So the Leaders’ Quest team is off to Africa tomorrow – first to Johannesburg and then to Maputo. There are 21 of us including the team – which for the first time has two South Africans on it: wonderful alumnae Marian Goodman and Wendy Luhabe.
Ella and Mark are packing for winter!
In Johannesburg we’re going to see everyone from Eskom, which generates 45% of Africa’s electricity, to Vodacom, which is looking to connect all its 40 million African customers to broadband internet via handhelds. We’ll be spending the night 100km north of Johannesburg in Hammanskraal with families, going to their community cafe, their skills centre and the local high school. We’ll also meet an up and coming doctor who has been made a Yale World Fellow and is redefining HIV care in southern Africa – and the exciting thing there is that one of our group is a Kenyan doctor who has run an HIV clinic and is now looking to build the affordable treatments business of a major pharmaceutical company.
Our time in Maputo should be a slightly different pace, but just as thought provoking. We’re hoping to have dinner with a minister to discuss governance and leadership. We’ll talk to the head of Sasol about energy, education and development, and we’ll meet poultry retailers with TechnoServe, an organisation which is looking to help Mozambique’s rural enterprise development. Food security is still a major issue which is a painful irony in a country with so much land, a good climate and such a wealth of natural resources. Our grand finale will be a dinner with the songbird of Maputo, whose vocal talents will not be challenged by yours truly – although I’m hopeful that the rest of the group has one or two stars.
As for our group – it is the usual wonderful Quest combination of Indian entrepreneurs, Japanese psychologists, Brazilian community leaders, South African telecoms investors, British airline executives and Kenyan doctors. Everyone has already contributed really thoughtful pieces on why they are coming to Africa and we know that our friends in Mozambique and South Africa will do justice to their ambition and engagement.
I will be posting another piece midweek (if at all possible) and then a couple of days after the Quest is finished. And I look forward to welcoming all those who cannot make it this time on to our programme at the end of February 2012.