10 CHALLENGES OF DOING BUSINESS IN AFRICA

(EMR009)

Speakers:

• Tim Moerschel, Foreign Casualty Lead, AIG

• Mitch Aucoin, Sr. Director, International Insurance, Marriott International Inc.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, you will:

• Recognize the ten risk management challenges your organization may face when investing in Africa

• Understand the essential elements of a risk mitigation strategy that responds quickly to investor challenges

• Identify how Systemic and Operational risks in Africa influence how a multinational company operates

Agenda

• Africa – In a Snapshot

• Why Africa?

• Systemic Challenges

• Operational Challenges

• Marriott’s presence in Africa

• How Marriott conducts business

• Impact to Risk Management

- Operations

- Insurance

- Legal

Africa – One Continent• Home to 1 billion people (15% of world

population) with avg. life expectancy of 47 yrs.

• 55 Countries

• Second largest continent on earth

(approximately 11.7 million square miles)

• 5 Legal Systems

- English

- Portuguese

- Roman-Dutch

- Arabic and Indigenous

- French

• 17 OHADA States

• Has the world’s longest river (Nile) and largest

desert (Sahara)

Why Africa?

• Africa’s GDP grew by a CAGR of 11% between 2002 and 2012

• The GDP growth for 2014 was 3.9% and is forecasted to be 4.5% for 2016

• Per the International Monetary Fund, ten of the world's twenty fastest-growing economies

are African

• African population is projected to more than double between 2010 and 2050. By 2025, the

population of Africa is estimated to surpass that of China. By 2050, nearly one of four

people on the planet will be an African

• By 2010, the middle class had risen to 34% of Africa’s population (or 350 million people), up

from approximately 27% in 1980 (or 126 million people)

• The pace of urbanization in Africa is the fastest in the world at 4% p.a. with 50 African cities

now having a population in excess of 1 Million

• International tourist arrivals in Africa grew by 3.6 times between 1990 and 2012, reaching

63.6 million in 2012 from 17.4 million in 1990. International passengers traffic in Africa grew

by 8% YTD July 2013

• US travel to Africa is on the rise; unlike other destinations that saw a decline of 10% in

American visitors since 2006, Africa witnessed a 34% increase in arrivals from the U.S.

Systemic Challenges

1. Infrastructure

- Shortage of modern functioning roads, reliable power, access to clean water

- Lack of Innovation (Communications, including phones and internet still developing)

2. Bureaucracy

- Additional time necessary to accomplish tasks

- Time contingency needed due to additional layers of people and approval

3. Inflation

- Avg. of 6.3% for most sub-Saharan countries with some countries higher

- Impacted by international food, fuel, & electricity costs

4. Corruption

- Scale varies widely from “petty” fines to major corruption in govt. contracts

- Increasingly governments and citizens are demanding accountability

Systemic Challenges (cont’d)

5. Health Risks

- Infectious disease (e.g. malaria, dengue, cholera) due to limited medical capacity

- Health authorities & health systems unable to respond to large outbreaks

6. Security

- Increased terrorism risk in Central Africa (e.g. Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Congo)

- Many African cities safer than western cities, although ability to respond is concern

7. Legal and Governance

- Land ownership difficult with multiple claims of ownership possible

- Entrenched leadership and abuse of term limits (e.g. Eq. Guinea, Angola)

8. Skilled Workforce & Local Talent

- Shortage of local talent, particularly outside of cities

- Competition for managerial expertise creates huge competition and prem.

salaries

Operational Challenges9. Cultural Perception

- Western businesses incorrectly assume that processes will be the same

- Improper view of Africa as difficult & dangerous to operate in (requires education)

- Neighboring countries can operate vastly different (e.g. Ghana vs. Burkina Faso)

10. Community Relations

- Must understand the local community & dynamics, particularly around tribal &

religious leadership

- Cultural adaptation necessary (e.g. eating, religion, languages)

- Positive community relationships can be beneficial and create strong

advocates (e.g. Pfizer, Campbell’s Soup, Johnson & Johnson)

Existing markets & pipeline (Marriott)

Existing markets & pipeline (Protea)

Expansion in new markets (Marriott & Protea)

Marriott’s Presence in Africaby 2017:

• Integrate with focus on realistic goals

• Standardize contracts to include commercially available limits and coverages as

well as solid indemnification clauses

• Establish protocols for incident/claim reporting

• Evaluate adverse trends to take appropriate loss prevention/mitigation steps

• Establish training plan to focus on the fundamentals of contract review, insurance

concepts, claims reporting

• Onsite visits as often as possible (once a year) with local colleagues, insurance

carriers, brokers, to better understand the culture, and insurance marketplace

• Quarterly conference calls with local teams and stakeholders

How Marriott does Business

Impact to Hotel Operations• Management challenges

- Local hiring of labor important, but not always efficient

- Scarcity of local educated workforce

- Remote monitoring difficult

- Importing of expatriates can be difficult

• Duties/roles not clearly defined in the workplace

• Face to face meetings very important

• Inconsistent availability of operational supplies and goods

• Limited suppliers for services

• FCPA compliance monitored

• Disruption of operations due to inconsistent or instable infrastructure

(e.g. daily blackouts in South Africa)

Impact to Insurance

• Litigation by U.S. citizens not as common

• Claims made policies very common for CGL forms

• Increased frequency of auto physical damage claims (poor roads)

• Policies are consistently shopped annually or upon renewal

• CGL policies issued semi-annually

• GL premium typically a % of total package policy

• Insurance not placed based on underlying contracts

• Deductibles typically under US$100

Impact to Legal

• Moving legal and statutory landscape with little advance notice or consult

• Legal support in countries limited in capabilities

• Contracts not typically enforced

• Verbal agreements are more common

• Vetting of 3rd parties not common

• Transfer of risk via indemnification not practiced

• Indemnities in contracts typically unfavorable

Questions