By Arlindo Adriano
Reading Ebbe Dommisse’s book “Fortunes” left me with one recurring thought.
The entrepreneurs featured in the book did not build businesses by accepting the limitations of their local market.
They benchmarked themselves against the best in the world. Their ambition was never simply to become successful in South Africa; it was to build companies capable of competing on the global stage.
That mindset is perhaps the biggest lesson for Namibia.
As a country, we often speak about our abundance of natural resources. We have some of the world’s richest uranium deposits, premium beef, world class fishing grounds, a growing tourism industry and enormous potential in oil and gas. These are valuable assets.
Yet a question remains: why has Namibia not produced more globally recognised companies from these resources?
The Resource Based View (RBV) of strategic management provides an interesting perspective. It argues that competitive advantage comes from resources that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and supported by the right organisational capabilities.
By that definition, Namibia already possesses several strategic advantages.
Take the beef industry as an example. Namibian beef enjoys an international reputation for quality.
Our cattle are predominantly grassfed and supported by strict animal health standards. These strengths have opened doors to premium export markets, including Norway and the European Union.
More recently, Namibia was even able to utilise part of Botswana’s Norwegian beef export quota after Botswana’s exports were disrupted by foot-and-mouth disease.
That alone demonstrates the confidence international markets place in Namibia’s beef industry.
The question, however, is not whether Namibia produces quality beef. The real question is whether we are building globally competitive businesses around that resource.
This is where the lessons from Fortunes become particularly relevant. The entrepreneurs profiled in the book did not simply ask, “How do we sell more?”
They asked much bigger questions. How do we become the best? How do we build businesses that compete with anyone in the world? How do we position ourselves where the next opportunity will emerge?
Naspers provides one of the most remarkable examples. When it invested in Tencent, China was still emerging as a global technology powerhouse.
Many investors were uncertain about the country’s future, yet Naspers’ leadership recognised an opportunity that others overlooked.
That investment was not merely a financial transaction; it was an act of strategic foresight. It required leaders willing to look beyond their domestic market and place a calculated bet on where the global economy was heading.
That is the type of strategic leadership Namibia needs across its major industries.
Imagine if our ambition for the beef sector was not simply to export more meat but to build the world’s most recognised premium grassfed beef brand.
Imagine consumers in Europe, Asia or North America walking into supermarkets specifically asking for “Namibian Beef” in the same way they seek out Kobe beef from Japan or Angus beef from Scotland.
At that point, the product becomes more than a commodity, it becomes a globally recognised brand that commands a premium.
The same principle applies to many other sectors. We should not aspire merely to export uranium, fish or grapes.
We should ask how these resources can become the foundation of globally competitive businesses.
Countries create lasting prosperity not only by exporting raw materials but by building companies that innovate, add value and establish internationally respected brands.
This is not to suggest that companies such as Meatco have failed. Operating in global agricultural markets comes with significant challenges, including disease outbreaks, climate variability, trade regulations and price volatility.
However, the broader question is whether our strategic ambition is bold enough. Are we benchmarking ourselves against local competitors, or are we measuring ourselves against the world’s leading companies?
One of the most important lessons from Fortunes is that geography should never determine the size of a company’s vision.
Great businesses may begin in small markets, but they are built with a global mindset. Their leaders constantly search for opportunities beyond their borders, invest in innovation and prepare for future markets rather than simply responding to present conditions.
Namibia does not lack world class resources. It does not lack entrepreneurial talent either.
What may still be missing is a stronger culture of strategic leadership that sees our resources not merely as exports, but as platforms for building globally competitive enterprises.
Perhaps that is the real lesson from Fortunes. Competitive advantage is not created by resources alone.
It is created by leaders with the courage to think beyond borders, the foresight to anticipate tomorrow’s opportunities and the conviction to compete with the very best in the world.
If Naspers could look beyond South Africa and see the future in China, perhaps it is time for more Namibian companies to look beyond Namibia and ask a simple but transformative question: What would it take for a business built here to become the best in the world?
