Over two days, Africa Gathering, the conference for innovators, investors, and those with a passion for our continent to learn from Africa and Africans, will feature world-class speakers and roundtable sessions to cast a spotlight on change-makers, many of them women.

Former UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, has said:

“The next generation of Africans are determined to make a difference…I’m looking forward to the next 10-20 years and the dynamic Africa we’re going to have.”

That time has already begun, and according to co-founder and conference curator, Marieme Jamme, the event will “demonstrate how African innovators – especially women – are taking the lead in developing amazing local technological solutions”. She added:  “We also aim to demystify the relationship between investors and African entrepreneurs.”

Hosted at BBC Broadcasting House, speakers will include Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, UK leading Space Scientist, Caroline Whaley of the Nike Foundation, Caroline Kende-Robb, Executive Director of the Africa Progress Panel, Ken Banks, Founder of Frontline SMS, Jamilia Abass (Kenya) and Vera Kwakofi, Current Affairs Editor at BBC Africa. Tickets are £30, and early bird ticket sales end June 10, 2013.

Visit Africa Gathering online: www.africagathering.org  - Twitter: @africagathering – Hashtag: #AG2013

The post Women, Innovation and Enterprise take center stage at Africa Gathering 2013 appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

MasterCard recently released its third annual Global Destination Cities Index. The Index reveals that Johannesburg and Lagos are Africa’s most popular destinations with over 4.6 million visitors expected to visit both cities this year.

Johannesburg comes out tops on the continent both in total visits and international visitor spending. Between 2009 and 2013, the city’s number of international visitors increased by 53.6% skyrocketing it into the Index’s top 20 fastest growing cities globally. During 2013, about US$2.7 billion will be injected into the South African economy thanks to Johannesburg’s international visitors.

MasterCard Global Index of Destination Cities 2013 – African Cities

The MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities are ranked based on the following criteria:

• The number of their total international visitor arrivals
• The cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities

Thirteen African cities were included in the Index including Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo and Tunis

The top three cities from which visitors to Johannesburg originate are London (299,000 people), Frankfurt (187,000 people), and Dubai (157,000 people)

According to Philip Panaino, Division President of MasterCard, South Africa, “The Index also reveals the cities that people from Johannesburg are travelling to, and it was found that in most cases they are choosing African destinations.”  “Four of the top five outbound destinations for Johannesburg travellers are within Africa. Maputo and Harare top the list; London comes in third, followed by Lagos and Windhoek.”

Lagos has witnessed considerable growth in the past year following a slump in visits in 2010 and 2011. During 2010 and 2011, Lagos suffered a severe contraction, with visitor numbers declining by about 20 percent each year, before recovering to around 6.9 percent growth in 2012.

To learn more about the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, download the report here.

The post Johannesburg and Lagos are Africa’s most popular destinations with over 4.6 million visitors expected in 2013 appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

According to the documentary’s producers:

My Africa Is descended in Lagos in February and shot three diverse episodes to showcase Lagos in all its facets and the talent it holds. Lagos gets a bad rap as one of the most unlivable cities in the world, however there is so much more to the city. The Lagos Chronicles give you an insider’s perspective. The show partnered with local production company 37th State, and producer Wale Davies of Davies Media Ltd to create the shoots.

Check out the launch trailer below.

The post Video: “The Lagos Chronicles” by My Africa Is appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

Lagos Chronicles by Lagos artist, Karo Akpokiere

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – (June 1st, 2013) – My Africa Is, a new independent documentary series taking viewers beyond the headlines and inside the continent, will release its debut episode “The Lagos Chronicles,” on June 12, 2013. Developed specifically for the web, the three  5-minute episodes will focus on life in Africa’s biggest metropolis and will reach more than 100,000 viewers who visit host-partner sites such as BellaNaija, CP-Africa, Afroklectic, Niaje.com, ThisisAfrica.me, and African Architecture Matters.

Launched in the summer of 2012 with the mission to change the lens and narrative focused on Africa, My Africa Is challenges outdated and incomplete perceptions about life on the continent, by capturing a more in depth narrative as seen through the eyes and lives of locals in various African cities.  Tackling misconceptions about Africa one city at a time, season 1 begins its cross-continent journey in Lagos, Nigeria.

“Our goal is to stimulate a whole new level of awareness about Africa,” said Executive Producer and Host, Nosarieme Garrick. “Perceptions are shaped by what we see, so we’re staying true to our vision to change the lens, not the topic on Africa. My Africa Is is a credible resource and visual gateway to Africa, keeping it real and embracing the challenges as well as the successes our subjects experience, as they navigate the realities of their various cities.”

