I once heard a Nigerian saying proudly that the strength of Nigeria is its people. That statement stuck in my mind: in fact, its 170 million (or so) people makes Nigeria the most populous African country – but what did he mean exactly? A number of things come to mind: the most immediate and obvious, […]
Job creation: an engaging business purpose
In my interviews with managers from sub-Saharan African countries, I was surprised that – without my bringing up the topic – a large majority of them made a comment of this sort: “You know, what drives this company is job creation… Of course, we want to make money, and we do make money, but what […]
Changing for the better
This evening we’ll welcome a New Year. There are many local traditions related to New Year’s Eve. The custom in Hillbrow, South Africa used to be throwing furniture out of the window. This became really dangerous – you might even see a fridge flying out – and many people got hurt, so this custom has […]
Talent development and African values
Last week I attended a conference of business school administrators hosted by IESE Business School. The theme was “Quality in context: Management education for the developing world,” and the focus was on Africa. In one of the panels, a leader from one of the most prominent MNCs, which has operations in 13 African countries, highlighted […]
Uncategorized
African women: a paradox
This week I met a group of great women business leaders from West Africa. African women are a powerful driving force. At the same time, their social recognition is not always on a par with that force. I find this somewhat paradoxical. African women have an important role to play on every level: some women are […]
