Keynote
Prof Grietjie Verhoef Grietjie is Professor in Accounting, Economic and Business History in the Department of Accountancy at the University of Johannesburg. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor Monash University, College of Global Business, Australia. She has published widely on insurance and banking history as well as the history of South African conglomerates, with special reference to the rise of Afrikaner business in South Africa. Her research includes the development of the accountancy profession in South Africa in comparative perspective with other Commonwealth countries; the reconstruction of colonial Gross Domestic Product for the second half of the nineteenth century South African colonies; big business groups, family businesses in South Africa, globalisation of African emerging market business, and the history and development of African business. She has published two monographs, chapters in 25 books, 76 peer reviewed articles and delivered 88 international and national conference papers.
Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe is the Lead Faculty of Tekedia Institute. Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe invented and patented a robotic system which the United States Government acquired assignee rights. Dr Ekekwe holds two doctoral and four master’s degrees including a PhD in engineering from Johns Hopkins University, USA. He earned an undergraduate degree from FUT Owerri where he graduated as his class best student. While in Analog Devices Corp, he co-designed an accelerometer for the iPhone. A recipient of IGI Global “Book of the Year” award, a TED Fellow, IBM Global Entrepreneur and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Prof. Ekekwe has held professorships in Carnegie Mellon University and Babcock University, and served in the United States National Science Foundation Committee.
The South African press called him “a doctor of innovation” for helping organizations on the mechanics of business innovation, strategy, and growth. Since 2009, the Chairman of Fasmicro Group which controls many startups and entities has been writing in the Harvard Business Review. He was recognized by The Guardian as one of 60 Nigerians Making “Nigerian Live Matter” on Nigeria’s 60th Independence Day.
Fireside Chat
Roberta Malee Bassett, is Global Lead for Tertiary Education and Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank, providing leadership and technical expertise for projects related to post-secondary education reform initiatives around the world. Her most recent work has focused on East and Southern Africa, the new EU member states, the Russian Federation, the South Caucasus, Central Asian nations, and the countries of the Western Balkans. She has been team lead for a variety of tertiary and higher education projects, spanning topics such as finance and quality assurance reform, internationalization of higher education, equity and access, research and competitiveness, and skills development. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of Higher Education Quarterly and the International Advisory Board of the International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA). Prior to joining the World Bank in 2009, Roberta was Lecturer in Higher Education at the Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy at the University of Southampton, UK. Her experience in university administration includes serving as: Assistant Dean and Director of Summer Session at Stanford University (1995-2000); Managing Editor of The Review of Higher Education (2000-2004) and Educational Policy (2004-2005); and Residence Director at Simmons College (US). She is the author/editor of numerous publications on topics related to international higher education including: The WTO and the University: Globalization, GATS, and American Higher Education (2006); International Organizations and Higher Education Policy: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally? (2009) and The Forefront of International Higher Education: A Festschrift in Honor of Philip G. Altbach (2014). Roberta received her Ph.D. from the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College; M.A. from Stanford University; and B.A. from Columbia University.
Panel Session 1: Africa on the Path to Sustainable Development Post Covid-19: Envisioning Challenges and Proffering Solutions
Nelly Farah Nguegan has nine years of experience in planning, implementing, and communicating on diverse matters such as international affairs, peace, conflict, and development.
She supports the Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) as Manager, Communications, Campaigns and Outreach. She worked previously with the African Union Commission (AUC), the Japan Overseas Cooperation Association (JOCA) and the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF). She holds a Ba in Sociology and an Ma in International Communication and Public Action. Nelly has authored some pieces including:
- Lack of skilled human capital in resource-rich Africa: the real paradox? Jul 10, 2017, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECPDM).
- Human Prosperity: The Last Item on the Agenda, Jan 7, 2017, Peter Drucker Challenge.
- For an integrated, prosperous, and influential Africa in 2063, Jan 2014, African Women’s Journal.
- La communication de l’Union Africaine, dans la dynamique de l’intégration régionale, 2014, Editions Universitaires Européennes.
Evans Osabuohien is a Professor of Economics and Head, Department of Economics & Development Studies, Covenant University, Nigeria, where pioneered the Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR) and Regional Centre of Expertise, Ogun State (RCE Ogun). He has published three books and about 150 scholarly articles and is a member of many professional associations. He has executed funded research projects and participated in conferences/workshops/short courses globally. He was appointed as the Head of Department (HOD) in 2016, emerging as the University’s youngest HOD. He received a Double Promotion to the Rank of a Full Professor of Economics in December 2017 and became the Youngest Professor in the University. In May 2020, he was recognised as ‘One of the 6 Youngest Professors in Nigeria’. He is a Visiting Professor at Witten/Herdecke University (Germany) and Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique). He is a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Swedish Institute.
