Manage Across Markets — Atlântico's Kenya Bet

A four-round, advanced international-management simulation set inside Atlântico Foods, S.A., a Lisbon mid-cap FMCG producer (EUR 410M revenue, 12% EBITDA, 1,900 staff, four Iberia plants + one in Morocco). Six months after a EUR 18M board-approved push into Sub-Saharan Africa, the Nairobi 'copy-paste launch' has stalled: revenue is running at 38% of plan (US$3.4M vs a US$9.0M Year-1 target — a US$5.6M gap), the direct fleet reaches only 11% of target outlets while 68% of grocery volume flows through informal dukas and open-air markets, chilled SKUs (40% of the portfolio) spoil at 22% versus 3% in Iberia, only 3 of 24 local hires have category experience, and the GM is burning budget on expatriates at US$220K each. The board gives the Regional GM one quarter to fix the operating model and choose an entry partner, or the programme is paused. Playing the GM, you (1) DIAGNOSE the transfer gap — separating what genuinely travels (brand, recipes, quality, finance discipline) from what must be locally adapted (route-to-market, cold-chain, pack architecture, talent), decomposing the US$5.6M gap and ranking root causes; (2) REDESIGN the operating model under budget — channel mix between informal-trade aggregators and direct modern-trade, a cold-chain decision (invest in chilled depots vs. reformulate toward ambient SKUs), and a pack architecture that introduces affordable KSh price-point sachets; (3) BUILD local management capacity — setting the localisation curve (% local leadership by Month 24), choosing build-vs-buy talent (a graduate academy à la Católica's PGGE/PAGAP capacity-building approach vs. poaching at a premium), and a knowledge-transfer mechanism that shifts budget off expat salaries; and (4) CHOOSE the entry partner — asset-light exclusive distributor (14% margin given away, fast reach, low control), 50/50 joint venture (US$7M capital, deeper control, partner-alignment risk, a competitor circling the same partner), or a hybrid — modelling the 3-year payback and the governance that keeps the partner aligned. The math rewards adapting the model rather than exporting it: serving the informal channel, matching product to cold-chain reality, building local GMs instead of flying in expats, and a partner choice that is coherent with the redesigned model and governed for alignment. It punishes the five classic errors — copy-paste execution, ignoring the informal duka channel, cold-chain denial, expat dependence, and partner choice without alignment. Final KPIs track Outlet Reach (%), Chilled Spoilage (% — lower better), Local Capacity (0–100), Contribution (US$M), and the 3-year payback.