7/3/00 BEMc ENTEPRISE AFRICA Interview with Alan Kyerematen (AK), Director Also present: Patrick Nimo, Program Coordinator - West & Central Africa Phone: 233-21-240266, 7010506, 7010634 FAX: 233-21-222535 Mobile: 233-024-310-934 Email: entafrica@africaonline.com.gh alank@africaonline.com.gh P.O. Box CT3479 Cantonments Accra, Ghana Enterprise Africa is the umbrella organization for the Enterprise [Country-Name] organizations. According to AK, Enterprise Africa operates as a franchise organization with the various country enterprises as franchisees. The reason for this is to set up organizations in countries all over Africa that: 1. can guarantee minimum standards of quality. 2. can build 'institutional memory' and capacity. 3. can provide the framework for regional trade & investment. Enterprise Africa is funded by UNDP. The country franchises are intended to be self-sustaining financially after initial UNDP start-up funding. Enterprise Africa became operational in 1998 to assist countries to establish new enterprise development programs and to strengthen existing ones. In this initial phase, 20 countries are targeted. Since the first program, Empretec Ghana (whose first director was Mr. Kyerematen) in 1990, eight others have been added so far (Empretec Zimbabwe, Enteprise Botswana, - Ethiopia, -Mauritius, -Mozambique, -Namiba, -Nigeria, -South Africa. In the next 2-3 months, two more will be established: Enterprise Cameroon and Enterprise Uganda. Relationship Among Franchisee Programs 1. Existing franchises (with their 'institutional memory' and 'standardized operational procedures' help new franchises to get established and operating. E.g. Empretec Ghana assisted Enterprise Botswana which assisted Enterprise Mauritius. Empretec Zimbabwe assisted Enterprise Namibia. 2. Enterprise Africa organizes specific events to bring the franchise programs together. E.g., in South Africa October 2000 there will be a forum meeting of the franchisees. There has been international conferences on topics such as SMEs. a. At the above forum meeting, in addition to the business development topical sessions, EA will set aside an afternoon session where franchisees can discuss program implementation and share experiences among them. b. There will also serve as a platform to discuss new developments, support mechanisms for program activities, and the opportunity for 'match-making'. c. Both franchises and their clients will all meet together. d. Their franchises have a "network" (i.e. ???) of businesses/clients. Networks are set up for advocacy. Enterprise Africa(s) are set up as service organizations where clients are primarily interested in growing their businesses. SMEs: In addition to policy barriers, there is also: 1. a lack of information. A lack of information can be addressed through "networking". 2. The business environment/climate can be addressed through lobbying. 3. Skills development and training operations are a problem because there is a "lack of capacity" for this type of training. C of Cs and Business Association, even Networks, are beneficial-however, they are narrowly focused. But entrepreneurs sill don't have an enterprise support base. This is where Enterprise Africa comes in: to grow and build businesses we can only force the environment to change if we build a critical mass of companies and influence change. However, there are limited resources to do so. Enterprise Africa also emphasizes follow-up: to credit and to training. Enterprise Africa's services emphasize hands-on integration-they work closely with member companies. Enterprise Africa staff encourage businesses to work with a strong network of local consultants. Enterprise Africa helps companies with accounts, financial management, and marketing. All of these fall under the rubric of "cost sharing," if there is a donor agency; otherwise they fall under "cost recovery". Enterprise Ghana has a surplus of financial resources (at the end of the fiscal year). What is the impact of EA services? In order to assess this, we must go back and ask the businesses they serve. EA is looking for certain types of businesses. They are a support service. Their staff includes four professional staff, a country director, and one to two clerical staff. When EA works with franchises it consists of a staff of 6-8 professional staff and 6-10 core consultants who work with the business. The roster of consultants support franchises on a case by case basis. The way we save a "not building empires" is to work efficiently and effectively. EA also has a top trainers who work with other skills trainers-these people train on-the-job. EA also has a franchise installation team which will "fry burgers with you" and service you. EA's Goal: 53 Enterprises (in each African country). This is one of the most strategic ways to build SMEs in Africa. Higher level services are good, but that can't be all there is. In Africa, we also need basic production-so our EA clients are a broader group. The only clients/businesses advised are pure retailers-distributors are also okay. We want to build a critical mass of local businesses and companies. Enterprise Africa is different from associations, such as WAEN, in that associations are kept exclusive. EA is interested in a larger range of clients. Immediate plans for the new enterprise organization: they will create an Enterprise Cameroon in about 2 months and an Enterprise Uganda in about 3 months. EA is UNDP-funded. Requesting franchises pay for their franchise licenses (franchise fee). The process of an organization