conferenceprogramme

strides of change
re-engaging the African Narrative
22nd & 23rd May 2021
inside... Africa Togther
Welcome / 01
/i

Conference Schedule / 04
Keynote Speakers / 06
Policy Panel / 10
Business Panel I / 18
Education Panel / 24
Arts Panel / 35
Business Panel II / 48
Leadership Panel / 53
Cities Panel / 62
ASCU Initiatives / 70
Conference Planning Committee
Credits and Appreciation / 72
Sponsors / 73

i
Africa Together
Conference
ii
geometric etymology
The idea, philosophy and use of hooks in
Africa date back Millennia. Apart from their
functional use as fasteners and joiners, they
have deep socio-cultural meanings that go
beyond the object-function syllogism to
social activity domains of culture and
language. For instance, in southwestern
Nigeria, it is seen as that which amplifies our
wants and needs. In another culture, the
Nguni Bantu idea of Ubuntu operationalises
the idea of the hook as harmony and
cooperation. This also expands the object
orientation of the hook, as a greeting, a
hand-grab, people holding hands in a
circle...These are all hooks in play. Hooks in
Africa are therefore not just enablers of
connection but mediums and ideas of
connections in their own right. The idea of
the hook is therefore proposed as the image
driver for the Africa Together conference, an
initative that continues to use the notion of
a confluence of opinions to keep the
continent together in its complicated
forward trajectory. The 5 hooks speak of a
situation of togetherness and progress for
the 5 socio-political regions of the continent.
Designed by Stephen Ajadi
iii
welcome!
On behalf of the African Society of the University of Cambridge, we welcome you to the seventh Africa Together Conference. Africa Together is the annual
flagship conference by the African Society of Cambridge University. Started in May 2014 to commemorate Africa day, Africa Together provides a platform for
critical discourse on contemporary issues impacting the continent.
The conference brings together development drivers who are regional and national thought leaders across sectors, people who have distinguished themselves
as change-makers intent on ensuring that the potential of the African continent is realised. This year we are focusing on the strides of change that our
continent has taken towards the path of sustainable development. This is a deviation from the typical and usual banner-talk of Africa and its problems. You see,
focusing on problems and gaps for change is very important, but it is also imperative to understand the things we have done right in order to double-down on
them or use their frameworks to chart new or familiar pathways. From the Arts to the very nature of our cities, the continent has overcome insurmountable
obstacles. We have stumbled a number of times, but we have pushed some of boundaries as well. This year’s stellar gathering will will unpack these short and
long term wins and weigh them in the context of our current trajectory. Theories will be interrogated; identities will be examined, and statuses will be
challenged. This two-day journey will educate us, inspire but most importantly, it will nudge us to a positive discomfort that will lead us all to playing our part in
the sustainable development of the Africa. Once again, we welcome all of you.

Cynthia Okoye & Stephen Ajadi

Co-Presidents
African Society of the University of Cambridge, 20/21
1
Image by Stephen Ajadi also from the photography of Adeleke Babatunde, Ibadan, Nigeria 2021

Though the conference positions a much broader discourse of positive strides that have been made on the continent, our visual direction of communication is thematised as the future.
If we are thinking of our strides that will bring about positive change it is only necessary for us to think not of only the strides but who will make them. In this process we take a deep
visual dive into the most challenged demography in most African countries: children. The visual project, curated solely for this conference by the Penumbra Space Foundation— an
affiliated initiative of the ASCU, explores children in varying contexts that are often unseen. In deviation from the half-truth-no-truth optics of victimhood, we see our future men and
women; from IDP camps to refugee zones, from city center dwellers to peri-urban children. We ethnograph the lives of children making a difference either by doing something or by
their share will of deciding to not just exist but thrive. Children are shown in their often-surreptitious processes of incubating or making change, one day at a time.
2
 We see children and by extension;
young teenagers and young adults self-
learning formal education after passing
through incredibly challenging
circumstances. We see youngsters start
businesses with huge scaling capacities
in cities that have little to no incentives
for such commercial growth. We see
children take on life a bit too early with
a type of strength and resilience that
shouldn’t be demanded of them. In
them we see a duality of fragility and
power. These are our custodians of
‘next’. Ushers of our future. In this
process we invoke new discussions of
development trajectories and
responsibility beyond the over-flogged
and shallow theories of empathy. Yes,
we have made huge advances as a
continent despite the seemingly
overwhelming odds. But how much do
we know about the people who will
lead Africa through the future that we
are currently orchestrating by our
conscious and unconscious,
complicated social activity?

A young girl plays around in an IDP

camp after a school session
Seun James Taiwo, Durumi, Nigeria, 2021,
for the Penumbra Space Foundation 3
 Day I Day II
Time Activity Time Activity

10:00 - 10:30 Virtual Reception 11:15 - 11:45 Virtual Reception

10:30 - 10:40 Vice Chancellor's Opening Address 11:45 - 12:20 Keynote Address

10:40 - 11:10 First Keynote Address 12:30 - 13:45 Business Panel II

11:15 - 12:15 Politics/Policy Panel 14:00 - 15:15 Leadership Panel

12:20 - 12:30 Business Panel Introduction 15:30 - 16:30 Cities Panel

12:30 - 13:30 Business Panel I 16:30 - 16:45 Closing Address

13:30 - 14:00 Break 16:45 - 17:45 Networking

14:00 - 15:20 Education Panel

15:30 - 16:45 Arts Panel

16:50 - 17:00 Closing Remarks

17:00 - 17:30 Networking

4
Nzubechukwu Winifred-Alexise Ekwonye is a
fitness trainer, a model, a filmmaker and a
writer. She taught herself all the skills she
knows including formal education. Stories
like this are growing...Are these new ways of
resilience in an African city?
photograph by Uzo Onyeulo, 2021

unpacking our strides of change... 5

The Keynote
Speakers

Robert Ssentamu Angelique Kidjo

'Bobi Wine'Politcian/Artiste Singer-Songwriter

6
The Speakers
7
 Three-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo is a creative force in international
music today, a creative force with thirteen albums to her name. She is the recent

Keynote
recipient of the prestigious 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland and the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience
Award. As a performer, her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple
cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following
across national borders. Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her
childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences
from Europe and Latin America. Kidjo's latest project is her interpretation of The Talking
Heads’ classic 1980 album,Remain in Light. She recorded her version of the album with
superstar producer Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Jay Z, Drake, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and
Taylor Swift), taking classic songs such as "Crosseyed and Painless," "Once in a Lifetime,"
and "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" and reinterpreting them with electrifying
rhythms, African guitars, and layered backing vocals. Kidjo brings this musical
extravaganza to concert halls and festivals across the globe including a premier
performance at Carnegie Hall and other performances in LA, London, Seattle, Berkeley,
and Abu Dhabi.

Her star-studded albumDJIN DJIN won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary
World Album in 2008, and her albumOYO was nominated for the same award in 2011.
In January 2014 Kidjo's first book, a memoir titledSpirit Rising: My Life, My Music
(Harper Collins) and her twelfth album,EVE (Savoy/429 Records), were released to
critical acclaim.EVE later went on to win the Grammy Award for Best World Music
Album in 2015, and her historic, orchestral albumSings with the Orchestre
Philharmonique Du Luxembourg (Savoy/429 Records) won a Grammy for Best World
Music Album in 2016. Kidjo has gone on to perform this genre-bending work with
several international orchestras and symphonies including the Bruckner Orchestra, The
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Philharmonie de Paris. Her collaboration with
Philip Glass,IFÉ: Three Yorùbá Songs, made its US debut to a sold-out concert with the
San Francisco Symphony in June 2015.

In addition to performing this new orchestral concert, Angelique continues to tour

globally performing the high-energy concert she’s become famous for with her four-
Angelique Kidjo piece band. Her rousing live show was recently captured at the revered Austin City
singer-songwriter Limits and made its television debut in January 2016. Kidjo also travels the world
advocating on behalf of children in her capacity as a UNICEF and OXFAM goodwill
Ambassador. She created her own charitable foundation, Batonga, dedicated to
support the education of young girls in Africa.
8

