It’s absolutely amazing to think that Executives in Africa has been in operation for a Decade!

In those 10 years, I’ve been fortunate the have been both sides of the line as Client and Candidate, this enabling me to provide some unique insight into the operations, culture and values of Executives in Africa.

In 2010 when I first met Sarah and Richard, I was impressed at their African depth and breadth of knowledge and surprised at the extent of reach of their African network. They seemed to understand what made Africa tick and acknowledged that while Africa was one continent, it comprised a rich multidimensional mix of Nationalities, Cultures and Languages & Dialects but to name a few. This understanding appeared to be far ahead of a “boutique startup” in the African Executive Recruitment space.

Their Product Proposition or USP, in the robustness of the candidate evaluation process was totally unique in the marketplace. The way that Sarah and Richard sought to match candidate credentials with a well-crafted Position Profile was innovative. This stretched candidates to invest personal time in preparing a set of documentation that clearly demonstrated that they had all the required attributes, or  more, for the position being recruited for.

I’d spent months hunting for talent for African senior management positions and wasted time and cost on broken promises and under-delivery and had seen the same candidates being unearthed time and again.

Within 18 months from appointment Executives in Africa, driven by Sarah as Project Lead, had excelled in successfully completing 4 senior management assignments across Africa in Angola, DRC, Nigeria and Kenya. They did what it “said on the tin”, with all 4 assignments being fulfilled on time, within cost with no on-costs.  They searched and found, a Portuguese, a Swiss, a Greek and a Kenyan National for these 4 positions.

Their reach and research scope stretched beyond indigenous candidates and in-country expatriate executives as they identified qualified candidates with previous African experience working across other continents.

The process from alignment on a Position Profile (Job Description), through Candidate Research to Long and Short List felt seamless. The attention to detail was outstanding and the guidance on the final remuneration discussions was invaluable.

Beyond their outstanding professional competency, they were personable and enjoyable people to do business with – this being a valuable attribute. They are very much people centric in all that they did whether this be client, candidate or indeed their own staff.

As time went and my career took a different direction, a few years later, I reengaged again with Executives in Africa. This time I was the other side of the line being the “hunted” rather the “hunter”. Executives in Africa had been retained by a leading Private Equity firm seeking a CEO for a newly acquired entity in Nigeria, with Richard championing this placement.

Following an extremely robust recruitment and evaluation process including about 6 meetings with the senior management of the Private Equity Firm and then a process of professional references, I was eventually offered the role, with this being the position I currently occupy today.

Executives in Africa believes that they can make a lasting impact in Africa and expect the same impact value from the local and international candidates that they successful place into leading roles within Africa. I suppose that the values they seek to imbibe are what they identified in me.

As my career evolved, I sought to make an impact and leave a legacy not just from a bottom-line objective but equally important, from an Impact Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) perspective.  The company that I am with today, Mouka Ltd Nigeria, while moving to become profitable clear market leader in Nigeria had fulfilled many of the Impact ESG criteria it set out for itself 4 years ago.

Mouka was one of the 1^st companies in Nigeria to be fully IMS ISO Certified, fulfilling all the international certified criteria. We give back to the communities where we operate, supporting schools and orphanages.

We trust our employees and they trust Senior Management and have an independent Whistle Blowing facility in place and are ABC compliant.

In Mouka’s drive to become an Employer of Choice in Nigeria, there has been an unrelentless approach to investing in the Learning & Development of Talent. Mouka has formed an association with the Lagos Business School (LBS), with LBS being ranked as the No.2 Business School in Africa. The 25 top managers in Mouka are being sponsored to complete a “Mouka MBA”, this being a 3-year program involving 6 residential weekends per year. 6 Junior Managers identified as Fast Trackers, are being mentored by LBS as part of a bespoke program. Finally, in terms of Talent Development, at least 2 Post Grad Management Trainees are engaged by the business each year. All of this is to ensure that the Mouka Leaders of tomorrow are being groomed today!

The successful Mouka integrated approach to Sustainable Profitable Growth and Impact ESG, led Mouka to being recognized by the London Stock Exchange as “A Company to Inspire Africa” in 2017. This accolade was sustained with Mouka again being recognized at the next edition in 2019. Mouka is the only company in Nigeria to be nominated and recognized on 2 consecutive occasions.

Impactful in so many ways… from an Executives in Africa placement of CEO in Nigeria, to a  London Stock Exchange accolade of A Company to Inspire Africa 2017 & 2019.

Happy 10^th Birthday Executives in Africa & best wishes on the Impact you’ll undoubtedly make in the next 10 years.

Back to News