A tribute to African entrepreneurs: this month, July, sees the presentation of the first ever CBC - African Business Awards in London. Companies and individuals from all over Africa vied for awards in 16 different categories. African Business editor Anver Versi has the details.Encouraged by the runaway success of our African Banker Awards last year, we decided to plunge even deeper into what is for us still the relatively new world of award presentations by announcing the CBC-African Business Awards. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The CBC-African Business Awards is really a tribute to African entrepreneurs who continue to forge ahead despite obstacles that would have buried many other companies from many other regions. One of this is the persistently negative impression of Africa that the rest of the world's media loves to project. If you obtain your information only from the Western mainstream media--and, to their shame, the Indian and Chinese media as well--you would think the whole of Africa is embroiled em·broil tr.v. em·broiled, em·broil·ing, em·broils 1. To involve in argument, contention, or hostile actions: "Avoid . . . in wars and is starving. Whatever the reason for this line of reporting, it is nothing but extremely lazy, irresponsible and totally ignorant. And it serves no purpose other than perhaps to provide a cheap byline to a mediocre journalist. What in fact it does is to cheat readers, including the business communities from those countries, by giving them a false image and preventing them from seizing the numerous opportunities the Africa throws up. After all, Africa's economy is growing by 6% per annum Per annum Yearly. when other regions are facing recession and contracting growth! Do you go where the sun is rising or do you go where it is setting? But the award is not about showcasing Africa's best for the benefit of the East or the West. That is their lookout--opportunities exist everywhere; the contest is to be able to see the opportunities and make the most of them. If the Western press is blinding their own business communities to African opportunities and thus depriving them of the chance to compete against the likes of the Chinese, the Indians and now increasingly, the Arabs, they should take itup with their own editors and journalists. The CBC-African Business Awards are a celebration of African enterprise and a great occasion for the players to come together and perhaps cut a few more deals. A word or two about the title of the awards. Readers may recall that originally the awards were advertised as the African Business Awards. We had planned to present them in May in Maputo in conjunction with the African Development Bank's AGM AGM annual general meeting AGM n abbr (= annual general meeting) → AG f AGM n abbr (= annual general meeting) → JHV f . This was not possible for a variety of reasons, the chief one being the sheer logistics. While we were casting around for another venue, I met up with Dr Mohan Kaul, chief executive of the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC (1) (Cell Broadcast Center) See cell broadcast. (2) (Cipher Block Chaining) In cryptography, a mode of operation that combines the ciphertext of one block with the plaintext of the next block. ) at a conference in Mauritius when the matter of the awards came up. "We would like to team up with you," Dr Kaul said. This made a lot of sense. With its vast commercial network spanning the entire Commonwealth and including both English and French speaking Africa, the CBC makes an ideal partner for us. African businesses are increasingly deep ening relations with southern Commonwealth countries (See The South--South Revolution, African Business, May 2008) and there is an equal interest from the other side. We shook hands on the deal and it was decided the awards would become CBC-African Business Awards and the presentation ceremony would take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel The Grosvenor House Hotel is one of the largest and most famous luxury hotels in London. It was built in the 1920s on the site of the former London residence of the Dukes of Westminster, whose family name is Grosvenor. in London on 3 July. The gala dinner and awards presentation would follow the CBC's traditional G8 African Business Forum on the eve On the Eve (Накануне in Russian) is the third novel by famous Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, best known for his short stories and the novel Fathers and Sons. of the G8 Summit in Hokkaido Japan. Organising the event Once the basics had been cleared up, we got down to the small matter of actually organising the event and making a short list of potential winners. While the African Banker Awards were relatively constrained by being limited to one industry in Africa, the CBC-African Business Awards have no such constraints. It is open to all companies in all industries in the whole of Africa. This sounds wonderfully idealistic and epic in scale until you actually get down to the business of making it all happen. Then we suddenly realised that we had plunged into completely uncharted waters Uncharted Waters (Japanese: 大航海時代, Daikoukai Jidai, literally Great Navigation Era) is a popular Japanese video game series produced by Koei as part of its rekoeition games. . There are all kinds of industry and national awards but to the best of my recollection, no continental awards. So we found ourselves contemplating 53 countries each with thousands of business enterprises. We also found ourselves looking at an astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. range of business--from the mega multinationals to the small enterprises providing valuable service to the community. How do you judge performance when conditions vary from the scorching scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. deserts of the Sahelian countries to deep rainforests of the Cameroons and everything else in between? