Africa lesson #4...Its richness is in its diversity

Sitting in the Ivory Coast a couple of days before Christmas with our Lebanese franchise partner Assaad discussing our next country launch, I was charmed to spend time with local Ivorian and future Pizza Hut Restaurant General Manager Christophe who couldn’t be more excited about his new role after applying his learnings from over a decade in the UK working for our sister brand KFC. He was glowing to be given the opportunity to do what he does best – proudly running a great restaurant and grow the Pizza Hut brand in the country he calls home.

“We’re aiming to beat the Africa country sales record when we launch - you wait and see!” Assaad said enthusiastically, missing the slightly worried look on Christophe’s face.

I had spent the previous 6 days in Lagos working with our Nigerian business at the launch of our first 3 restaurants and was momentarily pausing in Abidjan before onward travel (without luggage – thanks Air Cote d’Ivoire!) to Cameroon to discuss potential plans with an American-Cameroonian partnership for 2019.

Flying back for Christmas to my family in Johannesburg (wearing borrowed clothes from my Development Manager – thanks Dan!) gave me the opportunity to reflect on the intensity of the experiences I have been privileged to connect with, and the cultural diversity that not only builds our brand, but also adds such richness as we continue to grow to scale across the continent. In Johannesburg we have a diverse team: South African nationals, Africans, Europeans and Antipodeans. But the culture running through our veins is inherently African, and we are fiercely proud of this....it makes us who we are. 

The flexible and people-first nature of the Yum! culture gives us the opportunity to “be who we want to be” and does not impose a specific cultural bias on the way we want to grow our brand and develop our team “mojo”. Yes, our pizzas are American, and we celebrate the heritage of this great brand, but we also encourage our diversity to shine through in every respect. In the way we engage with customers in store…..how we reward, incentivize, motivate and grow our teams and of course in the way we celebrate our successes. 

For every store opening celebration, we also spend time exploring the varied cuisine of other cultures on Heritage Day. For every great sales month we’ll also spend time understanding traditions behind Diwali or Eid. For every new development agreement signed, we’ll also equally spend time eating local food together with team members in country understanding the cultural history and stories which make our African markets so unique. Every ounce of history and diversity adds richness to our YUM! culture, our people and our brand – and everyone has a voice, a place at the table, and a shared ownership of success. 

Furthermore, as we enter 3-4 more countries in Africa in 2019 we will continue to elevate our diversity and inclusion agenda to even greater heights.  In particular, we will focus on driving inclusive leadership, minimizing unconscious bias, embedding of talent throughout the continent to grow professionally and also sponsoring study packages for degrees through the Open University for outstanding Pizza Hut Team Members who have not been given the opportunity to study in the past. 

As I sat on the plane thinking about my own personal journey through the UK, LATAM, Middle East and now Africa it made me think about the political situation in the UK with the current Brexit fiasco and how part of the vote was driven by xenophobia and lack of appreciation of diversity. 

I remember waking on the morning of the first vote several years back and before even seeing the results receiving a text message from my good friend Luca Gabella saying “What on earth have you guys gone and done?”.  My heart sank. The breadth and prevalence of cultural influence is something I always loved about the UK – the Italian connection of my home town of Bedford, the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities of Bradford, Leicester and Birmingham, British Chinese communities in Manchester and Liverpool, Eastern European and more – all incredible cultures and people who make the UK a better place than it was previously, diversity adding richness to society. I would always prefer a neighbor who has a different heritage from me, someone to learn a new culture from, perspectives, food, traditions and celebrations. 

The richness in the cultural diversity in Africa makes this great continent a totally unique place on earth…..54 totally different experiences so frequently treated and perceived as one. But I have seen how our brand has become bigger and better due to not only embracing but celebrating the traditions and cultural values of each different country – and my own life and that of my family would be poorer without the experiences and friendship of the people in this incredible place to live and work. It has grown me beyond belief as a much more rounded and thoughtful human being.