Strategy Consulting in Africa

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Development programs IN Africa is jokes!!! Funny enough, a good number of African countries seem to be recession proof and are doing fairly well (Nigeria, S.A, Ghana, amongst a few others). An analyst stint in Africa might not be a bad idea (esp in South Africa).

Back to your original question, I would suggest IMF or world Bank, nonetheless, they prefer master degree candidates.....

www.kiva.org

check out their fellows program. it's a hot microfinance non profit and you can be one of their fellows in about 50 different countries all over the world. i worked there for 6 months to help out when it was getting off the ground in case you care to know more.

I know this is a bit off topic but when I was going through FT recruiting I tried to land a position in SA. However, even with contacts at the VP level I was told they wouldn't interview me due to the fact that it would be a waste of time seeing as I wouldn't be able to secure a work visa anyways. Therefore, how does a white American land a job in SA?

The market there is still good. And the oil wealth in Nigeria is trememdous. The nigerian government mad more than 15 billion dollars last yea, from Pertrolum taxes on IOCs, And the profits from NNPC

Do you have any previous experience? In general the international development banks / organisations tend to want people with experience of some sort, they can get the unskilled people locally and that is why these volunteer programs which don't require any specific skills are a bit of a joke and you aren't really "helping".

You would be better off trying to get into some sort of emerging markets team at a BB if you have any regional connections to some part of the developing world, that way you can get some solid experience first and then go into development later on. Also for a lot of them you'll need to have some decent foreign language skills.

The IFC is the most finance orientated place I think, but even to get in at entry level as an analyst you need some sort of work experience.

I do development in Africa. My company is for-profit. Non-profit is evil. I do Project Finance, asset based LevFin, and Private Equity. I'm on the verge of opening a boutique I-Bank (A joint venture with several banks and a government) for private placements, structured finance, and debt securitization. One of the biggest issues is the lack of long term debt for development. I want buy debt and create CDO's for sale on the world markets. They don't need anymore non-profits, they need bankers and financiers to develop their capital markets, support business development to increase employment, and finance major infrastructure and energy projects.

...And finance major housing projects...

There are two ways of getting into business in Africa. First, is starting your own business and identifying local partners for some sort of joint venture relationship. Second, is to know someone who is already doing business in Africa and to be invited in. Because of the pioneering and entrepreneurial nature of the markets in Africa it's a lot like PE in that business is started with networking and then relationships.

the biggest difficulty for Americans, myself included, is patience. Things are done very differently in Africa and often business requires a hands on approach. That means you have to be there in order for things to get done.

You need integrity, patience, diligence, more patience, and creativity to take advantage of opportunities there. You have to be willing to teach and share information because our business technology may be more sophisticated. You have to be willing to trust your partners and have faith (after due diligence and verification of course) that things will come together. there is a positive correlation between your own level of integrity and how much you can trust others in Africa. Our second biggest problem is that we continually to underestimate the intelligence of our foreign counterparts. It's the funny accents if you ask me.

If you want to go and get a job then you need to show enthusiasm for the work, a willingness to get dirty, and preferably an advanced degree in something. From my own observation, "non-natives" (or foreign nationals as opposed to host nation nationals) usually hold consultant jobs.

^Sounds familiar haha