruel and unjust measures that were required to maintain it. Afterwards you can only ask yourself how it was possible to justify and build such an inhuman system.
A quote that shows how the apartheid politicians saw their role. In a TV interview one of the politicians even argued that the apartheid model had proven its worth and that it should be used in other places in the world. Let us be very happy that this never happened!
The beauty of the South African solution is that it starts and ends with reconciliation. The South Africans (at least the ones I have met, both black, coloured and white) truly believes in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ - where all colours live together as one – as the only way to a better future. I think they have gotten it so right! This picture shows the exit from the Apartheid Museum.
In the van on the way back from the Apartheid Museum.
Saturday night we attend the Mandoza musical. Also this story was build up around the freedom struggle and the liberation. It showed how the music and dance evolved with the historic events from tribal life to today’s rock stars and it described the important role music played to keep morals high when times were tough. It was an incredible display of energy and joy! We have nothing like this in Europe! The buckets on the head of these ladies says ‘Umoja loves you’. Umoja means ‘The spirit of togetherness’ in one of South Africa’s 11 languages. Don’t ask me which one.
This morning started with a ceremony in the Grace Bible Church in Soweto. The church must be able to seat at least a couple of thousand people. The ceremony almost felt like a continuation of the musical the night before; full of energy and happiness! The speeches were both spiritual and very down to earth including both the current economic crisis and yesterday’s rugby game where South Africa beat New Zealand.
We met these two guys on our way.
Our two guides for the day, Thomas (left) and Ben. Born and raised in Soweto. Ben showed us how you in Soweto tell the minivan taxis where you are going only by the use of hand signs.
Do you need a new set of tires? You can get everything done on the streets of Soweto.
What surprised me the most was how developed Soweto was. There are shopping malls, stadiums, schools, hospitals, good roads, water and electricity. Here is the local Nissan dealer. It is, after all, also a city with four million people.By the way, did you know that the name Soweto comes from ‘South West Township’, which again stems from the fact that Soweto lies south west of Johannesburg.
This picture shows the absolutely worst part of Soweto. This was actually what I expected all of it to look like, but according to Ben it is only 10% of the people in Soweto that lives like this. This number is even decreasing as the South African government makes progress on its Residential Development Program that has build houses for several million people.
How about a couple of nuclear reactors in your back yard? They are not active anymore, but you can get a bungee jump from the top for fifty dollars.
Our guide Ben in front of the monument for Hector Pieterson at the museum for the Soweto uprising in 1976. The uprising was a protest against the government’s decision that education must be done in Afrikaans, a language that neither teachers nor students amongst the black population understood. The police opened fire on the crowd and 69 people (officially) were killed. Hector Pieterson was the first one to fall. He was thirteen years old.‘I have also been throwing rocks at the police around here’ Ben said at one point. Another reminder of how recent all this has happened.
We paid a quick visit to Mandela’s house. There is not much too see there other than it is very small.
Lunch at a restaurant in Soweto. They apparently got our name wrong, so here are the three IMC ladies Valeria [Russia], Misayo [Japan] and Yadira [Colombia].
The last stop on the road was the Cotlands hospice and orphanage. The children at Cotlands are mostly from families where the parents are either sick with or dead from AIDS. Most of the kids themselves are also HIV positive. Although the circumstances are so sad Cotlands is a wonderful place to visit. As everywhere else where you have kids around there is lots of energy and desire to play. The older kids (3-5 years) were ready to play when they saw 70 daddies and 20 mamas walking in. For more than an hour we all played around and had some good old childish fun.In their worst year Cotlands had 87 deaths. Last year they had one. The difference is the treatments that now are available. The children live longer, which creates new problems as they now must have support for a much longer period. A ‘winners curse’ as our Economics Professor Ralf Boscheck would call it. Although a positive problem, it is still a problem.
Cotlands had an IMD ICP team working with them last year. They mentioned several time that the team had had a major impact on them and that they still were implementing the recommendations that the team had made. We had already heard about the IMD/Cotlands project from the IMD side, but we took this opportunity to get some input from Cotlands as well. We got some good ideas and suggestions that we will bring with us to this year’s similar project with Koinonia in Kenya.
Thorsten
Saturday, July 25, 2009
From shoe-shine to Soweto showers
Today's guest entry is written by Rasmus Figenschou.
