Celebrating Africa's Success
The 10th Annual Africa Business Conference
Barbara Iyayi (OB), Contributing Writer
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: News
Towards the end of his speech, Fred spoke about building an institution that would develop entrepreneurs, ethical leaders and stimulate better collaboration with African countries. In 50 years, he hopes to have developed 6000 leaders for Africa. Fred concluded with the following, "We need to come up with more dreams and bring them to fruition. Stop talking and act to control our destiny." Fred received a standing ovation because he truly inspired the audience. Since he graduated from Stanford Business School less than five years ago, he is living the HBS dream having developed an enterprise that will make a positive difference in the lives of many in Africa.
The conference featured 13 dynamic panels with a wide range of topics-private equity, venture capital, FIFA 2010: South Africa and the World Cup, microfinance, infrastructure, information technology, capital markets and entrepreneurship. It also gave participants the opportunity to gain honest insights into a wide spectrum of business success stories and investment opportunities in the continent from Africa's maturing capital markets generating double-digit returns uncorrelated to the world markets, to the launch of several private equity funds focused on Africa, to the first FIFA World cup tournament being held in Africa, to successful privatizations, to exemplary enterprises and emerging giants, to the rise of Google and Microsoft in Africa and the development of effective public sector organizations.
Over 900 participants came from Africa, Europe, and several U.S. states. There was great representation from the African business elite, HBS alumni and academic communities, and several other business schools. For most participants, the conference was an opportunity to develop an understanding of the current trends and opportunities on the continent, share their experiences and network.
The second keynote was an interview moderated by Harvard Business School professor Catherine Duggan. The keynote speaker was Irene Charnley, a South African who was the former Executive Vice President of MTN, a major communications company focused on the African continent. She is also the founder and CEO of Smile Telecom, a low -cost telecommunications operator providing affordable communications to the "Bottom of the Pyramid" consumers. Irene talked about her various experiences as a union negotiator in South Africa, an executive in MTN entering several African markets and her new entrepreneurial venture. As a union negotiator in South Africa fighting the negative repercussions of Apartheid, she talked about how she was able to negotiate to provide better working conditions for mine workers. She stressed that when you go into negotiation, you must know more than the people - the industry and the facts"
The conference featured 13 dynamic panels with a wide range of topics-private equity, venture capital, FIFA 2010: South Africa and the World Cup, microfinance, infrastructure, information technology, capital markets and entrepreneurship. It also gave participants the opportunity to gain honest insights into a wide spectrum of business success stories and investment opportunities in the continent from Africa's maturing capital markets generating double-digit returns uncorrelated to the world markets, to the launch of several private equity funds focused on Africa, to the first FIFA World cup tournament being held in Africa, to successful privatizations, to exemplary enterprises and emerging giants, to the rise of Google and Microsoft in Africa and the development of effective public sector organizations.
Over 900 participants came from Africa, Europe, and several U.S. states. There was great representation from the African business elite, HBS alumni and academic communities, and several other business schools. For most participants, the conference was an opportunity to develop an understanding of the current trends and opportunities on the continent, share their experiences and network.
The second keynote was an interview moderated by Harvard Business School professor Catherine Duggan. The keynote speaker was Irene Charnley, a South African who was the former Executive Vice President of MTN, a major communications company focused on the African continent. She is also the founder and CEO of Smile Telecom, a low -cost telecommunications operator providing affordable communications to the "Bottom of the Pyramid" consumers. Irene talked about her various experiences as a union negotiator in South Africa, an executive in MTN entering several African markets and her new entrepreneurial venture. As a union negotiator in South Africa fighting the negative repercussions of Apartheid, she talked about how she was able to negotiate to provide better working conditions for mine workers. She stressed that when you go into negotiation, you must know more than the people - the industry and the facts"
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