Navigating risk and compliance to unlock huge opportunities in Africa

Africa is a great continent to be working in, a “super interesting space to be” that is full of opportunities for companies that can work out how to best navigate any governance, risk, and compliance challenges, says Anastasia Posokhov, the Regional Head of Legal: Africa, Middle East and Asia for energy solutions company Aggreko.

“I’ve been with Aggreko for about a year and half, but I’ve worked across Africa throughout my career,” says Anastasia, who is based in Johannesburg. “It’s impressive to see the evolution and growing regulatory sophistication now in Africa, compared to say ten years ago, and I see it picking up speed. So from a governance and risk management perspective, it’s never a dull day.”

Governance, compliance, and risk management is incredibly important to Aggreko, a Scotland-headquartered global business that provides rapidly deployable, modular power and temperature control solutions to businesses and industries worldwide.

“We operate in some sensitive jurisdictions, which can be economically or politically unstable, and we have to confront challenges on the ground navigating these ever-changing landscapes,” says Anastasia. “Being part of a global operation, we need to maintain the quality and risk management standards that we have across the Group, including Europe and North America, and ensure that our board and shareholders are confident for our business to operate in and grow successfully across Africa.”

It’s part of Anastasia and her team’s job to monitor developments and advise the Aggreko business on any risks, making sure they mitigate them as well as possible.

“International standards need to be applied to jurisdictions where the local laws are not necessarily as well or clearly developed,” she says. “We have a really wide footprint across Africa, we’re not just in southern Africa but all over north, south, west, and central.”

Being based in Africa but working for a European-headquartered global business, Anastasia says she sees the tension between the cautious mindset of international investment, which is sometimes unfamiliar with and cautious about Africa, and those like herself who are present on the ground and recognise that while there can be challenges, they are not insurmountable.

“It's a very careful balancing act,” says Anastasia, “especially with the legal function within a global group, to say ‘have the confidence in us that we are mitigating all the risk we can, and we will flag to you anything of great concern’. We need to be agile and respond to the needs of our customers quickly and efficiently, to ensure that we continue to grow and establish ourselves across the continent, and do so to the standards of international investment confidence.”

Building good governance, risk, and compliance systems and processes can encourage foreign investors and businesses to put in money or establish a presence.

Anastasia will be sharing some of her expertise, insights, and learnings as a speaker at the upcoming GC Forum | Governance, Risk & Compliance in Johannesburg on 17 September, where she will be part of an elite panel discussing “Business Meets Geopolitics | "React, Report, or Reroute? The GC’s Role in Global Volatility".

She’s looking forward to the GC Forum, and the rare opportunity to be in a room with fellow in-house lawyers and like-minded people who share similar passions, job pressures, and challenges. “It’s great to be able to share experiences, remind yourself that you’re not the only one facing these problems, and hear how others have solved similar issues or share your own experiences and hope that it resonates with or is valuable to somebody else. Bringing together that community is fantastic.”

Anastasia Posokhov will be speaking the GC Forum | Governance, Risk & Compliance in Johannesburg on 17 September. 

Please note this event is now full.  To join the waiting list you can email admin@africa-legal.com