Africa In Focus

Why is it that most discussions of African women in business are focused on small and medium-sized businesses? 
We want to see African women dream big – why not earn the top spot in a large, complex organization?
On October 13, 2021, we began the journey of supporting every African woman to take on a new dream – climbing the corporate ladder to the number one spot. 
In addition to revealing the names of the 50 women on the Africa.com Definitive List of Women CEOs, this podcast features two big discussions:
Beating the Odds, with Harvard Business School’s Tony Mayo’s research on black women graduates of Harvard Business School who made it to the top spot.  He will share what a study of these successful women tells us. 
Then, a panel of Women CEOs from the Africa.com Definitive List of Women CEOs react to Professor Mayo’s research by sharing their own journeys to the top of Corporate Africa, and commenting on what is similar to Corporate America, and what it takes for women to get to the top in Corporate Africa. 
Finally, we explore the surprising role that stock exchanges are playing worldwide in advocating for women in big business.
For more information about Africa.com events, visit https://www.africa.com/

GE Healthcare – East Africa Projects Development Director Alexander Oketch
KUTRRH is poised to become the only Public facility in East and Central African region to offer the comprehensive continuum of cancer care with the establishment of an MIC. This centre will have state of the art technologies that will help in early diagnosis and management of cancer that will be expected to increase the survivorship of cancer patients, reverse outbound medical tourism while at the same time increasing inbound medical tourism into Kenya. This marks a significant milestone in the health sector and is a part of the country’s Big Four Agenda that prioritises increased access to quality and affordable healthcare to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Kenneth Oyakhire of GE Gas & Power Sub - Saharan Africa.  Restoring Up To 360MW In Nigeria Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic.
“Being Nigeria’s largest electricity generating company, with a total installed capacity of 4.0 gigawatts (GW), representing about 35% of Nigeria’s generating capacity, we are committed to strengthening Nigeria's power sector, despite the unexpected logistical challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
For more than 125 years, GE has invented the future of industry, and today the company’s dedicated team, leading technology, and global reach and capabilities help the world work more efficiently, reliably, and safely.  GE is rising to the challenge of building a world that works in Africa.

Njideka U. Harry is the President and CEO of Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF), an innovative non-profit organization focused on using the power of technology to transform the lives of youth and women living in developing countries.
YTF’s strength lies in its ability to access market demands, design developmental programs, provide linkages that accelerate business opportunities and administer customized information and communications technology (ICT) and entrepreneurship training programs that uplift youth and women from poverty.
More information here.

Overview
This Virtual Summit, the first and the largest of its kind convenes thousands of c-suite executives and decision-makers at African businesses, large and small, to present to you, from the highest ranks, the ways in which the U.S. can assist in growing your businesses through trade, investment, and technical assistance.
Objective
Designed specifically to serve African business leaders, this Virtual Summit is a portal, a one stop shop, into the United States Government’s resources at the highest levels. The summit is structured as four sessions taking place in one day.
History
For decades, The United States Government has funded a number of agencies and platforms to support African companies to do business with both the U.S. government itself, and with the U.S. private sector.  We are pleased to bring these resources together, at one time, in one place, for African business leaders.

COVID 19 has unearthed massive inequalities within our societies and brought to glaring light the unique burdens that women carry the world over.
Graça Machel and Melinda Gates joined Africa.com to discuss their policy recommendations in regards to women during the pandemic.
Both of these women are strong advocates for women’s issues. And both have governments and private sector conduct policies to not only address inequities experienced by women during COVID-19, but interestingly, both women independently concluded their works with the view that if we manage the responses to these critical issues strategically, women could come out of this period having made important gains.

Led by Teresa Clarke, Chair and CEO, Africa.com
Panelists:
Dr. Acha Leke, Senior Partner, Johannesburg, Chairman, McKinsey Africa
Dr. John N. Nkengasong, MSc, PhD, Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Dr. Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

Dr. James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group Holdings and Executive Chairman of the Equity Group Foundation is featured in a fireside chat with Harvard Business School Professor Caroline Elkins, as part of Africa.com’s webinar series Crisis Management for African Business Leaders.
Among specific themes to be discussed is the balance between a company’s ethos and its ethical compass during crisis, and the leadership required to navigate the two.

