Panels

Panel Session 1

Private Equity and the African Growth Story

This Panel brings together leaders in the African private equity space to expound on the role of private equity in the African growth story to date and going forward. In particular, panelists will discuss performance thus far and highlight the characteristics of key success stories from the past, speak to the current landscape with respect to governance, transparency and business environment, and foreshadow cornerstones of the next wave of investment - not only industries and geographies of interest, but also key advances at present or necessary in the near future to ensure a new era in sustainable investment in Africa.

  • Yemi Lalude, Managing Partner, Adlevo Capital
  • Seyi Owodunni, Partner, Kingdom Zephyr
  • Hurley Doddy, Managing Director and Co-CEO, Emerging Capital Partners (ECP)
  • Moderator: Folabi Ayoola, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Octave Partners
  • Panel Coordinators: Kim Kamarebe, Kwabena Osei-Kusi

Social Enterprise in Africa: Attracting Private Sector Investment

What level of impact and financial return should a social enterprise have in order to attract private capital as a pre-requisite to achieving scale? Some think social enterprise and profit don’t even belong in the same sentence. Others argue that commercial level returns (coupled with a good social impact) suffices. Still, many believe that social enterprises in Africa need to compensate for investors’ “Africa fright” by earning above average commercial returns in order to attract significant private capital. Where do you come out on this? Join our panelists and expert moderator for an honest conversation.

  • Nvalaye Kourouma, CEO of Afric Xpress
  • Iggy Bassi, Co-Founder, GADCO
  • Moderator: Michael Chu, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinators: Taiwo Ajayi, Neha Patel, Yaw Agyenim-Boateng

Foreign Aid to Africa: How Best for Business?

This panel will focus on how foreign aid can best be deployed to aid the rise and success of African businesses.

  • Dr. John MacArthur, CEO and Executive Director, Millennium Promise
  • Kamilla Gumede - Research Fellow, African Policy Outreach - MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
  • Dr. Charles Diji Akinola, Founder and CEO, Enterprise for Development International
  • Moderator: Stephen B. Peterson, Professor, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government
  • Panel Coordinator: Jenny Tison

Opportunity in chaos:  What happened to the Nigerian banking sector?

Over the past six months, the Nigerian banking sector has been in crisis: after uncovering dangerous levels of undercapitalization and malpractice, the Central Bank of Nigeria took over 8 banks and fired their CEOs and top management, instituted new term limit laws for bank heads, and injected $4 billion into the market to recapitalize failing banks.  In the meantime, banks have cut salaries by 25-30%, fired over 20,000 workers, and everyone is bracing for the next wave of sweeping reforms. Come to this interactive session with McKinsey & Company where we'll discuss what happened to the Nigerian banking sector and debate what's next for the sector. We will also share with you our plans for the opening of our Lagos office.

  • Acha Leke, Principal, McKinsey & Company
  • Freddie Twum, McKinsey & Company

Sustainable, Equitable Access to HIV/AIDS Services

This panel aims to explore different models for ensuring sustainable access to HIV/AIDS services across the African continent. By fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue between funders, clinicians, global health program managers, and the pharmaceutical industry, this panel will examine how public-private partnerships and innovative disease management protocol are shaping the delivery of HIV/AIDS services in areas that have been hardest hit by the global pandemic.

  • John Sargent, President and Founder, BroadReach Healthcare
  • Gerald Macharia, Kenya Country Director, Clinton Foundation
  • Donella Rapier, Chief Financial Officer, Partners in Health (PIH)
  • Moderator: Nava Ashraf, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinators: Steven Porter, Darshan Mehta, Gilbert Addo

Panel Session 2

Business & Politics: Strange Bedfellows or Inevitable Allies?

We’ve all heard this one: politicians are in bed with big businesses. But, what does that mean for a continent that’s coming of age? One school of thought says it’s true, symbiotic and inevitable: Politicians need campaign financing, businesspeople need political/regulatory favors. Others believe that the role of government is to create a predictable business environment for all and anything more or less stifles Africa’s economic growth. What do you think? What do our panelists think? Join us for an honest conversation about the role of Business in Politics and vice versa.

  • Nasir El-Rufai, Former Minister, Federal Capital Territory of Abuja
  • Zemedeneh Negatu, Managing Partner, Ernst & Young, Ethiopia
  • N. Justin Chinyanta, Founder and Chairman, Loita Holdings Corporation
  • Moderator: Catherine Duggan, Professor, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinators: Julia Mensah, Yaw Agyenim-Boateng

The Space Between: Public, Private, Non-profit Approaches to Private Sector Development in Africa

As we search for effective mechanisms to spur sustainable development, a number of innovative approaches have emerged, many of which involve the private, non-profit and public sector.  This panel will examine where these sectors can join forces and what are the challenges facing them as they pursue impactful collaboration.

  • Kristi Ragan, Chief of Party, Global Development Alliances, DAI
  • Kathleen Danoher, Investment Advisory Board, Capitalworks Equity Partners, South Africa and Endeavor, South Africa
  • Benjamin Stone, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Indego Africa
  • Moderator: Allen Grossman, MBA Class of 1957 Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinator: Zahara Kassam

Agribusiness: Africa as the World's Next Breadbasket

This panel will generate insight into the opportunities agribusiness provides for economic development across Africa, the challenges it faces in further expansion, and the impact African agribusiness has on the supply of food throughout the world

  • Babatunde Omilola, Senior Researcher, International Food Policy Research Institute
  • Jim Thaller, Managing Director, Talier Trading Group, Inc.
  • Hans-Willem van der Waal, Managing Director, Agrofair
  • Katie King, Engagement Manager, McKinsey & Company
  • Moderator: Ray Goldberg, George Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Emeritus, Harvard Business School,Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government
  • Panel Coordinator: Dominique Baillet

Reaching Africa's Unbanked Population

While both traditional banks and microfinance institutions have dramatically expanded their offerings to low income Africans, a tremendous number of individuals remain unbanked or "underbanked."  Extending banking services to this population is both an attractive business opportunity and an essential step toward improving the economic circumstances of these individuals.  This panel will explore options for reaching this population and discuss what type of organization is best positioned to gain ground in this arena.

