The Kuramo Report Magazine Edition 1

The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng2 The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng 3


How well is Africa really doing? How can we achieve development in a sustainable way? How can we escalate development through private-sector driven innovations and approaches with

the public sector? What role does civil society play in Africa’s development? These are some of the questions that we attempt to answer in The Kuramo Report, a pub-lication that sits at the nexus of business, policy and development. Our philosophy is based on promoting ideas that advance opportunities to seek and imple-ment solutions to improving the way that we live and

work on the continent.The Kuramo Report is a platform to feature ideas

that are worth pursuing by our target community: the private sector, government, academia, civil society and social enterprise across Africa and beyond. Whether its the development of a more robust knowledge economy; advocating a more advanced role for sub national or city governance as a strength for the continent; pursu-ing protocols that will finally unleash from its barriers the potential of intra African internal trade or encour-aging the informal economy to demonstrate its impor-tance in our small and medium business—the policy advocacy and development (PAD) area is now a focus

of The Kuramo Report team.At TKR, we believe that knowledge is a major criti-

cal success factor for development in the twenty-first century, and in the last four years, we have been can-vassing African ideas for global solutions through our periodic international conference in order to advance knowledge through the exchange of ideas (see thek-uramoconference.org). This publication is a direct re-sult of the conference; another platform to trade more ideas on business, policy news and analysis for con-scious organisations and individuals alike.

Several of the articles in this edition highlight the thoughts of particularly noteworthy individuals. One them is Kaye Whiteman, former editor of West Africa magazine, who writes about Tracking Africa’s Image. We also feature Babatunde Fashola, SAN, who contrib-utes an article on The Awakening of the African Mind, and Ndidi Nwuneli, shares her thoughts on Corporate Social Investment. The Eko Atlantic project has been subject to a lot of speculation, and our interview with David Frame, managing director of the project dis-cusses environmental devastation along the Atlantic, and how it is part of a long history of pushing back the sea. Lastly, but not the least, is our interview with Dambisa Moyo, a renowned economist and author of acclaimed book, Dead Aid, who discusses the next level of Nigeria’s growth, and positioning Africa to deal with global economic challenges.

We hope that these contributors and their ideas in-spire you. n

Anwuli Ojogwu

The Kuramo Report is a platform to feature ideas that are worth pursuing by our target community

THE KURAMO REPORT Editor’s Note


The Kuramo Report is a registered trademark of CLRN Publishing, and supplement of the Kuramo Conference, a biennial International Summit of multi-disciplinary experts and knowledge vendors drawn from law, business, finance, media and entertainment, energy and the environment aimed at covering emerging legal and economic issues tailored to address advocacy and policy required for shaping ongoing governmental and non-governmental decision-making. All correspondence to The Kuramo Report: 13 Sinari Daranijo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel: (+234) 01 816 0099. Website: www.tkr.com.ng All rights reserved. Repro-duction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited The views expressed by contributors are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Kuramo Report. All information in this magazine is verified to the best of the authors’ and publisher’s ability. However, The Kuramo Report does not accept responsibility from any loss arising from reliance on it.

The Kuramo Report is a publication for business, policy and development leaders. Our philosophy is based on promoting ideas that advance opportuni-ties to cre-ate wealth through development in Africa.Our target community is the pri-vate sector, government, academia, civil society and social enterprise across Africa and beyond.

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PublisherOlasupo Shasore, SAN

Editorial CommitteeAnwuli OjogwuLanre Shasore

Theodora Lawson

GraphicsOrasopee Communication

BudgIT

PhotographyJoe Penny

Editorial AssistantFemi Morgan


THE KURAMO REPORT Contributors’ Profiles

Tade Ipadeola was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1992. He specializes in Intellectual Property law. He is currently President of PEN Nigeria Cen-tre, an organisation that cham-pions freedom of expression and of thought. He is also an

award winning poet, winning the 2013 Nigeria Prize for Literature.

