On Sept. 21, 2013, the Africa-America Institute in New York inaugurated its annual Talent Summit at Hunter College in New York City, with some 125 African, African-descent professionals and students attending. Representatives of prominent organizations and companies operating in the U.S. and Africa addressed hiring trends, growth predictions and current opportunities for employment on the continent. Panelists expounded on the challenges and rewards of launching or enhancing a successful career in Africa, on talent management, and on the recruitment of African professionals in the Diaspora. They did so from both individual and institutional perspectives.
In the edited transcript below, Diaspora repatriates Abdoulaye Yero Balde, first deputy governor of the Central Bank of Guinea; Deborah Nyasha Peters, fund manager at AiQ Capital Management Ltd., Nigeria; Dapo Oyewole, technical adviser to the Minister of National Planning, Nigeria; and Robert Kayihura, director of legal and corporate affairs for sub-Saharan Africa at Microsoft, candidly share their thoughts and experiences with AAI president and CEO Amini Kajunju during a discussion titled “From the Frontlines: Conversations with Expatriates and Repatriates.”
Kajunju: Why does building a career in Africa make sense for you right now?
Kayihura [speaking by phone from South Africa]: My history begins in Africa, so it’s an obligation for me. Returning to Africa is an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream. I have strong ties to the continent. The region is really emerging. The opportunities are in abundance.
Peters: I was job-hunting in Africa from 2004-2008.
Balde: I used to say to my fellow Africans, “only Africans can build Africa.” We should be on the frontline if we want to see Africa moving ahead in terms of development —economic development as well as social development. There are a lot of opportunities in Africa, especially right now, so it makes sense for me and for other people to go back to Africa and take advantage of the opportunities, not only for career, but also to open a business.
Oyewole: If you are a person who has a passion for the continent, who enjoys lots of diversity and has a relatively secure sense of identity, definitely it makes sense. It is also something you can’t just do in terms of being romantic. It has to be a pragmatic decision.
I remember coming here in 2006 to Colombia University to give a talk about the Diaspora and African development. The question is, how long do you talk the walk instead of walking the talk?
For me it made sense, but for people out here who are thinking of going back home, it’s something you need to think about very carefully. It depends on the alignment of the opportunity, your skills, your talent, and also your adaptability and sense of value and commitment to the continent, because you will need all those things. You will constantly face challenges when you make that move.
Kajunju: Robert (Kayihura), you spent quite a lot of time with Microsoft in Seattle. How did the transfer from happen? What was the catalyst, your internal process, for making the transfer from Seattle to South Africa happen?
Kayihura: My first attempt at doing business in Africa was in 1998 and that led to my decision to go to law school. In 2006 I started a company in outsourcing. That didn’t really present an opportunity for me to move toward the region properly. After five years in private practice I had the opportunity to take this position at Microsoft.
The only reason I actually left private practice is because I knew Microsoft would present for the foreseeable future an opportunity to come to the region on a very strong platform. When I started [at Microsoft] in 2007, I started a conversation with the leadership about the opportunity to come to the continent. There are no stronger advocates for the region than those of us who are from here and really have a passion and commitment and see things beyond just having personal opportunities, and understand the real opportunities in abundance here.
The minute I joined Microsoft I made clear that I was interested in an assignment in Africa. The question was about the right opportunity. That opportunity came a year ago when we decided to expand our legal and corporate affairs operation. By that time everyone knew that I was interested in this. I had been known to be driving that conversation for some time. Fortunately, an opportunity finally surfaced that made sense; that would be a good use of my skills set and eventually give me a very strong platform to come back here to the region. I thought about this for a very long time.
Kajunju: It wasn’t a straight road. What’s interesting is, you started talking to Microsoft about wanting to work in Africa from day one. Do you think that had something to do with this happening so quickly — the fact that you were very transparent about what your objectives were?
Kayihura: Absolutely. It was a critical part of the way things played out. Ultimately, about three years ago I had the chance to serve as chief of staff to our general counsel/executive vice president. I kept harping on the fact that we were not as a company [prepared] to take advantage of the opportunities that I, as an African who had traveled here often, saw.
I was well positioned to make a case. Ultimately, a year and a half ago we came and visited the region. There are a lot of these people who just haven’t been here. One of the biggest challenges to doing business in the region for people from different parts of the world is the perception of what Africa is and what it presents.