Keynote
Robert 'Bobi Wine' Ssentamu
Politician/Artiste
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu known by his stage name‘Bobi Wine’, is a Ugandan
politician, singer, actor and businessman. He currently serves as Member of Parliament
for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda's Central Region.
He also leads the National Unity Platform political party. In June 2019, he announced
his candidacy for the 2021 Ugandan presidential election. He participated in the 2021
election.
Kyagulanyi began his music career in the early 2000s and adapted the stage name
Bobi Wine. His first singles "Akagoma", "Funtula", and "Sunda" (featuring Ziggy D)
brought him success in the East African music scene. His music has been characterised
as reggae, dancehall, and afrobeat, often with a socially conscious message. He was
the leader of the group Fire Base Crew until its disbandment, after which he started a
new group known as Ghetto Republic of Uganja. He has released more than 70 songs
over 15 years. In 2016, his song "Kiwani" was featured on the soundtrack for the Disney
movie Queen of Katwe. Bobi Wine’s major music genre has always been Afrobeat
music. Bobi Wine’s music was being sold and promoted by the late Kasiwukira. He
acknowledged receiving receipts of 60M from his music sales in just one month from
Kasiwulira. He has a fully Monetized YouTube channel where with tens of millions of
views. He has held various concerts and performances in addition to brand
endorsements all that bring income to him. He owns a commercial production studio in
Kamwokya known as FireBase records.
Kyagulanyi is also a film actor, mainly starring in local Ugandan movies. In 2010, he was
cast in Cleopatra Koheirwe drama film Yogera. In 2015, he was cast in a lead role in the
Twaweza-supported film Situka with Hellen Lukoma. He has also worked on a number
of other films, including Divizionz. Kyagulanyi has supported several practical projects
to improve conditions for the poor. In 2012, he started a campaign to promote more
regular cleaning in hospitals, sanitation, garbage management, and hand washing to
prevent disease. He has cleaned slums, visited aided refugee camps and facilitated
campaigns for humanitarianism alongside the UNHCR, Red Cross and NGOs. Kyagulanyi
is as an ambassador for Save the Children's EVERY ONE campaign; a team of 14
Ugandan artists who recorded a special song and video about maternal and child
health. 9
Angelique Kidjo Bobi Wine
Saulos Chilima Angelique
Kidjo Bobo Wine Saulos
amilihC
Chilima
soluaS eniW oboB ojdiK
euqilegnA amilihC soluaS
eniW iboB ojdiK euqilegnA
The Policy Panel
10
Beyond Emerging Populism:
The African People and
their State of Policy
11
Almost as far back as a century, like other parts of the world, Africa has been characterised by new
types of problematic governance, forced prolonged regimes and the subjugation of its people. The
overlaps are complicated and multifaceted, from negative western influence on socio-economic
difficulties, to lines of friction across religions, ethnicity, and gender. However, the recent
development of citizens pushing back on leadership and policy anomalies have gradually been on
the rise in the past two decades. From the uprisings in Egypt to the repulsions in Nigeria, regimes and
governance systems are being interrogated in ways that have not been seen in a long time. Some say
these stirrings are mere negligible fluctuations in the tyrannical narrative of an unsettling continent,
others posit a paradigm shift that ushers a new norm of demanding responsibility and accountability.
Either way, it is becoming clear that the continent has started to examine itself in new ways. The
changes and social moving parts position it as populism but the danger might be to reduce it to just
that. As the continent begins to shift and respond to its inadequacies, it is influencing the world but is
also being influenced by similar notions across the world as well. The panel will unpack the re-
emergence, legitimacy, and future of this social development as a stride of change in the region.
More importantly, the discussion will attempt to expand the discourse beyond populism, probably
leading to more elaborate and sophisticated engagements of African democracy, civic identity, and
other systems of the change in the burgeoning people-centered narrative of leadership in Africa.

12
 Beyond Emerging Populism:
The African People and Africa Together

their State of Policy

22nd May 2021, 10:40am - 12:15pm

The Panelists

(L-R) Golda Addo,
Development Strategist
register via airmeet
www.africansocietycambridge.org
Greg Mills Bobi Wine Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor
Director, Brenthurst Keynote Speaker Doctoral Scholar at Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge
Foundation Member of Parliament, Kyadondo Convenor; #FixTheCountry, Ghana
County East Constituency
(moderator) & MC -day 1
13
 Golda Addo is a master Trainer, Researcher, and Strategist for
businesses/projects looking to develop or improve inthe areas of Monitoring
& Evaluation, Communications, Results-based Management, Policies and
Structures.

She has spent 13 years consulting for various foreign donors, government top
offices, CSOs, private, local andinternational projects across Benin, Nigeria,
Liberia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Tunisia, Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire,Senegal, Ghana, etc
as well as worked with top government offices in the United Kingdom in all
the aboveareas (she is an International Leaders Programme alumni and also a
member of the Climate ChangeCommittee on the same Programme – all of
which are hosted by the Foreign, Commonwealth andDevelopment Office
(FCDO) of the UK and work on global issues actively).

She was also the chair of Gender4Results (an AfDB-hosted platform for
African development) from 2013 to2016 where she worked with over 100
women from all over Africa to determine Results-based approaches
toimproving GESI on the continent. She has sustained transformational
education, support, and governanceand leadership training since then for
many females and communities across Ghana and the West Africansub-
region. She is heavily invested in the development of communities and
Golda Addo disenfranchised communitiesand runs Spun Gold Consultancy as well as SHE
Development Startegist Aid (https://sheaidgh.org/ ) to solve most of the challenges inthese areas. She
works with many Africans and Ghanaians across the continent and the
country throughdata-centred and results-focused strategies and approaches.

14

Robert 'Bobi Wine' Ssentamu
Member of Parliament, Kyadondo County East Constituency
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu known by his stage name‘Bobi Wine’, is aUgandanpolitician,
singer, actor and businessman.He currently serves asMember of Parliamentfor Kyadondo
County East constituency inWakiso District, in Uganda'sCentral Region.He also leads theNational
Unity Platformpolitical party.In June 2019, he announced his candidacy for the2021 Ugandan
presidential election. He participated in the 2021 election.
Kyagulanyi began his music career in the early 2000s and adapted the stage name Bobi Wine.
His first singles "Akagoma", "Funtula", and "Sunda" (featuring Ziggy D) brought him success in
the East African music scene.His music has been characterised asreggae,dancehall,
andafrobeat, often with a socially conscious message. He was the leader of the group Fire Base
Crewuntil its disbandment, after which he started a new group known as Ghetto Republic of
Uganja. He has released more than 70 songs over 15 years. In 2016, his song "Kiwani" was
featured on the soundtrack for theDisneymovieQueen of Katwe. Bobi Wine’s major music genre
has always been Afrobeat music. Bobi Wine’s music was being sold and promoted by the late
Kasiwukira. He acknowledged receiving receipts of 60M from his music sales in just one month
from Kasiwulira. He has a fully Monetized YouTube channel where with tens of millions of views.
He has held various concerts and performances in addition to brand endorsements all that bring
income to him. He owns a commercial production studio in Kamwokya known as FireBase
records.
Kyagulanyi is also a film actor, mainly starring in local Ugandan movies.In 2010, he was cast in
Cleopatra Koheirwe's drama filmYogera. In 2015, he was cast in a lead role in the Twaweza-
supported filmSitukawithHellen Lukoma.He has also worked on a number of other films,
includingDivizionz. Kyagulanyi has supported several practical projects to improve conditions
for the poor.In 2012, he started a campaign to promote more regular cleaning in hospitals,
sanitation, garbage management, and hand washing to prevent disease.He has cleaned slums,
visited aided refugee camps and facilitated campaigns for humanitarianism alongside the
UNHCR, Red Cross and NGOs. Kyagulanyi is as an ambassador for Save the Children's EVERY
ONE campaign; a team of 14 Ugandan artists who recorded a special song and video about
maternal and child health.
15

Greg Mills
Director, Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation
Dr Greg Mills is director of the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation.Educated at the
Universities of Cape Town (BA and BA Hons) and Lancaster (MA and PhD), he taught at the
Universities of the Western Cape and Cape Town from 1990-1994. Between 1994 and 1996 he
was the Director of Studies at the SA Institute of International Affairs, and from 1996-2005 its
National Director. In 2008 he was deployed as Strategy Advisor to the President of Rwanda.
From 2007-12 he directed the Secretariat to the Presidential International Advisory Board in
Mozambique, and from 2012-14 the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Economy of
Malawi. In 2006 he was on assignment in Kabul as head of the International Security
Assistance Force’s (ISAF) Prism strategic analysis group, and was seconded to ISAF in Kandahar
also with Prism in 2010, and to HQ ISAF again in Kabul in 2012.
Dr Mills is widely published on international affairs, development and security, a regular
columnist for South African and international newspapers, and the author of the best-selling
books ‘Why Africa is Poor – and what Africans can do about it’ (Penguin: 2010) and, with Jeffrey
Herbst (former President of the Washington DC-based Newseum), ‘Africa’s Third Liberation’
(Penguin: 2012). Based on his peace-building experiences, in 2011 he jointly edited, with
General Sir David Richards, ‘Victory Among People: Lessons from Countering Insurgencies and
Stabilising Fragile States’ (2011: Royal United Services Institute), and in 2013 published ‘Somalia-
- Fixing Africa’s Most Failed State’ (Tafelberg) with Peter Pham and David Kilcullen.
In 2009 he was a visiting fellow at the Centre for African Studies at Cambridge University. In
2013 he was appointed to the African Development Bank’s High-Level Panel on Fragile States.
In 2014 he was a visiting senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in
Singapore. He also serves on the visiting faculty of Nato’s Higher Defence College, the Royal
College of Defence Studies in London, and the SA National Defence College. ‘Why States
Recover’ (Panmacmillan/Hurst/OUP) was launched in South Africa in July 2014, detailing his
peace and state building experiences across two dozen case-studies. In 2014-15 he undertook
a major project on the South African economy in collaboration with Dr Herbst. Based on more
than 300 interviews across the country it was published in July 2015 as ‘How South Africa
Works – and must do better’ (Panmacmillan/Hurst/OUP).
In October 2015 he completed a study on Colombia’s post-conflict governance experience
with Dr Kilcullen, Dr David Spencer, and General Dickie Davis, which has appeared as ‘A Great
Perhaps? Colombia: Conflict and Convergence’ (Hurst/OUP) and ‘¿UN GRAN QUIZÁS?
Colombia: Conflicto y convergencia’ (Planeta). In 2017 together with Dr Herbst, General Davis
and President Olusegun Obasanjo, the chair of the Foundation, he has published ‘Making
Africa Work: A Handbook for Economic Success’ (Tafelberg/OPL/ Hurst/OUP). His leisure
interests include motorsport, for which he received his national colours in 2016.
16

Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor
PhD Research Student at Faculty of Law,
University of Cambridge (Moderator)
Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor (Oliver, a Ghanaian) is a Cambridge-Africa PhD
student at the Faculty of Law.
He is a governance advisor with significant law and policy expertise in various African
countries, in the United States and within the United Nation’s System. He has been
frequently engaged to interface with private businesses, legislators, governmental
ministries, agencies and departments in several countries, and in various capacities
including in the law and policymaking process or to obtain regulatory or
governmental approvals required for various international transactions
.
Oliver also has significant consulting experience with various international and
multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, UNDP, DFID, OSIWA, ClientEarth etc.
Prior to commencing his doctoral programme at the University of Cambridge, Oliver
held various roles in the Private Sector, in Government, and with the United Nations.
Oliver has worked as a Diplomat in the Foreign Service of Ghana, Senior Legal and
Policy Officer at the Office of the President in Ghana, Judicial Fellow to the Vice
President of the International Court of Justice, Legal Officer at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York USA, and as Global Law and Policy Advisor at the
headquarters of the international law firm Covington & Burling LLP in Washington
DC, USA. Between January 2010 to December 2011, Oliver was also engaged as a
Constitutional Researcher and the Access to Justice Advisor to Ghana’s Constitution
Review Commission, which was appointed by the President of Ghana on the advice
of the country’s Attorney General to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Ghana’s
1992 Constitution and to make recommendations for a possible amendments to the
Constitution.
Oliver’s illustrious services to the Commission saw him awarded by the Commission
for his “Extra-Ordinary Services as Researcher to the Constitution Review
Commission”.Oliver has previous degrees from the Universite Mohammed V, Souissi,
Rabat and the Universite Hassan II, Casablanca in Morocco, the University of Ghana,
and Harvard Law School in the USA. At the University of Cambridge, Oliver’s doctoral
project will contribute to ongoing academic projects concerned with revising and
strengthening global governance norms in order to enhance shared global
prosperity as well as to bolster the contribution of developing countries to global
governance. Specifically, Oliver’s research project seeks to deconstruct the
“dispositionist” biases of international law in order to articulate a case for the reform
of International law and policy and to explore ways in which developing countries
can achieve and maintain a competitive edge in global governance frameworks
17
Samaila Zubairu Dr Ernesrt
Addison Selam Kebede
edebeK maleS nosiddA
trsenrE rD uriabuZ aliamaS
edebeK maleS nosiddA
trsenrE rD uriabuZ aliamaS
Business Panel I
18
 The Business in Africa Panel is being hosted by the Cambridge African Business Network from the
Judge Business School. We have hosted this panel annually since 2013. Join us and interact with
African business leaders (across public and private sector), industry experts, and thought leaders as
we discuss Business in Africa through the lens of public private partnerships in accelerating
investments and closing the infrastructure gap as well as assessing the investment landscape on the
continent - to note the gains and challenges, interrogate the best decisions with the aim of
optimizing them for even better growth.

Market Scene, Kebbi, Seun James Taiwo 19

Accelerating Economic development Africa Together

through public private partnerships

22nd May 2021, 12:20pm - 1:30pm

The Panelists

(L-R) Ernest Addison Samaila Zubairu Kenneth Okwor

Doctoral Scholar, Law, University of Cambridge
Governor, Bank of Ghana President and CEO, Africa Finance Corporation
Moderator

register via airmeet

www.africansocietycambridge.org 20
 Samaila Zubairu is AFC’s 3rd President and Chief Executive Officer.
With over 30 years’ of professional experience, his entrepreneurial
leadership propelled the development and implementation of a new
five-year corporate strategy, which, at its core, addresses the urgent
mandate of developing and financing infrastructure, natural
resources and industrial assets on the continent. Key pillars of the
strategy include enhancing the capacity of the team and
entrenching a High-Performance Culture; coherent ecosystem
strategy for value accretive beneficiation and import substitution;
proactive risk and portfolio management to improve AFC’s rating
and diversifying the Corporation’s funding sources.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Zubairu was the CEO of Africapital
Management Limited, where he established a joint venture with Old
Mutual’s African Infrastructure Investment Managers, to develop the
Nigerian Infrastructure Investment Fund for infrastructure private
equity across West Africa.
Mr. Zubairu is an Eisenhower Fellow and the first African appointed
to the Board of Trustees of the 67-year old international leadership
exchange programme. He holds several Non-Executive Board
positions.
Samaila Zubairu
Leadership Entrepreneur

21
 Dr Ernest Kwamina Addison was appointed Governor of Bank of
Ghana by the President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo in April 2017.

Addison spent over 25 years working as a distinguished Economist,

mainly in the Public Sector, with International Institutions and the
Central bank with a focus on Economic Development Issues,
Monetary Policy formulation and implementation, and actively
engaged in Macroeconomic surveillance at the African Development
Bank and the West African Monetary Institute. During the period, he
was the Director of Research at the Bank of Ghana, a position he held
for over a decade during which time he gained considerable public
sector experience with Deregulation of Ghana’s petroleum sector,
Redenomination of the currency, Wage and civil service reforms and
Capital Markets Development.

He was elected the Chairman of the 2020 Board of Governors of the

International Monetary Fund and World Bank and also the co-chair
of the Financial Stability Board’s Regional Consultative Group for Sub
-Saharan Africa.

Addison holds a degree in Economics from the University of Ghana,

a Master’s degree in economics and politics from Cambridge
Dr Addison University and a PhD with specialisation in monetary economics and
economic development from McGill University.
Economist

22
 Kenneth is a projects and financial lawyer, and doctoral student of
monetary law at Cambridge. His PhD research is on the design of a
legal and institutional framework for the West African single currency,
including a Govcoin iteration. Kenneth practiced projects and
financial law as a Finance and Projects Associate at Templars, Nigeria.
He also taught Corporate Law at the Nigerian Law School.

Kenneth Okwor
Doctoral Scholar, Law, University of Cambridge

23
Dr. Utheri Kanayo Tonee
Ndungu Mohamed El Idrissi
Gbemi AbuduecProf. Moses
ilA & hctekO
Oketch & Alice
sesoM .forP udubA imebG
issirdI lE demahoM ugnudN
The Education Panel24
 Access to Quality Sustainable development goal four (SDG 4)

& Equitable Education states that by 2030, equitable and quality

primary and secondary education, as well as
technical/vocational/tertiary education, should
be accessible to all individuals. Currently, several
African countries including South Africa,
Seychelles, Mauritius, Benin, Sierra Leone,
Ghana Morocco, and Namibia have attained
above 85% primary school enrolment (2020
Africa SDG Index and Dashboards Report).
However, as in earlier years, sub-Saharan Africa
remains the region with the highest out-of-
school rates for all age groups: more than one-
half of the 59 million out-of-school children of
primary school age live in sub-Saharan Africa,
and almost one-half of the 62 million global out-
of-school adolescents live in sub-Saharan Africa
(UNESCO-UIS, 2019). This panel discussion will
discuss the strategies and innovations that are
driving increased enrollment rates in some
African countries, and how lessons from these
contexts could be harnessed for different
African contexts. The discussion will also
underline the current limitations that hinder the
attainment of SDG4 and discuss innovative
ways that they can be overcome via multiple
acting partners. Additionally, the panel will
dissect interpretations of literacy, quality
education and holistic education in the African
context. Finally, the panel will discuss how the
COVID-19 pandemic is a threat to enrollment
A female section of a community school in Zuru, Kebbi, Nigeria. Seun James Taiwo (2015) achievements; how the pandemic is deepening
Schooling in northern Nigeria is now the most dangerous social activity of the region. Abductions and mass killings inequalities and how African leaders and
have risen by over 1000% in the two years. It is more or less a dark industry in Nigeria now. Boys are more endangered stakeholders can mitigate the concerns.
in the south but girls are particularly endangered in many parts of the north as schooling is highly discouraged for
them. Those allowed to go to school are kept in school as a ‘place holder’ till they hit ages like 14 when they are
deemed fit to be married off. With the added scare of terrorism, access to education is therefore now political, in
addition to the fact that it is highly embedded in regional culture and norms. The Penumbra foundation is currently
working to provide free and secure education in the region despite the insecurity. 25
 Access to Quality Africa Together