William Miller, GE Senior Leader for Learning and Development
The Africa Industrial Internet Programme
GE partnered with African Leadership Group to build a new generation of digital leaders for Africa. The Programme enables mid-career engineers to build new skills in data analytics, data science, data engineering and data visualization. The programme is creating globally competitive, digital engineers right here in Africa, and we can’t wait to see their full impact on the continent.

Featured speakers include Victor Williams, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for Africa Regions at Standard Bank Group and Mark Chaban, GM & CTO, Microsoft Middle East, and Africa.
The Africa Investors Conference is designed to connect institutional investors to leading policymakers and some of Africa's most successful companies, sharing ideas with a view to finding key opportunities for growth on the continent.

Introduction by Sim Tshabalala, Group Chief Executive, Standard Bank Group. Presentation by Goolam Ballim, Chief Economist, Head: Standard Bank Research Standard Bank Group.
The Africa Investors Conference is designed to connect institutional investors to leading policymakers and some of Africa's most successful companies, sharing ideas with a view to finding key opportunities for growth on the continent.
View Slide Presentation

Challenges and Opportunities for Africa at the 10th Africa Investors’ Conference
From the Africa Investors Conference, Goolam Ballim, Chief Economist and Head of Research, Standard Bank talks with Teresa Clarke, Chair and CEO of Africa.com.
Mr. Ballim highlighted the stellar GDP growth that Africa has experienced over the past two decades with surging exports and flourishing trade with BRIC countries. Presently, however, Mr. Ballim believes that the impending economic downturn resulting from COVID-19 will be detrimental to the continent with a potential 4% GDP contraction in 2021.
View Slide Presentation
The Africa Investors Conference is designed to connect institutional investors to leading policymakers and some of Africa's most successful companies, sharing ideas with a view to finding key opportunities for growth on the continent.

This session explores the many ways in which African consumers have shifted towards digital products and services. The discussion will explore how Africans are shifting towards delivery takeaways with UberEats, how telemedicine has taken a huge leap forward, how distance learning is gaining ground, and how contactless payments are the next big thing in the mobile payment space. To round it all off, the chief operating officer of Silicon Valley’s leading online tech business magazine, TechCrunch, will comment on how these trends dovetail with the digital consumer trends taking hold in the U.S.
Led by Dayo Olopade Author of The Bright Continent, a book on innovation, technology, and opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa
Panelist:
Dr Funmi Adewara, Founder/CEO Mobihealth International
Ned Desmond, COO, TechCrunch
Mark Elliott, Division President, Mastercard, Southern Africa
Wambura Kimunyu, CEO, Eneza Education _ Makano Mosidi, Chief Information Office, Standard Bank
Ailyssa Pretorius, Regional General Manager, Uber Eats Sub Saharan Africa

A discussion with experts working with agricultural companies on development strategies, the introduction of technology, and creating sustainable employment opportunities for the continent’s burgeoning youth population. 
How governments/development partners/private sector along the agriculture value chain can respond to COVID-19 and specifically what opportunities the pandemic might provide to rethink our agriculture and food systems.
Moderator Gillian Pais is a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Nairobi Office and leads McKinsey’s Agriculture practice in Africa.
Panelists:
Linda Manda is the Global Head Agribusiness, Client Coverage, Corporate and Investment Banking, Standard Bank Group.
Kola Masha is the Managing Director of Babban Gona. Babban Gona is an award winning, high impact, financially sustainable and highly scalable social enterprise, part-owned by the farmers we serve.
Mezuo Nwuneli is the Managing Partner, Sahel Capital Agribusiness Managers Ltd., a food and agriculture focused private equity firm which invests in mid-sized agribusinesses.
Atsuko Toda is serving as the Director of Agriculture Finance and Rural Infrastructure Development Department at the African Development Bank. The department is responsible for the Bank’s investments in private sector agribusiness companies and development of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones across the African Continent. 

