This short course is designed to introduce HBS students to the complexities of Africa – economic, sociological, and historical – and the ways in which these Africa-specific trends impact the opportunities and challenges in undertaking business and entrepreneurship ventures on the continent today. Drawing upon the active participation of prominent African alumni, as well as others with expertise in the field, "Africa Rising" will offer big picture understandings of the continent, and the ways in which its past informs the present. At the same time, the course will take deep, vertical looks at both the differences and nuances that render Africa unique in today's emerging market landscape, and the similarities that can be drawn from other regions of the Global South and beyond. "Africa Rising" is crafted to appeal to both students who have extensive experience working in Africa, as well as those who know very little about the continent, though are eager to expand their knowledge.
Course Framework
The Economist launched the "Africa Rising" framework into the international spotlight with its December 2011 cover story in which it posited, "After decades of slow growth, Africa has a real chance to follow in the footsteps of Asia." Thereafter, Time interrogated the same theme, as did multiple other media outlets. Major institutions also produced bullish reports. McKinsey's "Lions on the Move: The progress and potential of African economies," published in June 2010, was the firm's first of two major reports, in which it declared, "Africa's economic growth is creating substantial new business opportunities that are often overlooked by global companies." More recently, however, countervailing analyses and media reports, like The New York Times', "'Africa Rising'? 'Africa Reeling' May Be More Fitting Now," question Africa's growth rates, as well as the optimistic narrative more broadly.
In many ways, Africa is home to contradictory trends – trends that are rooted in the present and past. On the one hand, Africa's old margins are new frontiers, where mobile, globally-competitive capital (increasingly from the Global South) find minimally regulated zones for investment; a middle class of consumers continues to rapidly expand; and information-technology empires unfold at a rapid pace. On the other hand, Africa represents some of the most dire dimensions of global capitalism, with extreme wealth and poverty co-existing, corruption presenting significant challenges to business and economic growth, and old assumptions about the "treasure chest" motif militating against sustainable models. Of course, many of these trends are global, thus gesturing to the ways in which some processes in Africa, and other Global South markets for that matter, may well foreshadow longer-term trends that are emerging in the Global North. Ultimately, it is these dimensions of "Africa Rising" – the contradictory current condition and what we may learn from it in order to conduct business and initiate new entrepreneurship ventures on the continent – that will frame the agenda of this course.
"Africa Rising" will be taught through an integrative method, and one that will draw upon the rich expertise and experiences of alumni and other experts from Africa. The course is purposefully designed to leverage student and alumni/expert participation with its format that includes live cases, simulations, and Ted-style talks; as such, preparation is light relative to case-study preparation and includes some background reading as well as optional readings for students who wish to pursue deeper interests in the topics covered. Course themes will include, among others, resilience; long time frames; diversification; leadership; formal and informal structures of power; technology; infrastructure; and staffing, personnel and management.
We will of course also be examining the impact that COVID has had on Africa, the leadership challenges that it has thrown up and examining what a new normal would look like. We will examine the impact that the current geo political conflicts will have on the continent. How will Africa thrive in a deglobalized world , that nonetheless needs global solutions to climate change which represents a real existential threat for humanity. What does the rise of China mean for Africa ? Are we seeing a new cold war emerging in the Sahelian region. What impact will demographics have on Africa's place in the world. We will deal old industries like energy , finance and telecommunications. But will also deal with the new industries. Art. Music. Sports . Entertainment.
This course will run over 13 standard 80 minute classes. There will be an array of interesting outside speakers some of whom will be available for conversations after the classes. This course started as a SIP course and has developed into an EC course. We look forward to receiving you.
Grading
Grading will be based on 50% class participation. 50 % written paper.
