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Robert Craven in Africa

Robert has been in Africa for 3 weeks presenting a series of seminars for the British Council in, Botswana, Zambia and Mauritius. The subject matter ranges from business growth and customer service to ecommerce and communication skills. His wife, Cal, has been with him on the journey.

 

This diary tells the story of the trip from both angles - Robert from the business perspective and Cal from the human/people aspect - both fascinating accounts and an insight into a continent which is very different from our own.

Monday 28th January - Mauritus

Cal: Arrived at Mauritus airport at 5:30 am, waiting to fly to Jo'burg then on to Botswana!!!!

Mauritus very green and pretty--- It's 84 degrees but overcast at the moment. On the way here we saw lots of the island which is covered in sugar cane plantations.

There's lots of building going on, mainly more hotels I think. People were up and about, some guys drilling in an open quarry and some at work on the building sites. Children all uniformed up were waiting for buses and it's not 6 o'clock yet!!! Small local shops open and women buying bread etc. The buildings, old and new, have a french colonial look to them. They all have verandahs and even the very poor shacks, which are very colourful, have outside covered space to sit out in.

Everyone we've met so far has been relaxed and easy going. It feels happy and according to the guys we've spoken to there seems to be enough employment to go round. Well that's just the start --- who knows what the rest of the day, never mind the week wiil bring!

Tuesday 29th January - Botswana

Bright Marketing

Robert Craven: Today, the Gaborone President Hotel hosted my Management Express event, Bright Marketing.

We spent a wonderful day exploring how and why the Bright Marketing ‘ology’ can help an audience of Botswana’s entrepreneurs and business managers to run better organisations.

The key points for the audience included:

• Why should people bother to buy from you?
• What makes you different from the rest?
• How to introduce your business – the elevator pitch
• Focus on what works… and this is normally word-of-mouth.

Warm, friendly, hospitable people - I think I learnt more about them than they did about or from me!!!

PS The President is where Mma Ramotswe of The Number One Ladies Detective Agency was accused of leaving without paying the bill – wonderfully enough no-one has yet mentioned Mma Ramotswe to me although I have read about several tourist tours that do visit the sites mentioned in the book!

Clever marketing… or spotting an opportunity? It is pretty much the same as setting up the Jane Austen Centre in Bath which seems fine… although the Inspector Morse theme seems to have taken over Oxford!

Cal: Gaborone is a modern city, built up since independence in 1966. Most of the big boys have a stake here. Coca Cola, Orange, Barclays etc. There are lots of fairly new buildings and work going on everywhere.

While Rob was at work today I was taken to be shown the new shopping mall, which is the size of Cribbs Causeway and on two levels. The difference is the centre is a market place for rugs, paintings and furniture and the shops, which included two massive supermarkets, are different in layout and content. For example the “deli” section was really a take away selling sausage and chips or pasties and most of the rice or maize was sold in bags the size of barbeque coal. Also lots of the assistants were singing as they worked.

Later on I was in a dress shop trying on some trousers when there was a complete power cut (this is starting to happen quite often as S Africa supplies the electricity here) I was rescued by a lady with a torch.

I went to a café, there was no electricity still I chatted to the owner who had recently arrived from Zimbabwe and was bewailing the state of that country and the crime rate in S. Africa in general, which, with the exception of Botswana according to her, is totally out of control

We drove back to the hotel via old Gaborone. This is a collection of pre-fab type housing built around dust roads. These tend to be individual in colour and building material. One wall I saw was made out of the bonnets of old cars.

This evening Rob was working in the centre of town at The President Hotel, so I sat for a while on the balcony watching the world go by in the market square below. People selling all sorts of things from second hand shoes to morpani worms and hand carved animals to dvds. Sewana music was drifting up from one of the stalls and all seemed at peace in this world.

Tomorrow we are off to Khutse Safari Lodge, about 4 hours drive away from here and on the edge of the Kalahari desert.

Thursday 30th January - Botswana

Robert Craven: Yesterday I ran another seminar, back at Gaborone’s President Hotel, one based on my book ‘Kick-Start Your Business’.

Over 60 attended included the daughter of the President of Botswana.