Those of us who have a real passion for Africa are uniquely positioned to dispel some of these funny ideas that people have about what can and cannot be done here. Over time, the opportunities will emerge and it is a question of having the courage to jump and do what it takes.
Kajunju: Debbie (Peters), you were traveling constantly back and forth between 2004 and 2008, so obviously you were very committed to finding opportunities on the continent. You also said you came specifically to [the United States] to go to school and go back. Your intention was always to go back, but again, it wasn’t a straight road. Give us a sense of some of the decisions you had to make in order to get to where you are today. Talk about some of the challenges.
Peters: Moving back to Africa was a big move, so I wanted the right opportunity, to make sure that when I went I would have a job and wouldn’t run out of money.
The South African government needed skilled people for the power utility Eskom. They were mainly looking for engineers so they started sending their staff to recruit in London and in New York with the Global Career Company. They had a career fair and I attended. The head of finance from ESKOM was there. They had work permits; they were able to cover everything — right up to relocating your furniture, your car, and your family. So I had a work permit immediately. This seemed right. That’s how I moved to South Africa.
And then I was recruited from South Africa to Nigeria in 2011 to do work for the private equity firm. I got hired through a UN agency called AMSCO, African Management Services Company, which is trying to build skills in African SMEs. So basically I’m still paid as an expatriate and I for work for an African company. And that’s why I was secure. It’s tax-free, you get UN status, you get housing, you get a car, you get a driver, and you get fuel. Essentially, the only thing you have to pay for is food.
That’s just the easy way to do it. Don’t just up and go to Africa. It’s very challenging. You want to know that you can have the same lifestyle that you are used to in the US. And you can have that. You have to think of it very, very carefully.
I have two friends who just moved. One is an African-American guy who just moved to South Africa and looked for a job. He got a job but he was very lucky. But he’s paying local taxes, getting paid as a local, on a local salary. Another friend of mine moved back to Nigeria, who had been in the U.S. for 20 years. He just upped and went home about a year ago and started working for a local firm, and he’s beginning to have problems. Sometimes they don’t pay you for a few months and things like that.
I’m just keeping it real. Make sure that you really manage the process carefully.
Kajunju: I wanted to talk about this very issue of risk and being risk-averse or not, so thank you very much. Yero, you were working for a major company in New York before you went to work for the government of Guinea. Talk about that transition — the differences, the opportunity, the challenges of going from working for a private company to working for the government of Guinea.
Balde: When I came to the U.S. for my studies I had the idea that I have to go back to serve my country. Since Guinea is a mining country, I started looking for a job with a mining company with ties to Africa, and specifically with Guinea. I worked for two years and asked the company to help me to go back to Guinea.
But during my stay in the U.S., I used to go back and forth. I tried to build my network in Guinea because I had this idea to go back. I worked in Guinea with that company for four years before joining the government — the central bank. The transition was not quite easy because, if I look at what I had as a salary and benefits from the company, there’s a big difference.
But as I said in the beginning, only Africans can build Africa. So I went into the central bank and I think we are doing great. Since I’m there we were able to bring down inflation from 23 percent, a record, and now we are around 12 percent. And we were able to stabilize the exchange rate because Guinea was sinking due to mismanagement under military rule.
So the transition was not easy. Don’t think everything is going to be easy. But it’s our continent. They’re our countries so we should do whatever it takes to move the continent move ahead.
Kajunju: In preparation for this summit, the AAI team had conversations with 25 companies that do business in Africa. They include Microsoft, Ericsson, Samsung, and IBM. We talked to the recruiters in these companies, and one comment it seemed that they kept saying is: people in the Diaspora, when it’s time to go back home — and it doesn’t matter what the job is, it could be a mid-level job, it could be a high-level job — we always want the perfect package. We want to go back home and live in a nice house, have a nice car. What we kept hearing is, our demands were excessive, and in some cases inappropriate, depending on the level of the job we were going after. And sometimes it was a deterrent to their making an offer. This is the perspective of the company. Should we want to go back home on a nice carpet ride, or should we allow for some struggle and for some discomfort as we build our careers?