Filmed on location in February this year in partnership with the local production company 37^th State Productions, producer Wale Davies of Davies Media Ltd, and cinematographer Ibemele Ahamefula, the Lagos Chronicles captures a gritty, true-life perspective of the views and realities of three different narratives, layering a multi-perspective story-telling approach that engages the audience and provides unique insights into revealing aspects of the characters’ lives –

Kunle Adeyemi: The Architect behind the floating school in Makoko

Lakin Ogunbanwo: One of Lagos’s star fashion photographers, whose work has been featured in Italian Vogue

Bilikiss Abiola: The founder of the WeCylers a recycling initiative putting a community  to work in curbing the waste of plastic

My Africa Is season 1 will air every Wednesday, starting the 12^th of June, with a total of 3 episodes. The series premiere will be marked by screening events in New York City and Washington DC, sponsored by Nigeria’s Arik Airlines, and offering a raffle of free round trip tickets from New York City to Lagos, Nigeria.

To view the trailer and a complete list of partner sites, visit www.myafricais.com.

Hashtag for My Africa Is Lagos Chronicles: #MAILagos

ABOUT MY AFRICA IS

My Africa Is aims to change the narrative around the African continent, through an ongoing webseries, as well as its online multi-media platform. The series highlights unexpected developments on the continent by glimpsing into the lives of the individuals behind these developments in various sectors.

CONTACT

Twitter: @MyAfricaIs

Nosarieme Garrick

+1.301.917.7322

Nosarieme@myafricais.com

Kathleen Bomani

+1.917.204.2698

Kathleen@myafricais.com

The post My Africa Is kicks off pilot season with “The Lagos Chronicles” appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

In this debut picture book, written by Aishetu Fatima Dozie, Paloo, along with his friends, Lara and Suhail, embark on a fantastic adventure in the world of Imaginaria escaping through an old colorful wrapper given to him by his grandfather. He goes to places like China, Argentina, Tanzania, Brazil, Egypt, and Tibet all while the rest of Lagos is sound asleep.

PALOO AND FRIENDS IN IMAGINARIA is for children ages 7 and below and it comes alive with beautifully illustrated pages depicting a world where children have fun and learn about colours, animals, culture, and various life lessons. The book also creatively features fun activities that parents can participate in with their kids and includes some words in Nigerian languages for children to learn. Ultimately, PALOO AND FRIENDS IN IMAGINARIA through its adventurous journey teaches children the power of believing in the impossible.

The book will be launched on the 25th of May 2013 at Paloo’s Place in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria and promises to be a day filled with lots of fun games and activities for kids in celebration of International Children’s Day.

Aishetu Fatima Dozie spent most of her professional career in finance and investment banking and had always nursed a nagging aspiration to be a published writer but told herself that she was not the “creative” type. However, after having her first child, her world went from black and white excel spreadsheets to a kaleidoscope of colors and whimsical activities. Her first venture, Paloo’s Place, was born and she created a space where young children and their parents go to play, learn, and grow creatively.

Following the success of Paloo’s Place, she decided to craft a series of Nigerian and African children’s characters in order to tell relatable stories to the children that come to her center everyday.

The author hopes the book will play an important role in strengthening the existing African culture of storytelling and reading to kids to further develop literacy and imaginative skills of young Nigerian children. This is the first in a series of books that will serve this aim.
PALOO AND FRIENDS IN IMAGINARIA is available in the iTunes iBookstore, Amazon.com Kindle Store, and in children’s bookstores in select locations in Nigeria.

For more information on the book and the author, visit www.facebook.com/PaloosPlace

The post Paloo and friends aspires to be Africa’s next children’s literary sensation appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

In 2005 the American journal, Foreign Policy (Washington, DC), and the British Journal, Prospect (London), nominated Ali Mazrui among the top 100 public intellectuals alive in the world as a whole. Foreign Policy is published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, New York. Mazrui was earlier elected an Icon of the Twentieth Century by Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, USA. In 2007 he was nominated for the Living Legends Award by the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] and the African Communications Association.

His more than thirty books include Towards a Pax Africana (1967), and The Political Sociology of the English Language (1975). He has also published a novel entitled The Trial of Christopher Okigbo (1971). His research interests include African politics, international political culture, political Islam, and North-South relations.

