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Africa's next great business opportunity may not lie beyond the continent. It may lie within it. The question is whether our businesses will be ready to participate in it. [iStockphoto]
Every entrepreneur dreams of growth. For generations, growth has naturally been measured by serving more customers, opening another branch, employing more people or expanding into the next town.
It has been a journey of gradually extending a business within familiar markets. That has reflected the realities of doing business across much of Africa, where distance, fragmented markets and limited infrastructure often made regional expansion difficult for small enterprises.
Those realities are beginning to change. Not because local markets have become less important, but because Africa itself is becoming more connected. Digital technology is reducing the importance of distance, while regional integration is gradually creating opportunities that were once beyond the reach of most small businesses.