Ruslana (Canadian), Cedric (France), Sylvain (France), Dave (Australia) and Rasmus (Norway) makes up the team advising a Shoe-shining operation here in Johannesburg.
Thinking we were going to become excellent shoe-shiners, we were surprised to learn that our entrepreneur already had move onto new hunting grounds. We plunged straight into the launch of a shower service to townships near Johannesburg.
Townships date back to Apartheid times when non-whites were designated to live in certain areas. Though some townships have been upgraded, most still do not have hot water, or even running water to their homes. Daily hygiene is therefore limited to collecting water from a nearby source, and possibly heating it up in your home, or washing straight from the tap in the street.
Many people from the townships commute to the city for work where transportation hubs allow for very efficient modes of transport. Arriving at 5am, people were already queuing up to get on their way into town for work. Small taxis (industry standard is the Hiace) go to different points of town, where only experience and asking for advice guides people of the right line to join. With the chilling minus two degrees and masses of people, we were amazed at the adherence to queue-etiquette and the evident orderly system of what in the beginning seemed like complete chaos.
Our location-scouting brought us various township areas (more toilet areas than we could count), downtown train stations etc, and even allowed us for some very local food experiences. The driver of our bus is a police officer and provides for our safety in a country that is known for its crime. It is a bit of a nuisance having to stay in a close group all the time. That said, I have had nothing but positive experiences with South Africans – and the early AM trip also gave a good counter-perspective to the safety concerns. Knowing when to hide your camera is obviously the case as in any other developing country. But in spite of being the only two white people/abelungu (Xhosa word deriving from the white break of the sea) walking around Soweto pre-sunrise we had no negative experiences, but rather were met by curious interest and smiling faces.
Lastly I have to express our groups love for our entrepreneur. As one of the first generation to graduate from higher education after Apartheid he did not find a space in normal business world. Instead he started numerous ventures, and numerous failures but a continuing drive to succeed is one of the key qualifications of Lere. Every problem is met with one hundred new solutions, and whenever we have a problem to be solved he is on the phone within minutes to find the appropriate person in government or otherwise and gets in the door whichever way is possible.
I am writing this as I am watching another cultural event here in South Africa - Rugby: The Springbucks are playing the New Zealand All Blacks. Currently the local team is up 14-3 so the mood in the bar is good!
To one and all; Hambani kahle
Rasmus
Queues for bus in morning
All sorts of services are offered in the township
If you dont have a mobile, numerous phone "kiosks" are available
Lere´s shoe shine meets IMD MBA - Two cold gentlemen out treading the streets of Soweto in the early morning
Getting to work in the morning can take several hours if you live in the townships
Ruslana (Canadian), Cedric (France), Sylvain (France), Dave (Australia) and Rasmus (Norway) makes up the team advising a Shoe-shining operation here in Johannesburg.Thinking we were going to become excellent shoe-shiners, we were surprised to learn that our entrepreneur already had move onto new hunting grounds. We plunged straight into the launch of a shower service to townships near Johannesburg.
Townships date back to Apartheid times when non-whites were designated to live in certain areas. Though some townships have been upgraded, most still do not have hot water, or even running water to their homes. Daily hygiene is therefore limited to collecting water from a nearby source, and possibly heating it up in your home, or washing straight from the tap in the street.
Many people from the townships commute to the city for work where transportation hubs allow for very efficient modes of transport. Arriving at 5am, people were already queuing up to get on their way into town for work. Small taxis (industry standard is the Hiace) go to different points of town, where only experience and asking for advice guides people of the right line to join. With the chilling minus two degrees and masses of people, we were amazed at the adherence to queue-etiquette and the evident orderly system of what in the beginning seemed like complete chaos.
Our location-scouting brought us various township areas (more toilet areas than we could count), downtown train stations etc, and even allowed us for some very local food experiences. The driver of our bus is a police officer and provides for our safety in a country that is known for its crime. It is a bit of a nuisance having to stay in a close group all the time. That said, I have had nothing but positive experiences with South Africans – and the early AM trip also gave a good counter-perspective to the safety concerns. Knowing when to hide your camera is obviously the case as in any other developing country. But in spite of being the only two white people/abelungu (Xhosa word deriving from the white break of the sea) walking around Soweto pre-sunrise we had no negative experiences, but rather were met by curious interest and smiling faces.
