From Beer Bottles to Digital Infrastructure: The American Entrepreneur Building Big in Africa

After spending years advising major clients at McKinsey in South Africa and Nigeria, American-born entrepreneur Brooks Washington decided to take the leap and build something of his own. His debut venture was a beer bottle factory in Ethiopia, which successfully paved the way for a diverse and highly ambitious portfolio. This was followed by the establishment of a pan-African data centre business, an equipment financing company, and most recently, a hospital, demonstrating a relentless drive to address critical infrastructure gaps across the continent.

In this feature, How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz sits down with the founder of Roha Group to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, his strategic approach to scaling, and his conviction that you might as well go big in Africa.

The discussion explores several key topics:

• The strategic launch of a beer bottle factory in Ethiopia

• The compelling business case for data centres in Africa

• The philosophy of starting small versus starting big

• The operational secrets to managing multiple diverse ventures simultaneously

• The critical role of resilience and surviving just long enough to succeed

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