AFRICAN BUSINESSMAN ARCHETYPES

Today, I will tell you about 5 types of African businessmen (or women). They are:

1. Ruthless
2. Life of the Party
3. Competent
4. Hustler
5. Spiritual

In my career, I have met all of them, and learned a few lessons along the way.

The first archetype is RUTHLESS. You can probably visualize him if I ask you to name top businessmen in Africa. More than a few are in this category.

They are the bankers who serve as bagmen to presidents. Industrialists with enduring monopolies. Doyens of illegal mining, smuggling and oil bunkering.

These guys win at all costs. If a rule can be bent, they'll bend it. If a story can be planted in the press, they'll do so. If a government official can be influenced, he will be. They know everyone everywhere. They understand power, and constantly court and amass it.

One thing about The Ruthless - they rarely go through normal channels to get justice. If you steal from them, they will use the instruments of state to kidnap you and take you to an undisclosed location. You will simply disappear until you pay back.

Sadly, many young Africans aspire to be this type of businessman. They are tired of being oppressed while seeing the wicked prosper, and so want to join them since they can't beat them. But I'm here to tell you NOT to do it.

There's a reason why mafia bosses sometimes go legit or why businessmen become pastors or philanthropists. They are seeking redemption.

The ruthless lifestyle wrecks your soul, spirit and relationships. Too much blood has been shed and lives destroyed. And though God may forgive you, the families of the affected will keep crying out for justice, and God is just.

When The Ruthless approach old age, I think it finally dawns on them that there is an afterlife much longer than their lifetimes. They worry about a reckoning, and the legacy they've left behind.

But many times, the allure of power proves too intoxicating to give up.

Stay tuned as I share about the second archetype, Life of the Party, later today.

#DearCEO #WakingThoughts PS: To be sure, this archetype exists abroad. But it's more sophisticated. There, if you offend the wrong people, you will find your business being audited by regulatory authorities.

They will come for a "random unscheduled inspection" that will keep you busy and send a very clear message.

You will also be denied access to certain roles and opportunities unless you play ball.

So you will need to find some other type of counterbalancing leverage.

That's why entertainment moguls can get away with shit for two decades without being indicted.

People wonder why fraudsters can't use the same intelligence and effort to do legitimate work.

However, it's actually more difficult to do things right. It takes more effort to be good than bad.

When you have no conscience, you don't second-guess your decisions or think about who you hurt. You have a god-like complex because you're smart enough to get away with stuff others won't attempt.

So, when you see someone trying to make money the right way, they deserve accolades. It's crushingly hard. Another thing. In some climes, government makes it harder to do things right.

There's a government requirement that my company recently followed. During the process, we realized that a lot of our peers don't even bother. They just paid the fine if they are caught.

Brethen, the process is unnecessarily long, quite manual and requires forms.

𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮

I watched the movie, The American Society of Magical Negroes on the plane. It stars Justice Smith and David Alan Grier.

Scripted as satire, the film suggests that some African Americans make themselves small in order not to be threatening to white people. It alleges that when Caucasians feel threatened, they may "unalive", implicate, or call the cops on black people, like the stereotypical "Karen." However, life soon turns into a perpetual knife-edge where African Americans scarcely feel safe. They cannot fully express what they think or feel, as they are often misunderstood.

The film was not well received by critics and it tanked at the box office. There were also accusations of generalizations and stereotypes. (For instance, not every black person living in the US is an African American.) But, Justice Smith's monologue at the end was instructive for me. At that point, his character finally lets loose; explaining his personal experiences as a black man in the US.

Interestingly, the white character seemed oblivious to his own implicit biases. It was more important for him to not be perceived as racist, than to acknowledge the black character's feelings.

𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻: 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗲:

There is a fascinating story in the biblical book of 2 Kings 4. I urge you to read it first for context.

In the story, a widow approaches Elisha the prophet, in desperation. Her husband had died leaving debts, and the creditor wanted to make her sons slaves, as a form of payment. Hence, she was appealing to the prophet for help.

There are many life lessons that I learned from this story. I will share some of them. 𝟭. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀

I'm unsure what the window expected from the prophet exactly. It seemed a financial matter, not a spiritual one. Was he to miraculously make the creditor disappear or conjure up money from air?

But, the widow appealed to the only power centre she knew. She couldn't reach the King, and the matter was urgent. She knew the prophet had wisdom, power & influence, and he was accessible.

Which power centers are within your reach?

𝟮. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹

The widow showed wisdom. She first reminded Elisha of her late husband's service. She had inadvertently pulled out a legacy goodwill chip that could be cashed in the present.

There are places I've been to where my name elicits the response, "I knew your father." Or, I say where I worked and the response is, "Oh we know your former boss." Then, things become easier for me.

Many of you will be favoured because you have served faithfully or someone else has done so before you. Don't waste your goodwill.

Sometimes, people use their goodwill on silly requests or on third-parties that are far removed from them.

Once your chip is cashed, you can't use it again.

I recently qualified for an Insurance Agent license in the great State of Texas. Our company has a US office there.

As an African "Efiko", I scored over 90% in the exam. But this post is about why I got the license in the first place.

My life's work is helping the honest & hardworking create wealth. Especially, the middle class who toil at their jobs every day, only to sadly get the short end of the investing stick.

So, when our African firm set up a US office, @VolitionBlue, I set out to understand generational wealth in America. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆

You cannot create sustainable wealth for yourself and others without financial literacy. Everything rises and falls on information, followed by access.

While I had some foundational knowledge of Entrepreneurship, Equities, Real Estate, Trusts and Philanthropy. Insurance was the field I knew nothing about.