Lastly I have to express our groups love for our entrepreneur. As one of the first generation to graduate from higher education after Apartheid he did not find a space in normal business world. Instead he started numerous ventures, and numerous failures but a continuing drive to succeed is one of the key qualifications of Lere. Every problem is met with one hundred new solutions, and whenever we have a problem to be solved he is on the phone within minutes to find the appropriate person in government or otherwise and gets in the door whichever way is possible.
I am writing this as I am watching another cultural event here in South Africa - Rugby: The Springbucks are playing the New Zealand All Blacks. Currently the local team is up 14-3 so the mood in the bar is good!
To one and all; Hambani kahle
Rasmus
Queues for bus in morning
All sorts of services are offered in the township
If you dont have a mobile, numerous phone "kiosks" are available
Lere´s shoe shine meets IMD MBA - Two cold gentlemen out treading the streets of Soweto in the early morning
Getting to work in the morning can take several hours if you live in the townships
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Spirit of South Africa!
Who would have thought it would be so cold in South Africa! Not me, that is for sure. We have hit the coldest period of the year on the Southern hemisphere and with Johannesburg being far inland the temperatures get quite low, around zero degrees Celsius at night and around 15 degrees during the day. That does not sound particularly cold, but in South Africa the houses do not have any heating!! The argument appears to be that this cold period is so short – max. 2 months – that it is not worth to put in heating. Most people therefore wear their jackets indoor these days. We have learned to adopt that fashion.
We have continued our work with Peter – the owner and manager of the company we work with. We visited three of his customers yesterday and have also had two meetings with his bank. Eric – our financial wizard - have been digging into the numbers, while Stone – our engineer – have had a look at the machines and the manufacturing processes. Meanwhile Shibu and I have been trying to combine input from the customers and Peter’s vision of where he wants to take the company into a coherent strategy with a very concrete action plan. The trick is now to bring all three pieces together into a package (in the form of a business plan) that Peter can use both for his own reference and to raise capital for further expansion.
Today we had our second guest speaker, Ivon Johnston, who has been working in and with the South African government for many years. She told some moving stories about what South Africa has gone through, but most of all she told the story about what all of us already have felt – the spirit of South Africa! It is a spirit of optimism and joy that will not let itself be held down by the many very serious problem the country is facing. It is a spirit of reconciliation and compassion, not about revenge, hatred or blame. It is a spirit that recognizes what happen in the past while insisting on focusing on the future.
There is one name in particular that embodies this spirit. We keep hearing it again and again. It is mentioned by our guest speakers, by the entrepreneurs and workers in the companies, by our drivers and by other people we meet. It is used to name everything from streets to shopping malls. The name is Nelson Mandela. He is nothing short of a prophet here. His birthday is a national holiday. Had it not been for his vision South Africa would not have achieved the tremendous improvements that it has over the past 15 years and it would not be heading in the positive direction that it is. I cannot imagine what South Africa will look like in 15 years, but it will for sure be an amazing place!
Thorsten
Shibu James [India] having Chicken Licken (the South African equivalent of KFC) for lunch.
Stone Gao [China] and Peter discussing the manufacturing process of a particular component.
Stone and Peter discussing manufacturing while Eric is crunching the financial numbers.
The modern version of the classic problem of ‘how to fit a square stick in a round hole?’ This one is called ‘how to fit a Swiss electrical plug into a South African socket?’
Yesterday our team had Indian food for lunch. From left it is our driver Sharl, Stone Gao [China], Thorsten Boeck [Denmark], Eric Vergara [Thailand], Peter and Shibu James [India].
One of the teams is working with a company that has developed a special x-ray machine. They had pictures taken of them selves and asked the class to guess who is who. A very entertaining exercise!
Ivon Johnston telling the story about Justice Beki-beki, who was given the death sentence, but saved by the fall of the apartheid regime. He later became a lawyer, a leader of the election process in the Northern Cape province and a member of the international body that monitored the elections in the US.
Tonight’s sunset over Johannesburg as it looked from our hotel. The sunsets are very dramatic and beautiful in the way they paint the whole sky red. The picture does not do reality justice at all.
