The NileView
From Cairo to Pretoria––Diverse African Voices at the AACSB’s Inaugural Africa Conference.
A View From the Nile
I just returned home two days ago. I have been to South Africa twice before, in 1999 and 2016, for different reasons, and visited several cities. This past week was my third visit, but my first time in both Pretoria and Johannesburg. The reason that made this visit unique and truly special was being part of the first AACSB Africa Conference organized on my home continent. For me, Africa is the continent of the 21st century. The key is in its growing ambitious and talented youth that represents 70% of its population, requiring one of the stakeholders in society, business schools, in collaboration with other stakeholders to foster a culture of creativity and innovation to empower future leaders to impact society.
A View From the Highveld
As for me, from where I sit – not with a Nile view like my friend Sherif, but in the highveld and a stone’s throw away from the cradle of mankind in South Africa – considering the implications of an Africa that is no longer content to let others talk about its future. Africa is, in many ways, taking charge to drive a rationally optimistic agenda. This is reflected in the fact that the world’s largest business education association, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), rightly launched its most recent event series by hosting its inaugural edition of the Africa Conference in South Africa organized at the University of Pretoria by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at the Future Africa Campus.
This has not always been the case. As keynote speaker Sim Tshabalala, CEO of Standard Bank (the largest financial services group in Africa), noted, oftentimes, the assumption is that “Africans are incapable of making [their] own decisions.” Well, from 25-26 July 2024 in Pretoria, it was an African-led convivium (to use Sim’s chosen term), discussing contemporary African topics that are globally relevant as well as Africa’s future in this dynamic context.
Sherif and I are among the leading business school deans caroling others around Business School for Climate Leadership (BS4CL) Africa, which was well represented by David Mathuva, Associate Dean of Strathmore Business School in Nairobi – a member of the BS4CL, Hanane El-Kouari, Associate Director at IESEG School of Management (Paris) – a champion for Africa to the world, and Yasmine Sarr, Academic Director Groupe Sup de Co in Dakar – soon to be recruited to BS4CL. It is worth noting that Sherif and I spend considerable time in each other’s company, sharing insights into responsible business education and what key issues students should be knowledgeable about as they develop as tomorrow’s purposeful leaders. Of course, coming from the two bookends of Africa – the north and the southern tip – our approach is always molded by the African context. Our views are also shaped by open and ongoing discussions with all stakeholders in our region and beyond, who – like our business schools – have the power to stimulate long-lasting change and development.
Two such individuals that we regularly engage with, who graced the AACSB Africa conference, are the irreverent Sim Tshabalala and the renowned South African businesswoman Dr Judy Dlamini, Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. From the role of technology to the need for entrepreneurial education, our two keynote speakers offered a glimpse into the role African business schools should be fulfilling if we are truly to empower our future business leaders–learning from the past to shape the future. The conference, whose theme was Empowering Tomorrow’s Business Leaders, was weighty and punchy, with inspiring deliberations among 111 participants, including deans, directors, faculty, and staff from 36 business schools, businesses, and startups in 23 countries from Africa and beyond. Here is a taste of just four of the main themes to emerge during the conference sessions:
Embrace collaboration
The golden thread throughout the conference was that we have to work together – deep collaboration is not an option. We kicked off with a roundtable discussion with Yinka David-West, Associate Dean of Lagos Business School Pan-Atlantic University, and John North, Managing Director of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), who asked delegates to reflect on ways in which to “prepare the ground and coalesce the willing to create collective action and collective impact.” This set the tone for a need for deep collaborations to drive societal impact. The thread was picked up in the crucial session on building mutually beneficial partnerships between African business schools and external stakeholders moderated by Saad Laraqui, Director of Research at ESCA Ecole de Management in Casablanca, and featured Ahmed M. Abdel-Meguid, Professor of Accounting at the School of Business of The American University in Cairo (AUC), Lorena Zanelli, Director of International Relations at IÉSEG School of Management in Paris, and Natasha Winkler-Titus from Stellenbosch Business School in Cape Town. I am pleased to say there was a heavy focus on leveraging collective expertise for sustainable growth and prosperity in Africa.
University of Pretoria’s Future Africa Campus
As I listened to the various discussions on collaborations, I reflected on my business school, GIBS, on how fostering close ties with business has always been our way. I can think of no greater upshot from almost 25 years of GIBS working to understand the needs of business, society, government, and Africa as a whole than the diverse and dynamic African voices on display at the first AACSB Africa Conference.
Backing entrepreneurs
Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean of Henley Business School Africa in Sandton and Chair of the Association of African Business Schools (AABS), who has a passion for amplifying the building of businesses in Africa, had an engaging discussion with Rutendo Hwindingwi, irreverent speaker on entrepreneurship in Africa. In his session, Jon echoed the sentiments shared by Dr Dlamini, who noted: “It is my view that our economies should invest in entrepreneurship education from early childhood; there has to be better seamless integration across the different stages of education, from early childhood to post-doc, including business schools, with contribution from the business sector and communities.”