A more detailed one is on my website at https://evansosabuohien.com/meet-evans/
Panel Session 2: Africa’s Economic Development Beyond Covid-19
Professor Gift Mugano (Ph.D.,) is the Executive Director at Africa Economic Development Strategies, Professor of Economics at the University of Zimbabwe’s Business School, and Visiting Professor of Economics at the Durban University of Technology and Nelson Mandela University. He is a distinguished scholar, global authority on International Trade and Finance and a technocrat with over seventeen (17) years of extensive experience including research and publications, policy advisory, trade negotiations, lecturing, administration, leadership and consultancy work. As an academic, he has supervised five (5) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.,) degrees to successful completion and other several postgraduate students in the field of International Trade and Finance, examined seven (7) Ph.Ds and published extensively in the field of international trade and finance. He has published three books with renowned international publishers, that is, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan and AOSIS, respectively: (i) Trade Liberalisation and Economic Development in Africa; (ii) Special Economic Zones: Impact on Economic Development in Africa; and (iii) Perspectives on Comprehensive Internationalisation of Higher Education. He is an external examiner at Nelson Mandela University, University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, Durban University of Technology and University of Namibia’s Business School, National University of Science and Technology and the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education and an academic supervisor with Lund University (Sweden). Professor Mugano has done consultancy for National Opinion Research Centre (NORC) at the University of Chicago (USA), COMESA, UKAID/DFID, British Council, NIR Sweden, Adam Smith International (UK), IMC Worldwide LTD (UK), Cardno Emerging Markets (Belgium), KPMG (UK), the Palladium Group (UK), Ecorys (UK), Germany Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), UNFPA, USAID, International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations, World Food Programme (WFP), Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Government of Zimbabwe, and the private sector. Over the years, he has represented his country at various forums on trade negotiations and investment missions abroad (Heads of State and Government Summits, Council of Ministers, Senior Officials of Trade and Technical Committees) at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels in Belgium, Switzerland, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana, the People’s Republic of China and South Korea.
Voted AWIEF agri prenuer of 2020, USTrade Hub Exporter to South Africa of 2021 and Hivos most impactful business of 2019, Victoria Mwafulirwa is an award winning agri- entrepreneur and the founder and Managing Director of Homes Industries Ltd-An agro-processing company located in Karonga District, in the northern region of Malawi.
The company which was established in March 2015, works with over 1500 smallholder farmers in an out-grower scheme that grows sunflower, rice and groundnuts.
Homes Industries Ltd manufactures cold pressed sunflower oil and peanut flour (Nsinjiro). It also processes and packages brown and regular white Kilombero rice.
Recently, Homes Industries Ltd added the ‘Homes Peanut Butter’ to its product line. The newly introduced nutritious peanut paste, aims at creating enjoyment for the whole family.
Victoria is a communications and supply chain professional. She has previously worked as Communications and external relations officer as well as Supply Chain Officer for Paladin Africa from.
Earlier in life, she also worked as a News Correspondent for SABC Africa in Malawi.
In 2020, Victoria was awarded the African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF), while the company she runs, Homes Industries grabbed the Agri Entrepreneur of the year.
In 2019, Homes Industries was awarded the Most Impactful Business by Hivos.
In addition, Victoria has served as Regional Chairperson for the African Network for Environmental Journalists under the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), and was Regional Editor for Earth Wire Africa, an online news portal that focuses on environmental and current affairs on the continent.
Victoria is also a passionate on empowering women and girls in order to ensure that they are food secure and have access to education so that they can be self-reliant, and sustainably run their households. She is also involved in advocating for better prices of farm produce as she believes this is the gateway to decent income for rural farmers.
Currently, Victoria is involved in several community women and youth empowering activities aimed at achieving economic empowerment, good nutrition and climate change interventions.
Prof. Dr. Md. Mamun Habib is a Professor at School of Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE), Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). In addition, Dr. Habib is the Visiting Scientist of University of Texas – Arlington, USA. Prior to that, he was Associate Professor at BRAC Business School, BRAC University, Bangladesh; Asia Graduate School of Business (AGSB) at UNITAR International University, Malaysia; Dept. of Operations Research/Decision Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Malaysia and Dept. of Operations Management, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). He is the Editor-in-Chief in International Journal of Supply Chain Management (IJSCM), London, UK. He accomplished his Ph.D. and M.S. with outstanding performance in Computer & Engineering Management (CEM) under the Graduate School of Business (GSB) from Assumption University, Thailand. His Ph.D. research was in the field of Supply Chain Management.
