Part 1: On Africa
Mzamo Masito, Chief Marketing Officer of Google Africa, graced the last ALUSB MBA Intensive with his esteemed presence. ALUSB Director of Admissions, Vani Nadarajah, had the pleasure of sitting down to an interview with Mzamo and tapping his vast wisdom on African-related and leadership topics. A fireball of artistic depth, Afro-optimism, and confidence in the African identity, Mzamo exuded the essence of leadership for the African Century.
Find his full video interview below. Here are some of the highlights:
“[Coming to the African Leadership Group], I had met Fred a while back when he was only then, thinking about ALA. All I could hear from his vision was “African Renaissance”. There is nothing wrong with our minerals, water, air….people. At the core of our biggest challenge is leadership.
[I am] super confident about waking up Black and sleeping Black. I am in love with the African continent but I am not blind to its lows. I am conscious of its potential because I know how things were, pre-colonisation; I know we have a reference point that doesn’t need us to look towards the West or the East for reference. It’s here.
[Google’s mission] is to organise the world’s information, make it universally accessible and make it useful. The word, ‘universally accessible’ includes Africans. At Google, the mission is our lighthouse and that mission is incomplete without Africa.
[To do business in Africa], you need to tailor your product to meet the African country’s conditions. There is no ‘African’ solution because Africa is not a country. Not everything that works in South Africa is going to work in Nigeria or Congo; some might but not everything. Make sure you have a product that is at least, versatile and flexible enough to adapt, which is why you have to glocalise.”
“Everyone who wants to come to the African continent must first, have a long-term mindset; secondly, have patient capital; and thirdly, tailor-make the product to respect the user in that country.”
