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governance and other reforms that have taken place mean that slow and steady improvements should
continue to be the norm.
INSEAD: Why is Africa an interesting continent for entrepreneurs?
AA: One of the secrets of Africa, despite all the problems one hears about, is that this part of the world
has seen the highest earned returns on investment. This is due to the low availability of many services,
leading to people being prepared to pay well for services and the creation of vast market opportunities.
When I was working at the IFC, we invested in mobile telephony in Africa in the late 1990s and early
2000s and made huge profits – some of the highest returns on investments that the IFC has made in its
history. Such successes have been repeated in several other sectors.
Another reason for many African countries is the emerging middle-class. The emergence of a black middleclass
in South Africa has been one of the major growth levers in that country in the post-apartheid era,
and a similar phenomenon is now being seen in other countries.
INSEAD: INSEAD launched the 'Africa Initiative' in an effort to bring more African content; experiences
and participants in our programmes, increase connections between African and non-African networks, and
reinforce INSEAD's mission to create truly global leaders. In your opinion, what should INSEAD aim to
achieve within this initiative in the next three to five years?
AA: Unfortunately so far, INSEAD has not been able to capture as large a 'share of mind' in Africa as
alumni like me would like to see. Over the next three to five years INSEAD should aim to increase African
participation in the MBA and executive education programmes. The latter being very important as these
programmes expose senior executives to INSEAD, thus increasing awareness and acceptance of the
school. Part of this will also need to involve developing content relevant to Africa – including case studies
of African companies, as well as a more targeted marketing campaign. On a practical level, making it
easier for Africans to be able to come to INSEAD would also be helpful. I know of at least one person who
decided not to take an MBA at INSEAD because the French embassy in Nigeria made it so hard for him to
get a visa that he gave up and went to an American school instead. Much of the effort in trying to attract
Africans to INSEAD is focused on scholarships, which is very good. However, there are many Africans who
have enough qualifications to get into the MBA programme and who can afford it, but they just don't think
of INSEAD.
INSEAD: What has proved to be of the most value from having taken the MBA programme at INSEAD?
AA: The network, organisational behaviour, and the awareness of the totality of business. More than ten
years on, I don't remember so many of the specifics that I learnt during the programme. But I do
remember a range of skills that I use in my day-to-day job. I can't calculate the price of an option off the
top of my head as I could have done at the end of my MBA, but rather like learning to read, the MBA
provided me with a skill set and experience that continues to serve, and I imagine will do so for the rest of
my life.
INSEAD: What is your most favourite memory from INSEAD?
AA: There are too many to pick one, but the summer ball, dinners and parties at the various houses, early
morning runs, sunflower fields near Recloses - where I lived, group work – yes group work, are all happy
memories. If I am really forced to pick one thing, it would have to be the people – the rich blend of my
fellow participants, the knowledge of the faculty and the friendliness of all the staff at INSEAD.