The 36th summit of the African Union reaffirmed in Addis Ababa, a few days ago, the strategic importance of creating the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf). He demonstrated the unanimity of Heads of State behind this ambitious initiative, which will revolutionize the economic development of the continent by increasing accessibility to essential goods, services and infrastructure for 1.3 billion inhabitants. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. The Zlecaf will take time to be operational. However, inclusion cannot wait, the continent cannot wait and we entrepreneurs do not need Zlecaf to lead the battle for accessibility on the ground.
Almost five years ago, I decided to put positive impact at the heart of the group’s business model with the aim of increasing access to essential goods such as energy, financing and digital. After spending months listening to our customers and analyzing their needs, whether they are consumers, microentrepreneurs, SMEs, large companies, start-ups, we understood that they were sorely lacking in solutions adapted to their daily lives and capable of simplifying it. . We have therefore evolved our infrastructure and service offer towards a value proposition focused on financial, energy and digital inclusion.
It was a profound strategic shift, a precursor to a time when impact and CSR were not yet as popularized as they are today. It was a transformation at all levels, a transformation that will never be complete, because the speed at which the African continent is changing and advancing forces us to perpetually reinvent ourselves. But the B-corp label of WeLight obtained a few weeks ago – a great pride! – and the recruitment of our Chief Impact
The hardest part is not developing a value proposition. We certainly have to take risks, get out of our swim lane, dare to launch new offers, but innovation, audacity and creativity being anchored in the group’s DNA, this part is actually the most exciting. . Every day, we ask ourselves the question of how to meet this or that new need, clearly identified but not addressed until now.
The most complex thing is probably to change our governance and our managerial culture. We asked our managers, almost overnight, to review the way they assess their performance – their own and that of their employees – by integrating non-financial criteria, such as reducing the carbon footprint of their activities. , the promotion of parity and diversity in their teams, etc.
The creation and implementation of reporting processes and tools, both by our teams and by our suppliers, our partners, our customers, was and continues to be a difficult undertaking, but surely not impossible! The proof ? At the end of 2022, we published the second opus of our annual impact report and set up an internal impact scoring on which part of the managers’ remuneration is directly indexed. We are also the first pan-African group to carry out a Scope-III audit in 2021, because there is no impact without the ability to measure it.
To all African bosses, and whatever the size of your business, get started! You will quickly be addicted to the virtuous dynamics and the positive change that you will generate around you: the mobilization and the pride in the eyes of your collaborators, the happiness of your customers, the energy and the support of your partners, the increased confidence of your investors, but also confidence in the future and, above all, a response commensurate with the challenges and expectations of our continent.
* President of the Axian group, creator, with ESCP Business School, of the “Responsible Innovation in Africa” ??Chair