Voice of African Family Business with AFF

Madelein Mkunu is the International gender and business strategist and Founder and President of Leading Women of Africa (LWA), one of the most influential business women's networks in Africa. A dynamic Management, MBA and development studies graduate, she is playing a pivotal role on various national, regional and international platforms. As an International gender strategist with a focus on African women affairs, she specialises in policy design, gender advocacy and mainstreaming strategies in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) until 2015, the recent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Woman Decade which ends in year 2020, the Agenda 2063, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the recent African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Panel discussion on successors in family firms

Moderator: Dr. Rania Azmi Ph.D. Panel members: Afi Akolly Ghita Sabil Doris Mbadiwe Thandeka Nomanjinji-Nzama

Panel discussion: Daughters and Sons in Family Businesses: Roles, Opportunities, Legalities and Implications Guest Speaker:

Moderator: Alice Usanase Panel members: Nicola Gambik Damilola Adetunji Dr Adeoye Adefulu

Dr. Rieki Crins is a cultural anthropologist and specialized on the Himalaya kingdom of Bhutan. She obtained her PhD on Gender and Sustainability in Bhutan in 2008. Rieki Authored several articles and three books on Bhutan. Rieki is a passionate speaker and gives lectures at university’s and institutions like Oxford University, University of Amsterdam, Siam Society Bangkok Thailand, Free University and TBLI conference among others. Next to her academic work, she co-founded (together with her husband Robert Rubinstein) the company Brooklyn Bridge back in 1999. Brooklyn Bridge introduced the then-radical concept of sustainable investing. The concept behind this company was the introduction of TBLI-Triple Bottom Line Investing. TBLI Group assists companies, institutions, NGOs, and individuals who wish to institutionalize sustainability. A daughter of the TBLI group is TBLI Conference, organizer of the largest international networking and education opportunity on ESG and investing in the world. For 4 years Rieki was the conference manager for TBLI Group and organised conferences in Europe and Asia. Rieki was five years responsible for the support women projects in India for the Melania Foundation. The last 18 years Rieki has been working in the travel-industry, she designs and guides high end cultural trips to Bhutan, Eastern Himalaya (Sikkim), Rajasthan and in the 90’s in Zimbabwe and Botswana. This experience of working in the travel world has let to her to the project that she is doing today: to combine her passion of bringing into practice true sustainability in the tourist sector, preservation of cultural heritage, zero emission building practicing, creating jobs. To bring this passion she has set up a cultural authentic and emission free 5 star vocational hotel- school in Bhutan in 2015 for unemployed Bhutanese youth: www.bihtbhutan.org In 2016 Rieki set up a project for the Karen refugee’s in Myanmar and was asked in 2019 to set up a 5 star vocational training school in Italy. Rieki founded the Learning Exchange Foundation in 2009. The foundation has as aim help people to help themselves by giving them access to knowledge, like vocational hospitality training, raising awareness about organic food and green technology and creating jobs.

Fola Laoye is Founder and CEO of Health Markets Africa, an advisory and investment company. She is also a board member of Hygeia Group Nigeria, promoters of Hygeia HMO and Lagoon Hospital where she held various leadership roles over 18 years including CEO (2002-2012) and Chairperson (2012-2015).

Margaret Hirsch is the COE of the Hirsch Group, the largest independently owned Appliance and Electronics retail outlet in Southern Africa that is now in its 40th year. She is already the enviable recipient of over 30 international and local awards for her business, social and charitable work which has uplifted people from many communities around the country. For many years, she has been heavily involved with Women and Youth Empowerment projects throughout Southern Africa. She personally visits schools around the country, motivating, encouraging and inspiring the youth. For several years she has been a main supporter of the Girls with Dignity project that has distributed reusable panty packs to school girls in disadvantaged areas around the country. She recently started up a Safe Houses for Girls project in Gauteng and plans to roll out the concept in KZN and the Western Cape. Margaret is passionate about women in business and entrepreneurship. She runs networking clubs at all her branches for Women In Business, encouraging mentorship programmes. Her door is always open to women who want advice on how to make their businesses grow. As the COE of the company, Margaret sees to the day to day running of all Hirsch’s stores and their concept stores. As well as their 13 branches spread throughout KZN, Gauteng and the Western Cape, Hirsch’s own six Samsung Concept Stores - Sandton City, Rosebank Mall, Mall of Africa, The Pavilion Shopping Centre in Westville and the Samsung shop Gateway shopping centre in Umhlanga. Hirsch’s has experienced really good results in all the concept stores as they are considered to be an extension of Hirsch’s culture and philosophy which has enabled the Hirsch’s story to be one of constant expansion and success.

Tariye Gbadegesin is the Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer at ARM-Harith. She is an investment professional with over 20 years’ experience in finance, principal investments and infrastructure, Tariye has mobilized over US$3 billion of capital for infrastructure projects in Africa. Tariye was on the founding team to establish the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a pan African Development Finance Institution with US$ 6 billion under management where she led several of AFC’s investments in the sectors of power, transport, industrials, & telecommunications. Tariye previously led the US$800 million Industrial and Telecommunications Infrastructure business at AFC. Her global experience includes roles at the International Monetary Fund, the Boston Consulting Group, & PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Tariye holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Amherst College and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Roselyn Musarurwa Charehwa has an MBA from University of Roehampton (UK), she also has Diplomas in Executive business leadership with Zimbabwe Institute of Management, Transformational Leadership with the Global Women Leadership Network (USA), Talent Identification with Brilliant Entrepreneurs (The Netherlands), Hive Women's Leadership Program - Facilitator Training (USA), AWEC Leadership and Business Management Capacity Building Program, Strategic Business Management (Jaskorg/SIPU/SIDA- Sweden). She is married with four children, two boys and two girls. As Managing Director of SURDAX a company that employs over 300 people she provides hygienic services as well as products.

Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes has more than 12 years of investment banking, private equity and structured credit experience in developed and emerging markets from global institutions. She is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of Aruwa Capital Management, one of the few woman owned and led growth equity and gender lens funds in Africa, closing gender gaps across the continent.

A discussion with Ms Nancy Guzha, exploring her journey to the top as a female founder.

Nancy Tawengwa Guzha is a seasoned General Manager, specializing in growing companies, particularly turning around struggling organizations. Trained as an agricultural economist, Nancy’s career has largely been spent in marketing and sales. Nancy was born into one of Zimbabwe’s most well known business families with her grandfather, George Tawengwa, being lauded as Zimbabwe’s first Black millionaire, whilst her parents, Solomon and Victoria, went on to start their own companies, of which Nancy and her siblings are now the shareholders and directors.

Nneka is a Strategic Business Coach and Leadership Transformation Expert who has had multiple careers. She was a Qualified Accountant and built and later sold her Accounting Practice in the USA; A business systems consultant for the Big 4 implementing large scale systems to improve processes and systems, Sales & Business Development Professional in two of the leading technology companies, she understands the critical importance of putting the right pillars in place to build a business that does not revolve around the founder. She teaches business owners how to build scalable businesses.