AFRICABIZ VOL 2 - ISSUE: 102
OCT 15 - NOV 14, 2007
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Editor: Dr. Bienvenu-Magloire Quenum
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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Dear visitor and international investor,

We warmly welcome you, if this is your first visit to Africabiz Online - The ultimate newsletter on trading and investing in 49 sub-Saharan African countries. If you are a regular and faithful reader, welcome back.

- TEAM BUILDING: THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE AND MAINTAIN HIGH PRODUCTIVITY

Current editorial fits into the series that started with Team Building: 10 Tips To Improve Team Focus, Morale and Results, followed by Successful Techniques To Team Building. This issue is about Why Team Building Is Vital To Success.

As introduction to Why Team Building Is Vital To Success, let us consider a football team (soccer in the States).

I am a fan of Arsenal Football Club / The Gunners. For 10 years running, under the management of trainer Arsene Wenger, the team is executing game after game an harmonic ballet-footwall unrivaled by the other competitors. Maybe only matched by the Ajax-Amsterdam of the 1970s and Real Madrid of the 1960s. And the game remains attractive, year in year out, whatever maybe the players on the pitch. Even the departure of top leader players does no modify the fluid and efficient playing matrix.

That is the reason, in 10 years time Arsenal remained on the top four of the league and won three championships plus three Football Association (FA) cups and other Coca-Cola and Carling cups. Further, the team won year 2004-Championship without loosing a single game in 60 appearances. The Invincibles.

Such persistence in high level performance is a proof that Arsene Wenger developed a team spirit that lifts the players to play attractive football, enjoyed by fans, win trophies - and increase turnover year after year.

Indeed, Arsenal, on September 27, 2007 released fiscal year ending May 31, 2007 report, which figures show their move to the Emirates Stadium in 2006/ 2007 helped increase turnover to more than �200m.

The report also revealed group operating profits up by an astonishing 274%, to �51.2m. These well exceed the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, whose respective turnover for the same period was �167.8m and �152.8m.

This accomplishment rockets Arsenal into the same financial league as Real Madrid, whose turnover was �202m for the 2005-06 season. The report also revealed that since the move to the shiny new Emirates Stadium, every Arsenal home game generates £3.1m [Source: The Guardian Football Section]

So, Arsene Wenger in 10 years time, gave a soul to Arsenal and created a team spirit independent of players acting on the pitch.

That spirit is visible and palpable at the beginning of 2007 / 2008 season for which many pundits predicted a rough ride for Arsenal as their best player striker of the 1998/2007 decade, Thierry Henry, left for Barcelona Football Club.

That is not what is evolving now as the club won The Emirates and Ajax Amsterdam Tournaments in 2007 summer, and since the beginning of the 2007/2008 season won 10 games in a raw (Barclays Premier League and European Championship League) - with a healthy lead in the Premiership table. That is quite a performance. Let us see if the fourth league championship title would be added to the list at the end of the 2007/2008 season.

Arsene Wenger speaking to France Football magazine third week of September 2007 (partially translated in The Guardian dated September 30, 2007 under the title: Doctor Wenger's Diagnosis) about his misgivings over the departure from Arsenal of David Dein (Arsenal then football director) and Thierry Henry, took a dig at Chelsea in emphasising the importance of 'growing' a team rather than buying one.

France Football magazine's interviewers asked Wenger: Wasn't allowing Henry to go to Barcelona, paradoxically, a sign that you wanted to stay for the long term?

A paradox? No. Thierry was coming up to 30 years old [born 18 Aug, 1977]; he knew we were moving forward with a young team. He wasn't exactly sure of my plans about staying. He had come to a stage, where, as a forward he didn't have much time left. I understand that completely. He said to me: 'Coach, it's true we have a good team, it's also true we have a young team. It will become very strong, for sure, but me, I don't have the time to wait. Will it be strong next season, or the one after that? I don't know - but me, now, I've faced up to this decision.

And I said to him: 'But Thierry, I understand your problem completely. I think the team will be very strong, very soon but I understand why you ask the question.' So, he told me: 'I want to leave,' and that's why he left. With hindsight, it's true that David leaving had a bearing on Thierry's decision, made it easier in some way. Thierry's injuries also contributed to his leaving. He was less involved with the team and then, after a few games, you had to say, no, we are not going to win the league. The strength of a team depends on self-belief and once we were out of the title race, we lost our belief. I mean the belief the players have in themselves. Maybe, at a certain stage, Thierry thought the belief had gone.

Click following link to read about: Why Team Building Is Vital To Your Success - By: Brett Danielson

- SERVICES AND PRODUCTS FROM Dr. QUENUM & ASSOCIATES / BUSINESSAFRICA (TM)

List of Products and Solutions to trading and investing in and out emerging nations - and particularly in sub-Saharan African nations - is here to review.

We draw your attention to Jobs & Projects' platform that assists first, project-owners to tender for the best experts to carry out projects at very competitive costs, and, second, job-seekers to publish for free Résumés/CV to attract project-owners attention.

The Pay-Per- Click advertisement platform is also the cheapest way to advertise for your business.

Dr. Quenum and Associates, IBC / BusinessAfrica (TM) have decided to follow Yahoo wise business practice - that is to establish business relationship only with clients who can produce email address linked to an ISP domain name or that could be traced back against a database of valid and legitimate domain names. In other words, from now on, only ISP-based email messages can expect replies from Dr. Quenum & Associates, IBC / BusinessAfrica (TM). For more on the matter, please visit this link.