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Then there are the various business cultures--anglophone, francophone, lusophone A Lusophone is someone who speaks the Portuguese language natively or by adoption. As an adjective, it means "Portuguese-speaking." The word itself is derived from the name of the ancient Roman province of Lusitania, which covered an area that is today Portugal. and Arab for starters. In addition, you have vastly varying business practices--the family holding that is a hundred years old and determined to do its own thing in its own way and the ultra modern outfit that has leapfrogged technological generations and is now on a par with the latest trends in the US, Europe or Asia? How much weight do you give to the great divergence The Great Divergence is the period beginning in the 18th century in which the "West" (namely England, followed closely by the rest of Western Europe) clearly emerged as the most powerful region of the world. in economic and business climate that exists in Africa? Is a company that has survived and thrived in a hostile business environment more deserving than one that is basking in a lush climate? Smart move We also had to keep in mind our own resources--we are an international publishing company with a dedicated but small staff and Africa, as we know, is very short of business statistics and information. Yet the task was to trawl trawl - To sift through large volumes of data (e.g. Usenet postings, FTP archives, or the Jargon File) looking for something of interest. through all 53 countries, using whatever information was available, consulting with chambers of commerce, business associations, our own correspondents and business partners in far flung African countries to try and get a good idea about who was doing what and how well. This would obviously entail a colossal amount of work and a very clear organisational structure given all the cross-checking, due diligence Research; analysis; your homework. This term has caught on in all industries, because it sounds so "wired." Who would want to do analysis or research when they can do due diligence. See wired. and so on that was required. The more we looked at African businesses, the more deserving examples seemed to spring up. Our list of categories grew and grew until we ended up with 16. At IC, the more senior members of the organising committee, Group Publisher Afif Ben Yedder and myself made the very smart move of throwing the whole shooting match into Associate Publisher Omar Ben Yed der's lap. "It's your problem now, young man," we told him and reserved the far less arduous 'advisory' roles to ourselves. Omar, nothing daunted daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin , put together a young and enthusiastic team and they began to burn the midnight oil to study or work late at night. See also: Oil , making connections all over the continent and beyond. At this juncture, Professor Steve Godfrey, managing director of CBC Consulting joined the team. He immediately brought in a sharp and incisive edge to decision-making and cheerfully undertook to prepare some very complicated paperwork involving short lists, company profiles, scoring guidelines for the judges and so on. Isabelle Dana with a wealth of event organising experience behind her, also joined the team as the pace quickened and deadlines loomed. The team worked feverishly, on occasion until the early hours of the morning, to get the thousand and one chores done in good time. Many of the nominees would be coming from various African countries and they had to be given sufficient time to arrange for travel and obtain visas and so on. Christian Udechukwu's BusinessinAfrica Events company, which had partnered us for the African Banker Awards, was ready and willing to lend a hand to give assistance. to give assistance; to help. See also: Hand Lend with the occasion itself. The all important issue of sponsorship was taken up by some of Africa's most spectacularly successful finance companies--Nigeria's Zenith Bank and IGI IGI International Genealogical Index IGI International Gemological Institute IGI I'm Going In IGI I Get It IGI Institute of Geologists of Ireland IGI Inspector General for Investigations IGI Institution Gang Investigator (prisons) Insurance and the pan-African Ecobank. The African Development Bank has supported the awards. We are most grateful to these companies for making the awards possible. Another massive vote of thanks goes to the judges. Omari Issa, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of The Investment Climate Facility for Africa was kind enough to drop into our London offices for meetings. His matchless knowledge of African companies was an invaluable input in our discussions. Our heartfelt gratitude to the judges (see box) who agreed to review all the categories and mark the shortlists. Like the competitors, we await their decisions with bated bate 1 tr.v. bat·ed, bat·ing, bates 1. To lessen the force or intensity of; moderate: "To his dying day he bated his breath a little when he told the story" breath. These Awards are really a salute to the inventiveness and staying power of African entrepreneurs. Today, the entrepreneur has become the new African New African is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. hero. A full report on the CBC-African Business Awards, including profiles of the winners, will appear in the August/September issue of African Business magazine. RELATED ARTICLE: Nomination's shortlist short·list also short-list n. A list of preferable items or candidates that have been selected for final consideration, as in making an award or filling a position. Noun 1. Business Leader of the Year Aliko Dangote Aliko Dangote is a businessman based in Nigeria. He is the owner of the Dangote Group, which has operations in Nigeria and several other countries in West Africa. A wealthy supporter of erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), Dangote (Dangote Group) Arnold