Oyewole. I think it has to be a balance of both. First of all, you are a professional. So if you’re going back home you should be remunerated and treated the way any other professional anywhere in the world would be treated for the qualifications that you have. You should not be devalued because you [are an African going to Africa].
If I am going back home, it has to be with the full package that any other international professional would get. Luckily enough, I got all those things. The key point is, it’s not really about being African or in Africa. It’s about your skills, your qualifications, your experience and your value. If you are able to negotiate those things with the opportunity on the ground then there is no reason why you can’t get both.
But it is never a straight line. Sometimes it will be a zigzag. The key thing is to make sure that whatever happens, you don’t devalue yourself; you don’t devalue your continent; and you negotiate in such a manner that you use the opportunity to achieve growth.
Peters: When Africans in the Diaspora go back home to take a job, I think that we don’t demand enough, quite simply. I can illustrate with a story. When I was coming to Harvard Business School’s Africa Business Conference, [a friend] showed up with this woman who at the time was with First Bank and now she is the CEO of Stanbic Nigeria. At the time she said to me, “Oh, as soon as I’m finished I am going to go shopping.” I said, “Why?” She said, “The bank gives me $20,000 a year shopping allowance for my clothing.”
One of my friends worked for First Bank at the time and I called her. She said they give her $12,000 plus one trip a year to go overseas to go shopping.
Now that I’ve moved to Nigeria, I look at some of the oil companies and they happen to give their expats, especially the engineers and so forth, what’s called “hardship pay.” Sometimes it’s a hundred percent of their salary. And they have an entertainment allowance. The UN gives you a ticket every eight weeks to travel because it’s a stressful environment.
When I got my job and I moved to Nigeria I was so happy with the package. It was tax-free. But then I met other expatriates who had been there five years or so and they said, ‘this is what you should ask for.’ There are so many extras. We don’t even know the things that we’re supposed to include. If you are working for, for instance, they pay your children’s school fees.
In Africa, you want to make sure you have a car and a driver. In Lagos, the standard vehicle for expats is the black Pravda. You get all of these things that in America you don’t get and now I am so spoiled. With your first job you are grateful because they are moving you there, but by your next job you know your way around.
Balde: There are different strategies to get to the continent. Sometimes some people just go there and try to look for a job, and they don’t have the ability or salary. But if you want to make a difference and you go without the [expat] package, you can leverage your experience and your skills and work the company to give you a better package.
Kayihura: You definitely have to negotiate because often companies just assume that as an African you’re from there so you shouldn’t necessarily have or wouldn’t need whatever benefits are extended to other people from Europe or America. But I’ve also seen people walk away from tremendous opportunities because they didn’t get the golden package and I thought that was an absolute mistake. I definitely had the potential to be at the table because I knew that the opportunity would come back and that was more important than getting additional benefits here and now.
I would negotiate extremely hard. The reality is, you do have to do a very thoughtful cost-benefit analysis and make sure you are exactly where your priorities are, and that you have a clear sense of what you’re wiling to do without. You should also have a very clear sense, and communicate to the firm, that you should be hired as a professional and given what you’re entitled to.
So it’s a very delicate balance, but I’ve definitely seen people walk away from opportunities because it doesn’t include one benefit or another and ultimately they’ve always regretted it.
Kajunju. So it’s basically a balance between the opportunity and what you really want. If you really want to move back to the continent, just because you don’t get, in the initial phase, that amazing package, that shouldn’t be the reason why you don’t move back. Does everyone agree with that?
Kayihura: Absolutely.
Oyewole: No.
Kajunju: You’re saying you should leave the opportunity on the table because you don’t get what you want?
Oyewole: It’s not that black and white. You must have a clear sense of why you’re moving back. If you don’t have that, people will toss you up and down. For me, it wasn’t about the money. And for many people it may not be about the money. But you need to bear in mind that if you find that outlet that provides you an opportunity to do what you want to do and you’re lucky enough to get adequate remuneration, that’s a win-win. But that should not be an excuse why you should be devalued in terms of your professional skills, or how you should be remunerated just because you’re an African.
When I went back…I realized they had different scales for consultants who were called “international consultants” and those who were called “local consultants.” On the technical level, I noticed that local consultants did much better work because they had the education, but also the cultural intelligence and the social network that helped them to get the work done. But the international consultants were getting so much more. These are some of the things we have to change on the continent. If we don’t change that then how will we be able to attract all these fantastic people here?