Therefore, studying for a license was a disciplined way for me to learn about the sector. And if I was going to spend time reading the material, I wanted something to validate that knowledge.

𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 & 𝗗𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

When I moved into a new apartment, I noticed things started breaking down after a year. They no longer looked shiny or new. There was the orphan line where a cleaner scratched the wall with her cleaning cart. Scuffed baseboards. The weathered look of the patio after exposure to the elements.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀

There are gatekeepers in every society. Self-appointed overlords who having reached the zenith of their industry, decide who gets in behind them.

#Career #Work #Life #DearCEO I once heard an African-American actor speak about his experience in Hollywood. My heart broke a little when he said it didn't matter that he was talented or good looking. He needed someone to let him in.

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲

I used to be religious and then one day I stopped. I was exhausted by the incessant requirements and accompanying condemnation - one always seemed to fall short. And so, I embraced a relationship with God instead. My mum introduced me to church quite early, like most African mothers do. But I disliked the traditions and soon grew tired of doing the same things over and again.

This week on my Middle-Class Wealth series, I’m sharing insights from @VolitionCap's and @Opportunik’s white paper - Accelerating Wealth Creation for Middle-Class Africans & Diasporans.

#MiddleClassWealth #MiddleClass #VolitionCap #Africa #Diaspora https://t.co/Y5QLhgKjSOtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The White Paper by Volition Cap and Opportunik Global Fund discusses the wealth gaps between middle-class Africans & Diasporans and other ethnicities.

It emphasizes the need for the target group to create wealth 7-10x faster than their counterparts to close generational gaps.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆

Dear CEO, You are young and will be resented for your wealth. When you fly first class, some may wonder how you got there and biases will emerge.

[This is a thread🧵] A few will peg you as the scion of a rich family. Others will wonder about cybercrime. Develop a thick skin and understand that envy is par for the course.

𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆

I am an introvert without a great social filter. I do not like what I hate. But years of doing business means I've learnt to hide what I really think out of respect and political correctness.

#Work #Life #Authenticity #WakingThoughts However, my personal values define the work that I do and the people I love. I spent almost 20 years in the corporate world before starting my company, and as you can imagine, I got into trouble for being authentic.

This week on my Middle-Class Wealth series, I’m sharing insights from @McKinsey_MGI's report.

I highlight the opportunities for the African & diasporan middle class.

#MiddleClassWealth #AfricanMiddleClass #AfricanWealthReport #Africa #Diaspora twitter.com/i/web/status/1… McKinsey Global Institute is an authoritative source of economic forecasts. Their report projects a vibrant economic future for Africa in a number of sectors.

𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢,

I am not married, and I do not have children. I provide this caveat because by the time you finish reading this, you may think, "She doesn't understand."

#DearCEO However, wisdom is not circumstantial. You must take what makes sense to you and then, leave the rest. So here's my story.

I am the child of a high achieving woman. In her lifetime, my mother ran four businesses at different points while raising six children.

It was an honour to speak at the @SAAMA_NPC Conference on Wednesday, 7th June 2023.

I presented @volitioncap's unique fund management model using traditional African cooperatives.

#AfricanWealth #Diaspora #VolitionCap #MiddleClassWealth I also emphasized the need for asset managers to assist the middle class to reach their financial goals.

WHO DO YOU ANSWER TO? A CASE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

[Before you read this article, please take a quick poll to provide feedback about my newsletters, so I know whether to continue writing them: forms.gle/xUb26A6MYGLtTP…]

#Life #Leadership #WakingThoughts From 2015 to 2020, a series of seemingly unrelated events culminated in a personal crisis. Here's the timeline of what happened.

In the summer of 2015 my mom died, and then 6 months later, in 2016, my dad followed. By 2017, I started a company and considered leaving my day job.

I need to buy a physical Bible, so I can reduce my screen time. Even though I regulate my social media use, I spend too much time on my laptop for work and on my phone for note taking & reading. I can't even remember the last time I read a physical book.

Be ready for help.

I've never believed in reinventing the wheel. If someone is already doing what I want to do, I'll gladly join. But I've noticed two things that visionary builders do wrong. 1. You fail to publicize what you do because you're too busy building. This is a mistake. You would gain many synergies if people were aware of your work.

I FAILED AND IT SUCKS

Last week, I failed at something so monumental that it knocked me off my life axis. All my future plans and dreams went out of the window temporarily.

#Failure #Thread I failed at something I prepared for, for several months. I haven't done that volume of work in a while. Incredible goodwill and equity were deployed. And I prayed for so long and believed I had clarity of direction.

It always pains me when a creative person finds God or Christianity and then becomes more conservative and starts limiting their gifts to church alone. It's like their brain cells slowly die after feeling the corrosive effects of organized religion. It's always astonishing because I believe the Holy Spirit to be an extremely creative person. If he lives in you, you should become more creative.

LISTEN TO THE SIGNS

There's something creative about setting up a new home. It's even more emotional when you're in a new city without family & close friends. You're forced to deploy admin skills you haven't used in a while. And, it brings back the basics of quiet simple work. Every week, you create a list of chores and accomplish them. You research how to do things and then get them done.

THIS IS A SEASON OF KINDNESS

The antidote to fear isn't faith, it's love. That's because faith doesn't exist in a vacuum. Rather, you believe someone you know and trust. You are certain they have your best interests at heart, and that they have the power to do what they say. 🧵 However, it's difficult to accept love when you have little reference for it. I am lucky in this regard. I had a good dad. And so, when I think of God, I've got a benchmark. In my mind, if God loves me more than my dad did, then that's a fantastic thing.