Ekpe (Ecobank) Tony Elumulu (UBA UBA Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina) UBA Umweltbundesamt (German: Federal Environment Agency) UBA Ubiquitin-Associated UBA Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc UBA Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. Bank) Patrice Motsepe (African Rainbow Minerals) Issad Rebrab (Cevital) Nassef Sawiris (Orascom Construction Industries) Recognition of Leading Contribution From Businesswoman Sylvia Banda (Sylva syl·va n. Variant of silva. Noun 1. sylva - the forest trees growing in a country or region silva timberland, woodland, forest, timber - land that is covered with trees and shrubs Food Solutions) Cecilia Ibru (Oceanic Bank) Wendy Luhabu (IDC) Nku Nyembezi-Hweita (CEO Arcelor Mittal SA) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke (Nigeria Stock Exchange) Evelyn Oputu (Bank of industry) African Business of the Year Celtel (Zain) Ecobank (Togo) MTN MTN A short-form for Medium Term Note. MTN Medium term notes issued by corporations, much like shorter-term commercial paper. MTN See medium-term note (MTN). (South Africa) Orascom Construction Industries (Egypt) Poulina Group (Tunisia) Safaricom (Kenya) Best Global Business in Africa Anglo-American Coca Cola Diageo Dubai World Renaissance Capital Tata Best SME (1) (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) See SMB. (2) (Subject Matter Expert) An individual who is well-versed in the policies and procedures of a particular department or division. Africa Invest (Malawi) Afsat (Kenya) Innoson (Nigeria) Jem Afrik creations (Uganda) Good African Coffee Company (Uganda) Telecoms Company Celtel (Zain) Gateway Glo MTN Orascom Telecom Safaricom Airline of the Year Afriqiyah Ethiopian Airways Kenyan Airways Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc (commonly called RAM) is the national airline of Morocco, based in Casablanca, the airline is the third-largest in Africa (behind South African Airways and EgyptAir). South Africa Airways Virgin Nigeria Brand of the Year Celtel (Zain) Ecobank MTN Zenith Bank Best Corporate Citizenship/Social Responsibility Bamburi Cement Debswana Diageo Standard Chartered Fidelity Bank Leader in Contributing to Achieving MDGs Anglo-American Diageo IDC MyC4 Leader in social innovation Al Nafeza-Egypt Association of Women in Development Experts-Ghana COBATI (Community Based Tourism Initiative)-Uganda Community Exchange system-South Africa Small Enterprise Foundation-South Africa Award for Gender Sensitivity Access Bank Anglo-American Banque Populaire pour la Promotion de la femme Goldman Sachs Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered Bank (LSE: STAN, HKSE: 2888 ) is a British bank headquartered in London with operations in more than fifty countries. It operates a network of over 1,600 branches (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) and employs almost 60,000 Leader in Reducing Digital Divide Afsat Regenersis Submarine Cable Unido & Microsoft Award for Techonological Innovation Ecobank CMC (Common Messaging Calls) A programming interface specified by the XAPIA as the standard messaging API for X.400 and other messaging systems. CMC is intended to provide a common API for applications that want to become mail enabled. 1. Malaria Engage My C4 CBC-African Business Awards Judges Panel Omari Issa Chief Executive Officer The Investment Climate Facility For Africa Jean-Louis Ekra President African Export-Import Bank Export-import Bank (Ex-IM Bank) The U.S. federal government agency that extends trade credits to U.S. companies to facilitate the financing of U.S. exports. Prathiba Thaker Chief Economist and regional head, Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is part of The Economist Group. It is a research and advisory company providing country, industry and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a U.S. , Africa Tim Turner Director Financial Management Department African Development Bank Mohan Kaul, CBC Chief Executive Commonwealth Business Council Yvonne Ike Director--West Africa JPMorgan Plc Amadou Am´a`dou n. 1. A spongy, combustible substance, prepared from fungus (Boletus and Polyporus) which grows on old trees; German tinder; punk. Mahtar Ba President Allafrica Global Media AllAfrica Global Media [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RELATED ARTICLE: Media African Business, African Banker and Anver Versi make Diageo 2008 Awards shortlist IC Publications Group Publisher Afif Ben Yedder said he was 'delighted and thrilled' that two publications from the stable and a journalist had been short-listed for 2008 Diageo African Business Reporting Awards. African Business and African Banker magazines are in the shortlist for the Best Media award while African Business editor, has made the shortlist as the year's best journalist. IC scored a double in the 2005 awards when African Business won the award as Best Publication and Versi scooped the best journalist prize. "It will be wonderful to repeat this performance-but it is already great that we have made the shortlist in the most competitive year ever," added Ben Yedder. Nick Blazquez, Managing Director, Diageo Africa said, "The hundreds of submissions received this year are a true reflection of the changes that have taken place over the five years since Diageo launched these awards. Regulatory reform and the harmonisation of laws and tariffs, to name but a few positive trends, have increased the investment opportunities all across Africa. This has in turn increased demand for accurate, timely and most of all, accessible information." "The international media have responded, and now more than ever, the role of business journalists and editors informing and empowering investors deserves recognition. I would like to congratulate the finalists the competition was especially tough this year." Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on July 3. |
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