Sharing our way of doing business

Farayi, our communications manager has just finished sharing our experiences with online investor relations with listed company executives, regulators and brokers in Accra Ghana. The presentation held at Holiday Inn Accra was well received and her abridged presentation, (seen below) shows how we are using the feedback received through our website to be responsive to shareholders and our customers alike.

The greatest percentage of feedback we receive relates to potential investors in Africa, especially in the diaspora. On balance 80 - 90% of the feedback we receive is beneficial to our business and we want to share this news with everyone as it adds a practical element to that oft-stated concept of sustainability.

Ghana is a progressive country whose 35 listed companies account for approximately US$10bn in market capitalisation. The market has about 250,000 shareholders, with an active foreign participation element. Of these shareholders 25,000 have de-materialised their shares into the CSD. There are over 1 million Internet users in Ghana so the online opportunity appears to be well justified. It's great to be able to spread the African Sun word with a diverse variety of market participants.

Holiday Inn Accra Airport is one the leading hotels in Accra. It has 168 rooms which include standard rooms, executive rooms, suites and a presidential suite. It is ideally located for the business traveller given its close proximity to Kotoka International airport.

Shingi

African Sun leadership principles

In a time when the hope that the market is turning has become a consistent refrain, savvy businesses have already realised that without a fundamental shift in the way they operate, that light at the end of the tunnel, may just be the headlamps of the oncoming train.

Recession or no recession, in order to survive, a business must make a profit. During the hard times, the way to do this is not about slicing every cost possible, it’s about looking at your business holistically and realising that your business’ success is based on enthusiastic people whose work is organised in a flexible process to produce a profitable product or service. In our case this is an incredible hotel destination experience that delivers the African Sun way.

I believe that the most successful organisations place importance first on their people. They hire and nurture individuals who gain satisfaction or even fulfil a passion, from using their talents to deliver excellence in all that they do. These organisations ensure that as they grow, processes also evolve to meet the new challenges arising. For us at African Sun this means all our employees, partners, suppliers and clients get the best and most positive outcome from their engagement with our organisation.

That doesn’t mean that profit is not important, after all, it is the measure of any company’s success. It pays for growth, keeps the company solvent in down times like these, and gives the business owners the wherewithal to share success with their employees. No company ever succeeds without growing and it needs a profit in order to do so, but a company is only profitable if it recognise people, product and process as the essential fundamentals in that mix.

So to any business owner looking to weather the storm I would recommend that once you have set your goals, you remember that a business lives and dies on the quality of its people, the processes you put in place maximise their effectiveness, your product makes what they do during their working lives meaningful and the resulting profit is what makes it all possible!

This business belief system is integral in ensuring we at African Sun deliver on our promises to our employees, our clients and our shareholders.

Shingi