The Shortest Distance Between Two Points Is Not a Straight Line in Africa

Africa is both a fertile and complex environment for business, unlike any other in the world. Understanding its idiosyncrasies and intricacies in order to make a business venture a success can take a significant amount of time and be costly without the adequate map to navigate it. “The Shortest Distance between Two Points Is Not a Straight Line in Africa” is a nonfiction book about doing business on the continent. The book gathers a collection of real-life stories from people with a practical experience in doing business in Africa across various industries and countries. Their rich experiences are shared through entertaining and informative conversations with the author. The book provides relevant and specific insights into doing business in Africa from professionals who have spent their lives growing their companies' footprint on the continent.

Ben Konate is a graduate from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce d'Abidjan (ESCA) in Côte d'Ivoire, and the Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois (USA). He worked for various companies such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk and also ran his own start-up company during many years. Throughout his career, he lived in Africa, North America, the Middle East and Europe. His experience of Africa covers the entire African continent, as well as a wide variety of local cultures. A native of Cote d'Ivoire, he lives today in the Geneva area in Switzerland.