We have continued our work with Peter – the owner and manager of the company we work with. We visited three of his customers yesterday and have also had two meetings with his bank. Eric – our financial wizard - have been digging into the numbers, while Stone – our engineer – have had a look at the machines and the manufacturing processes. Meanwhile Shibu and I have been trying to combine input from the customers and Peter’s vision of where he wants to take the company into a coherent strategy with a very concrete action plan. The trick is now to bring all three pieces together into a package (in the form of a business plan) that Peter can use both for his own reference and to raise capital for further expansion.
Today we had our second guest speaker, Ivon Johnston, who has been working in and with the South African government for many years. She told some moving stories about what South Africa has gone through, but most of all she told the story about what all of us already have felt – the spirit of South Africa! It is a spirit of optimism and joy that will not let itself be held down by the many very serious problem the country is facing. It is a spirit of reconciliation and compassion, not about revenge, hatred or blame. It is a spirit that recognizes what happen in the past while insisting on focusing on the future.
There is one name in particular that embodies this spirit. We keep hearing it again and again. It is mentioned by our guest speakers, by the entrepreneurs and workers in the companies, by our drivers and by other people we meet. It is used to name everything from streets to shopping malls. The name is Nelson Mandela. He is nothing short of a prophet here. His birthday is a national holiday. Had it not been for his vision South Africa would not have achieved the tremendous improvements that it has over the past 15 years and it would not be heading in the positive direction that it is. I cannot imagine what South Africa will look like in 15 years, but it will for sure be an amazing place!
Thorsten
Shibu James [India] having Chicken Licken (the South African equivalent of KFC) for lunch. 
Stone Gao [China] and Peter discussing the manufacturing process of a particular component. 
Stone and Peter discussing manufacturing while Eric is crunching the financial numbers. 
The modern version of the classic problem of ‘how to fit a square stick in a round hole?’ This one is called ‘how to fit a Swiss electrical plug into a South African socket?’ 
Yesterday our team had Indian food for lunch. From left it is our driver Sharl, Stone Gao [China], Thorsten Boeck [Denmark], Eric Vergara [Thailand], Peter and Shibu James [India]. 
One of the teams is working with a company that has developed a special x-ray machine. They had pictures taken of them selves and asked the class to guess who is who. A very entertaining exercise! 
Ivon Johnston telling the story about Justice Beki-beki, who was given the death sentence, but saved by the fall of the apartheid regime. He later became a lawyer, a leader of the election process in the Northern Cape province and a member of the international body that monitored the elections in the US.
Tonight’s sunset over Johannesburg as it looked from our hotel. The sunsets are very dramatic and beautiful in the way they paint the whole sky red. The picture does not do reality justice at all.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
An Inspiring Conversation
Several months ago in our entrepreneurship class we studied a case study on WIPHOLD, a South African investment group dedicated to the economic empowerment of black women. Today my group met with two of the founders of WIPHOLD to support our current project in South Africa. We are working with a local entrepreneur that is building a company similarly dedicated to empowering black women; we wanted to better understand WIPHOLD’s vision and some of the challenges they faced when it was first starting out, fifteen years ago, at the end of apartheid.
The afternoon was inspiring; both for our project and on a personal level. Louisa Mojela and Gloria Serobe explained their strategy empowering women on multiple levels. The company invests in large companies and participates on the board, bringing female perspective to the boardroom. They also educate and enable underprivileged women to grow their money through investment. Their fund granted a trust in which thousands of rural women in South Africa had a small ownership stake; WIPHOLD manages a very sophisticated investment portfolio and the beneficiaries of the trust can choose whether they would like continue to invest or withdrawal a portion for personal need.
Louisa and Gloria told us about the challenges that they faced establishing their business; women that they wanted to empower were located in hard-to-reach rural areas, spoke many different languages, and were often skeptical about the investment model that WIPOLD was proposing. As WIPOLD grew in size and gained recognition, they had to manage the backlash from the male-dominated business community in South Africa. They continue to overcome these challenges; their passion and commitment to women empowerment was clearly demonstrated through the conversation. It was amazing to have the opportunity to learn from two women that had made such a great impact in the country.
Kristin
The afternoon was inspiring; both for our project and on a personal level. Louisa Mojela and Gloria Serobe explained their strategy empowering women on multiple levels. The company invests in large companies and participates on the board, bringing female perspective to the boardroom. They also educate and enable underprivileged women to grow their money through investment. Their fund granted a trust in which thousands of rural women in South Africa had a small ownership stake; WIPHOLD manages a very sophisticated investment portfolio and the beneficiaries of the trust can choose whether they would like continue to invest or withdrawal a portion for personal need.