A moderated discussion on how the current crises, health and economic, have focussed a bright light on numerous social issues facing Africans including inequitable access to healthcare, the economic vulnerability of workers, occupational safety and wellbeing, temporary improvements in air and water quality resulting from lockdowns, police brutality and excessive use of force, disparities in access to technology, and more.
Intro Remarks by Sim Tshabalala, Group Chief Executive, SBG and Executive Director, SBSA Standard Bank Group
Special Guest Speaker Jide Zeitlin, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Tapestry, Inc. The parent company of luxury brands Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman.
Moderator Kamil Olufowobi, CEO, Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) 100 Under 40
Panelists:
Tara Durotoye, Founder & CEO, House of Tara International
Vanessa Nakate, Activist, Climate Change
Diallo Shabazz, Co-Founder, Birthright AFRICA
Vusi Thembekwayo, CEO, MyGrowthFund Venture Capital
Phyllis Wakiaga, CEO, Kenya Association of Manufacturers
Adebola Williams, Co-Founder & CEO, Red Media Africa

A timely and valuable series produced by Africa.com in partnership with faculty from Harvard Business School to address this unprecedented humanitarian and economic crisis as a result of COVID-19.
Professor David B. Wilkins leads the discussion with top lawyers across Africa while the welcome is delivered by Eric Holder, 82nd Attorney General of the United States.
Panelists:
Gerald Abila, Founder and Executive Director, BarefootLaw
Dr. Myma Belo Osagie, Co-Founder, Udo Udoma Belo-Osagie
Michel Brizoua-Bi, Partner, Bilé-Aka, Brizoua-Bi & Associés
Stephen Chege, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Safaricom
Prof. Vincent O. Nmehielle, SJD, Secretary-General, African Development Bank Group Office of the Secretary-General and General Secretariat
Prof. Ruth L. Okediji, Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, and Co-Director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society
Sandie Okoro, Senior Vice President, and General Counsel, World Bank Group
Thandi Orleyn, Chairperson, Legal Resources Trust
Dr. Godfred Penn, General Counsel & Director, African Development Bank

A pitch competition to showcase and support African entrepreneurs who have developed solutions to support Africa’s fight against the coronavirus.  Entries are evaluated primarily on their impact against the virus and the viability of delivering the product or service. Financial sustainability is of secondary importance. Entrepreneurs will “pitch” their ideas, and will be questioned by a judging panel comprised of a seasoned group of innovation investment experts.
Welcome Address by Professor Tarun Khanna, Harvard Business School
Judges Panel inclues Juliet Ehimuan, Director - West Africa, Google, Andile Ngcaba, Founding Partner and Chairman Convergence Partners, Eric Osiakwan, Managing Partner, Chanzo Capital, and Adrian Vermooten, Head of Digital Innovations, Standard Bank.

Leading health experts on the frontlines of the pandemic in Africa will answer questions such as: “The numbers are low, but why?”, “Is it a question of access to testing?”, “Is it the climate?”, “Is it the youthful population?” and “Is it a matter of reporting?”
Led by Teresa Clarke, Chair and CEO of Africa.com
PANELISTS:
_Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa
_Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
_Professor David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur

A timely and valuable series produced by Africa.com in partnership with faculty from Harvard Business School to address this unprecedented humanitarian and economic crisis as a result of COVID-19.
Led by Teresa Clarke, Chair and CEO of Africa.com
Panelists include Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women and Former Deputy President of South Africa, Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Economic Adviser, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative, Former Minister of Education Nigeria, and Former VP Africa Region of World Bank, Anne Juuko, Chief Executive, Stanbic Bank Uganda, Suzan Kereere, Global Head of Merchant Sales & Acquiring, VISA Inc., and Natasha Wang Mwansa, Women Deliver Young Leader.

A timely and valuable series produced by Africa.com in partnership with faculty from Harvard Business School to address this unprecedented humanitarian and economic crisis as a result of COVID-19.
Led by Andy Zelleke, Ph.D., Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer of Business Administration.
Panelists include Nolitha Fakude, Chair of the Management Board, South Africa Anglo American, Acha Leke, Senior Partner, Johannesburg, Chairman, McKinsey Africa, Funke Opeke, Founder and CEO of MainOne, and Rob Shuter, Group President and CEO of MTN.