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Africa Business Traveling

ACADEMIC ESSAY: The Impact of Traveling on Africa’s Corporate Performance.

David Muanda
David Muanda poses for a picture at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • David Muanda
  • Bachelor of Applied Science, Applied Business Management
  • Brigham Young University – Idaho
  • ENG 150: Writing/Reasoning Foundation
  • Tracy Westbye
  • April 6, 2024

 

The Impact of Traveling on Africa’s Corporate Performance

Africa’s economic landscape has come a long way and is rapidly evolving, and businesses are increasingly engaging in international trade and partnerships. This trend necessitates frequent travel by company executives and employees within the continent as well as abroad. While the benefits of travel for professional development and networking are well-documented, the overall impact on corporate performance in an African context remains under-explored. Travel activities, such as business trips, conferences, and networking events, impact various aspects of organizational performance, including financial performance, improved sales, commercial productivity, innovation, and employee satisfaction.

Studies have shown that business travel can foster stronger relationships with clients and partners, potentially leading to increased sales and market expansion. However, travel can also be costly, time-consuming, and disruptive to employee workflow. Considering the unique context of the African business environment as well as cultural, economic, and geographical factors that may influence the relationship between traveling and corporate performance; this paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationship between traveling and corporate performance in the African context.

Key areas of focus will include the role of business travel in fostering innovation and knowledge exchange, the impact of travel on employee engagement and retention, and the potential challenges and opportunities associated with travel-related activities for African corporations. The paper will also explore practical implications for business leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders interested in enhancing corporate performance through strategic travel initiatives. It will encompass research from a range of disciplines, including business management, organizational behavior, and tourism studies. And adding to this is what Papavasileiou, E. F., & Tzouvanas, P. (2021) proposed, in their study, for a shift in perspective from a country-level analysis to a corporation-performance perspective, emphasizing that “individual travels and tourism companies are to mitigate their carbon emissions for a sustainable environment” (896-911). Being aware of the risks all our travels cause to the environment and its aftermath, this 21st century business environment will largely be shaped by what happens in Africa as well, and thus we call for a more responsible approach to the travelling industry for business purposes.

Let’s look at the historical significance of travel within Africa: In precolonial times, Africa boasted highly developed transport networks, facilitating trade and cultural exchange across the continent. These networks were integral to the economic and social fabric of various regions, with the story of Mansa Musa, the 9th Emperor of Mali and a great regional businessman who is recognized as the richest man to have ever lived, with his wealth being evaluated today to 400 billion US dollars, according to Financial Express. The colonial era restructured much of these transportation systems, even though their main aim was to serve the commercial and administrative needs of the colonial powers, often neglecting the local populations’ requirements, but this significantly influenced transportation facilities in Africa, shaping the continent’s modern transportation infrastructure.

The post-colonial Africa counts, as of today, nine highways for a total length of 56,683 kilometers (or 35,221 miles) in the network. Adding to this is the air transport industry that has significantly grown to over 357 airlines, the top 10 of which are carrying more than 60% of all air traffic in Africa. The railway network is also catching up, especially with the recent Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) systems now available and/or being implemented in East Africa, as well as the Regional Express Train or as originally known in French “Train Express Régional” (TER) in Senegal. The Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) project is also aiming to close this gap by connecting Kenya and Egypt to the rest of Asia and Europe.

As explained in this article published by Maluta, M., & Dr Orthodox, T. (2019) on proposing a conceptual framework for the South African aviation industry, they addressed the significance of corporate strategy and strategic leadership in driving sustainable organizational performance within the context of the aviation industry because “it is playing a pivotal role in supporting the growth of the tourism and hospitality sectors, particularly in linking clients/customers to touristic destinations should never be neglected” (3). This is another evidence of how both the public and private sectors are joining hands in Africa to change the travel industry which, in return, will also boost one’s corporate performance.