Louisa and Gloria told us about the challenges that they faced establishing their business; women that they wanted to empower were located in hard-to-reach rural areas, spoke many different languages, and were often skeptical about the investment model that WIPOLD was proposing. As WIPOLD grew in size and gained recognition, they had to manage the backlash from the male-dominated business community in South Africa. They continue to overcome these challenges; their passion and commitment to women empowerment was clearly demonstrated through the conversation. It was amazing to have the opportunity to learn from two women that had made such a great impact in the country.
Kristin
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Goeie Nag!
Guest entry by Alejandro Salcedo
Our group was assigned to work with a medical devices company based in Pretoria. It is one of the many companies that have been formed thanks to the Black Economic Empowerment policy. The company was established in 2002 as a black female managed and controlled company, it has 11 employees and they help a European company to sell their products to government hospitals. The first day we spent getting to know the company, its people and the way they operate, it was a very interesting process where we learned a lot about their dreams and their challenges.
Our meetings with the company’s team was a mixture of questions asked by us about how they work and questions asked by the girls on how we suggest to do things, it was a very interesting day where our team tried to squeeze as much information as possible and at the same time gave some advice on particular issues. I believe our team is a very complete one for the challenges we are facing: Chia Chia Lim (Singaporean) who has a background in finance and operation improvement, Valeria Pavlyukovskaya (Russian) has a background in sales and marketing, Ilya Syshchikov (Russian) has a background in sales, marketing and business development and myself (Mexican) with a background in sales and project management.
Today we visited a couple of public hospitals where this company sells and we interviewed a few people whom they deal with on a regular basis in order to get a feeling of what is the real situation on the battle front, it was of course a very enriching experience in all aspects, not only in relation with our project, it was very interesting to walk around the aisles of a public hospital in and talk to the people who work there, know about their day-to-day life and the challenges they face on their workplace, and the relationship that all that keeps with the company we are working with.
To close the day we had dinner at the IDC and we had the privilege to have Prof. Shirley Zinn as our guest speaker. Prof. Zinn is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Nedbank, a financial institution originated in The Netherlands. She has built up a very strong curriculum and has broad experience in several public and private institutions. She has been given a number of awards and she shared with us her passion for learning and education and for her land and the people who have made South Africa a more equal place. At the same time she also addressed the challenges that in her opinion, the country is facing. It was a learning and inspiring session.
Lala Kahle! Goeie Nag! Good Night!
Alejandro
Our group was assigned to work with a medical devices company based in Pretoria. It is one of the many companies that have been formed thanks to the Black Economic Empowerment policy. The company was established in 2002 as a black female managed and controlled company, it has 11 employees and they help a European company to sell their products to government hospitals. The first day we spent getting to know the company, its people and the way they operate, it was a very interesting process where we learned a lot about their dreams and their challenges.
Our meetings with the company’s team was a mixture of questions asked by us about how they work and questions asked by the girls on how we suggest to do things, it was a very interesting day where our team tried to squeeze as much information as possible and at the same time gave some advice on particular issues. I believe our team is a very complete one for the challenges we are facing: Chia Chia Lim (Singaporean) who has a background in finance and operation improvement, Valeria Pavlyukovskaya (Russian) has a background in sales and marketing, Ilya Syshchikov (Russian) has a background in sales, marketing and business development and myself (Mexican) with a background in sales and project management.
Today we visited a couple of public hospitals where this company sells and we interviewed a few people whom they deal with on a regular basis in order to get a feeling of what is the real situation on the battle front, it was of course a very enriching experience in all aspects, not only in relation with our project, it was very interesting to walk around the aisles of a public hospital in and talk to the people who work there, know about their day-to-day life and the challenges they face on their workplace, and the relationship that all that keeps with the company we are working with.
To close the day we had dinner at the IDC and we had the privilege to have Prof. Shirley Zinn as our guest speaker. Prof. Zinn is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Nedbank, a financial institution originated in The Netherlands. She has built up a very strong curriculum and has broad experience in several public and private institutions. She has been given a number of awards and she shared with us her passion for learning and education and for her land and the people who have made South Africa a more equal place. At the same time she also addressed the challenges that in her opinion, the country is facing. It was a learning and inspiring session.
