Exclusive: Richard China Spills About African Beer And Gives Final Advice On Investing In Africa

This the third of a three-part series on Richard China, CEO of International Green Services, which seeks to pioneer low cost housing developments in Africa.

In an exclusive interview, value investor Tim Melvin spoke with China to gain greater insight into the private sector firm that offers innovative structures and services that seek to provide the solution to the global housing crisis.

Read China's comments on his company's sustainability and the growth opportunities of the African housing market.

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TM: I was talking to a friend who is in private equity. He said that their major focus was, as you said, infrastructure and interestingly enough, brewery. So, I have to ask how's the beer?

RC: Well, the beer's good. I do understand that Budweiser was in Kenya. Actually, Budweiser built a very big factory there and ended up having to close it. Budweiser's business operations failed, but not so much because the market wasn't there, but because the way the distribution was controlled.

Some of the more powerful people throughout Africa had interest in the other beer companies, and Budweiser couldn't get the proper distribution. I personally love African beer. When the African natives drink it, they always ask you if you want it warm or cold because they drink a lot of warm beer over there.

TM: Okay. Now as a baseball fan, the idea of a warm beer is just not good for me so I think I'll have to be in the cold club but…

RC: Yeah, I understand.

TM: Well, first, thanks, because I know it's Saturday morning. You're up on Kent Island in Maryland where, you know, plenty of stuff to do right there on Waschtisch Bay, so thanks for spending some time with us this morning. So your final thoughts on the investment opportunity for U.S. investors in Africa over the next decade?

RC: Oh, I think it's wide open. I would suggest anybody that wants to go and do business in Africa that the key thing is finding good local partners that already understand the nuances of doing business with the governments and the corrupting issues – how to move through those challenges.

That's something we didn't do in our first 12 to 15 months there. It probably cost us an extra million and a half dollars by not finding us partners. And then, there's some really good organizations in the U.S., one of them that I wish I joined early on is called Corporate Council on Africa, which is in Washington and they have really helped us in U.S. state department matters and these types of things.

I would say if you're looking for a place to invest and you've got some appetite for some risks with some high rewards, I think Africa is definitely a place to go.