& Equitable Education

22nd May 2021, 2:00pm - 3:20pm

The Panelists

(L-R) Gbemi Abudu, Moses Oketch, Utheri Kanayo, Tonee Ndungu Mohamed El Idrissis & Alice Amegah
Founder & Managing Prof. of International Co-Founder, Founder, Kytabu CEO & Co-Founder, Education Expert
Partner, BMGA Education Policy, Children in Teach for Morocco Doctoral Scholar,
Enterprise University College Freedom Education, University of
London Cambridge
(Moderator)
register via airmeet
www.africansocietycambridge.org 26
 Dr. Utheri Kanayo (née Susan Kiragu) holds a PhD (Education) from University of
Cambridge UK. She is a Newnham College alumnus. Utheri is currently the Principal of
Children In Freedom School (CIFS) (www.cifschools.com) (CIFS) in Kenya, the only
Afrocentric school in East Africa. She is also the Regional Representative of The Beacon
Scholarship (www.beaconscholarship.com), a leadership programme that supports
gifted East African students to study in the best schools and universities in EA and UK,
and prepares them to be the ethical changemakers that Africa needs. She is the Co-
Founder of Children in Freedom (CIF) (www.childreninfreedom.org), an international
educational charity registered in Kenya and USA. After eight successful years in the UK,
Utheri and her husband Oku Kanayo relocated back to Kenya at the beginning of 2014
to grow CIF and serve children from impoverished backgrounds. Being on the ground
was advantageous as it revealed the dire need for mentorship among the scholarship
beneficiaries; paying school fees was not enough. This led to CIF establishing an
Afrocentric mentorship programme called Mentorship for Freedom. Currently, CIF has
directly touched the lives of over 300 children through scholarship and mentorship,
and mentored 10,000 others. Here is a short feature of Utheri and her work as aired on
Voice of America (2020) and at a local TV station (2016).

Currently, Utheri is running CIFS, an Afrocentric school that nurtures children to be black
and proud, have values and ubuntu, know who they are, can articulate what their
strengths are, be innovative and patriotic. CIFS is four years old and is growing to be a
gifted and talented centre. In addition, Utheri offers an array of services that range from
educational advisory and excellent qualitative research consultancy, to culture change
workshops. She is well published in the social sciences and has managed diverse
qualitative research projects in Africa. Utheri is well travelled, and her professional roles
have seen her partner with teams in nine countries. She was selected to join African
Leadership Academy’s Anzisha Education Accelerator programme () and is also a Metis
fellow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELwF_Soin1o&t=23s
Dr Utheri Kanayo
Co-Founder, Children in Freedom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRx4KYfdc4&t=8s

https://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/programs/aea/

https://metiscollective.org/2017-metis-fellows/dr-susan-kiragu-kanayo

27
 Tonee Ndungu is an innovation architect, techpreneur, and the founder of the
platform revolutionizing education in Kenya, Kytabu. Tonee built his first non-
profit when he was only 25, The Kenya Wazimba Youth Foundation, raising
four million Kenyan Shillings to travel to schools across the country talking
about leadership. It would only be a few years before Tonee would launch his
first company. The company’s eventual failure wouldn’t deter him, he just built
another. This company, Nailab, went on to become the largest ICT incubator in
Kenya which raised €5 Million before he turned 30– including a $1 million
partnership with the World Bank.
Kytabu is valued at $5.6m and is the education platform the Kenyan
government will use to roll-out its laptop program with Safaricom and
Microsoft. Tonee was inspired by his own struggles with education. He battled
through the Kenyan education system with dyslexia, relying on audio books or
simply falling behind. His inability to absorb information like his peers tethered
him, but it was also his launchpad, making him the entrepreneur he is today.
Tonee is a prolific speaker, having spoken at TEDxNairobi, TEDxKibera,
TEDxPSU, and TEDxChange Amsterdam

Tonee Ndungu
Founder, Kytabu

28

Mohamed El Idrissi
CEO & Co-Founder, Teach for Morocco
Mohamed El Idrissi is the CEO and Co-Founder of Teach For Morocco, a
national teaching NGO and the member of the Network Advisory
Committee of Teach For All, a global network of independent nonprofit
organizations working to expand educational opportunity in their own
countries. His extensive experience in socio-economic development,
business development, and marketing has led to the success of both local
community development and the international retail channels of
prominent global companies.
Mohamed received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from
the International Institute for Higher Education in Morocco (IIHEM) in
2003, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Global Business
Leadership in 2006 from Johnson and Wales University in the US.
In 2006, he joined SANGITA Corp in Boston, USA, as a Business Analyst.
Starting in May 2007, he worked with the Department of Commerce,
Marjane Group, Morocco, where he was a Head of Department. He joined
the American Moroccan Institute (AMI) in 2008 to develop business
projects between Morocco and the United States. He joined Majid Al
Futtaim Retail as the Head of Market in 2011. He decided to run for the
2012 local elections in his hometown of Nador. Not only did he win the
elections, but he was also unanimously elected to serve as the Mayor of
the Municipality Council to implement the rural development framework.
In addition, Mohamed founded several non-profit organizations to
promote socio-economic projects in the region.
29

Gbemisola Abudu
Founder & Managing Partner, BMGA Enterprise
Gbemisola (Gbemi) Abudu is a global marketing expert and soft skills educator who is passionate
about the sustainable political, social, and economic development of Africa, particularly in the areas
of gender equity and education. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of BMGA Enterprise
Limited (BMGA), an EdTech finishing school for the next Information Revolution. The organization
provides social and marketing intelligence to increase productivity of people and organizations.
BMGA equips individuals and organizations with soft skills that optimize their performance and
marketability in the business environment.
The company’s methodology is rooted in the science of learning and behaviour. Each capacity-
building program is designed around how the human brain gathers, retains, and recalls information.
The core courses are well researched and curated to match the global best standard and are
intertwined with the African market’s relevant cultural context.
In 2020, Gbemisola launched the BMGA Fellows Program, a social impact initiative designed to
narrow the skills gap in Africa. The program provides young female university students/graduates
with employability skills, high-level professional development courses, mentorship, and leadership
training. Supporters of the program include Sterling Bank, Yale University Center of Emotional
Intelligence, of Cambridge, Thunderbird School of Global Management, University of Lagos,
University of Ibadan, UN Women, and Gallup. Due to the success of the 2020 cohort, the program
will expand to 5 other African countries in 2021. Gbemisola is also the host of the BMGA Leadership
Speakers Series podcast, which provides professionals the opportunity to hear great leaders share
their career and personal journey of challenges and triumphs.
The goal is for listeners to learn about the fundamental skills that enabled various leaders to develop
a successful career. Season 1 of the BMGA Podcast featured Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife, Dr.
Christian Busch, author of the Serendipity Mindset, Masai Ujiri, President of the Toronto Raptors, to
name a few. The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms i.e., Apple Podcast, Spotify,
Anchor, etc. Before BMGA, Gbemisola worked as a global marketer for some of the most reputable
companies and governments across the world, enabling her to develop a holistic understanding of
the international business environment and a sound understanding of brand stewardship.
As Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Anap Jets, she was part of the founding management team
that created a sharing economy in the African business aviation industry. In her role at Louis Vuitton,
she was part of the team that opened the largest Louis Vuitton store in North America. She has also
worked for Polo Luxury, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, White & Case LLP, Walt Disney Company,
and Clorox Company. Through all these experiences, she has built a proven track record of piloting
and driving businesses into new marketplaces. Gbemisola holds a Master of Business Administration
(MBA) in Global Marketing and Global Development from Thunderbird School of Global
Management and a B.Sc. in Marketing and Public Relations from the University of Wyoming.
30
 Professor Moses Oketch is Professor of International Education Policy
and Development at the University College London (UCL) Institute of
Education and Co-Director of its Centre for Education and
International Development (CEID). He has published widely on the
connection between the theory of human capital and
implementation of policies in the areas of economics of education,
education policy analysis, and impact evaluation.

He has also contributed to and supported research capacity

strengthening in Africa through his involvement with the African
Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) as a Senior
Research Scientist and Director of Research. He was a member of the
Board of Directors of the Comparative and International Education
Society (CIES), and Associate Editor of International Journal of
Educational Development. Professor Oketch is currently a member of
the Ethiopia research team on the Research on Improving Systems
of Education (RISE); and Higher Education and the public good in
Africa. Professor Oketch was educated in Kenya and the United
States. He received his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana
Moses Oketch Champaign.

Professor of International Education

Policy, University College London

31
 Alice Amegah is an emerging expert in Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) for human development and
flourishing. She has experience in adolescent mental health and
development, careers guidance and counselling through voluntary
and paid work with local and international organisations like Tema
General Hospital, Education and Employers Charity, Forum for World
Education and UNESCO. She is a PhD in Education candidate at the
University of Cambridge, where she researches young women's
participation in STEM in vocational pathways in Ghana. As a
TVET researcher, she hopes to re-conceptualise gender equity and
access for girls and women to flourish in STEM-related TVET
programmes and careers.

