The summit ran from September 5-8, 2010 and countries who sent their representatives included Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Themes that came to the fore included, ***Innovative Leaders in their fields and ***Groundbreaking mindset changes, among others.
One of the innovative leaders that was recognised was Anglo America who started Black Business Empowerment and Small Business development in the 1980s when it was not fashionable to do so. They gave unsecured loans and have to date invested 350 million rand into Small Black Business and provide a full mentorship programme for entrepreneurs as well as financial and problem solving assistance.
Their business philosophy is To bring about independence through enterprise.
Another organisation that was recognised for its work was the Foundation for the Development of Africa (FDA) which believes to live a full life and to be effective leaders who makes a difference equates to 98% of Hard work; 96% of Knowledge; 47% of Luck; 72% of Money: and 100% of Attitude. FDA believes that, Every problem has a solution if you change your Attitude.
Questions that were identified for future discussion included Zimbabwes Open invitation to the rest of the SADC for SME development, training and sharing of resources / state of the art machines that produce quality products. Is there enough decisive active cooperation within the region to grow a strong economy in the Region?
A big are of debate was how African SMES can make better use of their labour markets while competing with imports?
The Big Question is why was the vuvuzela not produced in Africa but in China? The Chinese producers did not know the purpose of the instrument until the 2010 Soccer World Cup. There must be something wrong in the markets and the systems, read the reporter.
The summit identified the situation in Zimbabwe as a challenge to the development of small businesses. They listed access to cost effective finances, markets, market knowledge and infrastructure as things that stood in the way of creating a successful business environment.
At the summit there was a list of challenges compiled that Africa faces. These included:
– High unemployment, especially youth unemployment.
– Weak foundation for job creation.
– Investment remains low, about 14% of GDP.
Concluding remarks from Peter Metcalf from the Foundation for the Development of Africa, were:
Leadership is a philosophy – a way of thinking – a way of behaving, it is about achieving service excellence it is a never-ending journey!.
Post published in: Economy