Ejiro Barrett is a writer, po-litical analyst and freelance reporter living in Abuja, Ni-geria, who has written exten-sively on events and issues in Nigeria and West Africa. He is a columnist with the Nige-rian Observer and has written

analytical reports for several Nigerian, regional and international publications both online and in print, including West Africa, New African, and African Arguments. He also co-authored a book titled Born To Serve.

Minna Salami is the founder of the MsAfropolitan blog, which covers Africa and the diaspora from a feminist per-spective.

Ndidi Nwuneli, MFR is the co-founder of AACE Foods, a social enterprise which pro-cesses fruits and vegetables in West Africa. Before AACE, Ndidi established and man-aged LEAP Africa, NIA, and the FATE Foundation. She also

worked as a management consultant with Mc-Kinsey & Company and diverse international development agencies. Ndidi was recognised as a Global Leader of Tomorrow and Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Ojoma Ochai is Assistant Coun-try Director, British Council Nigeria. She is also a member of the organisation’s Regional Leadership Team in sub-Sa-haran Africa.

Kaye Whiteman has been Edi-tor, then Editor-in-Chief of the weekly magazine West Africa since 1982. He recently edited a book of extracts from the maga-zine, West Africa Over 75 Years, and has been researching its his-tory. He is also currently plan-ning a book on France’s relations with Africa over the past thirty years.

Francis Jakpor is a Lagos-based prolific writer and editor with over 7 years experience in Jour-nalism. A graduate of English Language from the Lagos State University, he has worked with several top-notch media and PR outfits, including Nigeria’s leading financial daily, BusinessDay.

Tayo Olofinlua works in Ibadan, Nigeria as a freelance writer and editor. She is the Creative Director of Wordsmithy Media, a company that brings her passions--writing, editing and public relations--together. Her works have been featured online and in print. Her essays have won awards including the CIPE Essay contest in 2010 and the Peter Drucker Challenge, 2012 and the NEPAD Essay Competition, 2013.

Olufemi Olarewaju (Ph.D.) profes-sional experience spans over two decades in energy, environ¬ment, and the transportation sectors. He most recently served as a Research Fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis, a think-tank with offices in Dallas, Texas and Washington, District of Columbia, the United States of America.

Eghosa Imasuen is a Nigerian nov-elist. He is the author of two novels To Saint Patrick, and Fine Boys. A polymath, he is also a medical doctor and lives in Benin City, Nigeria, with his wife and twin sons.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN is the current governor of Lagos State. n

Contributors


When I started working on West Africa in 1963, per-ceptions in the outside world of Africa were very different

from what they are now. There was only a limited awareness of the rich and complex nature of the continent, or even such profound truths such as the contribution of African culture to both the music and the art of the twenty-first century, but the general impression of Africa had been dictated far too much by racial nostra of the era of imperialism and colonialism. Even the Regius Professor of History in the University of Oxford had been able, complacently, to say in 1962 that there was no such thing as African history.

It was my privilege, almost by ac-cident, to secure a post on the weekly magazine West Africa, which gave me access to what I had essentially already grasped—that you should take places as you find them, and not as you are told about them. This was perhaps the effect of a broad-minded liberal educa-tion at Quaker schools. The magazine team wrote about Africa for Africans in terms they appreciated, which was why its readership was ninety per cent African, half outside Africa among the student community.

West Africa, however also had the advantage of having not just a be-nevolent editor, David Williams, but a figure that played a cru-cial role in the liberation and emancipation of the conti-nent, the writer Basil Da-vidson. He had not only produced books like Old Africa Rediscovered de-scribing the rich detail of the continent’s history, but was a one-man publicist for the liberation movements in Portugal’s tottering African empire. I remember him bringing Amilcar Cabral, most remarkable of all these movements’ leaders to the editorial office in 1965, although I only appreciated the privi-lege and significance of it years later.