In the interview below, he shares his thoughts on his early life, career and the African Continent and its current place in the world with CP-Africa’s Nmachi Jidenma.

On his early life

I was born and grew up in a British colony. Up to age 21, I was in Kenya and then after that, I went to Great Britain for my studies. For many African countries, this is about the period when they were celebrating their 50th Anniversary. So for my generation, we got very interested in political issues. My generation was probably extra- political in experience.

In my own case, I was working initially on the possibility of becoming a lawyer rather than a political scientist but then things changed and I became increasingly fascinated by Africa as a subject of study and not simply Africa as a continent of my birth. That enchantment or romance still continues in spite of disappointments about how my own generation performed during those 50 years of Independence where the post-colonial generation went wrong.

On watching African countries gain their independence

The worst performance of the post-colonial generation was with the inherited power. At the time, (of Independence), it was absolutely euphoric. We were all very excited about the idea of our continent consisting of sovereign countries trying to formulate their own place in world affairs and then we started witnessing missteps; governments, leaders taking the wrong direction. It was fairly bad for a while in the sense that governments became increasingly dictatorial. The military intervened in some African countries and took over power. Other African countries pretended that you could outlaw rival political parties and still be democratic. We had a one- party system which excluded other parties. We experimented with the wrong things for a while.

But then, I am glad that I have lived long enough to see the beginning of change as many countries which were previously under dictatorship are slightly more transparent. My own country, Kenya which was a one-party state and then the neighbouring Tanzania, another one-party state- are no longer one-party states. Uganda too used to be a subject of military coups.

When I was born, it was inconceivable that European powers would no longer be controlling Africa on a day-to-day basis. I lived to see Independence from one African country after another. I saw the end of political apartheid in South Africa. Then, many people thought it won’t happen for a long time. I remember predicting that it would happen in the 20th Century. I was contradicted by people who said that apartheid would be there long after the 20th Century has ended.     They were wrong and I was right. At least, political apartheid collapsed in the 1990s although some would say that economic apartheid- inequality in income and ownership through races- has not ended yet.

Political independence has been won but economic independence has been very elusive, to some extent, because we are not economically sufficiently strong and autonomous. We are subject to influence by external powers.

When I was growing up, the United States was a powerful country but not a major factor in African affairs. Then, Africa was overwhelmingly a European sphere of influence. But since then, European presence has declined considerably while the United States has increased its presence not just economically but also militarily. They have one form of military presence or another in several  dozens Africa countries, some overt and some, not so obvious.

Then, there is the new factor of China. China was an ally against colonial rule and provided weapons for African liberation movements in Southern Africa. Now, the Chinese are playing a slightly different role. They are much more fascinated by African resources, especially energy resources. They are trying their best to be friends of Africa but in exchange for privileges within Africa. Some people say the Chinese are a new colonial power. Sometimes, people use the old term, the ‘Yellow pearl’ which the Europeans invented when they were afraid of an alliance between Japan and China.  I am not yet worried about Chinese intentions. I think they genuinely want to trade with Africa and buy some of our resources, especially energy resources.

On his lifelong career as an African Scholar

In colonial Kenya, I practised writing for magazines about African affairs.  I used to write features in the newspaper called Mombasa Times. I wrote for local magazines in Kiswahili Language, I used to write short stories for broadcast on radios. There were a lot of radio stations that were interested in my stories. It turned out a good training. All that time I didn’t know I was going to use communication in an academic setting.  I also got invitations to do radio talk. I did short stories in my mother tongue, Swahili.  It was fairly popular that time in my hometown. I tried not to use jargons and had a large audience that understood me.

I was invited by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for radio talks. The BBC had and has a very prestigious radio talk, Reith Lectures which was named after the founding Director-General of BBC. Once every year, the BBC invited somebody notable to give six radio lectures. It was broadcast worldwide and each lecture ran for half an hour. So, I was a Reith lecturer for the BBC. It was one of the milestones in my career because we reached millions of people. Reith Lectures stood out at that time much more so than now that they are in competition with others. The BBC was sufficiently impressed with my radio talks and they asked me if I would do the TV equivalent. By that time I had moved to the United States and I told them we could talk about it.

They came to the University of Michigan where I was and we negotiated for 8-hour an episode which I entitled, “The Africans-A Triple Heritage,” The radio Reith talk title was agreed by all. Before African Heritage, a decade before, we couldn’t make up our mind what to call it. One day during a telephone   conversation I used the expression, ‘ …In the African Condition of today…’ and he interjected, ‘That’s it! That was how we came about “African Condition” as the title of my Reith Lectures. Most of my TV and Radio lectures have books to accompany them. Most fortunately, they  are available in  prints and electron.