Alice Amegah
Doctoral Scholar, Education,
University of Cambridge

32
Photography by Seun James Taiwo
Education and transportation are the most threatened social activities in most conflict areas of the sub-Sahara. Yet
many still strive to get an education despite the mass abductions and bombings. The two images (locations
undisclosed) show how people keep putting in the effort for their children's learning with new measures of informal
security. ASCU is currently involved with not only widening access to education at the top level (i.e access to
Cambridge), but also at the bottom level in various African communities of need.
33
Photography by Seun James Taiwo
34
Tuma Basa Hamid Ibrahim
Lineo Segoete Bright
OKpocha aka Basketmouth
uribaK suryC
Cyrus Kabiru
htuomteksaB aka ahcopKO
thgirB eteogeS oeniL
The Arts Panel
35
Owning our Stories:
Creative Media and the Strength
of the African Arts Industry
Across the plethora of mediums that are used to
express creative thoughts, a sense of ownership and
independence in recounting your own journey is
fundamental. Literature, graphic design, visual,
performative, and plastic art are all avenues through
which individuals since the dawn of humankind,
have expressed themselves, have conserved their
traditions, societies, and histories, and have
advocated for change. African artists, past and
present, have creatively employed the natural and
cultural resources available to them to express their
ideas while promoting vigorous change and the
uplifting of the continent amidst despair, hegemonic
forces, and inequality.
This panel will address the power and potential of
the African arts sectors through the experiences of
the speakers and through the engagement with
rising trends across this ecosystem.
36
 Owning our Stories:
Creative Media and the Strength
of the African Arts Industry Africa Together

22nd May 2021, 2:00pm - 3:20pm

The Panelists

(L-R)
Tuma Basa, Lineo Segoete, Hamid Ibrahim, Cyris Kabiru, Bright Okpocha, & Meron Benti
Director of Black Music Co-Founder & Co-Director, Co-Founder, Kugali Media Visual Artist Stand-up Comedian, Head of Logistics,
& Culture, YouTube Ba re e ne re Literary Arts Actor & Producer Africa Together
Development Studies
Postgraduate
University of Cambridge
register via airmeet (Moderator)
www.africansocietycambridge.org 37
Nzubechukwu Winifred-Alexise Ekwonye in
Yoga as performance
photograph by Uzo Onyeulo, 2021

Children returning to class after play , 2021. Seun James Taiwo for the Penumbra
Space foundation 38
 Director of Black Music & Culture, Youtube

As Director of Black Music & Culture at YouTube, Tuma Basa is responsible

for leading activities that draw on his deep industry connections and expertise in
programming
to increase YouTube’s engagement with the culture. He is also focused on
helping artists and labels get the full benefit of YouTube’s direct-to-fan tools
through product education.

Prior to YouTube, Tuma served as global programming head of hip-hop at Spotify

where he was responsible for curating popular playlists for the service including
RapCaviar, one of Spotify’s biggest and most popular playlists with over 9 million
followers.

Tuma began his career in hip hop with a four-year stint in BET's Music Programming
Department right after college. He then went on to spend ten years at MTV in music
programming for channels and franchises such as MTV Jams and Sucker Free. While
at MTV, Tuma earned his MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business.
After MTV, Tuma helped Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs launch REVOLT where he served
as Vice President of Music Programming.

Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (then called Zaire)

in a family originally from Rwanda, Tuma spent his childhood in Iowa and moved to
Zimbabwe for his entire teen years. Tuma attended the University of Iowa where he
Tuma Basa reunited with his favorite US college football and basketball teams, The Iowa
Music Entrepreneur Hawkeyes.

39
 Co-Founder, Kugali Media
Hamid Ibrahim was born in Uganda in 1993, partly raised in Kenya and moved to
London about 10 years ago. He studied 3D modeling and Animation at the University
of Hertfordshire. After graduation, he worked as a CG artist in the highest levels of
visual entertainment on Hollywood Blockbusters like The Lion King (2019), Dumbo
(2019), The Predator (2018) and Dolittle (2020). In 2018, he started working full-time
on Kugali Media (a company he co-founded). As the creative director at Kugali, he
uses his talent to bring African stories and art to the world. Kugali is an entertainment
company that focuses on telling stories inspired by African Culture through the
mediums of comic books, art and Augmented reality. These are stories that respect
the history, embrace the present and imagine a future of Africa. Kugali is the largest
publisher of African comic books, leading augmented reality experience creator (as
an official Snapchat lens creator) and the first company in history to collaborate with
Disney Animation studios to create an original animation) Hamid has been featured
on BBC News, CNN and several other news outlets.

Hamid Ibrahim
Creative Entrepreneur

40
 Co-founder and Co-Director, ‘Ba re e ne re Literary Arts’

Lineo Segoete is a writer, researcher, photographer and creative. She is Co-founder

and Co-director of ‘Ba re e ne re Literary Arts’; a cultural organisation that promotes
storytelling and critical literacy in Lesotho. She Co-convened for the Africa Cluster in
the global arts education research collective; ‘Another Roadmap School’, between
2017 and 2020 and is a 2016–2017 Hubert Humphrey Fellow from Vanderbilt
University. She's currently the Content curation and distribution manager for
Selemela Learning Network, where her main focuses are on developing education
technologies for learners through project based learning and a medial literacy
platform. Her independent work centers on arts education, reactivating archives and
cultural production

Lineo Segoete
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Ba re e
ne re Literary Arts

41
 Nigerian Stand-up comedian, actor, and producer,
Basketmouth has hosted some of the biggest TV shows in Nigeria today (The MTV
Base Big Friday Show) Comedy Central Present and Comedy Central’s
Ridiculousness to mention a few, winning serval awards. He is the executive
producer of one of the biggest sitcoms on television, FLATMATES and creator of the
latest comedy series online PAPA BENJI. He is the CEO of Barons World
Entertainment Ltd, the organizers of the hugely popular international concerts:
Basketmouth Uncensored, Lords of the Ribs with Basketmouth, The Son of Peter,
African Kings of Comedy, Jokes and Roses, and Sunday Nite Laughs. Bright is widely
regarded as the top comdian domiciled on the continent. He is married to the
beautiful Elsie Okpocha and blessed with 3 beautiful children.

Bright Okpocha aka Basketmouth

Stand-up Comedian, Actor & Producer

42
 Cyrus Kabiru was born in 1984 in Nairobi, Kenya, where he currently lives and works. In 2019,
Kabiru was a resident artist at the Africa First Residency in collaboration with START incubator
project in Israel; preceded by the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) Artist in
Residency Programme at the Segera Retreat in Laikipia, Kenya in 2018 and the Fundació Han
Nefkens residency in Barcelona, Spain in 2016. Selected awards include the Quartz Africa
Innovators recognition at Quartz Africa’s Innovators Summit in Nairobi in 2016; the Maker Faire
Africa Award for Best Artist Innovation – Thinking Outside the Box in 2010; and the Young
Innovator Award by the Sandbox Network, in London, UK, in 2007. Recent talks and
presentations include Comparative Futurisms | Afro-Asian Perspectives, as part of Art Basel in
Hong Kong, China in 2019; Re-Visioning Africa Through the Creative Lens with Cyrus Kabiru at
the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington DC, USA in 2018, as well as
“The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered” at the TED Talk Conference in Los Angeles, USA in
2013. Notable group exhibitions include: Material Insanity at MACAAL in Marrakech, Morocco
and KUBATANA at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium in Vestfossen, Norway, both in 2019; the
Kochi-Muziris Biennale in Kochi, India in 2018; All Things Being Equal, at Zeitz Museum of
Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2017; Making Africa – A
Continent of Contemporary Design, a travelling exhibition curated by Amelie Klein with Okwui
Enwezor, at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany in 2015, later shown at The
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and selected museums in the USA; Brutal Beauty:
Violence and Contemporary Design at the MARTA Herford Museum of Contemporary Art in
Herford, Germany in 2016; Lumières d’Afriques, at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris,
France; AFRICA – Architecture & Identity at the Louisiana Museum in Humlebæk, Denmark;
Beyond Borders, the 5th edition of the Beaufort Triennial in West Flanders, Belgium; and
Unorthodox, at The Jewish Museum in New York City, USA, all in 2015. Selected solo
exhibitions include: Macho Mbadala in Johannesburg and Pandashuka in Cape Town, both at
Cyrus Kabiru SMAC Gallery in 2017; C-Stunners and Black Mamba, at SMAC Gallery in Cape Town, in 2015,
Visual Artist Cyrus Kabiru at Kuntspodium T Gallery in Tilburg, Netherlands, in 2011. Kabiru’s art fair
presence includes solo presentations at Art X Lagos, in Nigeria, in 2018, The Armory Show, as
part of the curated section, African Perspectives, in New York in 2016; Black Mamba at the
FNB Joburg Art Fair in Johannesburg, South Africa as well as The End Of The Black Mamba at
the LOOP Fair in Barcelona, Spain, both in 2015.

43
 Meron Benti, Meron is an MPhil in Development Studies candidate at Wolfson College.
Meron is originally from Ethiopia but grew up in Italy and the United States. She loves
bringing Africans and Africa enthusiasts together for a fun and enriching time. She is
currently serving as ASCU’s Logistics Chair. In the future, she hopes to contribute to the
growth of young Africans’ creative and entrepreneurial potential.