Lala Kahle! Goeie Nag! Good Night!
Alejandro
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Sawubona!
Two days ago I sat on my balcony in Lausanne. What a change of scenery there has been since then!
Sunday evening we met in Lausanne and via Geneva and Zurich we made it to Johannesburg by Monday morning. I asked for a seat by the emergency exit on the plane and was the lucky to get it! That is major deal breaker for me. It is the difference between sleep and no sleep. With enough space to stretch my legs I slept 7 of the 10 hours from Zurich to Johannesburg. I couldn’t have had a better start.
There was a lot of catching up to do on the way. The class has been spread around the world in the past three weeks. Combined we must have visited at least 50 countries. Around 25 people had gone to South Africa early, some individually and others in a trip organized by our native South African, Lisa Bridgett. Stories about cage diving with 4-meter sharks outside Cape Town were already spreading!
Chuks and Andres waiting to pass security in Zürich. Chuks had just become a dad less than 24 hours before the picture is taken!
Arrival in Johannesburg! Some more rested than others.
Our welcoming team. As the width of these two gentlemen indicates they are here for more than just driving us around. They are employed by a security company that takes care of all our transportation and security. All of them have a past in the army or the police.
Yesterday afternoon we met the companies that we will be working with. Here is the rest of my team Stone, Shibu and Eric with Peter [left] from Profast Hydraulics, the company we will be working with. Peter is a true entrepreneur and selfmade man who over the last 15 years has worked his company up from being just himself to employing 15 people and a number of advanced CNC machines. The company produces hydraulic fittings (primarily for the South African mining industry) and components for the construction industry.
Our stay in South Africa has come about as a result of the cooperation between IMD and the Internal Development Corporation (IDC). IDC is a government-owned but self-funded institution that provides financing for entrepreneurs in South Africa. Their aim is to stimulate the growth of the economy and to support the black economic empowerment.
IDC welcomed us with a great dinner with lots of traditional South African music and dance. That got everybody out of their chairs so we could dance along. Great fun!
Wendy Luhabe has been the person bringing IDC and IMD together. She is chairman of IDC and on the IMD board of directors. Here she bids us welcome at the dinner.
On the way out to the Profast factory today we drove by this billboard. Notice Wendu Luhabe on the far left. According to our driver, Sharl, Wendy is a well-known and very public character in South Africa. Please also note Sir Richard Branson (third from the left). Apparently they are having a leadership summit on South African entrepreneurship in Sandton – which is where our hotel is – tomorrow. I guess this just proves the relevance of what we are doing.
We spent all day today with Peter and Sharl. They took us around to the different sites where Profast operates.
We saw the machines and the products and we spent the whole days asking questions in order to understand Peter’s business and the concerns he has. Here it is Hendrik by one of the CNC machines.
We have tried to combine today’s learning with the skills we have amongst the four of us in order to find out where we can do our deep-dive over the next three days. With only a week to complete the whole project we need to take a very pragmatic and realistic approach to where we can add value. It means prioritizing, thinking on our feet and acting quickly. The great thing about this short time frame is that it gives you a bit of a kick. This is not a project that will drag on for months and where you have to collect vast amounts of information. Every hour counts and there is not a moment to waste if you want to do an impact by next Tuesday. Well, the impact may only happen over the coming months, but the frame for it must be set by Tuesday. The keyword is ‘impact’, doing something that really makes a difference. I am very excited and feel we are off to a good start, but there is still 6 days to go – and at the same time ONLY 6 days to go.
Every evening we will be sharing the day’s learning with the class. Judging from today’s session it sounds like everybody are working with companies just as exciting as ours. The companies covers such diverse products as restaurants, construction, pharmaceuticals, diamonds, public toilets in Soweto and a lot more that I haven’t had the chance to hear about yet.
This week have we replaced the White Horse with the bar in our hotel, but it is just as cosy. From left it is Richard Dove [UK], Albert Schultz [Germany], Ope [Nigeria] and Rasmus Figenschou [Norway].
And in case you were wondering: ‘Sawubona’ is the South African version of ‘hello’. Directly translated it means ‘I see you’.
Thorsten
Sunday evening we met in Lausanne and via Geneva and Zurich we made it to Johannesburg by Monday morning. I asked for a seat by the emergency exit on the plane and was the lucky to get it! That is major deal breaker for me. It is the difference between sleep and no sleep. With enough space to stretch my legs I slept 7 of the 10 hours from Zurich to Johannesburg. I couldn’t have had a better start.