One would like to feel that the magazine, with one or two publica-tions, alongside the development of African studies in universities both in

Africa and outside, played a small part in promoting a more accurate image. The arrival of independence in Ghana, Nigeria, East Africa, meant that in the 1960s more was known about the new countries, even if Western media often helped perpetuate regressive stereo-types, especially in their reporting on post-independence traumas such as the Congo crisis and the Nigerian civil war. However, the growth of the cause of anti-apartheid in South Africa gave the

cause of Af-rican eman-c i p a t i o n , despite the agony of its evolution, a highly credi-ble and grow-ing vehicle. Wider aware-ness of Afri-can culture in the 1960s,

through the Heinemann’s African Writ-ers’ series, or Miriam Makeba, as well as the South African township musical King Kong and the wider awareness of the delights of highlife music (to give just a few examples) began to play a significantly positive

role in Africa’s

world image.

F a s t -forwarding t o t h e 1 9 9 0 s , many things were chang-ing. Above all, with the arrival of true

non-racial democracy in South Africa, and the prospects of a genuine African renaissance after all the painful post-in-dependence shakedowns and economic adjustment, it was possible for Africa to begin to contemplate seriously playing a

role of equality in the comity of nations. No longer need the continent be seen as a stumbling junior partner; trigger-ing all the old paternalist instincts of a former age. Where the Organisation of African Unity (formed in the first flush of independence) had suffered from the shortcomings of some of its members, the re-branded African Union has con-tributed in the twenty-first century to the continent’s new look. This has above all been founded on real economic growth and the learning of many lessons of gov-ernance, even if the road has often been, and still is, rocky.

There are two factors that have played an immense role in the development of a positive continental image in the past twenty years. One is the rapid growth of the African diaspora –initially focused on the West, but burgeoning elsewhere. This is beginning to make a major con-structive contribution both in wealth, know-how, and global mind-set, to the solid growth of many countries now as-piring to be emerging markets. Even the role played in the politics of some of the diaspora host countries (beginning to be seen in Britain) is having a growing im-portance, obviously encouraged by the arrival in the US presidency of Barack Obama of part-African descent.

The second factor has its roots in the rapidly growing awareness of Af-rican culture in the global context. Ex-amples from Britain come to mind, but the phenomenon is broadly-based. The

idea of ‘World Music’ that developed in the 1980s has already given the

stage to many African musicians from Fela on-wards, and there have been amazing gains in

such sectors as literature and film. The One/Fifty Four

African Contemporary Art Fair (fifty-four being the number of African countries) in London last month, apart from illustrating the

huge talents waiting to burst out of the continent, showed how crea-

tive industries are now an increasingly important part of Africa’s present eco-nomic growth. To my thinking, this can only continue to proliferate. n

Tracking Africa’s imageKAYE WHITEMAN

The general impression of Africa had been dictated far too much by racial nostra of the era of imperialism and colonialism

Comments THE KURAMO REPORT


Feature THE KURAMO REPORT

expanding labour force in the world. Today, there are more than 500 million people of working age between 15 and 64 in Africa, which is expected to surpass 1.1 billion by 2040—larger than China and India. In 2012, Foreign Direct Investment exceeded four percent. Today, seven out of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. The continent’s new economic growth has spread beyond the familiar economic powerhouses such as South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. Countries such as land-locked Zambia and Rwanda have shown impressive growth records and other states are joining in the race to attract a share of this new investment surge. For Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta, says the country may not have realised its full potential yet, but “our outlook is, by all accounts, excellent. We fall among the world’s 100 most competitive nations and Africa’s most improved.”

But many African city streets still mirror the social contradictions: ramshackle sheds stand beside modern architectural pieces; and street traders hawk their wares next to big chain franchises cashing in on a growing consumer market created by a fast expanding middle class. Nevertheless, the African story is unique because of the diversity of investment opportunities and a growing educated youth population. Unlike Europe and Asia, and more than in South and Central America, Africa offers everything from fertile agricultural lands to huge reserves of untapped mineral resources and most important of all, a vibrant youth population. In a world where resources are fast dwindling, Africa’s huge reserves are in great demand, and it is not only the traditional sectors such as mining, and oil and gas.

