PEP Africa's AfriCafé: Co-creating a strategy for growth

PEP Africa is a prominent customer-focused retailer specialising in Clothing, Footwear and Home (CFH).
With over 200 stores across four countries, they are at the forefront of transforming the retail industry in the countries they trade-in.

As PEP Africa embarked on a new strategy in 2023, their inspiring CEO, Bouwer Strydom, recognised the need for a fresh approach. He reached out to CreateConsulting to design and facilitate a dynamic large-group process that would involve the input of every Dynamo (employees).

The result? AfriCafé - a collaborative large group World Café.

To ignite creative thinking, engage meaningful conversations, and harness the collective wisdom of 133 dynamos, we crafted an interactive World Café with the following objectives:

  • Gain a clear understanding of the current and future landscape for PEP Africa's business, strategy, structure, and objectives.

  • Encourage Dynamos to interact, engage in dialogue, share ideas, ask questions, and identify opportunities.

  • Foster a culture of collaboration, open communication, ownership, and shared accountability for the success of PEP Africa's 3-year plan.

  • Document the strategy as a record of the process undertaken during the workshop.

  • Create a Thinking Environment™ that energises and excites participants, leaving them with a sense of ownership and commitment to the strategy.

The Process

Join the Conversation, Create the Future! Here's how the session unfolded:

A thought-provoking question was posed.

  • Tables engaged in rounds of conversation, sharing ideas and insights.

  • Participants followed guidelines and captured their thoughts on flipchart paper.

  • Travelers moved between tables, linking and connecting ideas for fresh perspectives.

  • Everyone listened attentively, building upon each other's contributions to shape the collective vision.


Key Questions Asked

  • What are our strengths? How do they propel us forward?

  • What is holding us back? Where do we face challenges?

  • What ideas can exponentially grow our business?

Rave Reviews

We asked our participants if they found the AfriCafé session valuable, and an overwhelming 99% responded with a resounding YES.  This is what Bouwer Strydom, CEO, had to say:

“The session was a tremendous success, and watch this space - by October, we'll unveil a whole new strategy that will guide us for the next 3-5 years. This strategy extends beyond merely the possibility of opening new stores. Importantly, it is being developed with the input of every Dynamo gathered from AfriCafé. I'm convinced that the success of PEP | Africa lies within this collaborative effort, and the payback in the next few years will be enormous."


Justin Kiley