EGYPT: First African business school round-table

Leaders of business schools in Africa and elsewhere gathered in Egypt last week to discuss effective ways to enhance their institutions' roles in helping the continent grapple with food security challenges, and to forge academic collaborations aimed at tackling African problems.
See also the article by Sherif Kamel in Commentary

The unique round-table was an initiative of the business school at the American University in Cairo, and was attended by business deans and managers in key food companies.

"I think it is very important for us to get together to discuss the practical issues in business to make a difference in Africa," Jonathan Cook, chair of the Association of African Business Schools, told University World News.

For him, the Cairo event provided a good chance for leaders of business schools and the corporate world to compare notes on "points of leverage" in Africa.

"This continent has the potential to grow. But to tap in this potential, we need managers in schools to understand the opportunities for growth," said Cook, who is also executive director of the Gordon Institute of Business Science at South Africa's University of Pretoria.

Inaugurating the event Sherif Kamal, dean of the business school at the American University in Cairo, said the round-table was focused on promoting management education in Africa by constantly improving such areas as the curriculum, prioritising research and linking business schools to the corporate world.

The day-long gathering was held under the theme "Food Crisis Challenges and Opportunities for Supply Chain Excellence".

Speakers concurred that the main objectives were to identify current gaps and develop possible collaborative projects and activities among business schools to achieve a positive impact on curbing food shortage in Africa. The event coincided with an acute drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, mainly in Somalia.

"By getting around a table to discuss these things, we can begin to identify the points of leverage," said Cook.

"I think too often we continue doing our curriculum year after year. But by stopping to think about where we are going and by hearing from each other about the most effective ways of achieving this, we can direct our energy to the point of making the most difference."

The round-table was the first of its kind in Africa. According to Cook, the next event is due to be held next May in Lagos, Nigeria.

To Wafaa El Garah, dean of the school of business administration at Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco, the event was an eye-opener.

"I am proud of having had the chance to attend this round-table," El Garah told University World News. It provided the chance for us, the academic people in Africa, to exchange ideas about the problems of our continent and to devise our own concepts."

She was critical of the fact that some higher education institutions in Africa continue to teach curricula based on foreign programmes. "We have to familiarise our students with the problems of their own countries and continent and motivate them to help come up with home-grown solutions."

El Garah said she was positive that academics in her African country would be receptive to making this shift.

Motivated by corporate social responsibility, several executives of agri-business companies participated in the round-table. Taking up the subject of logistics in Africa and its impact on the food situation Ahmed Aly, chief executive officer of Agility Egypt, an operator in logistics, transport and infrastructure, cited in a presentation a set of African shortcomings.

They include disconnected transport routes, political and economic non-conformity, high transportation costs, inefficient bureaucracy and conflicting regulations.

According to him, rivers can be optimally used to improve transport services across Africa. "The privileges of African rivers include a higher level of safety compared to land transport, lower energy consumption rates, lower congestion, and better environmental business through reduced noise and air pollution," he said.

The round-table was moderated by Anna Pehar, who has a wide experience in the area of executive education with Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University in the Netherlands, and the European Foundation for Management Development.