The Dunning Africa Centre (DAC) at Henley Business School Africa is launching a new webinar series in May for leaders in Africa, which will tap the continent into an international research agenda and aims to unlock more global opportunities for African business. Their inaugural virtual event will tackle the question of how Africa became marginalized and how we can begin to fix this. Join their monthly event, which will take place every month on the first Thursday.
African Marginalization: Mobilizing to Mainstream the African Continent
Despite the optimism felt at the turn of the new millennium, the 21st century has not (yet) turned out to be Africa’s major growth point.
The Facts
Most African economies remain dependent on exporting low-value added goods, mainly in mining and agriculture.
There has been an overall decline in manufacturing activities, with movement towards a knowledge economy limited and patchy across Africa.
Intra-African trade and investment remains low.
With a handful of significant exceptions, there are few African multinational firms that are globally competitive.
Debate Agenda
Are there reasons to remain optimistic?
What are the causes of the malaise?
Have we addressed the initial conditions necessary for sustained economic growth?
From a policy perspective: have we addressed the challenges for good governance and infrastructure, or is the expectation that we should have already achieved this?
What can the private sector do to build partnership and unification across sectors?
The DAC isn’t a place, it’s a continent-wide conversation for leaders. This series allows Africa’s top business minds and global experts to debate and discuss contemporary issues affecting African business. More than this, it allows you to join-in the conversation.
The Dunning Africa Centre, which is affiliated to the prestigious John H. Dunning Centre for International Business in the UK, will energise collaboration between top African scholars, business leaders and other experts. Together, this will drive enquiry into the impact of globalisation on international business from an African perspective. It will also seek to reposition African business as a significant and dynamic global player.
It is time for Africa to reclaim its identity and make authentic, assertive inroads into the global business market. Africans do business like no-one else. We have a unique outlook and hard-won experience in one of the most challenging and complex business environments on the planet.
Our topics have been sourced from African business people across the continent, and cover the pressing questions facing African businesses today:
● How should African businesses establish their identity in international markets? ● What are the challenges and opportunities we face when securing investments overseas? ● How should African businesses engage with large, inward investors?
An essential element of the DAC webinar is that business people from across Africa can offer their unique insights and perspectives. We have designed the platform so that the conversation can expand across industries and provide a unified path forward. Every voice counts.
Businesses of various sizes have shared how they are aligning their purposes and operations with sustainability goals. Watch these short-listed stories and vote for the one that inspired you most here.
“This is how I moved my #BusinessForward” campaign, developed by Business Forward the knowledge portal of the AUC School of Business in partnership with CIB Egypt, The Coca Cola Company, L’Oréal Egypt and Vodafone Egypt, invited the business community to share how they are becoming more attuned to corporate responsibility, and are contributing to the evolving needs of society and the environment.
Awards to the most inspiring cases of responsible business and most-voted for by the audience will be announced in the event, amidst an exchange of knowledge and experience from the participating industry experts and campaign partners. Your vote counts; check the below on how to vote.
Interested in attending the closing ceremony of the campaign and finding out who won?The Closing ceremony of the digital engagement campaign , will take place on March 30. You can join us virtually via Zoom from 12 – 2 GMT. Engage with practical examples of how corporate responsibility is practiced in Egypt and beyond.
Responsible leadership is a leadership approach that addresses responsibilities and accountabilities of business leaders. It is driven by purpose and positive social impact. To reach a complete understanding of responsible leadership, its importance and how it can be implemented to benefit society, we need to establish a number of things. These include:
How do we make sense of the concept of responsible leadership globally as well as in the African context?
What are the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the responsible leadership discourse?
What is the relationship between responsible leadership and social innovation?
How can organisations develop and nurture responsible leaders internally?
How can we establish a dialogue between sectors, co-create best practices and shape pathways and actions towards responsible leadership?
Why We Need This Conference
The Responsible Leadership Reimagined Conference is an event that seeks to address important questions about responsible leadership, and encourage further research and to advance the discussion on responsible leadership in Africa. This will enable us to move towards a common understanding of what responsible leadership is and what it can achieve on the continent.
How You Can Help Us
The submission date for papers closed on 30 November 2021.
This conference tackles the specificities of both Africa and the Middle East regions in common plenary sessions and in separate tracks, specifically targeting relevant issues for both regions. The conference addresses topics such as ongoing trends and new developments in management education, inside, and outside of the two regions. It promotes an active debate between regional actors and participants from other regions of the world.
Business school professionals that attend the conference will develop higher levels of insights on how to approach challenges in the upcoming years, while also strengthening their networks across the regions.
Supported by EFMD steering committee members This conference is designed with the expertise of our committee members from the following institutions:
Target Group:
Deans, Associate Deans, Directors of Programs, those in charge of External Relations or International Relations with an interest in the Middle East and Africa regions.
A 25% discount on the applicable fee will be available for every second and further participant from the same institution. Please contact mea@efmdglobal.org to receive the promotional code if you are the second or third participant from your institution.
CANCELLATION POLICY FOR REGISTRATIONS: Cancellations must be confirmed in writing. If EFMD receives notice of your withdrawal before 28/02/2022, a cancellation administrative fee of (75€ plus 21% VAT) will be charged. Thereafter, we regret that we are unable to refund any fees. However, in such cases, substitutes are welcome at no extra cost as long as EFMD receives the notification of the name, title and address of the substitute.
