Africa - The Harbus

GIX Team in Nigeria Succeeds Despite Riots

“So, why are you going to Nigeria?” It is difficult to explain to an airport customs official why a HBS student would go to Lagos during Nigeria’s most disruptive labor protests in forty years. But, that is the situation that the Nigerian GIX team found themselves in during J-Term. The GIX team consisting of Chuma… Continue reading GIX Team in Nigeria Succeeds Despite Riots

The Africa Business Conference

Co-Chairs Weigh In Tawanda: I would not have come to the Harvard Business School were it not for the 2008 Africa Business Conference. It was in Aldrich, listening to Nick Nesbitt recount the challenges and excitement of running a corporation in Africa, that I realized I wanted to return to the continent and drive economic… Continue reading The Africa Business Conference

IXP – South Africa: From Cape Town to Johannesburg

Cape Town is situated in between a mountain range and the Atlantic Ocean, and this unique geography makes it one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited. It is also a city of extremes as some residents live opulent lifestyles while others live in abject poverty. A few weeks ago, I journeyed to Africa… Continue reading IXP – South Africa: From Cape Town to Johannesburg

IXP – Rwanda Nziza! Students Explore Beautiful Rwanda

Twenty-six HBS students set out this fall of 2010 as part of the Rwanda IXP to learn about Rwanda’s striking journey of recovery since the Genocide, to work on consulting projects with local entrepreneurs, non-profit and public sector organizations and to enjoy an exotic African adventure. Rwanda Nziza literally means “Beautiful Rwanda,” but to the… Continue reading IXP – Rwanda Nziza! Students Explore Beautiful Rwanda

South Africa

Every country in the world displays some diversity, but South Africa is clearly one of the most with hippos in the Limpopo River to the penguins waddling on the Cape. There’s the deserted Kalahari, Namakwa’s springtime symphony of wildflowers, iconic Table Mountain and Cape Point, Kruger National Park’s savannah grasslands (scene of the famous lion-buffalo-crocodile… Continue reading South Africa

The 2010 Millennium Development Goals Summit

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the supreme example of an international commitment to help the 1.2 billion people imprisoned by poverty. During the 2010 MDG Summit, which ran from 20-22 September 2010 at the United Nations Headquarters, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the richer donor countries to continue to provide aid to the… Continue reading The 2010 Millennium Development Goals Summit

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Is it possible to eradicate extreme poverty? In late September, President Barack Obama will be traveling to United Nations Headquarters in New York to address two high-level events: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) summit and the annual General Debate, the ministerial meeting of the General Assembly which consists of 192 Member States. During this year’s… Continue reading The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Where in the World did you Spend your Summer–Tunde Kehinde (OE)

What: Emerging Capital Partners Where: Lagos, Nigeria What did you do this summer?I worked in Lagos, Nigeria for an Africa-focused private equity group called Emerging Capital Partners (ECP). ECP has over $1 billion of funds to invest exclusively in Africa and has invested in businesses all over the continent for over a decade. I was… Continue reading Where in the World did you Spend your Summer–Tunde Kehinde (OE)

Scaling Kilimanjaro

I am definitely an adventurous and outdoorsy kind of guy. I couldn’t stand the fact that entering the New England winter was going to make me a slave to the SFP-Aldrich-Spangler-SFP route for a long time. So I needed to go somewhere unusual that accomplished two objectives: climbing a mountain and exploring a new country.… Continue reading Scaling Kilimanjaro

Spotlight on Africa

Reflections from Rwanda By Lincoln Edwards (NE) What did you do over J-Term?I traveled to Rwanda as part of the first ever African IXP. The purpose of the trip was to provide volunteer consulting for non-profits in Rwanda. My team of six HBS students, plus one local business school student, worked with a USAID-funded non-profit… Continue reading Spotlight on Africa

Ngozi

It’s possible that one day you’ll be walking down a street in Ngozi, a little village fit into the green hills of Burundi in Africa, and you’ll see on your left, a container. You have been traveling around Africa for a bit and you know how things can get reused, so there is nothing strange… Continue reading Ngozi

An Interview with HBS Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Jeff Walker (MBA ’81)

This article is the third in a series of interviews with this year’s Harvard Business School Entrepreneurs-in-Residence. Sponsored by the HBS Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program invites accomplished entrepreneurs to commit to either a semester or full academic year working with faculty and students on campus. Many people consider the worlds of… Continue reading An Interview with HBS Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Jeff Walker (MBA ’81)

Social Enterprise HBS Business Plan Finalists – Egg-Tech

1. YOUR PITCH.EGG-tech proposes to connect low-income Africans to power via a unique battery-swap business model. We will start in Tanzania, where the team already has local contacts, and then expand to the rest of the continent. Over 500 million Africans are without electricity. Difficult terrain, limited resources for infrastructure development, and a dispersed population… Continue reading Social Enterprise HBS Business Plan Finalists – Egg-Tech

Is Africa Taking the Lead?

For one weekend each year, the “Final Frontier” is unleashed on the Harvard Business School campus as huge numbers people from Africa, of African descent and numerous others who are simply interested in events relevant to the continent flock to our hallowed grounds to participate in the Africa Business Conference. This year was no different,… Continue reading Is Africa Taking the Lead?

Why Do Corporations Die?

Which is the best international company in quality of Management? McDonald’s! The traditional winners, Procter & Gamble and General Electric, have been toppled in the latest Fortune ratings. Bear Stearns, reveredÿas the “Most Admired” securities firm in Fortune’s List in 2005-2007, with 13,500 employees, is dissolving into thin air.ÿFortune’sÿsurvey is a covetedÿranking of talent, quality… Continue reading Why Do Corporations Die?