It has been a while since I have presented the complete Kick-Start ‘ology’ and it was great to see how well it translated to a developing economy. The big one liners, as ever, did apply:

• How good is your business?
• Why should people bother to buy from you?
• Successful businesses are obsessed with three things…
• Fear holds back most people from growing their businesses…

What was the most fascinating part of the evening was a highly interactive Q&A session. Discussions ranged from ‘what to do if you run a business in Zimbabwe?’ through to how to keep corruption and bribery out of business. These are ’big’ questions!

Once again, I thank all my friends in Gaborone, especially Claire, Kuhkie and Zaa.

Thursday 31st January - Khutse

Cal: The road out of Gaborone is quite busy, lots of 4x4s and buses full of local people, but as we leave the city behind the traffic eases to the occasional bus and more donkeys. The roadsides are littered with stalls ranging from a table and an umbrella to small tin shacks selling everything from grilled sweetcorn to secondhand tyres.

On and on we drove through Molopolole which is quite large and made up of a mixture of traditional huts and the ever present pre-fab type building.  There is “a mall” but only about ten shops in it and very run down.  A supermarket stacked high with packets of Omo and sunlight soap — very colourful — hot — no trees or shade about so people drift around slowly beneath their various coloured umbrellas.

Another hour along the dusty road took us to our meeting place. It is now 11.30 and hotter than anything I’ve felt before.

Impromptu visit to a primary school. No time for anything else, we’d been spotted by the kids.  We wandered into the first classroom full of 7/8yr olds. Bright eyed enthusiastic children in a classroom that defies description.  Nearly all the windows were broken with jagged glass still in place, the walls were grey and pitted, the floor concrete, no colour anywhere and breaking or broken metal chairs and tables… add to this no teaching aids whatsoever except a blackboard and some crayons and scrap paper------ never has every English school I’ve ever seen looked so rich.

Then it was play time (lunch I think) and all the children went outside for 10 minutes and were given a slice of white bread each and a carton of milk.

We met the Principal who is lovely and working hard to do all the things that need to be done.  We promise to do what we can, swap addresses (no email here) and say our goodbyes.

They weren’t joking when they said the road ran out at Letlhakeng.

We jostle and bump over sandy potholed roads for the next hour or so until at last we reach Khutse Lodge on the edge of the Kalahari, and now it is hotter than hot.

This place is beautiful. A little architect-designed lodge with nothing else around for miles. It is not the tourist season so we have the place to ourselves.

After a bit of a rest we are taken on the “bushman walk” into the nearby bush accompanied by a tracker and a bushman.

We learn how these people survive in desert conditions. How to make fire with sticks, which plants are used to cure certain ills, the bush from which poison is taken to anoint a spear for hunting and how to extract water from the tuber of a certain plant.

That’s it, I can do a disappearing act to the Kalahari and survive now. —well maybe— would miss the bathroom I think ---- I am not keen on the other lifeforms out there either!!!

Friday 1st February - The Kalahari Desert

Cal: up at 5 o’clock and off for a 4 hour safari in the Kalahari----------- and I thought the roads were bad before--- this made Woolley Lane look like a newly laid three lane motorway.

We are now deep into a scrub/bush area where the tracks are rutted, almost impassable sand tracks and we lurch from one rut to the next.  Our driver and tracker Tips knows his stuff and seems to have bionic eyes that never miss a movement.

“Over there… look a springbok, no a herd of them and that’s a hartebeast.  Oh look, some gembok.. See the eagle ---  look at that vulture, ostrich --------------“… all in this amazing space where you can see the horizon all around, a bit like being on a ship in the middle of an ocean except this is an ocean of land.

We stop for a drink and the biggest beetle makes a run for it over my boot.  Gosh, I said, that was unusual!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back  to the lodge for a fabulous supper and of course a G & T as the sun goes down.

Never content… up at 5 again the next day and back into the Land Rover.

What rewards--- what a treat- ----within the first hour we came across a jackal right in front of us. Some more antelopes of different species. a hare, some ground squirrels, ostrich and then Tips said in real excitement “look see those springbok running----- look behind them---------“ and there they were, a pair of female lions chasing the herd.

We watched them for nearly an hour…, at one point Tips drove the jeep at breakneck speed through the grassy sand to a better vantage point.  You could see every move of these powerful creatures as they stalked their prey. What an amazing sight.

Eventually they gave up and rolled about like kittens playing then slunk off out of sight. Awesome stuff!!