There was a lot of catching up to do on the way. The class has been spread around the world in the past three weeks. Combined we must have visited at least 50 countries. Around 25 people had gone to South Africa early, some individually and others in a trip organized by our native South African, Lisa Bridgett. Stories about cage diving with 4-meter sharks outside Cape Town were already spreading!
Chuks and Andres waiting to pass security in Zürich. Chuks had just become a dad less than 24 hours before the picture is taken!
Arrival in Johannesburg! Some more rested than others.
Our welcoming team. As the width of these two gentlemen indicates they are here for more than just driving us around. They are employed by a security company that takes care of all our transportation and security. All of them have a past in the army or the police.
Yesterday afternoon we met the companies that we will be working with. Here is the rest of my team Stone, Shibu and Eric with Peter [left] from Profast Hydraulics, the company we will be working with. Peter is a true entrepreneur and selfmade man who over the last 15 years has worked his company up from being just himself to employing 15 people and a number of advanced CNC machines. The company produces hydraulic fittings (primarily for the South African mining industry) and components for the construction industry.Our stay in South Africa has come about as a result of the cooperation between IMD and the Internal Development Corporation (IDC). IDC is a government-owned but self-funded institution that provides financing for entrepreneurs in South Africa. Their aim is to stimulate the growth of the economy and to support the black economic empowerment.
IDC welcomed us with a great dinner with lots of traditional South African music and dance. That got everybody out of their chairs so we could dance along. Great fun!
Wendy Luhabe has been the person bringing IDC and IMD together. She is chairman of IDC and on the IMD board of directors. Here she bids us welcome at the dinner.
On the way out to the Profast factory today we drove by this billboard. Notice Wendu Luhabe on the far left. According to our driver, Sharl, Wendy is a well-known and very public character in South Africa. Please also note Sir Richard Branson (third from the left). Apparently they are having a leadership summit on South African entrepreneurship in Sandton – which is where our hotel is – tomorrow. I guess this just proves the relevance of what we are doing.
We spent all day today with Peter and Sharl. They took us around to the different sites where Profast operates.
We saw the machines and the products and we spent the whole days asking questions in order to understand Peter’s business and the concerns he has. Here it is Hendrik by one of the CNC machines.We have tried to combine today’s learning with the skills we have amongst the four of us in order to find out where we can do our deep-dive over the next three days. With only a week to complete the whole project we need to take a very pragmatic and realistic approach to where we can add value. It means prioritizing, thinking on our feet and acting quickly. The great thing about this short time frame is that it gives you a bit of a kick. This is not a project that will drag on for months and where you have to collect vast amounts of information. Every hour counts and there is not a moment to waste if you want to do an impact by next Tuesday. Well, the impact may only happen over the coming months, but the frame for it must be set by Tuesday. The keyword is ‘impact’, doing something that really makes a difference. I am very excited and feel we are off to a good start, but there is still 6 days to go – and at the same time ONLY 6 days to go.
Every evening we will be sharing the day’s learning with the class. Judging from today’s session it sounds like everybody are working with companies just as exciting as ours. The companies covers such diverse products as restaurants, construction, pharmaceuticals, diamonds, public toilets in Soweto and a lot more that I haven’t had the chance to hear about yet.
This week have we replaced the White Horse with the bar in our hotel, but it is just as cosy. From left it is Richard Dove [UK], Albert Schultz [Germany], Ope [Nigeria] and Rasmus Figenschou [Norway].And in case you were wondering: ‘Sawubona’ is the South African version of ‘hello’. Directly translated it means ‘I see you’.
Thorsten
Monday, July 20, 2009
Back to School (Kind of)
I spent the morning in Johannesburg waiting for my classmates to arrive. I flew in last night from Cape Town; the end to a fantastic two weeks vacation in South Africa. About 25 IMD students chose to come to South Africa early, extending our plane ticket for some extra vacation in the bush or near the shore. I have now been in the country for almost two weeks- the first week I spent on safari near Kruger Park in the north east part of the country. During the second week a large group of classmates met to enjoy the great life in Cape Town.
