Promoting enlightened engagement between Africa and
America through education, training and dialogue.

Feb 21, 2007

AAI hosts Meeting with Visiting Deans from the Association of African Business Schools

Kofi Appenteng, Mora McLean, and Visitng Members of the Association of African Business School Deans
Kofi Appenteng, Mora McLean, and Visitng Members of the Association of African Business School Deans

AAI hosted a group of visiting deans representing African business schools from across the Continent. The deans were on a tour of a handful of the world's top business schools. The meeting took place at the law office of Thacher Proffitt & Wood in New York City, where AAI Board Chair, Kofi Appenteng, is a partner. The Association of African Business Schools (AABS), to which all the represented schools belong, organized the trip with funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).


From Left: Dr. Franklyn Manu (Professor of Marketing and International Business Dean, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration) and Professor Lanre Nassar (Head Co-ordinator, Obafemi Awolowo University, lle – Lfe)
Dr. Franklyn Manu and Professor Lanre

The purpose of the AABS tour was to give the visiting deans exposure to business school models of success and organizations such as AAI that contribute in various ways to broadening access to and strengthening the quality of business training for Africans. The discussion revealed that many African business schools are having great difficulty in recruiting well-trained faculty from within Africa and must rely on visiting faculty from outside Africa. In addition, funding is a major issue and concern. Not one of the African business schools represented has an endowment and most of the schools do not receive government funding and must rely exclusively on course fees to meet all expenses.

A February 19, 2007 article, "African Schools in Search of New Ideas", published in The Financial Times outlined the goals of the AABS tour: "The need to help African business is clearly a pressing one. 'The private sector is growing fast, for example, in banking,' says Marcellina Mvula Chijoriga, who as well as being dean of the faculty of commerce and management at the University of Dar es Salaam, chairs the Tanzania Revenue Authority." The article also included a quote from Jonathan Cook, director for academic programs at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, about the aim of this AABS tour: "'We want to see the best practice in business schools, and see the range of different business schools.'" Read the full article.

From Left: Mrs. Marcellina Chijoriga (Dean, University of Dar es Salaam), Mr. Gerald Atheru (Dean, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, School of Business) and Mr. John Kenduiwo (Dean, School of Business, University of Nairobi)
Mrs. Marcellina Chijoriga, Mr. Gerald Atheru, and Mr. John Kenduiwo

Mora McLean, AAI President & CEO, encouraged the group to also look beyond top tier ivy league institutions in the U.S. for lessons and potential partners for successful management and business administration training tailored to meet the widely ranging capabilities and needs of Africans who have an interest in and the aptitude for business training. The possibility of working through AAI’s extensive relationships with universities in Africa and the United States to build more partnerships with African Business Schools was also discussed.

Participants included:

  • Mr. Gerald Atheru, Dean, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, School of Business in Kenya
  • Mrs. Marcellina Chijoriga, Dean, University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania
  • Mr. Jonathan Cook, Head of Academics, Gordon Institute of Business Science in South Africa
  • Professor Juan Elegido, Dean, Lagos Business School in Nigeria
  • Mr. Mamadou Gaye, Director of the Doctoral School, The African Institute of Management in Senegal
  • Mr. John Kenduiwo, Dean, School of Business, University of Nairobi in Kenya
  • Mr. Joseph Kimura, Dean, United States International University in Kenya
  • Dr. Franklyn Manu, Professor of Marketing and International Business Dean, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in Ghana
  • Mr. Idrissa Mbengue, Dean, International MBA, Institut Superieur de Management in Senegal
  • Professor Lanre Nassar, Head Co-ordinator, Obafemi Awolowo University, lle – Lfe in Nigeria
  • Mr.Guy Pfeffermann,CEO of Management Education and Research Consortium (M.E.R.C)
  • Ms. Sarah Tinsley, Project Co-ordinator, Association of African Business Schools and Gordon Institute of Business Science

AAI Hosts:

  • Mr. Kofi Appenteng, Partner, Thacher Proffitt & Wood & AAI Board Chair
  • Ms. Fiona Dunne, Senior Director of Corporate and External Affairs, AAI
  • Ms. Mora McLean, President & CEO, AAI