Culture and Investment Decisions at Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, Nairobi Office

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out the influence of culture on investment decisions by Norfund Nairobi office. „Culture‟ is a set of values, beliefs, rules and institutions held by a specific group of people. It is the learned, shared and enduring orientation patterns in a society. Norfund being one of the more active developmental financial institutions in project financing within Eastern Africa formed the focus of the study. This study looked broadly at culture and investment decisions within Norfund, Nairobi Office and assessed the measures the company has taken to incorporate aspects of culture on the investment decisions. A qualitative approach was used whereby data was collected through interviews. The respondents included an investment director and an investment team based in Nairobi. The investment decisions taken by Norfund relate mainly to project financing and include among others new project support for funding, investment structure, post investment, project restructure and exit decisions. At each level of the investment decision making, different aspects of culture are experienced by the Nairobi investment team. The key findings in the study indicated that culture indeed influences investment decisions. This was particularly noted on investment projects affecting larger sections of the local community such as the large scale agricultural activities and hydro power projects involving large land ownership. This is because land ownership and use within the region is associated with the traditions and customs of the local community. Hence, the researcher recommended that when it comes to decision making, process concerning investment related to land, the financier and investee companies ought to involve the community as a major stakeholder in decision making. Key aspects of culture that was noted to directly influence investment decisions within Norfund included language and customs. Cultural issues related to level of trust, family structures within business set up, speed of project execution, level of state and political involvement in business activities were shown to influence the investment decision making within Norfund. Language plays an important role where investors have tried to incorporate it by getting translators or people who are familiar with the local language. In cases where local customs or traditions are not compatible with the company‟s policies, Norfund pulls out to avoid any conflict. Though culture played a role in influencing investment decisions there were also other factors that seemed to also affect the investment decisions such as market dynamics. The researcher finally suggested that Norfund needs to develop more policies incorporating cultural aspects in the markets Norfund operate particularly in investment decision making