Wharton Africa Business Forum: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

First of all, let me just clarify that there was nothing “ugly” about the Wharton Africa Business Forum – I just wanted to be dramatic!

The 23rd Annual Wharton Africa Business Forum was from November 13th to November 15th and it was packed with lots of meaningful sessions and gave participants an opportunity to network and mingle with one another.

Friday evening started with a session for prospective students of Wharton, small group dinners at various restaurants across the city, and a late night mixer for program participants.

I signed up for the small group dinner and found out that my sister knew one of the forum participants and I was immediately at ease! The whole point of the Forum is to meet and connect with new people but it is always nice when you actually know at least one person during these Forums.

Anyway, I met with my group at Banana Leaf and we spent a lot of time sharing our interests about Africa and why we all had such a huge interest in the continent. I was honestly relieved listening to other people’s ideas on how Africa can continue to thrive because for so long I always had to explain to people that Africa is not “a dark continent.” After a couple of hours over sizzling beef, Homemade Roti Canai (Indian pancakes), and Kang Kung Belacan, I was completely full and was ready to hit my bed! I opted out of the late night mixer because I wanted to be well-rested and did not want to show up at the conference with bags under my eyes – especially when I was doing, “Operation find Samuella a husband” – no way!

Saturday: 
First off, kudos to the entire WABF team for making sure things started on time! The program stated that breakfast and registration would start by 8am with the morning keynote at 9am and everything was on track! All WABF participants received a bag filled with goodies and I honestly was not expecting that, at all – but I loved it and it gave a special touch to the overall Forum. The morning keynote was moderated by Robert Tashima, Managing Editor of Oxford Business Group and Anna Bossman (my favorite), Director of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Division, African Development Bank Group, and Donald Duke, the Former Governor of Cross River State, Nigeria were the speakers.

They focused on their own unique “Africa Story” and gave advice on why millennials should take an interest in Africa and more importantly HOW millennials can prepare for their transition such as understanding that Dumsor (light off – read more here: Dumsor – Wikipedia, and Twitter Dumsor – it is so bad, there are Google apps to help you navigate around when it happens Dumsor Android Apps) is an actual thing in Ghana and not to expect the luxuries we have in the States like constant electricity and water.

For the breakout sessions we had an array of options and it was really difficult picking just one session to attend so I spent a lot of time sitting in on the different sessions. One thing I wish the WABF team could have at the end of the conference is some sort of packet, preferably a digital file, about each of the sessions and all of the speakers contact information in case people were interested in multiple sessions but could not attend all of them.

My favorite session was the Lean in Africa: Promoting the Role of Women in Business. I may be biased, clearly, but the topics all of the speakers addressed really hit home and it was really assuring to hear that these women went through the same things I am currently experiencing and they turned out very, very well!

Some women, myself included, worry that if they strive too high they may not attract any man simply because the man might be intimidated by the woman but the truth of the matter is, no woman should have to second guess their experiences and opportunities simply because it might make a man uncomfortable. Clearly, the man is very insecure about himself and just not mature enough to realize that they should not be intimidated by a successful woman.

If anything, they should be grateful! But you know everyone thinks differently so to each his own.

In between the breakout sessions we had lunch. This is probably the most important thing the WABF committee needs to improve. I, along with a lot of people I spoke with, did not like the food. I thought the food for both lunch and dinner would be really good because, come on, it’s Wharton! And because quite frankly, they have a lot of money and got some pretty big sponsors and partnerships. But nope. I was wrong.

I was not expecting Jollof Rice and Chicken for lunch but I expected more than a boxed lunch! Biko (please), there are so many African restaurants in Philadelphia that they cannot even form (pretend), “Oh, there are no African restaurants round.” False!

During Forums like WABF, I believe it is even more important to showcase Africa’s diverse culture through food as well because the program participants were not all of African descent and it is literally THE best time to introduce them to our food. Just like Chinese, Italian, and French cuisine can be served at high-class functions, so can our food.

My friends and I joked about how I should have provided my services on behalf of Samuella’s Kitchen and at the beginning I disagreed but please, WABF, in the future I am willing to cater for your events (shameless advertising) and I know of other authentic African restaurants that would be happy to do the same.

Anyway, at the end of the breakout sessions we had a career fair and it was quite small. I was expecting a massive room filled with employers ready to hire top talent but the career fair really did not do it for me. I guess I had high expectations because it was through Wharton? I thought it could be bigger. It was not bad though, do not get me wrong. I made a lot of good contacts there but it would have been nice to have more companies represented.

Dinner was at the Loews Hotel and although I was not able to go, I heard it was very nice – just that the food needed a lot of improvement as well. So please, next time serve at least Jollof Rice at the dinner! After dinner was the after party and I made sure to attend! I heard good things about the after party from previous attendees and they hailed WABF’s After Party from previous years and guaranteed that the party would be LIT.

For those who do not know, “lit” is basically an adjective (in my mind!) used to describe something that is going to be a lot of fun, interesting, and beyond amazing. Sure enough, the after party was really LIT and Jidenna came through to perform. Although his performance was short, I felt it was straight to the point and gave people the chance to mingle again.

In regards to “Operation find Samuella a husband”(Na jokes o!), it was unsuccessful sha, but no worries, Oluwa (God) is involved.

Overall, WABF23 was one of the best forums I have ever attended. The speakers and moderators were amazing, everyone was so helpful and personable, and the WABF Committee deserve an applause for all of their hard work and I really cannot wait to see what they have in store for the Forum in 2016!

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

Sincerely,

Samuella