Meron Benti
Head of Logistics, Africa Together
Development Studies Postgraduate
University of Cambridge

44
from the 'Strides of Change' Documentary by Stephen Ajadi & Seun James Taiwo,
2021; shot as a part initiative for the Africa Together Conference

boy children

The boy child is growing to be the most vulnerable demographic in various unstable spaces of sub-Saharan
Africa. Their vulnerability is partly catalysed by the non-contextual accentuation of child gender in discourses of
instability and conflict. There is a growing need to educate and develop the boy child as the price to be paid if
they grow up along anti-social trajectories is high. Sometimes the perpetuation of conflict is due to the
misguidance of the demographic. Also, inclusivity is an integral parameter of sustainable development. New
strategies targeting displaced boys for instance are showing huge development propensities already.
45
from the 'Strides of Change' Documentary by Stephen Ajadi & Seun James Taiwo,
2021; shot as a part initiative for the Africa Together Conference 46
Stephen Ajadi & Seun James Taiwo, 2021

47
Samaila Zubairu Dr Ernesrt
Addison Selam Kebede
edebeK maleS nosiddA
trsenrE rD uriabuZ aliamaS
edebeK maleS nosiddA
trsenrE rD uriabuZ aliamaS
Business Panel II
48
 Africa Together

Accessing the investment landscape in Africa

23rd May 2021, 12:30pm - 1:45pm

The Panelists

(L-R) Selam Kebede Carole Ramella David Izuogu

Director for Antler, East Africa Founder and Managing Director, Doctoral Scholar, Chemistry,
GFA Consulting Limited University of Cambridge
(Moderator)

register via airmeet

www.africansocietycambridge.org 49
 Selam leads Antler's operations in East Africa. Before joining
Antler, she has worked for various VCs and entrepreneurship support
organizations across multiple geographies. Selam holds MSc Degree
in Electrical & Communication Engineering from Aalto University,
Finland. Selam is passionate about tech, innovation, coffee, and
Africa.

Selam Kebede
Technology Entrepreneur

50
 Carole has +22-year experience in financial analysis, fundraising advisory, company
valuation and mergers & acquisitions acquired in France (Paribas, Arthur Andersen, Gras
Savoye and Duff & Phelps).
Experience with both SMEs and large multinationals on transactions representing more
than 22 billion Euros in value and covering more than 15 countries on 4 continents.
Expertise in a large number of sectors: information systems, publishing, financial
services, transportation & logistics, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, food & beverages, etc.
She is the founder and Managing Director of GFA Consulting, a corporate finance
boutique based in Ghana and specialized in business support and fundraising advisory
for SMEs operating in West and Central Africa.
INSEAD MBA (Fontainebleau, France) and graduate of Reims Management School in
France (major in Finance).
Since 2016, Carole has been a Foreign Trade Advisor for the French Government.
Carole is also on the Investment Committee of Investisseurs & Partenaires (IPAE2), an
international private equity fund based in France and which invests in businesses in
West and Central Africa (http://www.ietp.com/en/content/impact-funds).
Proficient in French, English and Italian.

Carole Ramella
Founder and Managing Director,
GFA Consulting Limited

51
 David Izuogu is the founder of Africa of Our Dream Initiative (AODI), an
organization that aims to empower African youths through world class
education. He leads a series of research collaborations through the
Partner Africa Project (PAP) and is heavily involved in the Cambridge
entrepreneurial ecosystem having founded the Wolfson Entrepreneurs
Society at Cambridge. David is pursuing a PhD in Computational
Chemistry at the University of Cambridge where he is investigating
molecular designs for the fabrication of single-molecule magnets with
application in quantum computing."

David Izuogu
Doctoral Scholar, Chemistry,
University of Cambridge

52
Jackie Chimhanzi Judy
Sikuza Caren Wakoli Faith
gnopmirF
Abiodun & Shadrack
kcardahS & nudoibA
Frimpong
htiaF ilokaW neraC azukiS
yduJ iznahmihC eikcaJ
Youth Leadership 53
 In modern times, African leadership — like many leadership systems

Nourishing in the world today, has appeared to become synonymous with

corrupt leadership, with many African countries dominating the high
corruption indices lists. This panel will reflect on how a balanced
Youth Leadership perspective can be maintained when discussing and addressing
corruption in the African context and the importance of this
approach. The past decade has seen a major rise in exemplary
young African leadership, especially in the entrepreneurial and social
innovation spaces. Consequently, the panel will also highlight these
wins for African leadership and discuss how the youths of today are
uniquely positioned to drive positive change not only in
entrepreneurial and social innovation spaces, but also in political
spaces. Lastly, the panel will discuss the importance of intentionally
cultivating good leadership values in African youth and how this can
be achieved.

Youth village, Kebbi, Nigeria. Seun James Taiwo (2015) 54

 Nourishing
Youth Leadership Africa Together
23rd May 2021, 2:00pm - 3:15pm

The Panelists

(L-R) Jackie Chimhanzi, Faith Abiodun, Judy Sikuza, Caren Wakoli & Shadrack Frimpong
CEO, African Leadership Institute CEO, The Mandela Founder, Emerging Moderator; Doctoral Scholar,
Executive Director,
Rhodes Foundation Leaders Foundation University of Cambridge
Future Africa

register via airmeet

www.africansocietycambridge.org 55
 Dr Jackie Chimhanzi is a seasoned strategist with some 20 years’ experience in
strategy – as both an academic and a practitioner. She is passionate about Africa
and is driven by a desire to see a better Africa, in her lifetime. She is the CEO of
the African Leadership Institute which runs the Archbishop Tutu Leadership
Fellowship, in partnership with Oxford University. She is a keen Africa
watcher and was recognised by Forbes Africa magazine as one of the 20
Youngest Power Women in Africa in 2012 – women under 45 shaping the
narrative of Africa’s rising. In 2020, she was featured on the "100 Most Reputable
Africans" list and in 2019, on the "100 Most Influential African Women" list.
She was, previously, the Senior Strategist of the Industrial Development
Corporation of South Africa (IDC) and before that, as a Strategy Lead at Deloitte
Consulting, she led project teams on diverse client engagements, interrogating
and informing the strategies of major entities in the power, oil and gas, steel and
brewery industries. Whilst at Deloitte, she was instrumental in setting up the
Deloitte Africa Desk and advised clients on accessing opportunities on the African
continent. She serves as a non-executive board member and Audit and Risk
Committee member of the AdvTech Group, a JSE-listed entity in private
education and Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, listed on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange. She is also the Chair of that Board's Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) Committee. She serves in a number of advisory capacities as a
member of the ONE Africa Policy Advisory Board and as a member of the World
Economic Forum's Africa Regional Strategy Group. She holds a BSc (Hons), MBA
(with Distinction) and a PhD (Strategic Marketing) - all from Cardiff Business
School, UK. As an academic, she lectured and authored and co-authored
papers in peer reviewed leading academic journals and presented her work at
various international fora. She is a 2010 Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow.
Jackie Chimhanzi
Leadership Strategist

56
 Judy Sikuza is the CEO of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation. A leadership and
organisation development specialist, she is passionate about empowering
individuals, groups and organisations to fulfil their highest potential. Judy began
her career in the private sector as an Organisation Development practitioner
working for Absa, then Investec Bank. She also consulted in the development
sector for Reos Partners, a social enterprise that helps governments, companies,
and civil society organisations make progress on their most important complex
challenges. Judy joined The Mandela Rhodes Foundation in 2014, holding
manager and director positions as head of the Foundation’s programming, before
her appointment as the organisation’s CEO in 2019. Judy is a non-executive Board
Director of Oxford University Press South Africa, and chairs the Board’s
transformation and ethics committee.

She is also the Board Chairperson of Sound Africa, a podcast non-profit with a
mission to produce African stories that advance social justice and amplify the
voices of everyday people. Judy has been invited as a keynote speaker, panellist,
moderator and programme director on several public platforms locally and
internationally, for institutions such as the Graça Machel Trust, Obama Foundation,
Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, Oxford University, and various
provincial and national school principals’ association conferences. On these
platforms she has advanced thought leadership on topics such as leadership,
transformation, resilience, nation building and delivered graduation speeches at
Wits University and University of Cape Town. Judy has published work in the Daily
Maverick, Mail & Guardian, and The Journalist. Some of Judy’s other achievements
include being an Abe Bailey Fellow to the United Kingdom, Mail & Guardian’s Top
200 Young South Africans, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow, and
Sarie magazine’s top 10 women under 30. Judy was born and raised in the Eastern
Cape, South Africa.

She matriculated in 2003 from Stirling High School in East London (with
distinction); completed a BA Psychology degree (Cum Laude) from the Nelson
Mandela University (NMU) in Port Elizabeth and went on to obtain an Honours
Judi Sikuza degree in Industrial/Organisational Psychology also from NMU as a Mandela
Leadership Strategist Rhodes Scholar in the Class of 2007. Judy holds an MA in Organisation Psychology
from Columbia University in New York City, which she completed as a Fulbright
Scholar. She is also a certified coach through the Centre for Coaching at the
University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. In her spare time Judy
enjoys sports, travelling, music, reading, and spending time with loved ones and
her beloved daughter.
57
 Caren Wakoli is the Founder and Executive Director of Emerging Leaders Foundation
(ELF); an organization that equips young people with skills and knowledge to enable them
to thrive and be positive agents of change in society. She is a certified leadership coach,
transformational leadership trainer, certified 7-Habits of Highly Effective People trainer,
mentor, and social entrepreneur who delights in mentoring young women and men to be
able to discover their purpose and achieve their greatest potential in life. She has over 17
years’ experience of doing youth empowerment work in Kenya and Africa at large.

