Setting Up New Ventures in West Africa

摘要

The main application for this paper is for businesses looking to locate in the region to gain a basic understanding of the general requirements to be successful in West Africa, primarily in Angola. The secondary application is for various businesses to use the paper as a framework for evaluating whether suppliers in the region are indeed, well established and thus able to successfully operate and fulfill contracts. It will, in particular, address the challenges of building an organization where the political, economic and social cultures are quite different than that of the United States. The paper will review the necessary skill set of key personnel within the organization, which is needed to operate successfully in a diverse environment. We will also examine the challenges of lack of infrastructure with regard to conducting daily business and maintaining operations as well as winning contracts.