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Africa Business Conference Creates Ongoing Forum for Change
Professor John Quelch (center) moderated a panel on emerging opportunities in Africa. Photo: Justin A. Knight
Singer Angelique Kidjo performed for an enthusiastic group Friday night. Photo: Justin A. Knight
Over six hundred participants gathered at HBS March 89 for the fourth annual Africa Business Conference, Africa, Inc.: A New Frontier for Business. In addition to keynote speakers, panel discussions, and case analyses, the conference, sponsored by the HBS Africa Business Club, featured a Friday afternoon film festival with works from Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Guinea and a performance that evening by Angélique Kidjo, a Benin-born singer whose repertoire ranges from reggae to gospel to Zairean rumba.
Frank Savage, CEO of the financial-services company Savage Holdings LLC, delivered the Saturday morning keynote speech in Burden Auditorium. In his address, he encouraged African MBA students to use their skills and knowledge to help develop the African continent. Referring to corrupt leaders in Africa, Savage said, We still have some of the old guard who don't understand that things have changed. They are on their way out, and you are on your way in. It's inevitable: They cannot fight the tide of change.
Following Savage's address, participants attended one of six panels on tracks ranging from privatization to the developmental role of institutional foundations. HBS professor John A. Quelch moderated a session on emerging opportunities in Africa. Quelch, the School's senior associate dean for International Development, welcomed the SRO crowd in Aldrich with a smile, noting, I'm very pleased with our market share.
Despite the challenges posed by a developing infrastructure and bouts of political instability, opportunities in Africa abound, panelists agreed. The difficulty lies in expanding the world's understanding of a culturally diverse continent that is in the earliest stages of exploring high-tech sectors such as e-commerce and telecommunications. Africa is a blank canvas where anything can be done, declared Segun Agbaje, an executive director at Guaranty Trust Bank. In addition to an information revolution, we need an ideological revolution that will change people's ideas about what is possible, added Amadou Mahtar Ba, president of AllAfrica Global Media.
Part of that change comes when foreign-educated Africans return home, said Ayisi Makatiani, founder and CEO of Africa Online. It's easy to live in the United States, but there's a huge need for all of you — and you're well-positioned to exploit the opportunities that are available in Africa now.
Nigerian Hakeem Belo-Osagie (MBA '80), chairman of the United Bank for Africa, addressed attendees at the banquet that evening, sharing life lessons from his experiences as an entrepreneur and father of four children. It was an incredibly inspirational speech, said Roderic E. Norman (MBA '02), copresident of the Africa Business Club. Listening to an HBS alumnus who has been a success in the African business community — when so often all you hear about are the problems — was an empowering experience.
For more coverage of this and other student conferences, visit the Special Reports section of the HBS Working Knowledge Web site at www.workingknowledge.hbs.edu.