So, yes! We should be eager to take the opportunity, but at the same time we must be careful that our skills and our value are not undermined or devalued.
Kajunju: This brings me to the question of the relationship you have with your colleagues who have never left the continent and who have built a career on the continent. Is there a tension? This notion of being in the Diaspora — maybe you were not born on the continent but you have parents who were; maybe you have an affinity for the continent because you spent time there as a child — what’s the relationship that we are having with each other?
Peters: Before I moved to South Africa with Eskom, I think it was in May 2008, there were xenophobic riots. Everybody said to me “don’t go to South Africa. They don’t like foreigners there.” There’s a local term they used for black foreigners.
So I went there a little apprehensive. But when I got to Eskom, I found my black South African colleagues were just so welcoming. There was no resentment. Unfortunately, South Africa has a hangover from apartheid. If anything, it’s hard for a black person in general to make progress up the corporate ladder, whether you’re local or an expat. I really loved my South African colleagues. They were also up to scratch. They were good at their work, they were very competent.
But as you move further north, now that I’m in Nigeria — I also love my colleagues — but I think the local education system in Nigeria is somewhat lacking. You get a graduate who comes in with a M.B.A. or whatever and he can barely put together an email. It’s a struggle. And the work ethic is absolutely horrible, I’m sorry to say.
But in the government sector, surprisingly…the employees are very competitive so they really try hard. You can see there is an effort there to have world-class standards. But in the private sector it’s a challenge. You go for a meeting at 11 and if you’re lucky it would start at one o’ clock. Stuff like that.
So I think that Nigeria still has real challenges with its local professionals and that’s why I feel that, as an expat, you add value. When they hired me, the first thing they would always do when they introduced me is say, “This is Debbie. She’s from South Africa.” They made sure they emphasized that I’m not Nigerian…Whenever something is done by locals the quality is not what you expect.
That’s where the challenge lies. It’s not that the locals resent you. My colleagues are happy that I am there because I am the one who makes sure that things are done, people adhere to the schedules. I make sure the deadlines are kept. There is no resentment. They want to learn from you. They are very encouraged when they see you have studied abroad. There’s a lot of emphasis on foreign education. If you come in with a resume and it says you went to the university of, say, Ibadan, you won’t get the same sort of enthusiasm as if you went to MIT.
That’s the attitude. I hope that Africa works on the education and the skills, and make sure it goes back to what it was. Nigerians say, “Back in the day our education system was very good.” So I think education is at the root of the problem. Standards have dropped. In South Africa, for instance, the pass rate for matriculation is 30 percent. In Nigeria, I hear that with 25 percent you can pass your high school exams. If you allow that, then you are bringing a pool of graduates into the workplace who are just not prepared.
Balde: We have a different history. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, when the country got rid of the French, for more than 25 years the country was closed. It was like a communist country. For the Diaspora they coined the term “diaspo,” which means that when you come from outside you have no place here. So it was a hard fight to get into basic administration or a private company.
This is changing, but companies are still looking for people educated outside because the [local] education system here has crumbled. We need to rebuild that system. Even in the private sector, when I relocated in Guinea, people were just trying to see what my package was compared to my colleagues — what I was making in terms of a salary. You have this kind of mentality.
Sometimes, the work in the government is so difficult, you have to take another approach. You have to let them know you are there as a colleague, that you want to work together. Sometimes it works, sometimes no. In administration it is quite difficult. They see you as a competitor. You got the job easily. It is an inferiority complex. You have to be humble and open to the people and let them know you are there to work.
Oyewole: What this conversation does for us is, it now begins to open up the issue of stereotypes and how, when we’re talking about expatriates and repatriates, it’s not really about coming from the West and going back home. I find some of our countries have a deep fear. And the kind of challenges that we face in terms of stereotypes — how people perceive you, sometimes they’re right sometimes they’re not — sometimes you find that it actually can be really a traumatic experience even on the continent, much more that what you even get here [in America].