Please note that if we haven’t received your payment (or proof of payment) before the start of the conference, you will not have access to the online conference platform.
Theme: Invigorating African Higher Education Institutions’ Response to COVID-19 Pandemic.
Higher education is affected by coronavirus whose consequences are expected to continue for unforeseeable future. African higher education community needs to find innovative and creative ways to invigorate the response to the pandemic to mitigate the risks associated with it. St. Mary’s University will hold its 18th international conference which will bring scholars, researchers, practitioners and decision-makers together virtually to debate on the common agendum – responding to COVID-19 – on September 08, 2020.
Sub-themes
Sub-theme 1. Higher Education Institutions’ response to COVID-19 pandemic
Higher Education Institutions’ response to COVID-19
Teaching, learning, assessment and research practices during and post-COVID-19
The role of indigenous knowledge in solving the COVID-19 challenges
The role of technology in higher education during and post-COVID-19
Sustaining post-COVID-19 academic quality
Online education and challenges in technology
Capacity development of teaching faculty in a post-COVID-19 transformed system
Sub-theme 2. Higher education institutions’ role toward inclusive and sustainable youth development and employability
Lessons and strategies toward youth development: inclusiveness, entrepreneurship and employability during and post-COVID-19
African higher education towards meeting Agenda 2030 and 2063 for sustainable livelihoods, disability, gender and health
Importance of national strategies for regional Higher Education
Internationalization of Higher Education in Africa
Sub-theme 3. The profile of Private Higher Education in Africa
Access, relevance, quality, challenges and opportunities
Accreditation practices of Higher Education institutions in Africa
Research and technology in private Higher Education in Africa
Strategies to minimize PHEIs’ dependence from tuition fees
Public-Private partnership in the African HE space
The profile of PHEIs in a specific regional or national context
Sub-theme 4. Lessons and strategies towards effective networking and global engagement
policies, strategies and practices for effective linkage between higher education, business/industry, and other key stakeholders
collaborations, joint research and innovation in Africa
Knowledge management in Africa
Effective use of media in Higher Education
Sub-theme 5. The role of higher education institutions in ensuring serene Africa
Issues of identity, diversity and gender
Multiculturalism and green environment for prosperous and peaceful Africa
Africa accounts for 17% of the world’s population yet emits less than 5% of the world’s carbon emissions. Africa boasts a massive talent population, but also demonstrates the highest rate of education exclusion. It is a continent rich in resources, talent potential, and innovation, but lacks the necessary tools to expand its portfolio in sustainable ways.
Session four investigated the various components of sustainable development, from female participation in the workforce to healthcare resources to relevant education, and what the continent is doing to address some of these broader goals.
Africa is leading the way in the business of UN Sustainable Development Goal relevancy, but what is holding its people back from success? This session explored relevant struggles in the integration of the SDG initiatives, as well as provide an engaging discussion of what can be done going forward to achieve these broader goals.
Digital transformation plays a central role in the sustainable development of Africa. Yet the continent does not yet have the tech talent to enable this transformation. How do we develop the skills to support the needed investment? How can business, academia, government, and civil society work together to create an environment that unlocks the full potential of Africa’s aspiring entrepreneurs? Can business schools and universities take the lead in connecting diverse talent needed to accelerate innovation? Join this session to consider these and other important questions in this fifth session of the Talent for Africa Forum.
Africa is rising as a global player and is a true beneficiary in the global arena and we are here to celebrate that, as well as help the rest of the world to benefit from it.
Africa’s most powerful resource is its people. In a world of shrinking working-age populations, favorable demographics point to substantial opportunity within Africa. But there is no guarantee that the demographics will translate into greater prosperity.
Join us in this session, as we tackle some of the more pressing questions related to Africa and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Does Africa have the capacity to educate the young while delivering on the growing needs for upskilling and reskilling the workforce?
How is technology changing the mix of knowledge and skills that African organizations need?
What are the specific sector needs, such as health care, government, and finance?
How are new technologies, and increasing experiences in using them, creating new opportunities that make education both more effective and more accessible?
Innovation and entrepreneurship not only increase productivity in existing industries and create jobs, they can transform economies and societies. This session focuses on developing talent for transformative leadership, the kind that can build a more inclusive and sustainable Africa.
Discussions explored the role of business and business schools as catalysts and enablers of innovation and entrepreneurship. It considers opportunities to strengthen collaboration across disciplines, borders, and sectors to enable Africa to leap ahead in efforts to achieve Agenda 2063.
The first session aims to explore the changing global landscape for talent and the special challenges that Africa faces when it comes to developing leadership, management, and entrepreneurship talent. In this kickoff session, panelists will touch on the broad range of pressing talent challenges that will be had throughout the series and provide a bird’s eye view of how these relate to Agenda 2063, and the Africa that Africans want.
Join us as we address issues such as Pan-African integration in a de-globalizing world, harnessing a youthful African workforce in an aging global society, AI and the impact of automation everywhere, developing relevant educational opportunities for African business, and so much more.
Africa in the Context of the world invites the rest of the global community to hear from African leaders, themselves, and how we can work cohesively to truly create the future of the continent.
