adminLovemore Ranga Mataire The Reader
In light of the economic despondency seemingly pervading the whole country, it is essential to revisit Lovemore Mbigi’s pioneering book – In Search of the African Business Renaissance – a very unconventional thought-provoking text that is a rarity in libraries and academic circles. Conventional theorists and economists may find Mbigi’s book nothing but a hotchpotch of fairytales not in tune with the global economic trends.
However, closer scrutiny will reveal a body of knowledge that hitherto has either been ignored or simply regarded as primitive and beyond empirical verification.
Lovemore Mbigi is a Zimbabwean consultant, entrepreneur, philosopher, academic and rainmaker. Widely recognised as a creative thinker who specialises in areas of management transformation in Southern Africa, Mbigi believes the time for Africa to rise has come and the rise will come through innovative ways inspired by its own cultural heritage instead of imitating the West or East.
In Search of the African Business Renaissance (2000) is Mbigi’s own contribution towards making Africa rise again. The book, which is divided into 10 chapters, gives practical and innovative guidelines to help African managers meet the transformational challenges created by the global competitive environment.
Mbigi sees the African Business Renaissance as a cultural awakening that will infuse African institutions with new performance energy that will re-energise them into action. His starting point is the cultural and philosophical values embedded in ancient African wisdom, particularly in the concept of Ubuntu or people care. Using appropriate rituals and ceremonies within the framework of African spirit religion for managing the emotional, cultural and spiritual resources of an organisation, Mbigi’s book is a pioneering work in conflict resolution, transformation, strategic management and world-class competitiveness. In his view, the next terrain of business competitive warfare and opportunity lies in the area of social capital management in terms of the emotional and spiritual resources of the organisation. Giving a historical background of African sophistry in dealing with pertinent survival issues, Mbigi starts by positing that human progress towards civilisation was inspired by a focus on physical energy in the form of human physical force and fire.
“The early endeavours at creating a civilisation were also inspired by a focus on the development of physical capital in the form of development of land and minerals. This created a civilisation based on peasant agriculture and iron ore. Some historians call it the Agrarian Revolution and some call it the Iron Age,” says Mbigi.
The next milestone in human civilisation, Mbigi contends, was achieved through a focus on financial capital which gave birth to a mercantile trade system which enabled the financing of important naval global exploration such as voyages of Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo.
Mbigi says the other critical achievement in human progress was inspired by focusing on intellectual capital that gave birth to both the Industrial Revolution and the Information Age.
He gives the example of Japan of which he says its mass customisation and world-class manufacturing that inspired its economic miracle was a result of its focus on social capital mobilisation. Many a time Africans are quick to shun their own indigenous knowledge systems in favour of imported economic remedies and yet the truth is that our ancestors survived for years through the application of their own native intelligence born out of the dynamics of their interactions with their own environment. It is not in doubt, like what Mbigi suggests, that Africans have a reservoir of survival strategies safely ensconced in our spiritual realm.
“My view is that the next genius civilisation will be inspired by a focus on creative spiritual capital. African spirit religion maybe instructive in this regard,” says Mbigi.
Mbigi is correct. Many a time, I have often wondered how we have abandoned seeking guidance from the spiritual realm yet the country’s combatants were largely guided by spirit mediums during the liberation war. It is without doubt that In Search of the African Business Renaissance will not only be handy for those accustomed to Western economic remedies but also anyone seeking a real transformational framework that will usher in new realities for Africa.
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