New investors are coming in from everywhere: China, India, Brazil and Russia. The opportunities for huge returns are obvious because of Africa's low formal retail penetration. For instance, cell phone users on the continent have reached 400 million, from a negligible 11 million in 2000; increase in communications and internet access, and a banking industry with growing income levels are some other indicators of the new potentials. Even intra-Africa investment has also grown significantly, with corporations from Africa’s most developed economy, South Africa, seeking new investment destinations

After graduating from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Olufemi (not real name) has been offered a job as a floor supervisor in one of the new chain stores

in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. He is not bothered that he had to travel over six hundred kilometers to find a job, or the squalid living conditions of his new home—a one bedroom apartment with no running water and barely any electricity a day. He is happy he has a job. “At least this is a start. I may not have much now, but I have a job and I don’t have to beg family and friends to survive and things can only improve from here.” Olufemi is right. According to the African Development Bank report; Olufemi’s income places him among Africa’s new middle class. He will eventually move to a better apartment and enjoy the perks of a changing economy that has given him the job opportunity. But there are many more people looking for that opportunity; Olufemi was picked from over a thousand people who had applied for only two vacant positions. For every Olufemi, there are almost a thousand more looking for jobs and over five thousand who cannot afford the rent rates of the new high-rise apartment buildings that dot the skyline of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

Expanding Economies Africa’s capital cities are changing. Shiny glass towers are evidence of the continent’s rising economies, referred to as the African Lions. Sleek cars, testament to the continent’s growing middle class, jostle for space on ever widening streets and highways. Statistics indicate that Africa is rising and, at an impressive pace. Various forecasts project a continent-wide growth of more than five percent during 2012/13, while the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to reach US$2.6 trillion by the year 2020. The continent also has the fastest

Africa's rising economies: A forest of challengesEjiro Barrett

African capital cities are changing. Shiny glass towers are evidence of the

continent’s rising economies,

referred to as the African Lions


THE KURAMO REPORT Feature



within the continent. South African brand names like Shoprite, The Game, and Famous Brands are investing in emerging markets across the continent while South African banks jostle for space in the expanding financial turf.

A Changing Policy EnvironmentThere are several reasons for Africa’s rising fortunes. Africa’s unstable political spaces are fast disappearing under a surge in democratic systems and a growing political awareness among the continent’s youth population stirred by the strong influence of social media. The continent is no longer isolated from events around the world and this has seen it emerge as one of the most active new grounds for the new online transactions.

There has also been a need to improve the business climate that would broaden growth and competitiveness of industries within the continent.

In 2012, Morocco, Sao Tome and Principe, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone and Burundi emerged among the top 10 reformers in the World Bank “Doing Business In” Survey. Specific measures such as improved process of dealing with construction permits, protecting investors and paying taxes, were used as benchmarks of the survey. In Nigeria, the government recently handed over operations of its unstable power company, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to new investors in order to infuse the needed expertise that would improve the country's non existent power supply.

The Dark Side of GrowthThere is a flip side to the African renaissance. While the economic indicators point to continent wide growth, most studies seem to ignore the fact that Africa is a continent made up of independent

states in varying stages of development and running under vastly different political systems and so, the social disparities and gains from the investments are just as varied.

In Nigeria, the unemployment figures remain stagnant despite the flood of international hotels and fast food franchise investments. Further west from Nigeria’s social contradictions, Ghana has managed a fairly buoyant economy with improved social indices. With the country’s new oil wealth, it is expected that more jobs will be created to ease the social impact of the country’s population growth and limited resources from its traditional earners--cocoa and gold. Things may not be that easy though: Ghana’s government has realised that revenue from oil sales will not go far in easing its financial burdens just as the current level of foreign investments cannot do much in reducing the unemployment burden that the country bears. Countries like Guinea Bissau has seen around four percent growth and the social disparities speak of a dearth in resources that has kept the government tied to aid from western donor nations.

There are many people who think that the economic gains touted by African leaders are spurious at best. Africa’s new growth is selective. In most countries, the social disparities are exposed in the lack of government investment in social services and infrastructure for the teeming population of low income earners. Incomes remain largely disproportionate to actual cost of living and there are no social security schemes to ease the financial burdens of citizens. Unemployment rates are spiraling and, even as many countries on the continent achieve middle income status, with extra money in the hands of workers, cost of living has also gone up.

