Complexities Of African Expansion Unpacked In New Book

New book outlines mindset needed to approach business across the continent

There’s an African proverb that says “What is past is gone, what is hoped for is absent, for you is the hour in which you are.” With this kind of singular African insight and practicality, Rutendo Hwindingwi, a self-described “African realist,” carefully introduces executives to the challenges of doing business in Africa in a new book titled “Rumble in the Jungle Reloaded.”

Africa is a complex continent, comprising 54 very different countries, each with its own legislative, governance and language identities, vastly different socio-economic contexts, and delicate cultural nuances. By extracting lessons from the celebrated “Rumble in the Jungle” world heavyweight boxing championship bout in Zaire in 1974, between the then-world number 1 George Foreman and the pretender to the crown, Muhammad Ali, Hwindingwi identifies the key threads that unite them in business and cleverly outlines the mindset needed to approach business expansion across the continent.

In his interpretation, the fight – one of the greatest sporting events of all time – becomes the boxing equivalent of a major business initiative. The “market leader” (Foreman) was confronted by the “underdog” (Ali), whose tactics ultimately won him the championship, contrary to expectations, in fact, denying every prediction made. Hwindingwi draws a parallel between Ali’s five fight strategies and the approach required to master doing business in Africa.

Lacing his guidance with personal anecdotes acquired over a more than twenty-year career on the continent, Hwindingwi also profiles business and community leaders who’ve flourished in various African settings despite governmental and legal (and illegal) challenges. Throughout the book, he provides a pragmatic overview for business leaders, wherever they are based, on how to successfully drive mutually beneficial business development on the continent, underscored by the belief that Africa is one of the most exciting places on the planet in which to do business right now, with its wealth of resources, potential and untapped opportunity.

Hwindingwi has held several C-suite positions at organisations in Africa including at Deloitte, Elev8 and Sage. He is also a non-executive director for the British Chamber of Southern Africa and the Chairman of the Digital Forum of the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa. He was born in Zimbabwe, is now based in Johannesburg and has worked in over fifteen African countries. He completed his PhD in International Business Strategy at WITS University in 2014 year and has since published various academic papers on the topic.

Rumble in the Jungle Reloaded is now available in selected bookstores nationwide and online here.

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