Friday, FEBRUARY 15, 2019

SPECIAL PANEL SESSION ON INNOVATION

A conversation with the authors of The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty (January, 2019)

Join Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, and his co-authors, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon for this special session on innovation. The co-authors will discuss key themes from their upcoming book and will highlight the power of market-creating innovation, a critical driver in creating and sustaining economic prosperity. They will explain the central role of the entrepreneur in fostering sustainable development.

Saturday, FEBRUARY 16, 2019

AGRICULTURE

African Agriculture: Leapfrogging into the 21st Century?

Africa’s agricultural productivity is currently well below global averages, but will need to increase substantially to meet growing food demands from a rapidly rising population. How can new technologies and innovative business models be applied towards this end? Even further, can Africa leapfrog 20th-century agricultural methods towards a future of high-tech farming?

PANELISTS

CONSUMER

UNDERSTANDING THE AFRICAN CONSUMER OPPORTUNITY

POWERED BY THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (BCG)

Have you ever wondered how to tap into the “African consumer” opportunity? For anyone interested in doing business in Africa, it is important to understand the African consumer landscape especially as many markets experience fast growth in the middle & affluent population and enjoy increases in private consumption. Join BCG for an interactive session to discuss go-to-market strategies for the diverse African consumer base, consumer sentiments, brand identity & dominance, and key steps to building a successful route to market in Africa.

PANELIST

EDUCATION

Home-grown & Sustainable models for the African Education sector

Home-grown & Sustainable models for the African Education sector: Are affordable (and ultra-low-cost) viable models to provide high quality education at scale and to enable students to be globally competitive? What would be needed to further develop sustainable education ventures across the continent? How can African education models further inspire and expand in both developed and developing countries outside the continent?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

building quality companies that cross African borders 

Talented young Africans are increasingly starting their own ventures or teaming up with others in pursuit of entrepreneurial dreams. Some are offering unique homegrown solutions to solve problems they know intimately in their local communities.  Others are returning home from developed economies, bringing global skills, experiences, and networks. All are chasing the promise of a 1.2 billion people continental economy with vast uncharted commercial waters. 

How have African entrepreneurs and businesses converted these into commercial success? What does it take to build sustainable, profitable companies across industries as varied as Healthcare, Energy, Consumer and Logistics? How do the realities differ across the many regions and countries of the continent? To what extent are African companies talking to and doing business with one another?  

We will explore how African entrepreneurs get started, team up and hire, innovate and produce, raise and deploy capital, compete and win. We will also examine how they contend with/capitalize on the same global forces at play everywhere - the cloud, open source software, cheap computing resources etc., while highlighting the unique impact of indigenous trends in their home economies

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

SMEs as an Engine of Growth for the African Continent

SMEs are key growth drivers in most economies; They account for over 50% of the labour force in Africa. However, African SMEs mostly operate in the informal sector and face significant challenges including lack of access to financing, talent and technology. How do we unlock the potential in the SME space in Africa? What models have been successful from other parts of the world?

PANELISTS

The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Africa's Development

Four of the eleven social ventures honored with the Social Entrepreneurship of the year award at the World Economic Forum in 2018 were focused on Africa. Social ventures have a unique opportunity to help close the socio-economic gap in African countries. This panel will explore the potential for social innovation to drive large-scale societal gains in Africa.

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

FINANCE

Challenges and Opportunities in Africa's Real Estate and Property Markets

Real estate and property markets have remained a prime interest for investors on the continent. As major African cities continue to grow and develop, demand for high-quality commercial and residential real estate is growing as well. The rise of the urban middle class in Africa are driving retail property development, as well as retail centers and shopping malls. What challenges are African property developers currently experiencing and what are the solutions? What role do African entrepreneurs play in future development?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

Investing for the Future of Africa - the role of private equity

African private equity has witnessed significant swings over the last decade. The Afrian Rising narrative attracted interest from large local and foreign LPs, leading to record level of fund raising and investing activity. However, the commodity-price driven macro slow down and currency devaluations caused many to wonder whether the traditional PE model is suitable for the continent. What are the key challenges facing PE firms in Africa? Are these challenges transient or fundamental? Does this call for a change in strategy? What key lessons have been learnt by firms?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

Regionalizing Trade & FDI: Is Africa ready to grow from within?

Over the past twenty years, FDI levels in Africa have risen and fallen by mainly mirroring commodity price movements. Given the decline in FDI levels in recent years from US$58.1bn in 2008 to US$ 41.7bn in 2017, is it wise for Africa’s economic transformation to rely on FDI? In which sectors and instances should FDI be weighed against domestic investments? How do you assess China’s role in Africa now and how can the continent appropriate more value from FDI in general and more specifically from its relationship with China, especially in light of the seemingly changing nature of China’s involvement from that of an equity provider to that of a debt provider?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

The Future of Fintech in Africa Beyond Payments and Money

The rate of future growth in Africa will be governed by its physical and digital infrastructures. What role do fintech startups have in creating the necessary digital infrastructure to accelerate growth and financial inclusion on the continent? What role can digital currencies play? Can fintech players help the continent leap forward in the same way that mobile penetration did in the past decade? What are the other applications of Fintech beyond payments?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

