Its chief executive is a Parisian, Sacha Poignonnec, but it operates as a large number of autonomous businesses run by local managers. Each requires a multimillion-euro start-up investment in warehousing, logistics and customer support. That’s a big risk, but Mr Poignonnec says it’s one that his investors – Berlin’s Rocket Internet, London-listed Millicom and Johannesburg-quoted MTN – are prepared to accept. “Our backers know there is a huge demand for these services in Africa from a growing middle class, and supply is not growing to fill that demand.”
He adds: “Go to the Heathrow or Charles de Gaulle where people are going to Africa, and what do you see? People carrying tonnes of merchandise. Is it because they want to give money to the airlines? No, it’s because they can’t get the goods at home. And that’s where we come in.”
This article was first published on The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/the-leaders-turning-africa-into-the-bright-continent-10124636.html)