Sierra Leone is one of the countries touted as an emerging market with impressive indicators. The mining sector made real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth from 6 percent in 2011 to 16.7 percent in 2012, with support from agriculture, services and construction. Sierra Leone has risen eight places in the latest World Bank report (140th out of 185 countries) and ranks as one of the top reformers since 2005 in improving business regulation for domestic firms, property registration and “narrowing the distance to frontier”, and yet, the 2013 Human Development Index (HDI) ranks Sierra Leone at 0.336, near the bottom (180th out of 187 countries), and below the regional average of 0.463. The country’s GDP growth is projected to stabilise around 7.2 percent in 2013 before reaching 12.1 percent in 2014 as iron ore projects become fully operational. The government has also instituted a tight monetary policy that has reduced inflationary pressures. As a result, inflation has dropped from 18.5 percent in 2011 to 11.6 percent


in 2012 and is projected to return to a single-digit 7.1 percent in 2013 and 6.9 percent in 2014 as agricultural production recovers. But these figures have very little bearing on the lives of most people.

Sierra Leone, like most African countries, still struggles with high unemployment and comparatively low investment portfolio. The country’s continued dependence on aid, with about 50 percent of public investment programmes financed by external resources, remains a major challenge. Inflation remains high due to internal factors and external disturbances, such as experienced with the recent European financial crisis, including rising food and fuel prices. Despite improved domestic revenue mobilization, the fiscal deficit widened in 2011 due to a higher wage bill, fuel subsidies and spending on infrastructure projects. A combination of factors still hold back further economic recovery of the country: these include an economic structure with low productivity levels, with largely subsistence agriculture still accounting for 46 percent of GDP and providing employment for about 75 percent of the rapidly growing population; inequalities in life expectancy, gender, education and income; and a poorly maintained and inadequate infrastructure.

Another example of the social disparities that plague the continent is in Angola. The country is one of the fastest growing economies on the continent. There is even a reverse immigration trend that has seen Angola receive over 150,000 Portuguese professionals looking for work. It is building its infrastructure at a frenetic pace, but around forty per cent of its 18 million population is illiterate and only a small number of people have university education or any qualification to meet the requirements for employment.

Worrying Political Enclaves Many policy experts say the need to strengthen institutions rather than individuals remains a key step that would encourage public inclusion in the process towards social change as it is the case on the continent. In Angola, the new economic growth is juxtaposed with a political system that has stifled opposition voices. President Eduardo Dos Santos has held the reins of power for over 32 years and his government has faced serious

allegations of corruption and repression. In several African states, like Uganda and Rwanda, rising economic gains have been stewarded by leaders who have been less than democratic in their governance styles.

Many African states may have become full-fledged democracies, but not all have transparent systems and political freedoms. There are 55 countries on the continent at different stages of development with different economic and political agenda, and different levels of success in the democratic experiment. While South Africa, Ghana, Botswana and Senegal remain democratic trailblazers, other countries, such as Nigeria and Kenya, are slowly consolidating their

democratic systems—Nigeria is preparing to conduct its fifth democratic election.

Most importantly, developing a transparent political space with credible efforts to reduce corruption will create greater confidence in the process of governance. Despite Africa’s wealth of natural resources, it is still largely reliant on the export of raw products that deplete resources and do not add value to exports. Most African states still earn far less from their resources than if they were refined into finished products at home. The resources are also not equally distributed across nations. Innovative schemes for employment, a skilled manpower base, quality education across the continent, also access to credit facilities, regardless of political or social status are required.

