Mutterings: a personal blog.

  • The Multi-Nationals and their place in Africa

    South Africa’s Mannie Hirsch established The Gestalt Group in 1998 to help emerging entrepreneurs connect with mainstream economies.  This involves building partnerships with local and transnational corporates in pursuit of profitable returns for both. Hirsch is outspoken regarding what he tongue-in-cheek calls “the divine right of internationals” to stake their claim in the global village.…

  • Unlocking the potential of mobility in Africa

    I believe that Africa represents the greatest Enterprise Mobility opportunity for any network operator anywhere in the world today, it is one the last great opportunities, all MNCs are waking up to Africa, they are economically challenged in their traditional markets and are now looking for ways to sustain and grow their own organisations. All…

  • Mobile money – A cash replacement?

    In the 1920s, fuel stations, hotel chains and restaurants began offering their customers charge cards so that they would not have to carry cash with them at all times. With this action the breezy remark, “charge it” was born. By the 1960s, Diners Club, American Express and Bank of America had built empires on the…

  • Mobile Working – New idea or one past it’s day?

    With all the current comment by some companies such as Yahoo and their move back to office based working I thought that we should take a closer look at the subject. In 2007, Cisco commissioned a report that identified five categories of mobile workers. All were still strongly tied to head offices and included On-Site…

  • Why Your Sales Pipeline Is Never the Truth

    (And Why the Same Problem Exists Everywhere Else) Ask any sales leader a simple question:“What does your pipeline look like right now?” You will get an answer.You will almost certainly not get the truth. Not because anyone is lying, but because the organisation has quietly stopped agreeing on what “truth” means. Most companies start with…

  • Mobility and The Enterprise – A Challenge to the status quo?

    The world is crossing over to a new era in which office premises have become portable. Computers that used to sit on desktops have been replaced by fleet-footed hand-held devices. The shackles of “present-teeism” the industrial revolution forged have been replaced by bonds of mutual self-respect between collaborators. The real challenge is getting people to…

  • African Talent and The Multinationals – Who is Chasing Who?

    Africa is in the process of resolving a scarcity of talent and restricted data portability. As far back as November 2010 Mobility Magazine predicted that market expansion would combine with skill shortages to stimulate data mobility across the continent. It expected that the main driver would be indigenous talent returning home, with sophisticated expectations for…

  • Mobile Money – Asia versus Africa

    Africa and Asia share several things in common. These include huge land masses, traditionally undereducated populations and a huge technological backlog when compared to Europe and America. Both have recognized that mobile is the key to rolling out their futures. But who is better when it comes to being in the mobile money? According to…

  • Ghana and the Multinationals

    I was in Ghana yesterday. At first sight it struck me how well Accra was emerging from the past, and taking its rightful place on the bight of Africa where it borders Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and the Atlantic Ocean. No wonder the multinationals are keen to get a foot in. Mobile is the…