World-Class business school works to turn Nigeria’s current public and corporate leaders into tomorrow’s Success

If there is a word constantly finding its way to the lips of global investors and international entrepreneurs these days, that word is “Africa”. This is a continent of potential, a region of opportunity. It is a continent that according to McKinsey will see 128 million households reach the consumer class by 2020. Just like that, hordes of citizens living in poverty will not only rise above subsistence level but suddenly find discretionary income at their disposal, creating a massive wave of economic and social change from Nigeria to Mauritania.

Of course, rapid growth comes with its challenges, and one of the most important questions today is whether or not corporate and public sector Africa can develop the required management skills to rise to the occasion. Nigeria is no exception.

Like any developing country, we face an extreme shortage of the executive capital borne in the developed-world economies. This presents a major challenge not only because Nigerian managers need to be as effective as their counterparts abroad to compete in an increasingly flat world but because they actually need to be more effective. It will take the world’s best managers to handle the realities at hand.

What we need is a dream team of corporate and public sector leaders with the necessary skills, traits, and motivation to walk us into the future. In countries like Nigeria, however, many executives reach their positions without ever receiving formal management training of any kind. In fact, only 90 business schools on the entire continent even offer a business MBA. Among those schools, less than ten meet international standards, and only one can claim triple accreditation.

So where exactly will we fill the gap?

For many, the answer lies not in creating a whole new breed of executives from scratch but teaching top management skills to leaders already in senior positions. Training new leaders takes years, if not decades, of effort. On the other hand, teaching new skills to a business executive that already has real-world experience provides a short-cut to world-class management.

Such skills can be developed by taking part in innovative new business programmes like “Managing for Enhanced Organisational Performance,” a four-day residential capacity development programme to be held at Aston Business School in the United Kingdom this November. By partnering with “These Young Minds,” a company that regularly collaborates with top international business schools to offer training in skills needed for business in Africa, Aston will help executives challenge assumptions, broaden their horizons, and assist their organisations to maximize efficiency.

Participants will receive world-class training from a top educator among the best 1% of business schools worldwide, affirmed by triple accreditation from EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB. Topics to be covered include Balanced Scorecard Strategy Maps, Activity-Based Cost Management, Accountability Systems, Alignment of Intangible Assets with Strategy, Customer Relationship Management, Sustainability, and more.

Success in business never comes easy. Seasoned entrepreneurs and business managers alike know the real key is not avoiding problems completely, an impossible goal, but preparing for and rising to challenges when they arrive.

The same is true here at home. Nigeria’s challenges must be faced eventually, but proper management training can give today’s leaders the necessary tools for doing so. With the right skills, the leaders of today can also be the leaders we need tomorrow.

“Managing for Enhanced Organisational Performance” starts on November 11th at the Aston Business School campus in Birmingham, UK. To learn more, visit http://goo.gl/y8pwN.