The continent has one of the fastest growing economies yet it continues to deal with the world’s worst unemployment figures. Surprisingly, many people still see the continent’s rise as a mirage. n

There is even a reverse

immigration trend that has

seen Angola receive over

150,000 Portuguese

professionals looking for

work



Ethical Entrepreneur: The rise of good business

THE KURAMO REPORT Case Study

Unassuming and with a quiet demeanor, Kola Oyeneyin does not cut out as an ethical crusader ready to purge complicit activities that derail social and economic progress. He is a successful executive;

runs an innovative enterprise that is modeled to support other small businesses, and appears to have the trappings of success. After six years, his company has finally broken even. But he has a position on how businesses should operate. His objective is to reestablish a moral compass; his target—entrepreneurs and government. He is once known to tell a story of turning down a government contract in the estimate of six digits because the numbers he originally presented were unreasonably ballooned in the early days of his newly established company. He walked away, he said. He believes that reward and meritocracy are not commiserating with ethical behaviour, and the solutions are curative rather than preventive. Without that, efforts to restore ethical behaviour in businesses will be superficial. He alluded that a foreign Ivy League institution set up shop in another country because of the demands for kickbacks as an example. He shares anecdotes that influenced the origin of his ethical behaviour: stories of his family, and working in a 500 fortune company. The lessons were: do not take more than you deserve; be accountable; be content. Lessons he believes that businesses should uphold.

Growing a small bootstrapped company into a success without deceptionMy rule is that a business owner should be very good at what they do, and no matter what, they would need your services. In reality, it is extremely difficult considering the environment that we live in. In Nigeria, everybody expects (something) in different forms. Now, there is a different expression for corruption: PR, logistics, settling boys or its commission. But can businesses grow without deception? The answer is yes, but it has to be a decision from the start. And it will come at a great cost—the business does not work eventually, and the entrepreneur returns to paid employment. My company, Venia Group, has established standard procedures, and written policies against giving and accepting gifts. Staff members are regularly trained to imbue this culture.

When the ideal partnership turns into a potential ethical nightmarePeople have to be careful before they go into partnership. A bad tree cannot produce good fruits. You have to have skills, character, and values; these are things that you cannot change overnight. Where a partnership turns into a nightmare; the good guys should walk because if it is not dealt with, it can bring down the company. And a clear agreement should exist, so it is clear who owns what.

Enforcing moral codes I have already accepted that there is a degree of work that will never come through me because I cannot do certain things. Businesses have to create their own rules of engagement. There are no gray areas. Nigeria is not the only nation with a high level of corruption, but there is a level of impunity that makes it unbearable, and that is why I talk about it. It is a reality check to ask yourself what you want out of life. What are you driven by? People see these deals as a “Get out of Poverty Card”. People are afraid of poverty or lacking. Saying no is the next stage, and people don’t say that a lot. I want to build a generational business and I want it to survive if I am not here anymore, and have no gray areas.

The origin of his moral compassIt started when I was a child. I sold something for my mom, and took my own cut, and my mom beat me, and insisted all money be declared. And I was taught that we rather not have than take from another person. I would walk away from a billion dollars easily without thinking about it. I understood how money worked at a young age. I understood that money is a tool. The first company that I worked in was big on ethics because I was a consultant. We could not accept anything more than $100, and if more you returned it. I do the same in my own company. We have a policy that indicates that. Running a big facility business showed me how people want to bypass the system. And until we begin to talk about this, nothing will change. I confronted my procurement officer who was stealing N150, 000 every two weeks. I grew up in a comfortable family, but moral values and moral standards have nothing to do with your family background, it is about a decision.

Leaving trails of corruptionWhen I talk about the cost, it is about the impact on lives. The concept of cause and effect, which implies that nothing happens without something that caused it. We usually measure symptoms in Nigeria; but never trace the root cause of the

problem. For instance, there are 62 million children out of school globally. 10.5 million

of them are in Nigeria. These are UN and World Bank statistics, and majority

of them in the North. Take education for instance; look at the education policy, which is fine. A budget of N80 billion has been allocated to education, and N50 billion is misappropriated, the cost of stealing N10, 15, 50 billion over a long period of time, is the cause of so many children being out of school. Say healthcare, the cost of corruption is the inability for Masses to afford healthcare.

We should look at corruption not in terms of the money, but the impact on lives. It

could be individual, community and institutional impact. n


I ncreasing globalisation has made it clear to us that a problem in one part of the world can spread to other parts. With the crises in the Middle East today, the entire

world is in one state of discomfort or the other. I believe that in a multi-collaborative way, everybody will benefit from an idea whose success means, more peace on the African continent, more prosperity on the African continent and more opportunities for the African child. It will further reduce migration to Europe and America, which I believe will help these economies stabilise, as we really cannot isolate the dwindling economic situations in parts of Europe from African immigrants.

