NMSDC Conference Day Two: Trade Fair

Day two of the NMSDC Convention in Miami opened with a strong, albeit rather political, speech by Steve Rogers of NorthWestern’s Kellogg School of Management. The better of part of his twenty minutes at the podium was spent expounding on the nature of the current recession (specifically its intractability, and predictability using historical precedents). He questioned President Obama’s choice of advisors in terms of their ability to provide vision and leadership to entrepreneurs from minority communities, and intimated that either Jim Lowry or Ralph Moore would have been more appropriate choices.

Mr. Rogers then called on minority entrepreneurs to ‘create’ rather than ‘take’ jobs; to grow their own wealth and the wealth of their communities; and to be the engine that pulls the U.S. out of its economic malaise.

These themes were echoed in later remarks by the current mayor of San Antonio, Mr. Julian Castro. He also highlighted minority entrepreneurs as the anchors and engines of communities in San Antonio and across the United States. I would have liked more details in his speech, but his words were inspiring none the less. Mr. Castro called attention to the census data due for release in several weeks that will reveal that minorities constitute 30% of the American population, and in many geographies, they constitute an overwhelming majority. Empowering these communities will, using Mr. Castro’s words, allow the current generation to pursue the same American dream as their parents and grandparents, and help American retain its competitiveness well into this century.

These comments reminded me of an article I read in Foreign Affairs in early 2010. This article singled out America’s immigrant communities as its biggest advantage in the 21st century. These communities have ready-made business linkages back to their countries of origin, and the language skills and local knowledge necessary to leverage those connections into profitable business linkages. Of course, supplier diversity promoters will recognize this situation in South Africa - a grossly underutilized population of suppliers and consumers that could revolutionize the consumer landscape if multinationals used their procurement processes to empower entrepreneurs in those locales.

The Business Fair was an overwhelming success. For the first hour I was worried our booth would not attract the right clientele, but eventually Gary Joseph (Director Corporations and Linkages, SASDC) miraculously showed up with our DHL shipment and we were able to outfit the booth with beaded vuvuzelas, business card holders, and other South African swag that transformed the atmosphere at our booth. In addition to engaging a variety of NMSDC chapters and inspiring minority owned businesses, we also had productive preliminary meetings with Pfizer, ExxonMobil, Hyatt and several other major corporations with an interest in supplier diversity in South Africa.

One last note - it was rather overwhelming how many people approached our booth simply to communicate their excitement about doing business in Sout hAfrica. Over and over I heard... “I want to do business in South Africa, tell me how to do business in South Africa”. Obviously these conversations are unlikely to lead generate real leads for the SASDC, but my point is this; people want to do business in South Africa. All sorts of people. Extractive industries, consultancies, green energy firms, U.S. automotive suppliers… You name the sector and a representative came up to our booth to ask about doing business in South Africa. These are exciting times!

Conor Godfrey, saibl Business Forum Coordinator