Etomi urges young African entrepreneurs to get involved in policy making at Harvard’s Africa Business conference

The 17th annual Africa Business Conference of the Harvard Business School took place in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, recently. The theme of the conference was A MORE INCLUSIVE AFRICA: The Pursuit of Progress For All.

The conference, which featured some of the best motivational speakers, successful entrepreneurs and professionals from the continent, had over 1,500 participants from all over the world in attendance. They came to listen to some of the inspirational leaders tell their story and get advice about how they can contribute to the growth and development of Africa.

One such speaker was George Etomi, who shared a panel with award winning educationist, Mary Okelo of Kenya and Africa’s largest hotel chain owner, Mossadeck Bally of Mali. Their session was on building institutions that last.

Etomi, who was honoured with the National Productivity Order of Merit award last year, advised the young participants in the audience to include Africa in their future plans as the continent can only be developed sustainably by Africans. The tendency to give your best years to work abroad only deprives the continent of vital and relevant manpower.

He advised that stories about rampant corruption and infrastructure deficits were merely designed to put young entrepreneurs off. While he admitted that these challenges exist, he told the audience that the responsibility to overcome them lies squarely with Africans and should confront them.

He noted that in spite of these challenges, the story of successful African entrepreneurs across a broad business spectrum should guide the decisions of budding ones. Another way to do this is to get involved in policy making so that an enabling environment can be created for businesses to thrive.

Other speakers included founder of the Africa Leadership Academy, Fred Swaniker, who got a standing ovation after his speech. Immediate past DG of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria, Ms. Arumah Oteh also spoke at the event.