On becoming an academic and an African thought leader

My story is a story of getting a second chance in life which may be relevant especially for young people whose first opportunities were wasted for some reasons. When I was growing up, there was what was called, ‘Cambridge School Certificate.’ You went to school in the British colony and at the end of your secondary education, you took the Cambridge School Certificate Examination and that determined what else happened to you. For those of us who are in East Africa, if you finish your Cambridge School Certificate and you got either a first class or second class upper, then you went to the equivalent of a university. There was an institution in Uganda called Makerere University. It was the first university-level institution in English speaking East Africa. So, all English- speaking young people from Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Kenya and British Somaliland aspired to get into Makerere University.

I messed up with the first opportunity and nearly failed. I got a third grade which was a little short of fail but still got a certificate. Under normal circumstances (during the post-colonial period) that would have been it – You got a minor job either as a clerk in a bank or as a primary school teacher . I was not satisfied with that prospect.

I kept on applying for a scholarship because the Makerere University institution wouldn’t have me as a student because I wasn’t qualified.  So, I applied for Indian, Pakistani possibilities. I tried British and American universities. My fate seemed almost sealed that I would never have a chance to go further. I had a job which I accepted initially without pay until there was a vacancy. I was a teenager in a newly established technology school in Mombasa, Kenya, which was a child of the imagination of the British Governor who felt sorry for Muslims and wanted them to catch up with the 20th Century. He persuaded the British Government and others to put in money and established the school and hired engineers from Britain to come and teach in the school. I was neither a student nor a teacher. I was not qualified for either but they hired me as a minor clerk and later on, as a ‘budding supervisor.’ I was in charge of residential arrangement for the students. I was a teenager when it happened, so, I was more or less the same age as the students.

So, one day, the Governor of Kenya (an equivalent of today’s President of Kenya), the highest British ranking officer came   to the school. It was a Muslim event -to celebrate the birth of Prophet Mohammed. None of the teachers was a Muslim. All the teachers were English. The Governor, of course, was an English man. I was supposed to give a minor speech for the celebration of the Birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. I didn’t realise the speech was to change my life forever. I gave the speech with the Governor, teachers and everybody in attendance.

The next day, my boss who was an Englishman, called me and said, “’You made an impression on the Governor. He said that he has never seen a speech on the subject better done ‘and he wants to see you.”  I went to see the Governor. It was a big deal in the British colony to have an audience with the Governor  who was the highest representative of the British Monarchy. So, I went to see him-Philip Mitchell and he asked me about my aspirations. I told him that I wanted to go for further studies to study Law. He dismissed it because Colonial Governments didn’t like Africans to become lawyers then because they become political agitators. He said, ‘No! Look at India-every politician there is a Lawyer and every lawyer is a politician. There is no professional pride(in Law).” It was totally untrue but was only the colonial position.
After this meeting, the next time I applied for admission to the Kenyan Colonial Government, instead of receiving the usual negative reply, after looking at my pass grade, they actually invited me to be interviewed-an academic type ofinterview. They wanted to find out my potential as a student. I left Mombasa which was my hometown for Nairobi, the capital of the country to be interviewed. What made me believe that it was the Governor who made this difference was the fact that I was interviewed by the Director of Education who was the highest-level official entrusted with Colonial education and his Deputy. Similarly, they dismissed the notion of becoming a lawyer.

I also wanted to do Journalism as an alternative though they didn’t mind much, they said that the best journalists within the British system got a good degree not from school of Journalism but in Social Studies, Arts  and then learnt the job of journalism while practising it. It seemed they changed their mind about my potential and sent me to Britain to complete my secondary education. They gave me an extra two years to compensate for the poor grade.

If you don’t succeed, try again. I tried again and again. By the time the second chance came, the British Colonial Authority decided that this young man has potential so they sent me off to England to be polished off.

On what made him persevere through the tough times

Competitive spirit. A playmate who I thought was not brighter than me gained admission to Makerere University. Others got scholarships to go to England, America  and so on. I never thought they were brighter. I said if they could do it , why couldn’t I ? The youthful talent was there which had been wasted by underestimating the importance of examinations in the first phase.

