Intelligence-Led Political & Security Risk Management in Africa
Focus Africa and Rhula Intelligent Solutions present at the Africa Business Continuity & Emergency Response Summit 2015. While the vast majority or actual losses incurred by companies are due to strategic risks, the overwhelming amount of time money and effort goes to assessing and dealing with operational, legal, compliance and financial reporting risks. The best way to understand and manage Strategic Risk is with Intelligence. Intelligence is the collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of information critical to an organisations effectiveness (and survival). Intelligence is the only way to properly understand and manage an organisations strategic risk. Finding the balance between managing strategic and operational risk is extremely difficult. Businesses can underestimate this difficulty, due to previous successes on other continents. When it comes to Business Continuity and Emergency Response, intelligence is focussed on understanding the local operational environment, anticipating risk and ensuring that proactive steps are taken to anticipate issues that may affect the business, its operations and international and local reputation. Do not become a victim of failure to manage strategic political, macro-economic and security risk. Good Intelligence is the only way to properly manage these risks. Continue to find the balance between strategic & operational risk management. Never underestimate the significance of cultural nuances in Africa. Adopt a layered risk management approach, to both anticipate strategic risk and, when it occurs, manage it with confidence. Good intelligence, planning and flexibility in response are the key factors here. The key factor is constant access to up-to-date strategic intelligence that will guide planning, execution and, when necessary, emergency response.
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Intelligence-Led Political & Security Risk Management in Africa
- 1. THE INTELLIGENCE-LED APPROACH MANAGING POLITICAL & SECURITY RISK IN AFRICA AFRICA BUSINESS CONTINUITY & EMERGENCY RESPONSE SUMMIT 2015 18 AUGUST 2015 AND
- 2. 2 WHO ARE FOCUS-AFRICA & RHULA Focus-Africa Ltd is a Seychelles-registered company, with a subsidiary company, Focus Africa Advisory (Pty) Ltd, covering South African clients, with offices in Pretoria. The object is to provide strategic guidance on political, macro-economic and security management that leads to a holistic/ seamless solution for the client to protect their key assets and personnel. Typical clients are multinational companies, non-governmental organisations and private clients operating in the region. Sectors typically include oil & gas exploration and development; mining, transport, manufacturing, large-scale retail and finance, Rhula Intelligent Solutions is a closely-related Mozambique-registered company that focusses specifically on Mozambique, the fastest growing economy in the SADC region.
- 3. THE SPEAKERS 3 Dr. Leonardo Sim達o - Executive Chairman of Rhula Executive director of the Joaquim Chissano Foundation, Chairman of United Bank of Africa and Member of the SADC Mediation Team. Mozambique Minister of Health 1988 1994, Foreign Minister 1994 2005. Doctorate (Public Health), member of the Medical Association of Mozambique and Mozambique Medical Council. Nigel Morgan - Executive Chairman Focus-Africa 22 years in Africa as adviser to multinational companies, financial institutions and private clients on political and security risk related to foreign direct investment in Africa. Formerly British Army officer and subsequently worked for the Centre for Policy Studies in London during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher.
- 4. THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC RISK 4 PROBABILITY X IMPACT = RISK
- 5. 5 Intelligence is the collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of information critical to an organisations effectiveness (and survival). Intelligence is the only way to properly understand and manage an organisations strategic risk. Finding the balance between managing strategic and operational risk is extremely difficult. Businesses can underestimate this difficulty, due to previous successes on other continents. When it comes to Business Continuity and Emergency Response, intelligence is focussed on understanding the local operational environment, anticipating risk and ensuring that proactive steps are taken to anticipate issues that may affect the business, its operations and international and local reputation. THE ROLE OF INTELLIGENCE IN BC & ER
- 6. OPERATING IN AFRICA 6 In order to anticipate and manage the sort of risks associated with operating in Africa, it is critical to evaluate and consistently monitor the following factors: 1. The political and macro-economic environment; 2. Cultural nuances and Corporate Social Responsibility; 3. Crime, Corruption and Coporate Good Governance; 4. Infrastructural and Capacity Constraints. All require good local intelligence and cultural sensitivity, which in turn requires patience quiet persistence.
- 7. SERVICES REQUIRED: 7 Business Risk Management: Political & macro-ecomic intelligence; Market entry support (safe landing); Research and investigation; Local content management; Physical site assessment; Due dilligence on who you are dealing with; Cultural nuances and understanding of local communities; Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management
- 8. SERVICES (CONT.) 8 Specialised Security Services: Crisis management; Emergency evacuation; Kidnap and Ransom; Key Executive Protection. Compliance Sanctions (US, EU, UK, Asia) Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Anti-Bribery / Corruption (FCPA, BBA, OECD) Litigation Support Know your Client / Source of Funds (KyC / SoF)
- 9. CASE STUDIES: 1. Somalia: international oil & gas exploration company seeking to enter a high-risk security environment; 2. Madagascar: Pioneering oil & gas operations in challenging political macro-economic environment; 3. South Africa: International Platinum Group Metals company with severe Labour and union issues leading to violence and financial and reputation loss. 4. Mozambique: International mineral sands mining company looking for a safe landing. 9
- 10. CASE 1 SOMALIA 10
- 11. CASE 1 SOMALIA (CONT.) 11 In addition to providing a holistic security solution, including convoy and port security, executive protection and the establishment of a Joint Operations Centre (JOC), the clients benefitted from: 1. Reduced insurance costs; 2. Handling the difficult local cultural issues (e.g. inter-clan rivalries, Al-Shabaab, Khat consumption); 3. Community development (medical centre vs. boreholes). All of this was achieved due to an effective information collection, collation and analysis cycle.
- 12. CASE 1 SOMALIA (CONT.) 12 The UN Security Monitoring Group praised the clients security service provider for its transparency and its efforts to comply with the sanctions regime (which) arguably represent best practices for private security companies in Somalia.
- 13. CASE 2 MADAGASCAR 13 A Strategic Layered Risk Management approach was balanced against a customised operational execution Problems were both political and security-related Partnering with communities was critical to success
- 14. CASE 3 SOUTH AFRICA 14 An international PGM mining company experiences severe labour issues resulting in violence, loss of life and drastic reduction in production. While the mine had well-established busines continuty and emergency response policies & procedures for HSE, they failed to anticipate the larger strategic risk, from union in- fighting and outside political inteference that led to the violence, and a huge negative impact on its international reputation and its capital market value.
- 15. CASE 3 SOUTH AFRICA (CONT.) 15
- 16. CASE 4 - MOZAMBIQUE 16
- 17. 17 THE VALUE OF INFORMATION ANALYSIS Personal Relationships Organizational Relationships Technical Processes/Flows Electronic Connectivity/ Information Flows Transportation Networks Currency/Financial Transfers
- 18. 18 Force Multiplyers - technology and IT tools that assist in the collection, analysis and interpretation of information. For example, Semantica - an extremely powerful information analysis platform THE VALUE OF INFORMATION ANALYSIS
- 19. 19 INTELLIGENCE IN THE RHINO WAR
- 20. 20 CONCLUSION Do not become a victim of failure to manage strategic political, macro-economic and security risk. Good Intelligence is the only way to properly manage these risks. Continue to find the balance between strategic & operational risk management. Never underestimate the significance of cultural nuances in Africa. Adopt a layered risk management approach, to both anticipate strategic risk and, when it occurs, manage it with confidence. Good intelligence, planning and flexibility in response are the key factors here. The key factor is constant access to up-to-date strategic intelligence that will guide planning, execution and, when necessary, emergency response.