Looking “Back” to the “Future” of Business in Africa

• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/tie.22087
• Author: Lyal White,Ebes Esho

BOOK REVIEW

Looking “Back”to the “Future”of Business in Africa

THE HISTORY OF BUSINESS IN AFRICA: COMPLEX DISCONTINUITY

TO EMERGING MARKETS

Grietjie Verhoef

2017. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 214 pages

Africa is a complex continent with a rich diversity of ethnic, social, and

cultural groups mixed with deep economic disparities, a history of

political and social conflict, and ongoing development challenges.

More recently, Africa has captured global interest as a new frontier

for economic growth and investment. Multinationals are entering the

continental market, while African firms gain traction and are emerging

as competitive market leaders. Despite the growing interest in Africa's

commercial potential, little is known of the long history of business in

Africa, which dates as far back as the 8th century. The history of busi-

ness in Africa is deeply interwoven with the continent's political his-

tory. This review of Grietjie Verhoef's book, The History of Business in

Africa, highlights the importance of understanding Africa's business

history in its sociopolitical and cultural context as key virtues of busi-

ness strategy and day-to-day operations.

Once referred to as the dark continent, Africa is now regarded as

the new frontier of growth and investment. Following a decade of

continuous economic growth that saw the continent average more

than 5% growth between 2000 and 2010, new and exciting opportu-

nities are emerging for African-based businesses and multinationals

alike. But this begs a question of the origins, nature, and purpose of

business in Africa. Or, in terms of its history on the continent: What

kinds of business and economic activities were taking place during the

so-called “dark days,”before its emergence as the new frontier? What

policies and political factors have influenced entrepreneurship and

business in Africa? And perhaps most relevant of all, what lessons can

the world of business learn from what has transpired in the history of

business in Africa?

In The History of Business in Africa, University of Johannesburg's

Professor of Business History, Grietjie Verhoef, addresses these ques-

tions and more by chronicling business and economic activities in

Africa right from precolonial times, in the earliest centuries, to the pre-

sent. Verhoef portrays Africa as a continent in which there has always

been business and enterprise although not always in the shape and

form of western frameworks.

Verhoef aptly subtitles her book Complex Discontinuity to Emerging

Markets as she shows the disruptions that have been a main charac-

teristic of the business landscape in Africa. From the arrival of the first

Arab slave traders to the advent of colonialism, and the postcolonial

era that followed, business activities in Africa have been disrupted by

a plethora of events and interventions, local, national, regional, and

global in nature. Politics and policy, both local and global, have had a

direct and indirect impact on business in Africa, often to the detriment

of progress and the competitive performance of firms and economies.

Through various vignettes and case studies of entrepreneurial

activities and family businesses, deeply aware of historical journey of

countries and local communities, Verhoef neatly weaves the story of

African business into the politics of its nations and, ultimately, into a

global narrative. In so doing, she presents uniquely micro and macro

perspectives of business activities across the continent, linking it to

policy developments over time. The end result is a rich collection of

cases that showcase the enterprising spirit of Africans across the

board.

Verhof uses an array of cases to illustrate key themes and contex-

tual factors pertinent to the history of business in Africa. She provides

useful insights and lessons of the past, instructive for the future of

business in Africa.

From the start, Verhoef establishes the complexity of the African

context, arising from its ethnic, social, and cultural diversity. There is a

strong focus on Africa as a continent for all Africans, regardless of eth-

nicity, culture, or religion, a point many may not be consciously aware

of or is often forgotten. Verhoef challenges the exclusion of Africa's

business history from the global discourse and business literature,

with emphasis on the paucity of research undertaken on Africa busi-

ness history. Using data and statistics of the growth of African entre-

preneurs, companies, and countries, Verhoef shows the need and

urgency to feature Africa more prominently in the global research of

business and economic history.

Following an in-depth introduction of context and dynamics that

have helped shape the history of business in Africa, the book takes its

reader on a journey detailing economic activities in precolonial Africa,

which consisted mostly of commerce and trade networks between

Africans and Arab traders. Business entities during this era were not

the firm as we know them today, but families, houses, and communi-

ties knitted together by culture, ethnicity, and religion. Many of these

business entities evolved and competed with European businesses

during the colonial period amidst colonial regulation that was often

not in the interest of indigenous businesses. But despite adverse colo-

nial policies, African entrepreneurs still thrived during the colonial era.

Verhoef then provides a glimpse into politics in postcolonial

Africa. She assesses the policies that postcolonial governments

adopted, with a particular emphasis on how these affected indigenous

DOI: 10.1002/tie.22087

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