When the Kenyan Colonial Authority gave me the opportunity re-enter secondary education, I knew that I was not going to take any chances with the second opportunity. I had to be sure I did well enough to move on. Once I got the first degree, it was easy because I did so well that I didn’t need government scholarship to study in Columbia University, after study at the University of Manchester. I got scholarship to Columbia University from the Rockefeller Foundation and Fellowship to Oxford University. They paid for everything; tuition, living expense and pocket money. The rest is history.

Thanks so much Dr. Ali Mazrui for sharing your story with us.

The post Interview with Dr. Ali Mazrui, respected African scholar, writer and historian appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

By Tomi Adedeji

A few weeks ago, telecoms giant MTN wowed us with their ‘I don port’ ad featuring popular comedian Saka. If you’re new in this clime, Saka is a popular comedian who had featured on several Etisalat ads making him a popular face of that brand (Etisalat is a competing telecoms provider).

In what popular writer Tolu Ogunlesi described as the “biggest coup since Sani Abacha in 1994”, we suddenly woke up to Saka announcing his cross over to MTN. The ad went viral, it got us talking, Facebook was awash with several caricature adaptations of Saka, twitter was agog, MTN and Saka trended for some days, with record views on YouTube. ‘Great ad,’ many of us said. I for one applauded the strategic thinking behind the ad. MTN and DDB (their advertising agency) I imagined must have pumped hands and popped champagne. Come LAIF (Lagos Advertising International Festival) in October, I’m sure they’ll pick not a few awards (in fact, a grandprix may not be farfetched).

But now that the dust appears to be settling, the question I’m asking is how many of us really ported or will be willing to port? Statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed that over 4,000 subscribers from the four GSM operators migrated with their lines to other operators, within 48 hours after the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was launched on April 22. For a country with over 100 million mobile phone subscribers, this is number is minuscule.  In addition, I have no encompassing data at the moment, but from asking people around me, no one has told me they knew someone who knew someone who has ported to MTN except Saka of course! Rather, there appears to be movement away from the yellow corner i.e based on findings from my circle of friends.

It’s still too early to judge, but from indications, it appears not many Nigerians may be interested in porting to the yellow corner after all. A number of reasons may abound, one being the availability of multiple SIM phones which ensured that many of us had more than one SIM to start with and the other reason being the generally poor level of service delivery across the industry (they are all same of same).

The whole point therefore is this; beyond great advertising, MTN needs to be able to show Nigerians what makes their network better (which by the way appears to be the path Etisalat is towing in their communication strategy). There has to be more investment in capacity to deliver.  Glo recently announced the signing of a multibillion naira deal with ZTE for facility upgrade and I’m wondering, beyond the comic act, what’s MTN’s superior offering?

It is classic capitalism, innovate or die…the consumer has to be king. Will I be better off on their network? DDB has pocketed their fee, Saka must be smiling to the bank, but this writer ain’t porting nowhere! Although one may reconsider if a similar ‘porting contract’ comes one’s way…

As a refresher, here’s the “I don port” commercial by Saka that got Nigerians dancing Kirikata

The post Opinion – After dancing Kirikata, Kirikata most Nigerians have not ported – Here’s why appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

The post Video – The Future of African Youth appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

In the interview, Chimamanda talks about what it felt like getting international acclaim, her passion for writing and her advice for Nigeria’s new generation of writers.

Watch the interview below.

Zain Verjee speaks with author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about the inspiration behind her book “Half of a Yellow Sun.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on receiving praise from her inspiration, legendary Nigerian storyteller Chinua Achebe.

The post Video – CNN interviews Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about her novel, “Americanah” and her literary career appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

CNN is set to profile celebrated Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on its latest edition of its weekly show, African voices.

African Voices, a weekly show that examines the diversity, dynamism and global influence of Africa’s people and culture; and highlights Africa’s most engaging personalities within and in the Diaspora will be spotlighting the Nigerian literary star.

Cheerfully pioneering the way for a new wave of Nigerian writers, renowned Nigerian Author, Adichie, narrates her award winning novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, as it tells a human story of a brutal and controversial civil war which took place in her homeland, Nigeria, in the late 60’s.

Highly influenced by her Mother, Ifeoma Adichie, who became the first female Registrar of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Adichie is bold, vivacious, candid; a story teller living her truth. And that fulfilment translates into Award winning novels.

Describing her development as a writer, between her books Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun and Americana, Adichie says ‘they are such different books, and I think I wrote them from very different places in my life, emotionally.’