She created history as having been the first woman to be elected Vice President of the
Student’s Organization of Nairobi University (SONU). This was after being elected for three
terms consecutively – first as Congresslady, Gender Affairs Secretary, then wound up as
the Vice Chair of the union. She has taken part in various policy processes including Kenya
Vision 2030, National Youth Policy, and National Human Development Report 2010 and
2016.
She serves on various boards, governmental and non-governmental – she is the Chair of
The Youth Congress, and is a founding director at YALI East Africa, board member at
Impact Africa Industries, Siasa Place and DSW Kenya Chapter. She has previously served
as a Board member representing young people in government boards - Uwezo Fund
Oversight Board, Advisory Board of NACADA, National Council member of African Peer
Review Mechanism (APRM) and Nairobi City County Interim Youth Advisory and resource
Mobilization Board (as the Chair). She previously served as the spokesperson for African
youth at the African Governance Forum (AGF), and actively took part in the formulation of
Agenda 2063 through the regional youth forums convened by the African Governance
Architecture (AGA).

Caren has received several recognitions for her commitment to youth and women
empowerment, democracy and good governance, the latest being the recognition by
President Obama in his speech at the Mandela Lecture in South Africa in 2018. She is the
2018 winner of a Pan African Award - CEO Global Most Influential Women in Business and
Government (Civil Society and welfare category) the East African winner. She has been
profiled as one of the most influential women in East Africa, by the East African Standard
Karen Wakoli Newspaper in 2017. She is a 2018 Obama Foundation Africa Leaders fellow. Additionally,
she is a YALI East Africa 2014 Fellow, East African Acumen Fellow 2014, Spark* Kenya
Leadership Strategist Changemaker 2013 and Young Female Achiever 2006 at the University of Nairobi.
She has a master’s degree in international studies and Bachelor of Arts in Communication
and Sociology, both from the University of Nairobi. In her free time, she loves to read, take
nature walk, watch movies, learn how to play guitar and listen to jazz music

58
 Faith Abiodun is Executive Director at Future Africa – a public sector
leadership organization; and Collaborative Impact Director at Catalyst
2030 – a coalition of the world’s leading social enterprises working to
achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

In a career spanning nearly a decade at African Leadership Academy,

he served as a member of the senior executive team overseeing
Communications, Marketing, Program Recruitment and Partnerships. In
2013, he founded the ALA Model African Union, providing a platform for
developing the continent’s future public sector leaders. He also
provides socio-political commentary for global news outlets like the
BBC and South African Broadcasting Corporation.

Faith earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration at Syracuse

University, New York, where he was a University Senator and President
of the Coalition of Multicultural Public Affairs Students. He is an alumnus
of the World Innovation Summit for Education’s Executive Education
Programme, and he sits on the Board of Trustees for News Decoder, a
global educational news service.
www.faithabiodun.com
Faith Abiodun
Leadership Strategist

59
 Shadrack O. Frimpong is a triple threat to problems in international development: he’s
lived through them, studied them, and taken them on. Described by former U.N.
Secretary- General Mr. Kofi Annan as “the embodiment of [youth] leadership,” Shadrack
is a non-profit leader and global health scholar whose work is inspired by his
background. A son of a peasant and a charcoal seller, he grew up without running water
and electricity in rural Ghana. Yet, he became the first person from his village to attend
college in the U.S,

graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with the President’s Engagement Prize
(PEP), one of Penn’s highest honours. With the PEP, he founded Cocoa360, which has
established an all-girls tuition-free school and medical clinic whose operations are
subsidized by cocoa farm revenues. Frimpong holds master’s degrees from Penn (M.S.,
NonProfit Leadership) and Yale (MPH, Global Health), both of which he graduated with
the top prizes. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health and Primary Care at the
University of Cambridge as a Gates-Cambridge Scholar. Shadrack’s work has merited
numerous honours, including the Huntington Public Service Award, Forbes 30 under 30,
Clinton Foundation’s CGIU Honour Roll, HRM Queen Elizabeth II’s Young Leader Award,
and the Muhammad Ali Award.

Shadrack Frimpong
Moderator; Doctoral Scholar,
University of Cambridge

60
Children returning to class after play , 2021. Seun James Taiwo for the Penumbra
Space foundation 61
Maimuna Mohd Sharif
Taibat Lawanson Ephraim
Kabunda Munshifwa
awfihsnuM adnubaK
miarhpE nosnawaL tabiaT
firahS dhoM anumiaM
The Cities Panel
62
 Lagos City, Nigeria. Jide Ayeni, 2018

Resilience of African Cities:

What the World Can Learn,
And Ways Forward.
Cradling some of the oldest civilizations known to the world, the cities of Africa have led global trajectories of city growth at various areas and levels. In very recent centuries,
they have navigated ancient wars, as well as past and present colonial eras. Even in current times, the African city has contended with the harshest, economic, social and
political problems. What is worthy of note is the ability of the African city to engage, adjust and survive through most of the challenges it is facing. Unfortunately, the narrative
of the African city is often thematised by its challenges than its response to the challenges. Cities of Africa on the other hand have demonstrated sustainable resilience and
growth across various facets, even in the face of some of the world’s most complicated challenges. The current complicated social pressures of friction and segregation, and
the pandemic are two conspicuous cases where the resilience of African cities have been brought to the fore. The panel will attempt to highlight and explain these resilience
systems that cut across the range of institutional responses to rather unconscious and surreptitious social practices of everyday living. The discussions will navigate the
processes of these resilience measures, revealing avenues of learning for the cities themselves and the world at large.

63
Resilience of African Cities:
What the World Can Learn, Africa Together
And Ways Forward.
23rd May 2021, 3:30pm - 4:30pm

The Panelists

Taibat Lawanson Benny Dembitzer Ephraim Munshifwa Ola Uduku Richmond Ehwi
Associate Professor, Planning Development Economist, Associate Professor & Dean, Professor of Architecture, Planner/Land Economist
co-Director; Univeristy of Nobel laureate Copperbelt University, Zambia Manchester School of Post-Doctoral Scholar at,
Lagos Centre for Housing Architecture University of Cambridge
and Sustainable (Moderator)
Development.

register via airmeet

www.africansocietycambridge.org 64
 Ola Uduku is a British African Architect who is the head of the school at the Manchester
school of architecture. She has led a broad set of research in Architecture over the
decades, pushing thought boundaries in domain of African Architecture. Uduku is a
member of the Nigerian Institute of architects and the Royal Institute of British
Architects. She specialises in African educational architecture. Uduku us from Nigeria.
She attended federal Government Girls’ college Owerri, studied architecture at the
University of Nigeria, where she worked toward a master’s degree in the design of solar
housing in the tropics. She moved to the United Kingdom for her graduate studies.
Uduku earned her doctoral degree at the university of Cambridge where she researched
factors that impacted the design of secondary schools in Nigeria.

After earning her doctorate, Uduku completed her qualifying examinations at the Royal
Institute of British Architects. She was appointed to the faculty at Edinburgh college of
art. A few years later Uduku joined the university of Strathclyde, where she earned a
Master of Business Administration. Uduku served as associate professor in architecture
and dean for Africa at the university of Edinburgh. Her research considers educational
architecture in Africa. In 2001 Uduku became a founding member of ArchiAfrika, a non-
profit which looks to improve contemporary architectural history in Nigeria. She created
an exhibition at the Manchester school of art which explored the Alan Vaughan-
Richards archive. In 2017 Uduku was appointed professor of architecture in the
Manchester school of architecture. Here she leads graduate research programmes in
urbanism, heritage and conservation. She founded Eden App Labs, a team of
Ola Uduku researchers who are looking at the use of mobile apps for environmental design.
Professor of Architecture,
Manchester School of
Architecture

65
 Known as one of the fathers of 'Fairtrade', Benny Dembitzer is an
economist who studied under Amartya Sen at Cambridge, then at
Uppsala University and Lausanne University. Over the last 50 years, he
has worked in 35 countries across Africa for different governments and
government bodies (UNDP, ILO, World Bank, DFID, and the
Commonwealth Secretariat etc) and nongovernmental agencies (CARE,
OXFAM, War on Want, FRIDA, International Voluntary Service). His
specialisation is in the field of small-scale industries and grassroots
agriculture. He was the director of the team awarded the 1985 Nobel
Peace Prize for work done through the International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War. Outside Africa, he has worked in Asia. He has
lectured at several universities, including the University of Cambridge.
Benny has authored many works on urban and rural Africa, especially on
poverty, inequality, agriculture, and food security. He is currently the
director of Grassroots Africa, an online support programme for small-
scale farmers in East Africa.

