At a recent international customer service summit, business magnate and Chairman of the McDan Group, Dr Daniel McKorley, called for a leadership transformation across African businesses, one that places people at the heart of strategy.

Speaking on the theme “Customer-Centric Leadership: Unlocking African Business Potential through Leadership Buy-In,” Dr McKorley underscored that the true foundation of lasting business success lies not in products, but in human connection.

“Behind every thriving business is not a product, but a person. Businesses may be built on products, but they survive on people,” Dr McKorley stated, setting the tone for a deeply reflective address that resonated with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers present.

Dr McKorley emphasised that excellence in customer service cannot be achieved through slogans or isolated departmental efforts. Instead, it requires an organisation-wide commitment led by example from the top.

He explained that even the most skilled teams would struggle in environments where leadership lacks empathy, responsiveness, and humility.

“When the CEO values customer feedback, managers are more likely to listen to their teams, who then become more attentive to customer needs.

"This is how genuine commitment spreads, starting with leadership and ultimately shaping the customer experience,” he noted.

Drawing on his own entrepreneurial journey, Dr McKorley shared an anecdote from the formative years of McDan Shipping.

He recalled a moment when an angry client berated the team over a delayed shipment. Rather than delegating the issue, he chose to address it personally, listening with patience and empathy.

That experience, he said, turned a dissatisfied customer into a lifelong client. “People don’t remember your title; they remember how you made them feel,” he reflected.

As Chairman of the AfCFTA Trading Company, Dr McKorley extended the conversation to a continental scale, citing trust as both a challenge and an opportunity in intra-African trade.

Many African businesses, he noted, prefer international suppliers not necessarily for better products, but for their reliability.

Building mutual trust among African enterprises, he argued, is vital for strengthening credibility and driving growth.

He urged African leaders to embed integrity, service, and consistency into their business operations, which he described as “leadership buy-in on a continental scale.”

He also highlighted the role of community engagement in earning public trust, referencing a large-scale salt production project that won local acceptance through inclusive dialogue, social investment, and job creation.

“Customer-centric leadership sometimes means realising that your customer is not always the one who pays you, it’s the one who sustains you,” he remarked.

Dr. McKorley further urged African leaders to shift from reactive management styles to predictive approaches that anticipate customer needs.

“In shipping, it means communicating challenges before customers ask. In manufacturing, anticipating demand before it spikes. In communities, building dialogue before conflicts arise,” he explained.

In closing, he described service excellence as Africa’s emerging soft power, a defining asset capable of reshaping global perceptions and attracting sustainable investment.

“If African businesses deliver service that is consistent, excellent, and reliable, we will redefine how the world sees us. Service convinces investors to stay, customers to return, and communities to believe,” he said.

Ending with an inspiring call to action, Dr McKorley challenged leaders to lead through service.

“Be the first to serve. Leadership is measured not by how many people report to you, but by how many you uplift.

"When the leader buys in, the team follows. When the team follows, the customer stays. And when the customer stays, the business grows, the brand strengthens, and Africa rises.”