According to her ‘For Purple Hibiscus, I was very homesick, I was in the US. Suddenly I was romantisizing the hibiscus flowers in our front yard and I wrote this book, about missing home, nostalgia. Half of a Yellow Sun was so different. I knew I was writing about this very intense, contested history and I did so much research, and I cried a lot when I was writing it. My grandfathers died in Biafra, and here I was kind of mining the pain of my family.’

‘Then Americana, I laughed a lot writing it. It’s just very different, I don’t so much see it as a kind of linear progression – the books. It’s sort of more just like occupying different parallel spaces,’ Adichie concluded.

From uncovering historical atrocities to playing a role in shaping her country, Nigeria’s future, Adichie has also considered a career in politics.

Watch out for Chimamanda’s CNN interview on Saturday at 03:30pm; Sunday at 09:00am and 06:30pm; Monday 10:30am and 05:30pm; and Tuesday 05:30am.

Spread the word.

The post Chimamanda Adichie – “I laughed a lot writing Americanah” appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

Humanitarian campaigner and wife of Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel gave the keynote address and talk show host Felicia Suttle charismatically presented the event.

The WIE (Women: Inspiration and Enterprise) Africa Symposium, hosted by WIE founder Dee Poku in conjunction with Toyin Saraki, founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, was the first women’s conference on the African continent to bring together female leaders from the worlds of politics, business, philanthropy, media, fashion, entertainment and the arts to empower and inspire the next generation.

The event was packed full of panels and workshops on topics such as role of technology in media, tackling social perceptions of African women, entrepreneurship and the influx of western brands to the continent.

In addition, more than fifty women made a pledge to invest in other young women before the next conference.

Toyin Saraki who is also a supporter of the UN Secretary General’s Every Woman Every Child Effort said:

“It’s been an honour and privilege for the Wellbeing Foundation Africa to partner with Dee Poku to make this WIE Symposium a reality. It has been quite a journey since Dee and I first talked about bringing WIE to this beautiful continent.”

“I remember getting home after attending my first WIE Symposium in New York two years ago, and being so energised by all the people that I had listened to and met, that all I wanted to do was share the experience with others. Iʼm sure the women that attended went back home with the same feeling.”

WIE’s CEO Dee Poku is thrilled at the outcome of the conference:

“WIE Africa exceeded my wildest expectations. Women leaders across the continent have been working diligently for years to improve the situation of the female population but WIE Africa brought them together.”

She added, “Individually these women were a powerful force but together we are unstoppable. My profound hope is that all the WIE attendees will make good on their pledge to invest in at least five women over the next 12 months.”

Jane Wales, President and CEO of the Global Philanthropy Forum spoke on a panel named “Innovation In Health And Education Post Millenium Development Goals” which was moderated by Mrs Saraki. She said:

“WIE Africa was an opportunity for women of accomplishment and creativity to come together, learn from one another, and contribute to one another’s success. It was both an honour and a joy to be among such warm, smart, talented and giving leaders. I hope that this was the first of an annual event.”

Next generation trailblazers such as serial entrepreneur Ndidi Nwuneli founder of LEAP Africa, and Isis Nyongo, Managing Director of InMobi which is the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network, also spoke on panels. Both are named on the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa list by Forbes.

WIE and Toyin Saraki hosted a fundraising dinner on the Monday evening, to benefit the Graca Machel Trust which was founded in 2010 to promote women’s leadership and children’s rights.

WIE Africa was timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum Africa and showcased women taking a central role in shaping the Africa of tomorrow. The pan-African event will occur in a different African city annually.

WIE has been hosting annual events in New York and London since 2010 and has brought together women like Alex Wek, Queen Rania, Donna Karan, Melinda Gates, Arianna Huffington and Cherie Blair.

The post At the 2013 Women: Inspiration and Enterprise (WIE) conference, Africa’s most inspiring women leaders pledge to invest in other young women appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

Growing up, I noticed that in as much as our nation was not born of fine politics, our nation’s birth theatre echoed loud languages, and rued the ruses of “as soon as practicable”. The colonial surgeons, by will or pressure, forfeited sweet cocoa in the west of the Niger, wealth beneath the east, and now with nostalgia, pyramids of grains heaped by the commitment of the Hausas in that dusty, audacious landscape. And then to the south, the Atlantic stayed ours; we gazed at the alluring scenery and vessel traffic.

The question to pose becomes, “what does the current Nigeria state present?” For many, the question is rather a hard one to crack and for others the only escape is a flight to the west in search of  “Greener pastures”

In view of the posing question, there are only but 3 things I strongly believe we ought to do as young versatile minds if we want to change the status quo.

