Innovative foreigners boost economy

IRECENTLY attended the anti-xenophobia march in East London and I was bemused by the turn out of the crowds marching on the streets of East London.

Africans indeed showed a united front. I walked besides South African nationals and a few white people who sounded British. I noticed that other people in the streets would walk past us and would stop and pause for some moments to see why these white people were also marching.

The truth of the matter is that they, just like me, are also foreign – or were at some point.

Now the question I have is that if a white American or European comes to a foreign country to settle, are they also foreign? And what is a foreigner really?

Does the term foreigner mean that you are a poor African like a Zimbabwean or Ethiopian or is the true meaning that you are a non-South African citizen.

When a black African comes and sets up a legal spaza shop in Oxford Street, or any street in South Africa, then they are supposedly taking away the locals’ jobs. But in 2011, Walmart, the US-based retail company which operates in several countries around the world, including Mexico and Japan took over 51% of Massmart which owns Game, Macro etc. Was that not a takeover by a foreigner?

I believe it was, but this was a smart move because the local economy is benefiting.

Competitors like Shoprite and Pick n Pay felt the heat and upped their game. Now Pick n Pay has an amazing loyalty programme.

Now if a foreign spaza shop owner opens a shop and hires a local to help out, is that not benefiting the economy also? I believe it is. Let me look at some of the top four South African companies.

Standard Bank’s origins can be traced back to 1862 when a group of businessmen led by John Paterson formed a bank in London under the name Standard Bank of British South Africa. Was that not a foreign initiative? Indeed it was. Sasol is probably the second biggest company in South Africa and it probably is the largest taxpayer in South Africa. How is it making its billions? By operating in 38 foreign countries.

The MTN Group, the world’s 15th largest mobile telecommunications company as measured by subscribers, is making it by venturing into foreign countries and it operates in many African, European and Middle-Eastern countries.

First Rand Bank is listed on the JSE and the Namibian stock exchange and is one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa. The group operates in eight key African countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria.

What’s my point? First Rand is on its two, if not more feet because of South African and foreign operations.

When Cell C came up with idea of free “please call me” service, Vodacom and MTN did not protest that the market space was occupied – rather they introduced even more free “please call me’s” per day.

That’s a healthy response to competition. When a foreigner poses a healthy threat by opening a spaza shop, let’s turn that threat into an opportunity to be more innovative. Now that’s what I call business making sense.

I do not condone foreigners who come to South Africa for criminal activity. The community does not need that. But an innovative foreigner only makes the economy better. It just depends on how one looks at it.