A new network aims to promote dialogue about business and growth in Africa.
The Vice President of the Republic of Zambia will address the first conference of a new network which aims to bring together African universities, business students, entrepreneurs and business people.
Dr Guy Scott, Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, will be the keynote speaker at the Cambridge Africa Business Network conference, Unlocking Value in Frontier Africa, on 28 April.
The CABN was co-founded by Gates Cambridge scholar Queen Nworisara Quinn [2010] with three other students at the Judge Business School.
Other speakers at the conference include Razia Khan, Head of Research at Standard Chartered, Gavin McGillivray, Head of Private Sector Department at the Department for International Development, Gerald Illukwe, Former Programme Manager of Microsoft Africa, Karima Ola, Managing Director of the African Development Corporation, Professor Mthuli Ncube, Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank, and Sev Vettivetpilla, CEO of Aureos Capital.
Issues which will be discussed include how the BRICs are reshaping business and value in Africa and innovation, ICT and the rise of the consumer class in Africa.
The CABN is an alumni- and student-led initiative to promote networking and dialogue about business, investment and entrepreneurship in Africa in Cambridge. It will incorporate both practitioner and academic perspectives, with the aim of ultimately contributing towards private sector development and economic growth on the continent.
Queen, who is doing a PhD in management Studies at the University of Cambridge, says the network aims to stand out from other organisations “by thinking boldly and creatively about making a substantive impact on the continent”. It will seek to create linkages with African universities in order to promote business education, entrepreneurship and innovation; cultivate new networks between investors including those in Cambridge’s Silicon Fen and African-based entrepreneurs and managers; and promote best practice in business leadership in Africa.
Queen states: “I’m very excited about this initiative and its potential to make a substantive impact here in Cambridge and on the African continent.”
The full conference programme can be found at the CABN website here.