These things include ACHIEVE, MAKE IMPACT and GIVE BACK.

Achieve (Find a Problem)

The next few years of your youthfulness should be focused primarily on achieving. It is important that for you to become relevant in any society and in the larger world one must be able to have a prominent portfolio to come to dine at the table of “men”. Our world is rapidly changing and the game in the Nigerian landscape is swiftly changing, with many young ones taking their stake in the nation.

The current Nigerian states present so many problems that if only are seen as (business) opportunities for us young ones would give those who travel this road a strong edge. I met a Lebanese recently who was fully dressed in an “agbada” attire. For some reason, we got chatting and he was excited at the Nigerian opportunities and marvelled at why our young ones choose to journey to other continents in search of the “supposed” greener pasture whereas even the Nigerian flag says it’s Green enough.

His parting words were; “The problems of this great nation are vast business opportunities for you and I to take advantage of”. As such, one must learn to identify a problem or gap, develop a solution and in the process make money. In areas where there are no toilets, provide “shit solutions”, in areas where there are already solutions, provide a better alternative.  It is imperative that young ones take hold of these posing opportunities presented by the Nigerian state and carve for themselves a niche. It is therefore safe to say that the future belongs to those who see it first before they become obvious. For example; we all know the brothers who made the first airplane (wright brothers) but we don’t know the President of Airplane manufacturers i.e. Boeing, Airbus etc.

Make Impact.

This is the most important phase of this note and the singular reason is why I love Nigeria. With over 160million people you can’t fail to impress Nigerian people since they do not ask for much. With very little solutions you can touch the lives of millions of families in ways you cannot imagine. Your reach is limitless! It is your impact that gives you the calibre of person you can be. All they simply ask of you, is that you have the solutions. When you see Nigerians suffering, don’t look at it and insult the government or trade blames. Think of it as a business venture, provide a solution and make money. YES money. Money is a vital tool in order to create an impact. Rich people get everything free, as such your finances could be channelled to something positive.

Like touching the lives of many in a whole lot of ways, reducing the number of hawkers on our streets, helping that little girl on the roadside shuffling through cars just to sell a bag of pure water for a gain of 20Naira per bag and before I forget, eliminating what I prefer to call the “house girl syndrome”.

Give back.

I cannot but stress the importance of this gesture. I believe a large part of our system decay today is as a result of the failure of many of our “great men” to give back to their roots. “Roots” applies to their local community, alma mater, university etc. Some of our leaders today went to public institutions and at the time, had their education given to them as a right and not a privilege.

Most of them had their clothes washed for them whilst at university and food provided for them but as it stands these public facilities are in a total mess and it’s very possible that these said “leaders” haven’t been back to their old schools where they had the best of their formative years. There is therefore the dire importance to give back, not just give back but to do so in a way that your generosity will act as a catalyst to many others. Give back to the society, back to the community, back to the “hands that moulded the fine clay pot”.

Brethren, the times are changing. The world is no longer looking for resumes and CVs. I personally believe that there are too many CVs out there. As dynamic young Nigerians, let us begin to channel our strength to creating more business plans instead.

Let us together reposition our society in the right shape. In all that we do, let us collectively strive to achieve greatly, impact widely and give back generously and as we do so, may the good lord guide us in our paths.  At the end of the day, we would gladly align to the prayers of St. Paul when he said “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race and I have kept the faith.”

The post Why we should view today’s problems as tomorrow’s businesses appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

“I am excited about what Konga.com is doing with online shopping in Nigeria, they provide a lot of value and convenience to Nigerians and I encourage my fans and every Nigerian to embrace the benefits of online shopping on Konga.com.”

Speaking on her appointment, Konga’s VP of Marketing, Mr. Onyeka Akumah said:

“We are happy to welcome our new brand ambassador Omawumi Megbele to the Konga.com family.  She represents honesty, trust, dedication, excellence, fan loyalty, and African pride, which are everything Konga.com represent.  Together, we want to let Nigerians know that the team at Konga.com is a Nigerian-owned and operated company, showcasing the best of Nigerian professionalism, customer satisfaction and innovative online shopping experiences for everyone across the country.”

Konga.com has been expanding aggressively and recently got a multi million dollar investment from South Africa’s MIH Internet Africa.