On the way back we drove by the bushman village about which there is much debate in Botswana at present. The bushmen have been moved here and housed to “help” them.  Or the Govnt wants the land free to dig for diamonds --- take your choice--- maybe it’s a bit of both!Monday 4th February - Zambia

Tuesday 5th February - Zambia -

Customer is King Workshop

Robert Craven: Customer Is King' in Lusaka
Lusaka, Zambia was the location for today’s 'Customer Is King' presentation. 70 highly intelligent and engaged people attended at the InterContinental Hotel, including people from Barclays as well as major Zambian businesses that deliver cellphone, broadband, insurance and sugar products.

The great learning point for me came when my belief that
‘for most people our biggest/best customers are our biggest fans and ambassadors who we love to do business with’ was quite rightly challenged.

When your largest customer is a multi-national then when they say ‘Jump’ you are meant to say ‘How high?’. Several people felt that their organisations were vulnerable to the whims of their multi-national customers who can easily switch sources at the slightest whim. Scary stuff.

Lots of discussion about how to make your business more customer-focused, and how to instil ‘that passion and excitement’ in your people. A very animated audience.

Other highlights of the day include finding Glenda clutching an old well-read version of the first edition of ‘Customer Is King’.

My special thanks go to Daisy and Paul from the British Council for making it all happen for their warmth and hospitality.

Wednesday 6th February - Zambia - Bright Marketing Workshop

Robert Craven: 'Bright Marketing' in Zambia
An even better attended event with a patient audience who listened attentively as my voice croaked its way through the event. Again, special thanks to Daisy.

Cal: Life here is still very different, although we are totally protected from the reality by our rich hotel existence. Not sure I could take too much of the reality!!!!

The floods here have caused absolute devastation for thousands of people. Crops ruined and water contaminated, added to which the electricity supply is poor and getting worse. Homes have collapsed or been completely washed away. The Red Cross and other agencies are doing their best but it is a huge uphill struggle.

Anyway, Rob's work has been very successful and the people who attended were a mix of small business people and ones from firms like celnet and Barclays. Everyone I spoke to seemed committed to helping with what they could here and I made one or two tentative contacts who would be keen to help sort out any aid we could send.

Tomorrow we are going to a school and to a local Zambian food place so looking forward to that.

Everything is extreme here from the poverty to the size of the sky and the personalities of the people. Those who have been to England were mostly struck by how packed yet isolated it all is, from the terraced housing to the fact no-one knows who their neighbour is. Totally unthinkable here. You all look out for one another, even in the big towns. Transport into town is difficult and unreliable unless you can afford a car and even then town is often grid-locked for hours. The police don't help as they are poorly paid so make up for it in illegal stop and fine games!!

So there we are ---- didn't make it to Victoria Falls but it has been so wet that was maybe a good thing. There was a notice in the paper this morning saying the authorities are going to open a flood gate on the Kariba dam at 12.00 on the 11th of February and further gates as necessary without warning. So people down river living on the banks or nearby should take necessary steps to protect life!!! In other words move or die. I wondered how many would or could read a paper or see the same info on a t.v. (no electricity) and lets face it not that many t.v. owners. I hear, however 'they' are sending people out to talk to those living in the area.

Thursday 7th February - School Visit

Cal: On Thursday we were taken to visit two schools just outside Lusaka. The first school was made up of buildings very similar to ones built in the 50's in England and on the outside, but again with poor facilities. However, Ackim, our guide from the British Council, has already managed to twin this school with one in Wiltshire so they are expecting a visit next week. The children greeted us like we were 'stars', clamouring to shake hands or touch us. Rob was overwhelmed.-- The head here is very switched on and has set up classes where parents and children come together once a week to see how the children learn and to cover a day's workshop that addresses issues such as hygiene, punctuality, helping at home with learning and anything else that seems appropriate.

The drawback is that the gov. has said they must accept any child who applies, so class sizes again have gone through the ceiling. (50 to 60) per class, and only rote learning is possible. This lady is looking at bringing in parent helpers though, and we had a long talk about that and many other aspects of school management. It was all very interesting.

The next school was very poor, broken windows, shoeless kids who'd walked for miles. The playground was just scrub and a chicken and a dog were wandering about in and out of classrooms anywhere really. The Head, a lovely and very mild man was about to be transferred to town. Maybe the school will apply for a grant Ackim's found out about, which would bring electricity and water to the school!!! I understand it can be very frustrating working in these cicumstances.

