I Left My Children for a Trade Mission to South Africa and Kenya and It's Not What I Expected (Unfiltered)

As I am sitting on my flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Accra, Ghana, thinking about my three children, who haven't seen me in more than a week ??, I’m reflecting on my marathon-run trade mission which started in Johannesburg, South Africa the week prior.

From meeting government officials in the Department of Communications and ICT to owners of small to medium-sized digital performance agencies and mobile applications software companies, Naomi Jordan Cook and I, cofounders of the Virtual Global Consultant (VGC) Group, got first-hand insights into the digital landscape of two emerging markets and it’s not what I expected.

I’ll tell you why..

But, before I go into my spiel, let me give you some context into how we joined the trade mission and what took place before we landed in Joburg, as we’ve come to call the city for short. (This is what happens when you get comfortable with a new place and feel like you already belong.)

Months prior, I sat in on a webinar hosted by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Zurcom International (Pty) Ltd and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers about a trade mission tailored to companies in a few different sectors including ICT to South Africa and Kenya. I shared the details with Naomi because of our interest and work in both the East and Southern region of Africa (Uganda, Malawi, etc.) as well as our prior experiences helping a client expand his base of customers already in the Kenyan market. With a dual focus on advancing digitalization and economic development across the African continent, the trade mission peaked our interest.?

But, not without some hesitation. As a mother of three and Naomi a mother of four, going on trade missions half way across the world is emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally taxing. It's a big sacrifice and why making decisions to attend trade missions are not quick.

In fact, we did not decide to join the trade mission until mid-December after the U.S. Africa Leaders Forum held in Washington, DC. There was a lot going on and a lot to organize to make the trip happen. And because we didn't figure out our logistics until last minute, it gave us and the team on the ground less than 60 days to prepare a tailored-made trade mission on our behalf.?

Yikes …

The weeks leading to our departure were intense. From scheduled webinars about our goals for the trade mission and our vision of expansion, to sifting through unqualified leads (for both countries) to better direct the team on the ground about which companies fit our preferred profiles, we were racing against time from day one and the outcome is not what I expected.

I didn’t expect to …

Only meet one female African founder. We were reminded about the hard truth that less than 3% of women in tech are black, let alone in leadership roles. Most of the companies we met with in Joburg we led by white males, and of all the companies we met with throughout the duration of our trade mission, only one founder was a woman. Granted, there were hundreds and thousands of other companies that we did not meet. But, it’s not by happenstance that within the pool of companies that we did meet, this statistic showed true time and time again.?

Digitalization is bound by age. This particular point, I will need to write a subsequent piece on, but I’ll share some initial thoughts.?For the first time (in a long time), I saw digitalization from the eyes of a 60 plus year old founder and owner of a technology company that describes his business model as helping companies digitize their processes. The shocker or the ah-ha moment for me, as well as Naomi, was when he proceeded to demo one of his recent projects in comparison to a platform that was recently built and being used by the government of Kenya by a younger group of innovators. According to this founder, the platform that is currently being used has no real substance because it only deals with front-end functionalities and doesn’t take into account the back-end functionality of processes dealing with verifying land rights. He had many arguably strong points to which we agreed. But, Naomi and I pondered about the conversation, observed the computers and office space we visited and were unexpectedly reminded that digitalization (can be) and is bound by age. The business model explained could be seen as obsolete and opaque. Or rather, not adequate enough to lead us from the future. ?

Now, what's the purpose of this reflection? It's to observe all the unexpected opportunities available for us to seize.

I am pointing out additional opportunities for the VGC Group to fill gaps in the global marketplace. This excites me.

These were gaps we did not necessarily expect to fill. Our initial intention in participating in the trade mission was to explore opportunities that would allow us to support the advancing of digitalization by building more technologies that could be used to help companies increase revenue producing opportunities.?And that's exactly what happened thanks to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Zurcom International (Pty) Ltd, and Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers.

We weren't thinking about gender or age gaps in the marketplace.

But, this trade mission sent us a good and well-received unexpected reminder that there’s more to be done in these areas. It reminded us that there is a larger fight for black women in technology to navigate the barriers and challenges of a male driven sector to be seen and heard, as well as, to stay agile in our knowledge and capabilities as we grow in age.

The trade mission was an overall success! Our days were packed with meetings and some of our evenings were filled with group discussions and reflections. Congratulations to all the partners that helped make this mission a success.?We are so grateful for all your leadership!

Official trade missions will always be a part of our export strategy as we not only enter into new markets but remain relevant in current markets. I look forward to the next trade mission. Hopefully, we will be in position to bring our families. What a joy it would be for me to bring all three of my children along and show them what mommy is doing out in the world for their legacy.

If you're a mother reading this article, I am giving you a hug. It's not easy navigating building business (or a career) and birthing babies. I applaud you. Let this be a reminder that it's possible for us (you and me) to impact locally and build globally.

For more information on how to begin doing business in other countries as a small-to-medium-sized business and founder, consider the information shared on this link here.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments ????!

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W.E. Da'Cruz

The Digital Diplomat