Benny Dembitzer
Development Economist,
Nobel laureate

66
 Taibat Lawanson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban
and Regional Planning at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she leads
the Pro-poor Development and Urban Management Research Cluster.
She is also co-director at the University of Lagos Centre for Housing and
Sustainable Development. She holds a PhD in Urban and Regional
Planning from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.
She has conducted extensive research on issues relating to urban
informality, livability, environmental justice and pro-poor development.
She is interested in how formal and informal systems can synthesize in
the emerging African city, and written or co-authored over 60 articles in
peer-reviewed journals, books and conference proceedings and enjoyed
funding support for her work from UKAid, USAID, Cambridge Alborada
Research Fund, GCRF, British Academy and University of Beyreuth 'Africa
Multiple' among others.

She is a member of the editorial advisory board of Area Development

and Policy Journal of the Regional Studies Association and International
Corresponding Editor at Urban Studies Journal. She is also a member of
the advisory committee of UNHABITAT flagship 'State of the World's
Cities Report'.
She is a registered town planner and a member of the Hunan Capacity
Development Association, Urban Affairs Association and International
Society of City and Regional Planners among others. Taibat is a proud
Taibat Lawanson alumnus of the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Academic
Residency and is a 2013 World Social Science Fellow of the International
Planner Social Science Council.

67
 Ephraim Kabunda Munshifwa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Real
Estate Studies and Dean of the School of the Built Environment at the Copperbelt
University in Kitwe, Zambia. In the past he has worked in different positions in the
University including the most recent position of acting Deputy Vice Chancellor. Dr
Munshifwa holds a PhD in Construction Economics and Management (Property
Studies) from the University of Cape Town (South Africa), MPhil in Land Economy
from the University of Cambridge (England) and a BSc, also in Land Economy, from
the Copperbelt University (Zambia).

He has 28 years working experience as an academic, researcher, administrator,

director and practicing valuation surveyor. Locally, he is a member of a number of
professional bodies including Surveyors Institute of Zambia, Zambia Institute of Estate
Agent and the Institute of Directors Zambia. He is also a licenced valuation surveyor
under the Valuation Surveyors Act Cap 207 of the Laws of Zambia and the current
Chairperson of the Valuation Surveyors Registration Board. Internationally, he is
affiliated to the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research (WINIR) and
the Society for Institutional and Organisational Economic (SIOE).

Dr Munshifwa is a Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Society. Dr Munshifwa

has worked on land policy, urban development, real estate and valuation issues since
1993 in Zambia and Botswana, with frequent collaborative assignments within the
Southern African sub-region. His current research focus is on the application of
institutional economics to land and property, particularly as it relates to property
Ephraim Kabunda Munshifwa rights, formal and informal real estate markets, customary land and governance
structures and urban development. He has published in a number of journals
Land Economist including Land Use Policy, Habitat International, Urban Forum, Pacific Rim Property
Research Journal, Agrarian South and Asian and African Studies.

68
 Richmond is a Land Economist by training and is interested in research related
to smart cities, digital literacy, gated communities, housing policy analysis, and
land administration. He obtained both his MPhil and PhD from the
Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge. He also completed
his undergraduate degree in Land Economy from the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana.
Richmond is currently a research associate at the Cambridge Centre for
Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) where he is involved in smart cities
and digital infrastructure projects aimed at transforming the built environment
in the UK. This research is funded by Innovate UK through the Cambridge
Centre for Digital Built Britain and the Construction Innovation Hub. Richmond
has published in reputable journals such as Sustainable City and Society,
Housing Studies, Housing Policy Debate, International Journal of Housing
Market and Analysis and Land Use Policy (forthcoming)
Before he joined the CCHPR on a CDBB-funded project, Richmond worked as
a Research Associate at the Oxford Research Group in Accra, Ghana where he
co-authored the first National Philanthropy Report. He is a founding member
of the Property and Planning Institute of Ghana and worked as an estate
manager in a gated community in Accra.
Richmond has also consulted for the reputable Washington-based real estate
company BlackIvy Group on the feasibility of the higher-end real estate
market in Ghana.
Richmond Ehwi Richmond has taught Foundational Economics at the Cambridge Ruskin
Planner/Land Economist International College (CRIC).

69
 ASCU Initiatives
The African Society of Cambridge University has a number of initiatives aimed at various facets of development for
African Students at the institution. Please log unto our website (www.africansocietycambridge.org) or contact us
(ascu@cusu.cam.ac.uk) for more information.

Africa Over Coffee Africans of Cambridge

A program that manages and documents semi formal conversations
about the continent over coffee and snacks with an invited guest
who is an expert on a theme. The program has been running for
years. The small groups enable a different kind of discussion with
topical range that can be both wide and personalistic.
ASCU Mentorship Programme
This program was launched in response to the void of the stories and
presence of Africans at Cambridge, ‘Africans of Cambridge’ aims to
highlight the Africans that were and are part of Cambridge. The
initiative is going further to document the history of the African
Association at the University of Cambridge. Interviews from early
alumni are needed.

A new initiative by the African Society of Cambridge University in

partnership with Africa of Our Dream Initiative (AODI) that aims to
provide general guidance and support on the postgraduate
application process for Africans applying to the University of
Cambridge. The program will run from June to December 2021, and
will include one-to-one mentorship support with a matched current
student or alumni. There will also be limited financial support for
application fees as needed.
Africa Oxbridge Dialogues
This recently launched program is a collaboration between African
and African Diaspora students of Cambridge University and the
University of Oxford. The dialogue series convenes a recorded
schedule of discussions on Africa between Oxford and Cambridge
students. The Dialogues are expected to lead to deeper and broader
levels of joint social activities in the future.
Conflict and Displacement Group
In conjunction with the Penumbra Space Foundation the initiative was
set up due to the growing need of the foundation to take prompt and
timely steps to help or assist (directly or indirectly) in situations of
conflict or unrest across the continent. Activities include linking NGOs
for optimised impact, amplifying voices for peace and educating
people and communities of the necessary steps to minimise or avert
damage during periods of unrest. New membership is continuously
encouraged.
Socials
The ASCU social programme creates a platform for African students
to get together in the most informal and socially inclusive ways.
Activities are geared towards culture exchange and a multiplicity of
exposure to various ways of living exemplified by our richly diverse
group. The recent turn of events have limited interaction to virtual
modes but new ways of meeting are still being developed and
adapted.
70
 Africa Together Planning Committee

L-R
Ezinne Onyeka; Co-Chair, Cambridge Africa Business Network

Gbenga Oyebanji; Co-Chair, Cambridge Africa Business Network

Cynthia Okoye; Co- President African Society of Cambridge University & Co-chair, Africa Together Conference, Fund Raising

Stephen Ajadi; Co- President African Society of Cambridge University & Co-chair, Africa Together Conference, Branding & Media Management

Meron Benti; Head of Logistics

Okorafor Ikeagwu: Head of Publicity

71
 Antler East Africa

Center of African Studies, University of Cambridge

Dr Gabriel Amable, Senior Treasurer, ASCU

David Izuogu, PhD in Chemistry Candidate, University of Cambridge

Shadrack Frimpong, PhD in Public Health and Primary Care Candidate, University of Cambridge

Oliver Barker-Vormawor, PhD in Law Candidate, University of Cambridge

Special thanks Kenneth Okwor, PhD in Law Candidate, University of Cambridge

Alice Amegah, PhD in Education Candidate, University of Cambridge

to all our Charity Bhebhe, PhD in Pharmacology Candidate, University of Cambridge

Iye Kusi-Mensah, PhD in Sociology Candidate, University of Cambridge

supporters and Muhammed Alakitan, MPhil in Development Studies Candidate, University of Cambridge

Valentina Ndolo, PhD in Veterinary Medicine Candidate, University of Cambridge

contributors, Chilombo Musa, PhD in Land Economy Candidate, University of Cambridge

Ntombi Makuyana, PhD in Biological Sciences Candidate, University of Cambridge

You are well

Charles Emogor, PhD in Zoology Candidate, University of Cambridge

Seun James Taiwo, Official Photographer to the Governor of Kogi State, Nigeria; Art/media co-ordinator;
Penumbra Space Foundation

Appreciated! Awofeso Adebola; co-founder, Young Shapers Club, Nigeria

Nzubechukwu Winifred-Alexise Ekwonye; Fitness Enthusiast and Yoga Instructor, Model, Filmmaker

Uzodinma Onyeulo; Photographer

Babatunde Adeleke; Writer, Photographer

Taibat Ajiboye; Official Photographer of the Nigeria Minister for Humanitarian Disaster and Management

Jide Ayeni, Photographer

All the Children photographed (with due permission and help from their parents and wards, who are also
appreciated but unnamed as instructed)
72
Special Thanks to our Sponsors!

73
Photo by Seun James Taiwo
A document of the Africa Together Conference, 2021. designed and edited by Stephen Ajadi for the African Society of Cambridge University (c) 2021
74
https://www.africansocietycambridge.org/
ascu@cusu.cam.ac.uk

A document of the Africa Together Conference, 2021.

Designed and edited by Stephen Ajadi
for the African Society of Cambridge University Africa Together