From the Nile
When Jon put me on the spot during the session, I had the opportunity to share the AUC School of Business’s journey from 2008 to date, moving from covering the topic of entrepreneurship in one book chapter in one undergraduate course to becoming the primary educational partner of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt offering a bachelor’s degree and a minor in entrepreneurship, establishing the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) serving the society at large and engaging in multiple community development projects across Egypt and the Middle East Africa region, and launching the Venture Lab (V-Lab), a university-based incubator, which graduates more than 370 startups across a diverse variety of sectors including green economy, sustainability, ed-tech, health-tech, E-commerce, energy, artificial intelligence (AI), logistics, creative and digital industries, mobility, food value chain, fin-tech and more.
From the Highveld
From my end, I complemented this focus on entrepreneurship by moderating a fascinating discussion on the role startups play in sparking innovation and economic growth in Africa. Lutfiyya Moosa, GIBA alumna and Group Director of Technology at Onafriq, and Dr Vuyane Mhlomi, Oxford University (DPhil and MBA) alum and CEO of Quro Medical, were not shy to share their views on overcoming prejudice to build successful, purposeful businesses that transform people’s financial wellbeing in the case of Onafriq (with more than 500 million underserved clients primarily in Africa) and physical wellness using machine learning and AI technology in the case of Quro Medical (able to offer high quality technology-driven and affordable health care, serving the private sector and well suited for universal coverage in such national systems).
Using technology wisely
Despite the concerns that Africa may be left out of the digital economy underpinned by machine learning and AI, many African businesses appear to be embracing the strategy and innovative support needed when deploying technology. This was evident in a presentation on FinTech by Catherine Duggan, Dean of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town, Justice Nyigmah Bawole, Dean of the University of Ghana Business School, and Eli Komla Agbloyor of Ghana Business School. The likes of Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, and Ghana are already entrenched as African FinTech hubs, a fact that should open doors for financial inclusion and economic growth and as an investment drawcard. However, countries, companies, and business schools must apply a strategic lens to harness the full potential across sectors and society.
This is not to say that AI should not factor in our thinking; as Dlamini indicated, business schools also need to stretch themselves. “It is vital for business schools not only to teach candidates how to use AI, including the ethical and social responsibilities it brings, but also to implement it themselves into their working practices,” she said. AI should be used to keep “the curriculum relevant through analyzing industry trends and job market data. It also brings an opportunity for the schools to collaborate with the tech industry to co-create data analytics and AI courses”.
Shape the future of work
As the world’s youngest continent, a critical discussion must be the effectiveness and employability of its graduates. Sean Kruger of the University of Pretoria’s Centre for the Future of Work explained that a grasp of current and future technologies is only half the battle. Social, emotional, and cultural understanding holds the same importance as critical thinking and adaptability. The value of a well-rounded, in-touch, and curious individual is becoming increasingly apparent to businesses around the world, but notably in Africa, where we are often buffeted by extremes.
As Madiha Ferjani, Associate Dean on Strategic Initiatives at Tunisia’s Mediterranean School of Business (MSB), and Washika Haak-Saheem, Dean of Dubai Business School, so rightly pointed out, business schools must be open to creating more student-centered curricula that take into account the shifts emanating from the world of business. We need flexibility, high design competency, and the willingness to consider new ways of embedding life-long learning habits. They shared exciting strategies from the likes of Georgia State University and MSB and challenged attendees to “think critically about employing AI to identify problems and interpret solutions.” That is without throwing out more established tools for learning, like the business case study–which, as Engy Magdy, Director of the El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center (KCC) at AUC School of Business, and Boris Urban, Director of Wits Business School, explained, still has strong relevance and help build further bridges and partnerships between business schools, businesses and industry.
From the Highveld
As I sign off the cradle-of-mankind to The Nile, I leave you with words from Sim Tshabalala in the closing remarks of his keynote address to the conference at dinner in an art gallery called the Javett Art Centre. When considering that management is both science and art, he concluded that “management is an art in the proper sense: an exercise of imagination and empathy in the service of humanity.”
From the Nile
To conclude, I have had the pleasure of being part of the AACSB community since 2001, when the AUC School of Business (formerly the School of Business, Economics, and Communication) applied for accreditation, serving in many different capacities. What topped it all was to start my tenure as chair of the boards of directors of AACSB with the launch of the Africa Conference. What an honor. For the record, this was never planned, but it worked out perfectly.
About the authors: Morris Mthombeni is a Professor of Corporate Strategy and Governance and Dean at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science in South Africa, and Sherif Kamel is a Professor of Management and Dean of the School of Business at The American University in Cairo.
31 July 2024
Issue #42