- Contributor's Guidelines are here to review. Your contribution on "How emerging nations and particularly African countries / entrepreneurs could bridge the developing gap" is welcome.

Your feedback / objection / contribution is welcome. Visit WorldWide BizCenter, and choose General Information (as topic) to create a thread for discussion. On the top of the WorldWide BizCenter page, there is a HELP link to assist you making an efficient use of the discussion board. This link also is useful

Many thanks for dropping by and see you here on November 15, 2007

Dr. B.M. Quenum
Editor of AFRICABIZ

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA

- Several business opportunities - component parts of the Integrated Developing Scheme described in Africans, Stop Being Poor! are listed in following table.

a- SHEA BUTTER (5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13) b- BLUE GOLD (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) c- FREEZE-DRIED PAPAIN (20, 21, 22 and here) d- KENAF (23, 24) e- VEGETABLE OIL (25, 26, 27, 28) f- CEREALS (30, 31, 32, 33) g- FRUITS (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) h- ESSENTIAL OILS (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52) i- ROOTS & TUBERS (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64) j- FOWL BREEDING (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76) k- FISH FARMING (78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87) l- BIOMASS ENERGY (89, 90, 91, 92) m- SUGAR CANE & PRODUCTS (93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99/100, 101, 102, 103,

- SUGAR CANE & PRODUCTS: PART IX - SUGAR INDUSTRY: AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT TO A NATIONAL DEVELOPING SCHEME

The last delivery of this series provides basic information about a network of medium-scale ops to producing brown (unrefined) sugar in African countries.

Current issue briefly highlights the importance of the industry as a fundamental component to a Strategic Developing Scheme [1, 2, 3].

- REPLACING PETRO-CHEMICALS WITH PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM SUGAR-INDUSTRY

Most African countries import petrol/ fuel and other products made from oil (plastic and chemicals. such as polyurethane, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride. Etc.)

However, sugarcane is a paramount representative of biomass [a term that refers to plant materials including wood pulp, leaves, cereals' straw (rice, sorghum, wheat and corn), and livestock waste] from which almost all the products obtained from petroleum can be manufactured or extracted.

Indeed, everything from the cane (the bagasse, molasses and waste from the harvest) can be used to produce:

1- Various types of alcohols and acids (ethanol, ethyl-methanol, citric acid, lactic acid, mono sodium glutamate. Etc.) 2- (a) Biodegradable plastic; (b) animal-feed; (c) various types of paper; (d) pharmaceuticals products and nutriments [42, 43, 44, 45, 46] and other products such as highly reactive furfurol, for synthesizing organic compounds, that can be used as raw-materials for chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Ethanol can be used as fuel (pure or as additive to petrol) to power motor cars and power-generating engines. It is the gateway to the so-called alcohol-chemistry for manufacturing an impressive line of products: polyethylene, styrene, ketones, acetaldehyde, polystyrene, acetic acid, ether, acetone. And a broad range of products that can be transformed into a vast array of synthetic fibers, paints, varnishes, containers, tubes, solvents and hardening agents. And fertilizers (from the effluents). Not to forget other derivatives: dextran, xanthan, sorbitol, glycerol, refined cake wax, anti-fungicides. Etc.

In brief, sugarcane industry is capable of generating the same kinds of chemicals derived from petroleum industry in addition to yeast, herbicides and insecticides, with an important difference that these products are biodegradable and environment friendly.

- A FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENT OF A DEVELOPING SCHEME

The vast list of products above listed that can be produced from sugarcane show why it is important for an emerging country (that has or does not have oil fields) to establish a sugar industry.

In addition to saving hard foreign currencies, such an industry would boost the developing on a high sustainable double-digit yearly growth rate as it contributes to the introduction to the scheme of new business opportunities that would keep the high growth rate process on track, year in year out.

Further, if the industry is tailored as a network of medium scale producers as here suggested, the benefits in industrial and rural jobs' creation is high.

MORE ON SUGAR CANE & PRODUCTS

1- Sugar Cane Industry, The (Cambridge Studies in Historical Geography) by J.H. Galloway (Paperback Sep 23, 2005) 2- The House Surrounded by Sugar by Leanna Williams (Paperback - Mar 8, 2006) 3- From Cane to Sugar (Start to Finish) by Jill Braithwaite (Hardcover - Aug 2004) 4- Cane Sugar Handbook: A Manual for Cane Sugar Manufacturers and Their Chemists by James C. P. Chen and Chung Chi Chou (Hardcover - Nov 8, 1993) 5- Sugar Cane by Alex Morgan (Paperback - Aug 28, 2002) 6- The Sugar cane factory: A catechism of cane sugar manufacture for the use of beginners by Frederic I Scard (Unknown Binding - 1913) 7- Sugar Cane Cultivation and Management by Henk, Bakker and H., Bakker (Hardcover - Jan 1, 1999)

8- Sugar Cane (Tropical Agriculturalist) by R. Fauconnier (Paperback - Feb 24, 1993) 9- Management Accounting for the Sugar Cane Industry (Sugar Sciences, Vol 8) by A. E. Fok Kam (Hardcover - Mar 1988) 10- The nature and properties of the sugar cane With practical directions for the improvement of its cultures, and the manufacture of its products) by George Richardson Porter (Unknown Binding - 1831) 11- Sugar-cane and Sugar Industry in Nigeria The Bitter Sweet Lessons by Abdul-latif D. Busari (Paperback - Nov 2005) 12- The 2007-2012 World Outlook for Sugar Cane Mill Products by Philip M. Parker (Paperback - Oct 13, 2006)

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