  • Sadrudin Akbarali, Former Senior Manager Microfinance Programmes, Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance
  • Benjamin Lyon, Executive Director of FrontlineSMS:Credit
  • Peter Ojo, Chief Executive Officer, Virtualterminalnetwork.com
  • Witney Schneidman, President, Schneidman & Associates International
  • Moderator: Kasturi Rangan, Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinator: Munyaradzi Chaunzwa

Media & Entertaiment: An emerging tide of creative opportunities

From phenomenal music artists across the continent to the emergence of the world’s third largest center of movie studios and stars. This panel seeks to introduce conference attendees to a new generation of participants in this thriving space and to provide exposure to the business opportunities in African creative industries. This panel will explore the increasing influence and expanding reach of the various outlets of the African Media and Entertainment Industry.

  • Mark Walton, Executive VP, The Africa Channel
  • Toyin Subair, Founder and CEO, HiTV
  • Naetochukwu Chikwe "Naeto C", Musical Artist, Storm 360
  • Panel Coordinator:  Akintunde Kehinde, Hafeez Giwa, Taire Avbovbo

Panel Session 3

African Telecom: Growth and New Opportunities

In 2008, Africa saw the world’s largest growth in mobile phones.  As penetration numbers increase across the continent, the focus is shifting from growth to enhanced data plans and mobile-based services.  This panel aims to explore the latest trends in telecommunications in Africa, and new opportunities for both mobile operators and businesses providing mobile-based services.

  • Tito Alai, CEO, Mimi Africa
  • Obinna Nweje, General Manager, MTN Group
  • Uche Ofodile, Head of Strategy, Vodafone Ghana
  • Zakir Gaibi, Principal, McKinsey & Company
  • Moderator: Calestous Juma, Professor, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government
  • Panel Coordinator: Tawanda Sibanda

The New Face of Entrepreneurship in Africa

An indepth look into the many ways that emerging and experienced African Entrepreneurs are creating and capturing value across the Continent. This panel brings together Entreprenuers in differing stages of business development to discuss their collective experiences and lessons learned along the way.

  • Peter Mombaur, Partner, African Holdings PLC
  • Obinna Ekezie, President and Managing Director, Zeep Travel Network
  • Bruce Ayonote, CEO, The Suburban Group
  • Chukwuka Monye, Founding Partner, Ciuci Consulting
  • Lawrence Achigbu, CEO and Founder, Chimons Group
  • Moderator: Mukti Khaire, Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinators: Akintunde Kehinde, Hafeez Giwa, Taire Avbovbo

Developing Leaders for Africa

This panel aims to explore the challenges that the continent faces in developing good leaders in both the corporate and political arenas, and highlight critical success factors that significantly impact the ability to foster effective leadership in these contexts.

  • Nuhu Ribadu, Visiting Fellow, Centre for Global Development, Washington DC
  • Roland Akosah, Founder and CEO, ENO International, Ghana
  • Ambassador Princeton Lyman, Adjunct Professor, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Obiageli Ezekwesili, VIce President of Africa Region, World Bank
  • Moderator: Sandra Sucher, MBA Class of 1966 Professsor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinator: Eme Udoma

Achieving Growth Through Economic Integration

This panel will investigate the importance of economic integration in pursuing growth strategies, with a specific focus on the institutions and intergovernmental organizations of West Africa (ECOWAS), Central Africa (ECCAS), East Africa (EAC) and Southern Africa (SADC). Panelists will discuss the various business implications of, and growth-enhancing opportunities related to, monetary and customs unions, trade liberalization agreements, stock exchange combinations, and others instruments of economic integration. This discussion is particularly important given the fast-tracking of integration efforts in ECOWAS and EAC.

  • N. Callebb Weggoro, Director, Productive and Social Sectors, East African Community
  • Martin Ziguélé, former Prime Minister, Central African Republic
  • Temitope W. Oshikoya, Director-General, West African Monetary Institute
  • Judith Aidoo, Chief Executive Officer, Caswell Capital Partners, LLC
  • Moderator: Timothy S. McCoy, VP for Members Services - Corporate Council on Africa
  • Panel Coordinators: Julia Mensah, Antoine Artiganave

Greentech in Africa: Opportunities for Sustainable Development

The lack of reliable and far-reaching energy infrastructure is perhaps one of the greatest impediments to African economic development. What's more, renewable energy solutions are increasingly affordable. Africa has the potential to take advantage of existing technologies to grow in a sustainable fashion. The panel will investigate the current state of renewable energy on the continent. The panel will also discuss opportunities to integrate greentech solutions into the energy infrastructure of Africa's developing economies.

  • Amarquaye Armar, Manager, Energy Sector Management Assitance Program
  • Barthelemy Faye, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
  • Erik Wurster, Carbon Manager, E+Co
  • Mima Nedelcovych, Director for Business Development and Government Relations - Buchanan Renewables
  • Gabino Guerengomba, Founder, Chairman and CTO, Integrated Solar Technologies
  • Moderator: Noel Maurer, Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School
  • Panel Coordinators: Jens Weisflog, Anthony Abakisi