The mullet trip ("Business up front, party in the back")

Up to this point I've neglected to discuss much of the primary purpose for our journey, which was to understand how business is done in South Africa (and Southern Africa). The first nine days of our trip was spent meeting with a number of South African businesses and multinational corporations operating in South Africa. The schedule kept us very busy. We were in Jo'burg March 8th - 10th, Gabarone, Botswana March 10-12, and Cape Town March 12th - 17th. The most difficult day of traveling had us listen to a panel of four PhD's and political party representatives in Botswana, and then off for curio shopping at Botswanacraft, snapping a few photos at various Botswana architectural sights, and then off to the airport. We flew back into Jo'burg that afternoon (1 hour flight) to go through SA customs, and then boarded a flight (2 hours) to Cape Town. We arrived into Cape Town around 11:30 and then turned around and had three company meetings the next morning beginning at 8:30 AM and then lunch with Chevron. It was a whirlwind.

The list of companies we meet with while we were there includes Dell, Coke, Rand Merchant Bank (Investment bank), SAFA (South African Football Association), Wits Business School, Jo'burg Stock Exchange, the US Embassy, Global Carbon Exchange, Mothers2Mothers, Ethical Co-Op, Chevron, Investec (another Investment bank), WOSA (Wines of South Africa), Delheim Wines, and Backsberg Wines. In addition to the company meetings we would also take cultural tours/events and do group dinners each night. I'll go ahead and admit it - towards the end of the "business portion" of our trip I was getting pretty cranky. I wanted spend more time exploring and doing some of my favorite things such as sitting at the pub or at a a coffee shop and chatting with the locals. The busy agenda did serve a greater purpose though - I learned a ton. I learned that the political situation is a big deal over there and the country is also facing several other issues including a "war for talent," a "brain drain" of their best and brightest to the UK and the US, along with education issues and of course HIV. The other issue we discussed quite a bit was BBBEE, or Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, which is essentially Affirmative Action on several rounds of steroids.

I was also part of a group of five who did a consulting project related to strategic planning for the Baylor International Pediatric Aids Initative (BIPAI). We visited their Center of Excellence in Botswana and got a chance to meet with several physicians, nurses, and administrative staff. It's amazing what their dealing with, Botswana is the hardest hit by AIDS of any of the African nations. It's incredibly sad, but the COE provided world-class care that rivals anything that we'd find here in the US.