HEALTHCARE

The Role of the Private Sector in Improving Healthcare Quality and Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Africa

Quality healthcare is an imperative for reaching the ambitious target of Universal Health Coverage by the 2030 deadline agreed to by all UN member states. A systems approach, which rallies all levels of a country’s health system, including the private sector, has been advocated to improve healthcare quality. What leverage points and innovations can the private sector harness to improve the quality of healthcare in Africa? How can effective public-private partnerships be built to facilitate the delivery of quality care? Does the private sector have the capacity to propel Africa to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

INFRASTRUCTURE

Africa’s Infrastructure: A Springboard for -- or a Brake on -- growing economies?

PANEL 1: ENHANCING AFRICA’S ACCESS TO CAPITAL

Infrastructure development is central to unlocking Africa’s economic potential: Better infrastructure directly increases the productivity of human and physical capital. While the economic argument for strengthening infrastructure is clear, inefficiencies such as limited access to finance and poor execution remain major impediments to infrastructure development in Africa.

This panel will be structured to delve into discussions around access to capital; How should African government select bankable projects that attract both foreign and local capital? Which finance models are more suitable towards funding Africa’s large and persistent Infrastructure gap? Could the concept of works in lieu of taxes work in Africa?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

PANEL 2: IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE EXECUTION EFFECTIVENESS

Africa has huge infrastructure gap, estimated at $130-170 billion per year. However, this infrastructure gap goes beyond just financing. There is a lack of good governance of infrastructure too. But if you ask “Why infrastructure projects fail in Africa”, the question becomes loaded and will trigger emotional, passionate responses that can also be thought-provoking. This panel examines the stakes and challenges of project management in Africa by focusing on how it is practiced in that particular context and lessons from best cases.

What are the key factors that inhibit successful execution of projects? What themes can be learned from successful PPP cases? What are some secret recipes for establishing effective public-private partnerships? What role should international organizations and the private industries play towards reaching the common goal?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

LIGHTING UP AFRICA: THE BROKEN ENERGY CHAIN

New York City, with a population of 9 million, has more grid connected electricity than Sub Saharan Africa with a population of nearly 1 billion. Why has the power industry failed, especially when access to electricity is critical for industrialization and economic development? Has the private sector responded with innovative solutions to balance this supply-demand gap? Can renewable mini-grids leapfrog the the traditional large power plants that require distribution and transmission infrastructure? The panel will focus largely on Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, and a country heavily reliant on private, polluting diesel generators for power.

PANELISTS

MEDIA / CREATIVE ARTS

Bringing African Content to the World

Whether fuelled by recent cinematic marvels or not, this past year, African themes seemed ever ubiquitous in music, fashion, and film. African creative talent (i.e. actors, writers, directors) gained significant exposure to global audiences; Netflix acquired the global rights to its first Nigerian film, Genevieve Nnaji’s Lionheart; Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone debuted at number one on the New York Time’s bestseller-list for young adult books; Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki was the first movie from Kenya to premiere at Cannes.

How do we translate this popularization of African themes worldwide into sustainably exporting African made film and television to global audiences? How do we create an ecosystem that consistently delivers high-quality film and tv to audiences worldwide? What industry infrastructure changes do we have to make to support such content export? How do we increase the appeal of our content to such audiences? What do African creatives who want their stories told on a world stage have to do to succeed? What platforms do we need to take advantage of to showcase our talent?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

The Global Adoption of African Fashion

From modern native wears and traditional garb to sold out World Cup football jerseys, African fashion is taking off on a global scale. As the industry is growing with interest in Afro-centric style spreading worldwide, more Africans on the continent and in the diaspora are exploring the fashion business. What different roles can African entrepreneurs play as the industry moves forward?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

the Music Business in Africa

Afrobeats is here to stay and is on the path to global domination. Favorites such as Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy have captured the world’s attention and stars such as Drake, Migos and Major Lazer want in on the sound, through collaborations with, and inspiration from, the best of our very own. Has the economic attractiveness of African music grown accordingly with the surge in quality and demand? Which income sources (streaming royalties, album/single sales, concerts/tours, endorsements, etc.) are driving revenues, and which are underperforming? How can the underperformers be improved? Can the growth be sustained to attract the next generation of Afrobeats talents? What roles can key stakeholders (regulators, artists, producers, distributors and consumers) both locally and in the diaspora play in driving the industry forward? Finally, with an ever-changing digital world, how are music distribution strategies evolving to reach Afrobeats fans all across the globe?

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

TECHNOLOGY

Leveraging Technology-Enabled Services to Drive Growth & Create Value for Businesses

Technology has played an essential role in transforming and creating value for businesses around the world. The growth of technology-enabled services developed to serve the African business context is rapidly gaining momentum and has the potential to create value and drive growth by allowing businesses to leverage these tools and focus on their core competencies. This panel will examine a number of existing tech-enabled services across different industries and regions and explore the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

PANELISTS

MODERATOR