He or she must educate himself or herself about African culture and approach African business with an open mind. This publication, through the author's personal observation and knowledge and through interviews and research, provides an analysis of cultural characteristics that define the African business culture and strategies for successfully managing cultural differences. Africans have a remarkable respect for hierarchies, titles, and age. They tend to place a lot of importance on personal connections and relationships. Africans are more collectivist than individualistic.
African societies are male-dominated.
They think tradition and honor are very important. They may not adhere to rules and discipline because rules are not always enforced. African workers have a positive work ethic, but tend to be relatively less productive. The complex and changing African environment requires business men and women and managers to have a degree of flexibility and freedom in managing business with Africa to respond to subtle or major differences in various countries. The potential for turbulence also requires businessmen and women to constantly monitor and assess the political risks in the countries with whom they are doing business.