The native South African in the class, Lisa Bridgett, orchestrated the itinerary for our time in Cape Town. She made sure that we saw everything that the Cape has to offer- we hiked Table Mountain, explored the vineyards, went shark diving, saw the penguins, and ate our fill at amazing local restaurants. We also had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the sun, catching up with classmates with some fantastic South African wines. Big thanks to Lisa for arranging such an amazing week for us!
The rest of the class started arriving about an hour ago. We officially kick off the program this afternoon with an orientation session and some introductions to the key people that will be guiding our activities in South Africa. During this session we will learn more about the companies that we will be spending the next two weeks with, and our own goals and focus. But right now it is a huge reunion in the hotel lobby; hugs and greetings and questions about holidays- everyone looks rested and tan. Although its tough to shift out of vacation mode, I'm excited to learn more about our plans for the next two weeks and catch up with all my classmates.
Kristin
The native South African in the class, Lisa Bridgett, orchestrated the itinerary for our time in Cape Town. She made sure that we saw everything that the Cape has to offer- we hiked Table Mountain, explored the vineyards, went shark diving, saw the penguins, and ate our fill at amazing local restaurants. We also had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the sun, catching up with classmates with some fantastic South African wines. Big thanks to Lisa for arranging such an amazing week for us!
The rest of the class started arriving about an hour ago. We officially kick off the program this afternoon with an orientation session and some introductions to the key people that will be guiding our activities in South Africa. During this session we will learn more about the companies that we will be spending the next two weeks with, and our own goals and focus. But right now it is a huge reunion in the hotel lobby; hugs and greetings and questions about holidays- everyone looks rested and tan. Although its tough to shift out of vacation mode, I'm excited to learn more about our plans for the next two weeks and catch up with all my classmates.
Kristin
Sunday, July 19, 2009
In Transit
I am back on the balcony, back in Lausanne. Thinking, thinking, thinking. I feel much better than when I left Lausanne three weeks ago. The batteries are recharged and the connection to the outside world has been reestablished. At the same time it is also clear that mentally I never managed to leave Lausanne and IMD behind. Questions about what actually happened during the first half of the year kept swirling in my mind. The feedback from peers and professors - received the day before we went on vacation - kept popping up. Some of it was encouraging, some of it was not. And why was that? What situation was behind each message. Are there any regrets? Yes, definitely! It is clear that I have missed out on some obvious opportunities. That cannot be redone - that time will not come back - but I can make sure that I find a better path for the second half. I have boiled it all down to a few points that I want to improve on. A few goals that I want to reach.
I arrived in Lausanne yesterday after a week on Malta with my family. It was very hot and humid on this little island in the Mediterranean, so I have enjoyed the chill of Switzerland for a change. The last 24 hours have been spent unpacking, doing laundry and catching up on emails, so I am ready for the next trip. We are leaving for South Africa in a couple of hours.
In Johannesburg I will be working with Eric, Shibu and Stone in a small company (10 employees) that produces hydraulic hose fittings!!!! I wonder how a trader of financial derivatives (Eric), a sales guy from Procter & Gamble (Shibu) and a shipping guy (myself) will get our hands around that subject. We will probably be relying quite a bit on our only engineer (Stone).
This complete lack of knowledge of what awaits us is also what thrills me. We will just go and see what hits us and then take it as it comes. This is an experiment, a first ever for a business school as far as we know. I hope it becomes a huge success and one that can be developed further in the years to come. I can not wait to take the plunge!
I better start packing.
Thorsten
I arrived in Lausanne yesterday after a week on Malta with my family. It was very hot and humid on this little island in the Mediterranean, so I have enjoyed the chill of Switzerland for a change. The last 24 hours have been spent unpacking, doing laundry and catching up on emails, so I am ready for the next trip. We are leaving for South Africa in a couple of hours.
In Johannesburg I will be working with Eric, Shibu and Stone in a small company (10 employees) that produces hydraulic hose fittings!!!! I wonder how a trader of financial derivatives (Eric), a sales guy from Procter & Gamble (Shibu) and a shipping guy (myself) will get our hands around that subject. We will probably be relying quite a bit on our only engineer (Stone).
This complete lack of knowledge of what awaits us is also what thrills me. We will just go and see what hits us and then take it as it comes. This is an experiment, a first ever for a business school as far as we know. I hope it becomes a huge success and one that can be developed further in the years to come. I can not wait to take the plunge!
I better start packing.
Thorsten
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