It is in smaller countries like Botswana that the advantages of being part of a globally integrated company can be most noticeable.
Thabo Matthews, senior manager-Financial Services, says his Accenture position allows him to operate seamlessly from both Botswana and South Africa, which suits him down to the ground since he has family in both countries. More than that, he has the whole of Accenture behind him as he helps his clients in both countries become high-performance businesses and government agencies.
When Matthews joined Accenture two years back, he brought a wealth of personal experience in addition to his honours degree in Economics and Computer Science from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Prior to joining Accenture, Matthews spent more than four years with Barclays Bank of Botswana. He says this gave him invaluable "first-hand exposure to the issues facing banks, especially in retail banking, and particularly in Africa."
To illustrate the kinds of bridges that international businesses have to cross when operating in Africa, he cites the example of a banking compliance requirement instigated by financial regulators. In terms of this requirement, banking clients are required to identify themselves using evidence of, say, their utility bill. Matthews says such an approach can be unrealistic in many African contexts where people may not have utilities bills, and in some cases may not be able to sign their names. He believes Accenture is well placed to integrate leading international practice with the particularities of Botswana and other African countries.
"The beauty of working for a company like Accenture," he comments, "is that we have access to a huge body of knowledge through our extensive set of methodologies and frameworks. Accenture staff members are encouraged to keep on adding to its knowledge exchange repository." Matthews says instant access to a well-managed bank of knowledge is one of the primary assets that differentiate tier-one companies from others.
The other advantage in working for a leading global company like Accenture, Matthews says, is its tried and tested methodologies. The fact that Accenture methodologies are continually being refined and adapted for a range of contemporary situations means that the solutions to many challenges have already been created. "Our High Performance Business framework, which includes frameworks for different industries, has been tried and tested. Whatever project we are working on, we have access to the knowledge repository, the experience of other team members and a methodology," Matthews says.
"We work with clients to push the boundaries and build the capability to face the future: our understanding of what makes for high performance in banking predicts what high-performance banks will look like in the future. If an enterprise has the desire to build a future we can help. In banking, for example, a key aspect of the future in Africa is anticipating how payments will be handled," he adds.
Matthews places very high value on the fact that his work at Accenture allows him to interact with "highly professional, skilled and knowledgeable individuals." He also appreciates the open-door policy at Accenture, which is backed up by community sessions that, in Botswana, the whole staff complement of just 24 can attend.
As for the future, Matthews says he wants to move forward in the financial services arena. "I don't necessarily need to be in Southern Africa—so long as I'm developing, the world is my oyster," he says.