Africa's need is good for business

By Clar Ni Chonghaile

LONDON (Reuters) - Africa may be a needy continent but this need offers rich rewards for businesses that are daring, innovative and flexible enough to grapple with poor infrastructure, underdeveloped markets and volatile politics.

This is the premise of a new book, "Africa Rising: How 900 Million African Consumers Can Offer More Than You Think" (Wharton School Publishing, $29.99).

Author Vijay Mahajan, who holds the John P. Harbin Centennial Chair in Business at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, debunks traditional stereotypes about a continent that is starting to beep ever louder on the radars of global investors.

His book, published this month, is built around interviews with African and expatriate business people across the continent, including producers of consumer goods, alcohol, soft drinks, airline firms and retailers.

"(Many entrepreneurs) were tired of the media reporting too many negative stories about Africa ... if something happened in one country, all Africa was on fire. They were saying 'how come our story doesn't get out?'" he told Reuters in an interview.

High commodity prices, greater political stability in many countries, fewer wars, better communications and economic growth of around 6.5 percent have helped lure new investment, often from China and other emerging countries, primarily for resources such as oil and gas.

Mahajan says Africa's 900 million plus people in 53 countries offer much as a market -- they need to eat, they need clean water, clothing and medicine and they want cell phones, bicycles and computers.

If Africa were a single country, according to World Bank data, it would have had $978 billion total gross national income in 2006, placing it ahead of India.