He has more than 19 years’ experience in the field of teaching as well as in training, workshops, consultancy and research. At present, he is supervising some Ph.D. students at locally and internationally. Furthermore, he has several Ph.D. involvements with UUM, UNIRAZAK, AIMST, UNITAR, Asia e University (AeU), Malaysia; Assumption University of Thailand; Institute for Technology and Management (ITM) – University and Birla Institute of Technology (BIT)–Deemed University, India, National Institute of Technology (NIT), India, SOA University, India; University of the Assumption, Philippines. He also involved with online learning programme at University of Roehampton (UoR), London, UK. He is actively involved with national and international research grant projects.
As a researcher, Prof. Habib published about 160+ research papers, including Conference Proceedings, Journal articles, and book chapters/books. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief/Lead Guest Editor/Editor/Editorial Board Member/Reviewer of more than 20 journals, particularly Elsevier (Scopus) and Thomson Reuters (Web of Science) Indexed Journals. Also, he delivers lecture as Keynote Speaker at 65+ international conferences, at various countries, particularly USA, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, Korea, India, UK, Greece, Bulgaria, Australia, Italy, etc. He also serves as General Chair, Program Chair, Technical Chair, Organizing Committee Member, Technical Committee Member, Track Chair, Session Chair as well as Reviewer of numerous international conferences. He received Best Track Chair Award at IEOM’2012 Conference.
His core research areas are supply chain management, production & operations management, operations research, research methodology, engineering management, technology management, and educational management. Finally, Prof. Habib is an active member of different professional organizations, including IEEE (Senior Member), IEOM (President, SCM Technical Division), IETI (Senior Member and Board of Director), IRED (Fellow), GRDS (Vice-President), IEB, AIMS, INFOMS, just to name a few. He is involved with QS World University Ranking and Times Higher Education Ranking as an academician.
Panel Session 3: Human Capital Development in Africa: Perspectives on Policies, Models and Actors
Dr. Oluseye Jegede is the Research Manager at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Island, Nigeria. He was a Specialist Researcher at the South African Research Chair in Entrepreneurship Education (SARChI), College of Business and Economics at University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Between 2018 and 2019, Dr Jegede was appointed as the African Research Fellow (International Freelance Consultant) at Centre for Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII), Human Science Research Council (HSRC), South Africa. Dr. Jegede worked as Research Fellow at the African Institute for Science Policy and Innovation (AISPI), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Dr. Jegede bagged his PhD in Technology Management (Science, Technology, and Innovation Management) in November 2015. His main areas of research include STI Policy, innovation management, entrepreneurial ecosystem, small business management and dynamic capabilities. Dr Jegede has published over forty (40) articles on STI policy, entrepreneurship, innovation management, entrepreneurship ecosystem, innovation systems and regional development in different international journals. Dr Jegede has made about thirty-five (35) presentations in different countries across all continents of the world. He has attracted several grants ranging from research grants to workshop grants to travel grants. He is reviewer to several international journals and Co-Editor of the Book entitled “Firm-Level Innovation in Africa: overcoming limits and constraints” published by Routledge. He is currently one of the Associate Editors with African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development (AJSTID) published by Taylor and Francis Group, UK.
Currently, Dr. Jegede is a member of the Scientific Board of the Global Network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation and Competence Building Systems (GlobeLICS), a pioneer member of the African Network for the Economics of Learning Innovation and Competence Building System (AfricaLICS) and Head of Research activities of the Nigerian network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation, and competence Building Systems (NigeriaLICS). Dr Jegede is a research collaborator with the Open African Innovation Research (AIR) Patnerships on Informal sector Innovation. He is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the National Board for Technology Incubation in Nigeria and served as a member of the Scientific Council of the recently conducted African Innovation Summit II.
Dr. Jegede is a consultant on innovation management especially as touching indicators and measurement in the informal sector, institutions, and public sector. He is also vast in knowledge in market research, business model generation, customer satisfaction survey and research methodology (survey conceptualization, design, fieldwork, data processing, research analysis, Interpretation, technical report writing) and has track record in using different research methods (large scale quantitative research, scientific sampling, tracer studies, advanced data analysis, focused group discussions, in-depth interview/key informant interviews, participatory appraisals and rapid appraisals, amongst others). He has won several grants with Africalics network, Open AIR network, South African Research Chair Initiative and as served as Principal Investigator on numerous research projects.
