Has apple gone too far? Let me make this clear: I think Apple makes some of the slickest technology around. Despite my (generally) being a PC/Linux user, I have had loads of respect for Apple from the early days, and particularly since the Return of Jobs, heralding the original iMac, the shift to mach-based OSX, [...]

Averse, tolerant, seeking Economists talk a lot about risk behaviour– to what extent indivisuals seek, tolerate, or avoid risk, and this goes a long way in explaining why people choose to do things.
An excellent post by Valeria Maltoni discusses the importance of realising when you’ve lost sight of your customers’ interests and feelings. This reminded [...]

I had the pleasure to speak at the Africa Gathering in London this morning. (twitter feed here).
There were a number of emerging themes through the conference, and not necessarily the ones you might think– access to finance, more capital, education.
Nope. What came up again and again was:
TIA This is Africa. Sometimes problems can seem overwhelming. [...]

We’ve seen a lot of shifts in the last few dozen years– my parents lamented that I would never live in a world where a job was something you could have for a lifetime, and people of my parents’s age were tarred with the worst of both– they wree promised a lifetime job but, mid-career, [...]

ExpectationI had the fortune to go to Sardegna recently for a friend’s wedding. Everything about this place is pretty awesome. The service is attentive yet chaotic– it’s hard to instil a strong series of values when you have four hours off in the middle of the afternoon in 40 degree (C) heat. When there’s a [...]

Zimbabwe, six months later…
I took another trip to Zimbabwe last week to meet with a number of people about a voucher programme for African Enterprise Partners’ first investee, Mobile Transactions.
The difference in Zimbabwe from the last time I was here six month ago is palpable. And the country is, quite simply, beautiful. It’s not the [...]

I wonder what, exactly, is my job title sometimes. My card says “Partner — East Africa” but that doesn’t say much.
I’m working with Mike on his pitch for SBSVC. He don’t exactly need capital, but it’d make AEP move faster, further, and achieve profitability sooner.
The early-stage companies that I’m working with, has got me thinking, [...]

Use who you are & what you’re good at in your teams
Teams are groups that are cohesive. In most of the work you’ll do in business school, in work, and in life will require the assistance and aid of others.
While I can build a financial model, there are others who can probably do it better, [...]

African Branding
Kampala– and much of Africa– in incredibly brand-conscious. Entire buildings and building blocks are painted (often just for the cost of the paint and labour) in UTL blue, Warid red, Zain purple-pink (a particulalry hideous shade that makes me think of a little blood mixed with Pepto-Bismol– see below), and now Orange.

Bugolobi trading centre [...]

You don’t get to make the rules; deal with it.
This one you hopefully learned in undergrad, but it bears some repeating. You take a top international business programme which requires several years’ experience to get in and you’re quite likely to have a lot of talented people who are used to having their way with [...]