Suresh Kana: «Social responsibility is not only the governmentís role»

Suresh Kana, Africa Senior Partner for the PwC network, was in Mauritius for the Africa Tax and Business Symposium organised by PwC Mauritius recently. In the interview below, he underlines opportunities and requisites to do business in Africa.

BUSINESSMAG. You have acquired vast experience in business across many African countries. What should any investor willing to go into Africa be aware of?

First of all, people should remember that the African continent is a blend of 54 countries with a huge amount of diversity in them. It is often talked about as being one single country.

Investors have to understand the culture locally because that’s what makes the difference. There is no one size fits all. Understanding the local climate is the first lesson people have to learn when investing, not only in Africa but around the world. Concerting with the local people will help understand what drives the local market.

BUSINESSMAG. The continent is being seen as the next big economic powerhouse that will be responsible for a large chunk of global growth over the coming decades, owing to low growth expectations in the rest of the world.  What is being done to maintain consistency when the global economy catches up once again?

Even if you look at the past ten years, Africa has had a very bad brand in the past. This is however changing. The brand is evolving from a continent of hopelessness to a continent of real promise. We have to make sure we live up to that brand. There are a lot of things that have to happen on the continent. Africa is rich in minerals, houses billions of people and is welcoming a lot of international investors looking to access this huge consumer market. We have to invest in the right infrastructure to make sure we can tap our own resources
for export.

BUSINESSMAG. The ‘African boom’ is encouraging big and small international companies alike to flock to the Africa. What are the sectors that are generating the most interest?

They are mainly oil and gas, in countries which possess these reserves such as Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and Kenya. This is a very big step for the development of these countries and its consumers, which will boost infrastructure. 

BUSINESSMAG. You are also co-author of a book on Corporate Reporting. Briefly, what message does it send out to companies?

Corporate reporting has changed significantly over the past twenty five years. I started that book in 1985 and now we are in 2013. The whole aim of that project is towards excellence in reporting, what companies should be telling their shareholders and stakeholders. Companies don’t exist in isolation any longer. They operate in a society and have an impact on people. They have to assess their impact on people and indicate what their purpose is to society. Social responsibility is not only government’s role. Companies need to have a conscience and also have to look after the people and the community they evolve in. It is not only about the numbers, we have also got to get to the soft things that matter. In fact, these may sometimes matter more than numbers.

BUSINESSMAG. PwC has recently announced global revenues of $ 32.1 billion. How do you explain this progress despite the tough economic conditions and fierce competition prevailing in markets?  

Our worldwide revenue has grown by 4 % but revenue stemming from Africa has grown by twice this figure at 7 % this year. The PwC network in Africa is truly vibrant and is the largest network of professional firms on the continent with close to 9,000 people employed and 150 partners.

We’ve done extremely well. The other thing is that there is huge investment being made to take that 7% even higher. We are really positioned to foster growth on the continent and have made some good investments in regards to this. We have a very big role to play in growing the economy.

BUSINESSMAG. Are there any major projects in the pipeline?

We have just opened offices in Sierra Leone and Liberia. We’ve boosted up our offices in Rwanda, Angola and South Sudan. We are trying to broaden our investment. The one biggest investment we continue to make is investment into our people. A brand like PwC can survive only if we have quality people. At the end of the day when we close our offices and go home, nothing earns us money.