Dr Rael Futerman is co-founder and Chief Learning Officer at Cartedo, an educational technology organisation focussed on critical soft-skills development through challenge-based, experiential learning journeys. With a background in design, innovation and education he has held several academic positions at institutions around the world. Most recently as a founding Programme Manager at the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking at the University of Cape Town (d-school). He has developed a number of university and executive education programmes aimed at future-proofing tomorrow’s workforce and upskilling todays’. Drawing on his broad research interests and experience he has given keynote speeches in countries from South Africa, to Singapore, Germany and Ghana, on topics ranging from The Future of Learning in Emerging Creative Economies to Design Thinking for Competitive Advantage & Social Impact. He continues to produce articles on Education, Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. These have been published as academic articles as well as in the popular press by Business Day and the World Economic Forum. He is always looking to continue his lifelong learning journey by sharing experiences and learning through new ones.
Jessica Francisca Colaço is a TED fellow and co-founded Brave Venture Labs based in Nairobi and San Francisco with Ibanga Umanah; East Africa’s first Network Science Lab and Brave Academy. Brave Academy is career accelerator for emerging professions in data science, design, and entrepreneurship.
She co-founder the iHub with Erik Hersman in 2010 and served in various leadership positions – She was the Director of Partnerships and Community at iHub, the Founding Manager between 2010 and 2011 at iHub and Research Director between 2011 and 2013 at iHub Research. She is currently writing a book about her journey at iHub and how it all happened (The genesis of the Silicon Savannah).
She is passionate about Innovation, Research, Mobile and Robotics Technology, Mentorship and Entrepreneurship in Kenya and as an African Startup Evangelist and Mobile and Robotics Tech Evangelist and uses her position in Kenya to court local, regional and international stakeholders to adopt Kenyan-made and African-made solutions. As an angel investor, she courts local and international investors to invest in great tech ideas and companies at idea and concept stage.
Moderators
Damilola Eluyela is a Lecturer at Landmark University, Nigeria. He is an associate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), United Kingdom. Damilola holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from prestigious Landmark University in 2014. He graduated with a first class in Accounting and holds a Masters of Science degree in Accounting from Covenant University where he finished with a distinction and was awarded the overall best Masters student. His research interests include Environmental Accounting, Corporate Governance and Financial Accounting. He has published articles, among others, in Banks and Bank Systems, Heliyon, Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy and Data in Brief. In August 2021, one of his research papers was recognised by International Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and he was awarded a Gold medal for best research paper in taxation category.
Ibidunni, Ayodotun Stephen is a University Faculty, Researcher, Management Consultant and religious leader. He obtained a PhD degree in Business Administration (with specialization in Strategy & Operations Management) from Covenant University; Master’s Degree in Business Administration; BSc. degree in Business Administration. He has extensive working experience as a Management Consultant and as a Start-up champion. Currently (2013 – Date), He works as a Faculty member in the Department of Business Management (Business Administration Unit) of Covenant University, where He Lectures and Coordinates courses like Strategic Management, Operations Management, Research Methodology and Entrepreneurship (Undergraduate and Postgraduate modules).
His academic and research rooting are in the areas of Strategic Management, Operations Management and Entrepreneurship. He has published over 104 articles in reputable international peer-review journals indexed in Web of Science, ABS, SCOPUS, and ABDC. His research works use strategy, entrepreneurship, and operations management concepts and theories to promote sustainable development, structural transformation, and poverty eradication across African communities. Dr Ayodotun is a recipient of many international recognitions and awards, such as Elsevier’s top 5 authors among 500 authors in Strategy & Management (2013-2018), and in 2018 he was awarded by Covenant University Chancellor as an Exceptional researcher for the year. He currently serves on the editorial board and as a reviewer for international journals like Academy of Strategic Management Journal, International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Sage Open, and Journal of Entrepreneurship Education. He has Guest Edited for Managerial and Decision Economics (Wiley), Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Routledge Taylor & Francis), International Journal of Business and Globalisation (Inderscience) and World Review for Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development (Inderscience). He is the pioneer Chair of the International Centre for Policy Research and Industry Linkages (ICePRIL). Also, he currently leads his management consulting company, Shaveh Consulting, which has a vision of creating knowledge for advancing the socio-economic wellbeing of individuals, corporates and institutions.