Anyway, in this school, I left all the pens, pencils etc that I'd taken but gave them directly to a young girl teacher who seemed to be totally dedicated to her class of 51 in the morning and 62 in the afternoon!!!! No teaching aids no helpers here. The boys, of course, wanted footballs more than anything else so at least that's one thing we know will be well received.

One class had so many children about 15 or so were sitting on an old mat on the floor because there wasn't any other space. However, in this school ,uniform is not obligitory, so more children can attend. Education is gov. provided in Zambia, but the child must be in uniform (in most schools) for which there is no help, and as education is not compulsory some families (especially those bringing up the orphaned children of brothers and sisters etc) just opt out.

We went back into town for lunch. I think Ackim was pretty keen to test our ability to try things, and to be fair, Rob had said he wanted to eat local not sanitised European hotel food. So we went to a small hotel/hostel restaurant. The food was laid out in steel warming bowls and you chose what you fancied. There was goats hooves, offal, tripe in a stew,two types of fried fish, head eyes and all and a selection of veg oh and of course fried caterpillar (morpani worms). I settled for the larger fish in a tomato sauce, some maize and the veg. Ackim was determined we should try the morpani, so got us a plate full , like crisps, in the middle of the table to share. Actually they weren't that bad . Very crunchy but I could manage without I think!!

So back to the hotel to pack and off to Mauritius. We have rather fallen in love with Africa. It will be hard to leave.

Sunday 17th February - Mauritius

Robert Craven: Leg Three of our Africa trip was Mauritius, perched in the Indian Ocean, some four hours by plane from Johannesburg.

We stayed (and did three seminars/workshops) at the stunning Le Meridien – great food/customer service… supremely attentive staff… such a great setting for two workshops on the theme of ‘Customer Is King’. I recommend you visit.

We also ran a full-day ‘Bright Marketing’ workshop, pretty similar to the one we run in the UK. The packed banqueting hall was treated to a sumptuous buffet lunch, sea views and some seriously effective networking.

The Mauritius workshops saw a diverse selection of companies from a small PR agency, local hotels and marketing agencies, Billabong, local newspapers, national cellphone networks, Air Mauritius and Shell. Feedback was incredibly positive. (As an aside, I also spent a day with a Government agency's senior managers and directors.)

The work (four sessions in three days) was ‘topped and tailed’ by two splendid and very relaxed dinners: one full-on veranda experience looking down over the bay from the hills with the director of the British Council (Simon, and his wife Anne), and a buffet/networking supper hosted by the Deputy High Commissioner at the ‘official residence’. Brilliant.

Mauritius is a land full of opportunities in business. This is not simply a paradise island where tourists can indulge their fantasies. There is plenty to be done and it needs to be done ASAP as the world won't wait and other holiday destinations will steal a march on my firends in Mauritius.

As I said (several times!): 'why should people bother to buy from you when they can buy from the competition?'.

Sunday 17th February - Mauritius 2

Robert Craven: Some thoughts about Mauritius...:


It is a real fusion… a French then British colony… a history of African slaves and then an influx of indentured Indian workers creates a wonderful mix… of languages, religions, attitudes and approaches and all living in apparent harmony.

And some stunning food with the Afro-French-Indian combination hitting the spot.

Mauritius is very exciting and who knows what the next five to ten years will bring… protecting the ‘charm’ that a small island mentality fosters while fighting for a fair share of the tourist dollars is a difficult balance to make.

Meanwhile the local population is just starting to get fed the rich diet that is the western way – Macdonald’s, KFC… the unstoppable march of the West’s beacons of so-called civilisation, along with mobile phones and the other paraphernalia of conspicuous consumption.

I am no politician but I do know that I met over 150 committed business people in Mauritius who are working together to ‘make things happen’. It will be organisations like the British Council that will organise/facilitate opportunities to enable the local Mauritian businesses to do much more than simply survive.

There is a hunger to make businesses flourish in Mauritius – this needs local support and commitment… and an input of no-nonsense help and guidance that is hands-on, practical and results-oriented. How exciting!

Finally, my thanks go out to my new friends in Mauritius: Simon, Ann, Martine, Andrew, and of course Coom - I hope to see them all when they visit the UK!

AND the big message that we all took away with us from our work together: TAKE ACTION!!!

Extract from Roberts Blog - Read the full blog