Engaging Emerging Markets: Navigating African Opportunity

As several green shoots emerge to indicate a new phase of African opportunity, obstacles remain for business investment and new market expansion on the continent. To navigate an otherwise increasingly attractive environment for investment and sustainable development, companies often must contend with public corruption, inadequate contract enforcement, the threat of physical violence and insecurity, and insufficient infrastructure. Given the increasing focus of the United States government, members of the European Union, and multilateral organizations on detecting, deterring, and punishing allegedly corrupt practices by companies overseas, businesses seeking to engage in the African market must do so through aboveboard measures that are the subject of expanded disclosures and greater transparency and accountability. Such measures that businesses must take to be successful fall generally within two interconnected approaches: (i) identifying, securing, and leveraging government assistance and (ii) developing, implementing, and leveraging private sector strategies.