2016 Wharton Africa Business Forum

I attended the Wharton Africa Business Forum last year for the first time and it was an amazing experience. If you missed my post from last year, you can read it here. A few months later, I also attended the Harvard Africa Business Conference (HABC) and for some reason, explained in this blog post and this one, it did not meet my expectations. Do not get me wrong, HABC was a very good experience but compared to WABF 2015, no size. This is probably because I connected more with WABF’s theme, nonetheless, it was still a good experience and I definitely got the chance to connect with new people – which is always a good thing.

The theme for the 24th Annual WABF was My Africa Network – New Partners for New Solutions and according to the site’s welcome, this forum was a way to explore the “diverse business opportunities that lie at the intersection of the public, private and social sectors. Our goal is to highlight the challenges and opportunities confronting professionals operating in the African context and uncover the rewards that can arise from increased cooperation across various platforms. We believe that insights from these conversations will illuminate the unique obstacles inherent to African business while also highlighting the outsized opportunities.”

As always, the WABF Committee did a great job in selecting the keynote speakers and funny enough I have been following all of them on their journey so it was a really great opportunity to meet and hear from them in-person. The keynote speakers included:

Acha Leke, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company Johannesburg & Co-Founder, African Leadership Network
Sacha Poignonnec, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Jumia
Ambassador Herman Cohen, Former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs & President & CEO, Cohen and Woods International
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Co-Founder, Andela & Co-Founder, Flutterwave
Fred Swaniker, Co-Founder, African Leadership Network

After the morning keynote by Ambassador Herman Cohen, we had our first breakout session and I always have a hard time picking which breakout session to attend because all of the options are always enticing. For the first session I split up my time and went to two sessions, (you can view the full schedule here), I chose Electricity Infrastructure: How to Bridge the Gaps Sustainably and BCG’s View On Why Africa Remains Ripe for Private Equity. The first session focused on different types of electricity that are available in Africa, how 60 – 70% of Africa is still not connected, and the fact that Africa’s consumption of energy is incredibly low unlike most emerging markets.

After the first breakout session, we went to the lunch keynote session and it was probably my favorite part of the entire Forum because I got the chance to hear directly from three people I have been following for quite some time: Fred Swaniker, Sacha Poignonnec, and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji. During the session and afterwards, conference participants dubbed Iyinoluwa as “controversial” for his views and I personally disagree. For one, I believe Iyin was just stating hardcore facts and we all know how we react when we hear something we were not expecting. Here are some key takeaways from the lunch keynote session:

Your idea needs to be relevant to the people, you need the fuel and the money, and you need the right talent to succeed.
You can fail from your investors – the problem is to find the right funding to apply for – pick your investors wisely.
Do not rush – do your due diligence in finding the right capital.
Leverage the right platforms and surround yourself with the right circle.
Have a clear and strong mission: find the link between daily tasks and the overall company strategy.
Do not think that money is the only way to keep employees. Titles are free and good!
Most African entrepreneurs do not like to give away ownership – give away your power to grow your business.

After the lively discussion from lunch, I went to my second breakout session: McKinsey State of the Continent: The African Consumer – Why What You’ve Heard is Probably Wrong presented by Yaw Boateng, Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company. This session was definitely my favorite as Yaw was extremely interactive and allowed conference participants to lead the conversation instead of rambling on about BCG’s research or his personal background. For the 3rd and 4th breakout sessions, I went to Real Estate: The Building of Nations and Engaging the Underserved: FinTech Innovators and Collaborators. I chose these two sessions due to my personal interest in real estate specifically in Accra and the latter section was because I have a keen interest in finance and technology.

Here is a compilation of videos from my Snapchat on the day of the conference – my apologies for the low quality but I hope you will be able to get a sense of the overall Forum as well as the after-party with musical artist, Wande Coal.

Stay adventurous, dear friends, and always remember to stay golden. All ways, always.

Sincerely,

Samuella