Thread by @tayooye

THREAD: Nigeria versus South Africa. - comparison of the work cultures, people, and values.

1/ There is a common misconception that Africa is a monolithic continent full of dark-skinned people seeking foreign aid. Nothing can be further from the truth. Africa’s economies are developing, the tech scene is booming, and the business environment has improved dramatically.

2/ For perspective, Nigeria's and South Africa’s GDPs (about $400bn USD each) are about the size of Norway’s; twice as big as Greece’s, and 4 times larger than Ukraine’s. So don’t get it twisted, Africa is a great place to do business.

3/ I have worked across Africa but have spent the most time in the two largest economies – Nigeria and South Africa. I was fortunate to lead a business in each of the two countries in recent times and absolutely love both countries.

Here are my views on their work environments.

A/ SOUTH AFRICANS WORK TO LIVE; NIGERIANS LIVE TO WORK: My SA colleagues had lives outside of work – hiking, music, biking, esoteric travel etc. My Nigerian colleagues had side gigs that start at 7pm, lasts through the weekend, and ramps up during “vacations”.

Pic: SA office

A/ SOUTH AFRICANS WORK TO LIVE; NIGERIANS LIVE TO WORK (cont.): I took this picture cos I couldn’t believe I was the only one left in the building at 5:15pm on a work day in SA. Nigerians work till 7/8pm on a typical day.

B/ SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANIES HAVE BETTER BUSINESS PROCESSES AND STRUCTURE. I couldn’t just hire and fire at will in SA; the CFO didn’t technically report to me (dotted line to me, direct line to the board); and the corporate governance model was much stronger.

C/ NIGERIAN ARE MORE ENTREPRENEURIAL THAN SOUTH AFRICANS: I already alluded to this earlier but it applies even at the corporate level. Nigerian business are always looking for the next wave; SA businesses are slightly more traditional.

D/ SOUTH AFRICANS ARE LESS CONFRONTATIONAL THAN NIGERIANS. Nigerians are generally louder and more aggressive/flamboyant than South Africans. I advise a phenomenal digital agency in SA (@StiltMediaSA) and have to dial down my Nigerian aggressiveness to work with the team.

If you need a digital marketing agency in South Africa, please talk to Tina @MaryAnnTina and Mimi @fhatumphaphuli . They lead @StiltMediaSA and do really good work for their clients.

E/ SOUTH AFRICA THINKS LIKE EUROPE; NIGERIA LIKE AMERICA. Like most of Europe, SA is a true rainbow nation (at least in the workplace) with multiple viewpoints, races, and religions. People naturally learn to speak with a lot of nuances and consideration for other people.

E/ (cont.) Nigerians workplaces are 99.99% black and African. Like Americans, everybody has strong viewpoints and are unapologetic about sharing them. Nigerian's also work long hours and are more individualistic than the rest of Africa. Think of Lagos as NYC and Joburg as Berlin

To further buttress the Europe: America dichotomy

Music: SA - House: NGR – Hip-hop
Aspirational University: SA - Oxbridge: NGR – Ivy League
Food: SA - Continental: NGR - Traditional
Policy guide: SA - Egalitarian: NGR - Individualistic
Hobbies: SA - Varied: NGR – Parties

F/ EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR LAWS ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN SA AND VIRTUALLY NON-EXISTENT IN NIGERIA. It took 3 month to get rid of the weakest link in our SA operation – 1st warnings; 2nd warning; final warning; arbitration etc. In Nigeria, you just tell them not to show up tomorrow.

G/ BOTH COUNTRIES ARE FULL OF SMART, DEDICATED, AND KNOWLEDGEABLE EMPLOYEES WHO CAN COMPETE FAVORABLY WITH THE BEST IN THE WORLD. Great people, amazing culture, awesome ROI, and an unmatched feeling that your work truly makes a difference.

CAVEAT: These are one person’s opinions. It’s difficult to generalize from one person’s experiences (n = 1) but Twitter wouldn’t exist without opinions so…

Please feel free to share your opinions and personal experiences via comments.