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Sizwe Belu writes: My view is that we are going to be another Nigeria, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil or Russia. I have been to Nigeria and I know that entrepreneurs can make in Nigeria. The richest man in Africa is Nigerian. I am looking for books that talk about making it in Nigeria, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil or Russia despite the challenges to help prepare myself. Do you know any?
Alec Hogg’s response:
You’re on the right track. Successful entrepreneurs are those able to make a rational assessment of the environment and adapt their actions accordingly. Most who are able to, would leave the places you mentioned because building a business would be much easier elsewhere. But the home bias is strong in mankind, and sometimes there are even more powerful magnets that keep one in a certain geography.
I sincerely hope you are wrong, but to prepare for that scenario you’ve outlined, one of the best books you can buy is Dream Big, the story of 3G Capital and the Brazilians who built it. The voracious reader Warren Buffett recommended it at one of his Berkshire AGMs – 3G is his partner in HJ Heinz.
Moky Makura’s book on Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs includes a number who have built themselves up from difficult circumstances (Nigeria’s Alicko Dangote and Zimbabwean Strive Masiyiwa are featured) so is another one worth getting hold of. There are exceptions to every rule, even in kleptocracies like Putin’s Russia – an example being tech investor Yuri Milner.
I’d steer away from any “Venezuelan business success stories” but to get a better idea of what happens in that forsaken part of the world, read anything exile Moises Naim has written on the subject.
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