Summer Stories-Esther Hsu, Swaziland

“But what is a gooseberry?” A few short weeks earlier I had resorted to old faithful Wikipedia and Google Images before embarking on a mission to build a viable business plan around these little orange berries. Now, our pilot group of rural Swazi farmers, having already committed their precious land to the berries, pondered the… Continue reading Summer Stories-Esther Hsu, Swaziland

Celebrating Africa's Success

Simply put, the 10th Annual Africa Business Conference was a celebration of Africa and the 10th year anniversary of the conference, starting with a showcase of successful leaders and ending with an electrifying concert with Grammy award-winning artist Angelique Kidjo. The conference theme “Controlling our Destiny: Celebrating Africa’s success” set the tone for the day… Continue reading Celebrating Africa's Success

East Africa Trek

I still cannot believe that I had the chance to visit Africa despite my long history in connection with the continent. Everyone who grew up in the former Soviet Union knows the verses from a famous children’s book about Doctor Aybolit, who was asked by a hippo to go to Africa. When Aybolit asked him… Continue reading East Africa Trek

Open For Business: The 9th Annual Africa Business Conference

African firms have what it takes to give MBAs equal, if not higher, standards of employment as any other multinational company. Simply put, the 9th Annual Africa Business Conference was bold and engaging. Speakers and panelists did not shy away from talking about their business strategies, trials and tribulations. The conference theme “Open For Business:… Continue reading Open For Business: The 9th Annual Africa Business Conference

To Bolivia and Back: Reflections on an Extended Summer Internship

My summer internship with EcoLogic Finance began last February and is still going strong. In between, I have met with farmers and hedge fund managers, traveled by pickup truck through five countries, and sampled more fair trade and organic products than I knew existed. Besides a lot of fun and a bit of adventure, my… Continue reading To Bolivia and Back: Reflections on an Extended Summer Internship

CEO of MaAfrika Tikkun to Speak at HBS on Effective Development in South Africa and Successful Strategies for Creating Impact

If you have ever left an HBS class feeling like you wished there was something more you could do about the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, the need for accessible and effective education in the developing world, or the growth of poverty and increasingly skewed wealth distribution patterns-you’ll want to hear what Marc Lubner has to… Continue reading CEO of MaAfrika Tikkun to Speak at HBS on Effective Development in South Africa and Successful Strategies for Creating Impact

Seizing Opportunities in Africa

More than 800 global business leaders, students, and members of the international community gathered on President’s Day weekend to focus on Africa as a business destination and an investment opportunity. The first topic touched on how to develop Africa’s economies to create profitable and sustainable enterprises, capable of tapping the continent’s potential. “A good investment… Continue reading Seizing Opportunities in Africa

HBSers Trek to Africa's Great Mt. Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro is the highest and most famous mountain in Africa. A massive dormant volcano, it rises isolated from east African savannas teeming with wildlife. No other mountain in the world rises so high so alone, with no range of other peaks for support. Over the holiday break, a group of HBSers traveled to Africa to… Continue reading HBSers Trek to Africa's Great Mt. Kilimanjaro

African Business Conference: Can Africa Compete?

On the weekend of February 11-13 the Africa Business Club hosted the 7th annual African Business Conference. The conference, which hosted activities taking place over 3 days, brought over 600 Africans and friends of Africa to the HBS campus. Conference events included not only panel discussions, keynote speakers and networking events, but also prospective students… Continue reading African Business Conference: Can Africa Compete?

Kilimanjaro… Hakuna Matata

On an HBS trek a little out of the ordinary, 22 students left Boston on December 29th to visit Africa and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the continent at 19,343 ft (5,896 m). The trip combined three days of safari with seven days of hiking up the mountain. The lucky EC’s were also… Continue reading Kilimanjaro… Hakuna Matata

HBS Students and Harvard University Aid Tsunami Disaster Relief Effort

The full extent of the devastation in Asia as a result of the recent Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent Tsunami continues to unfold. To date, the only certainty is that the destruction has been enormous, with over a hundred and fifty thousand dead and several million left homeless, fighting for survival in destroyed communities. It… Continue reading HBS Students and Harvard University Aid Tsunami Disaster Relief Effort

Adebayo Ogunlesi (HBS ’79) honored by Harvard African Alumni

This past Saturday, December 4th, Mr. Adebayo O. Ogunlesi (HLS/HBS ’79), was honored by the Harvard African Students’ Alumni Network (HASAN) as the first recipient of the HASAN Achievement Award for “consistent and superior performance in his professional career //www.replicaforbest.co.uk/replica-breitling-watches-sale-for-uk.html.” Mr. Ogunlesi, currently Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer of Credit Suisse First Boston… Continue reading Adebayo Ogunlesi (HBS ’79) honored by Harvard African Alumni

What I Did This Summer?

I spent my summer working and traveling in Africa. I visited four countries, including my home country Senegal. Two years ago, after 10 years living in the United States, I had the lingering feeling that it was time for me to start finding my way back home to Africa. I decided to use this summer… Continue reading What I Did This Summer?

Building the African Dream

Over 800 people attended the 5th annual Africa Business Conference – “Building the African Dream” – three weeks ago on the HBS campus. The conference was a mixing ground of established businessmen and women, aspiring entrepreneurs, and keen enquirers. Countries all over Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas were represented, the people drawn to the… Continue reading Building the African Dream

Tag: Africa