All this progress has increased the continental business travel, which plays a crucial role in fostering corporate networking, collaboration, and investment opportunities within Africa and internationally. We are all aware of the modern global business environment paradigm shift, which compels African companies to pay more attention to global emerging networks in an endeavor to architect strategies for improved performance. Notwithstanding all this significant progress and willingness, Africa still faces significant security and infrastructure challenges. These limitations hinder the movement of goods and people, impacting supply chains, logistics, and business operations. Additionally, African poor infrastructure leads to increased transportation costs and delays, affecting corporate performance and competitiveness. On top of all these challenges is also the visa restrictions and complex immigration processes that impede the ease of travel for business professionals within Africa and internationally.

My personal experience is similar to that of many executives and professionals who are traveling within the African continent: my home country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest, the richest in terms of minerals, and yet the poorest in terms of ground and air transport which has always been very difficult. Even while traveling internationally, I still need a valid visa to enter 167 countries. The cost of traveling between Kinshasa to other major hubs in East, West, and Southern Africa varies between 800 to 1,500 US dollars for a one-way plane ticket, which is often twice the price for a flight from Africa to Europe, the United States, or the Middle East. As also mentioned by Reinstein, D., (2023) in her article, high airfares are having significant impact on the intra-Africa travel and has potential negative implications for tourism and business. The disparity in airfares between certain international routes and similar distances within Africa is one of the challenges that travelers face in Africa. But also, the inadequate airline competition on ticket pricing can only lead to setbacks in the aviation industry, including the exit of several airlines and limited choices for passengers.

The complicated immigration system in Africa is making it harder for us to move around and, just in 2022, I was at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, the United Republic of Tanzania, when the Immigration Officer could not let me travel to Nairobi, in Kenya, just because I did not have a return ticket, and yet I had all my visa and other health-related papers in order. Simplifying visa procedures and promoting visa-free travel can facilitate business engagements and enhance corporate performance by fostering greater mobility and connectivity. And this also includes the ground transport industry that needs a real boost in building new roads for public use. Talking about my experience, once again, I find it hard to be in Kinshasa and spend 2 to 3 hours daily in traffic just as I leave my house for my office and vice-versa. A simple math will show that, with all this traffic, I cannot work and be productive for 8 hours per day as required by the National Labor Policy.

And recent reforms by Governments, regional organizations, and programs, all working under the African Union (AU)’s agreement called the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are going into this direction of swiping away visa requirements and promoting free movement of goods between African nations. In her article, Lebrand, M., (2022) delves into the potential of regional trade in Africa and the role of improved transport in boosting economic growth and job creation across the continent. She also emphasized the under-exploited potential of regional trade in Africa and highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as “a unique opportunity to elevate regional trade and subsequently enhance economic growth and job creation because it underscores the importance of improving the efficiency of cross-border transport and addresses the modest role of regional maritime transport, as well as the challenges posed by prohibitive border crossing times.”

What Mathilde Lebrand said in her article clearly matched with the World Bank Infrastructure’s Chief Economists Office paper, titled “Corridors without Borders in West Africa,” which also analyzes the economic impacts of several regional road corridors, including the Dakar-Lagos motorway corridor. All these who have adopted multiple mechanisms to facilitate the free movement of people and goods. And the estimated gains from this analysis stem from better integration between the main coastal economies, particularly emphasizing the potential benefits of improved integration.

This growing trend of domestic travel in Africa and its potential impact on corporate performance should be kept alive, because, as mentioned by Brophy, S., (2023), we can see significant increase in domestic tourism in South Africa, with a notable 31% surge in overnight trips during the first four months of 2023 compared to the previous year. Additionally, domestic travel spending in the country has seen a substantial 41% rise during the same period. This growth should be replicated across Africa because our youthful population, with over 60% of Africans being under the age of 25, have traveling as one of their short-term goals. We may believe in it or not, but studies as well as personal experiences have indicated that business travels are shaping and enhancing company culture as we learn a lot from other cultures. And to get there, all our African governments and regional organizations are to do more by:

  1. Finding lasting solution for peace between regions and countries.
  2. Lifting all current visa requirements between nations.
  3. Acquiring more stakes in major airline companies, creating more local airline companies, and reducing the ticket prices for passengers.
  4. Building more local, regional, and international highways to facilitate incoming and outgoing traffic.
  5. Funding more regional and international railway projects under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) protocol.
  6. Improving the State of Affairs in their countries and making it easier for foreigners to invest in various projects.

 

References

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