The post Omawumi Megbele is the new face of Konga.com appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

From Africa at LSE:

If you are pursuing a career in the development or humanitarian sectors and are a citizen of Uganda, Kenya or South Sudan, then you may want to consider applying for a Lalji PfAL Scholarship to undertake the MSc Development Management or theMSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies (IDHE) programmes at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

These scholarships are generously supported by Firoz & Najma Lalji and the Programme of African Leadership (PfAL) Foundation. The Lalji PfAL Scholarship fund is equivalent to 15 full scholarships. These will cover fees and living costs and the value of each student will be assessed according to financial need.

As well as studying for a prestigious London School of Economics and Polical Science MSc programme, all Lalji PfAL Scholarship recipients will participate in an additional programme of workshops, lectures and seminars focusing on African leadership and the challenges and opportunities facing the continent.

Successful candidates will also gain membership of the growing PfAL network of African leaders.

In 2013/14, the scholarships will be awarded to applicants from South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda, with a preference for those who have completed their previous degrees within Africa.

In order to be eligible for one of these awards, you must first apply for a place on the MSc Development Management or the MSc IDHE before Monday 13th May 2013.  Only those candidates who are in receipt of an offer for one of the two programmes will then be considered for a Lalji PfAL Scholarship.

Find out how to apply

The post Apply for International Development scholarships at LSE – Deadline May 13 2013 appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

Earlier this year, Kenyans went to the polls to elect their fourth president. Many considered this year’s election as one of the most crucial in the nation’s 50-year history as it was the first election under the new constitution that called for a devolved form of government. While the presidential election was hotly contested, it is instructive to look into the country’s best kept secret for economic growth under the leadership of former President Mwai Kibaki – non-interventionist policies.

Up until the election of Mr. Kibaki in 2002, most sectors of the economy were under direct control of the government. State-owned corporations such as the Kenya Power and Lighting Company had failed to cater to a majority of the population. Economic growth was stifled with resources allocated to government cronies. Corruption was rife and bureaucracy was suffocating. The result was a stagnant economy that regressed in real terms through the 1990’s as other economies around the world were capitalizing on positive global trends of technology and globalization.

Figure 1: GDP data visualized using thinknum (http://www.thinknum.com)

Figure 2:[1] Data visualized using thinknum (http://www.thinknum.com)

In my opinion, Kibaki’s genius was to limit government interference in the private sector. He embarked on an ambitious program to privatize non-performing state corporations including Telkom Kenya and Kenya Railways. What were the results? Kenya’s average GDP growth in his ten years in power has doubled from the lackluster growth from a decade earlier.

Kenya’s hobbled road infrastructure has been improved with new superhighways in service and other in construction, regional trade has vastly improved, and corruption has been reduced. Perhaps one of the more prominent success stories has been Safaricom which was minority-owned by Telkom Kenya. Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money network is now the most successful implementation of mobile money in the world.

On a recent trip to Kenya, I got a chance to catch up with Dr. Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications. He talked about how he has leveraged public-private partnerships to build out Kenya’s tech infrastructure. The results are evident for all to see – Kenya, along with Nigeria and South Africa, is now considered Africa’s leading hub for innovation and information technology.

What does the future hold for Kenya? I think the answer lies more in the government’s ability to implement policies that are less invasive and that foster free enterprise and the growth of businesses. With the devolution of the government and the creation of new county governments that are in charge of local budgets for infrastructure, education, etc, whoever is in State House matters less and less to the common Kenyan.

Eric Omwega is co-Founder of Thinknum

The post Opinion – A few thoughts on Kenya’s economic progress appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.

Through her work with Sahel and AACE, she has also shaped agriculture strategy and policy and supported a range of clients in Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia. Ndidi started her career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, working in their Chicago, New York and Johannesburg offices.
She returned to Nigeria in 2000to fulfil her passion for promoting entrepreneurship and leadership development in Africa. She served as the pioneer executive director of the FATE Foundation from 2000, and then established LEAP Africa and NIA in 2002 and 2003 respectively. NIA empowers female university students to achieve their highest potential in life, while LEAP Africa provides leadership, ethics and management training and coaching for youth, business owners, social entrepreneurs and the public sector. LEAP also conducts leadership research and has published numerous books including: Defying the Odds: Case Studies of Nigerian Companies that have Survived Generations, Rage for Change and Building a Culture of Ethics.

Ndidi holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She was recognized as a Global Leader of Tomorrow and Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and received a National Honour, Member of the Federal Republic in 2004. Ndidi is married with two children.

You can view her Ted talk below:

The post Ndidi Nwuneli at TedxEuston – “Rage for Change” appeared first on Celebrating Progress Africa.