The role of the individual actually matters. If you go back home saying, “Oh well, I studied in this nice fancy school therefore I am better than you,” obviously you are going to get into trouble. I’ve seen so many people who come back to the continent and don’t take time to understand the norms, the values, the pulse, the chemistry of people. They just want to walk back in there saying, “I’m better than you”…
There’s little respect for hierarchy, and even for the concept of respect itself. So the fact that you’re 25 years old and you’ve got two Ph.Ds. doesn’t mean you walk in there and talk to people any how. In many cases, you find that no matter how good you are, it’s not really about your hardware, but about your software.
If you’re not ready to engage with people and to learn the culture, then all you’re going to get is resistance. So it’s not just about hardware. What are the opportunities that we get? And this is something we need to bear in mind. Those of us who were in the Diaspora, who represent over 5 percent of the continent in terms of our generational group, we have a huge privilege, a huge responsibility. And therefore when we go back to the continent we should always remember we’re just privileged. We should go back with that humility. And what you will find is that, for those people who may not have the benefit of such good education, or the opportunity to have [exposure to a different standard] of work ethics, they make up for it in terms of commitment in terms of dedication and in terms of hospitality.
Kayuhira: Yes, it is absolutely about the software. It’s about the attitude, about bringing a spirit of service, of humility — not hitting people over the head with the fact that you’re coming from the Diaspora. Ask for feedback. If you take that approach you’ll always win. So it’s absolutely about the attitude, about humility about coming with a spirit of service. And if you get those few points right it will generally work in your favor.
Kajunju: What specific advice would you give to someone who is thinking about making the move or has already made the move and is facing challenges — people who are thinking about building their career in Africa?
Kayuhira: I can offer up three points: The first is, figure out what you are passionate about. The second is, don’t pursue opportunities that are inconsistent with your passions because they’re shiny and they pay more. If you move yourself off like that you lose perspective. You are not on a course that would naturally give you exposure, opportunities and build your credibility in that space. And ultimately, when the right opportunity comes — and it’s a gut-feel thing — have the courage to jump. It’s never really an easy thing to do. You think you’re giving up quite a bit, but have the courage to jump. Have a very clear sense of where you want to be, stay the course, and it will work out.
Peters: If you want to move to Africa and you want to move as securely as possible, look for a multinational company because then you will get the package and you’ll really feel secure. I’ve seen people come back and work for a local company and within a few months they’re either unemployed or whatever.
For those of us who move back, expect culture shock. The fact that you’re African is not enough. If you’ve been away eighteen years or more, you’re going to come across things that you’re not normally used to. In the first few months I was just lost. After a while you realize it’s so worth it. I really love being in Africa, I love moving around, I go to Ghana, I go here and there. When I tell people I live in Nigeria, there is this fear. Even Nigerians said, “Why are you going to Nigeria?” Don’t be afraid. Luckily I’d been to Nigeria several times before I moved there, so I was more familiar with it. I’ve seen people pass up opportunities because they don’t know the country. It’s a whole new world and a wonderful experience. Go for it, but go in a careful manner and with a very, very secure job. Don’t just show up.
Balde: Build your network, even with people living in the U.S. or wherever you are, and in the country you go to. Find a mentor to help you once you’re on the ground. Be flexible, open-minded and persevere.
Oyewole: If you are coming back home, you need to suspend your assumptions. You need to come back and check it out yourself. We can sit up here and tell you X, Y, Z, but because it works for us, it may not work for you. You need to go and check it out yourself.
The second thing is, don’t rush it. At times it’s best to take it in small doses. Two things you need to do: You need to take time to develop your social infrastructure because, believe me, on the continent it is not about “here’s my certificate;” it’s about people you know, about your social network. You need time to develop that social infrastructure and develop your social capital because you will need to spend it to get things done.
You need to develop your operational infrastructure. You need to find a place, find a car to be able to move. And then you need to have your finances. One of the challenges I find with people is, they come with an amount of money and say, “Well I’m back home,” and they run out. It’s expensive. So don’t just assume that because you have X amount of money you’re safe and it’s not going to run out. It most likely will.
The last point is about sticking to your passion. Go with a passion, go with an idea, commit to it, build a base, and it will work. The passion is important, your adherence is important, but at the same time you need to make sure it is not a romantic relationship with the continent, but a pragmatic, sensible one and you will have taken the right steps I have no doubt it will be a profitable endeavor.