What is required is an increasing space of opportunity for us as Africans to express ourselves. By promoting a debate of this nature, we hope to release the energy of Africa’s opportunities. Africa has more resources within her than the amount of aid she can ever

receive from anyone across the world, but it is how we unlock these resources that truly count, as they will not unlock themselves.

With a global population of seven billion, and more than two-thirds of that population distributed between Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and a small part located in what is conveniently the West today, it is a risk even to the West that there should be so much poverty in other regions of the world.

Given the challenges we have seen across Europe and in many other parts of the world, Africa may very well be the continent that saves the rest of the planet.

One way to unlock these resources is addressing the current insuff icient infrastructure on the African continent that severely constrains economic growth and hampers human and social development. Road transport accounts for 90 percent of inter-urban transport, but physical links and services are inadequate. There are very

A reawakening for the African mindBabatunde Fashola, SAN

Idea THE KURAMO REPORT

KEY NOTEWhat is required is an increasing space of opportunity for us as Africans to express ourselves. By promoting a debate of this nature, we hope to release the energy of Africa’s opportunities

Alaba station serves Alaba Market, the largest electronic market in Africa


few parts of Europe or America you cannot travel across either by water, rail, road and air. This is not the story yet in Africa, although we are seeing developments across Central Africa, in parts of North Africa, in South Africa they are building hundreds of kilometres of road network connect ing to one another. Fortunately, in Lagos, the tide is turning. Lagos has one of the largest and most extensive road networks in West Africa, due to its significance as a commercial centre. Its strategic location has led it to be the end-point of three trans-African highway routes using Nigeria’s national roads. The trans–west African coastal highway leaves the city from the Badagry Expressway to Benin Republic and beyond as far as Dakar and Nouakchott; and the trans-Sahara highway to Algiers, which is close to completion, leaves the city like the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

After the Second World War, a United Nations conference was convened. A new body of rules emerged to regulate the affairs

of the world. Those rules are about 70-years-old. As Africans, we did not participate in making those rules. Now, these 70-year-old rules have lived out their relative utility. It is time for new rules. Are we going to sit back now when new rules are made about global f inance, about internat ional

politics without having a voice? Are we going to be part of a technology-driven age in which we will not participate?

I cannot be a partner in any relationship, if I do not bring anything to the table or if I bring dependence. It is that dependence that ought to be eliminated through a reawakening for the African mind; to a consciousness that we have a role to play, rather than being idle partakers of in the journey of life. I would like to see a planet that is more peaceful, where opportunities are more equitably distributed, where everyone has a relative fighting chance at survival in his place of location. Therefore, it is necessary to establish continental or cross-continental partnerships. n

THE KURAMO REPORT Idea

Africa may very well be the

continent that saves the rest of the planet


The term “Corporate Social Investment (CSI)” is relatively new in the African content. Given the poor enabling environment,

most entrepreneurs are overwhelmed with basic issues of sur v iva l and fighting crises on a daily basis, and view this term as a luxury that they cannot even contemplate.

H o w e v e r , companies must engage with their society in some capacity. At the barest minimum, companies should “do no harm!” to their environment, employees, customers, suppliers and their community. This entails production of high quality and consistent products or services, ethical, timely and fair engagement with customers, employees and suppliers, payment of state and federal taxes with integrity and reduction of waste and any externalities that emerge from their operations, which may be harmful to the environment.

On the other hand, companies should become corporate social investors and rise beyond the “do no harm” state to actually “do good”. By strategically engaging their communities, and improving conditions in a sustainable manner through partnerships with other private, public and nonprofit, they improve customer loyalty, which translates into monetary benefits; enhanced employee loyalty, which improves the work ethic and productivity; improved community relationships, which invariably engages the community as a partner in the company’s success, reduces security risks and the cost of doing business.

Also, every aspect of their operations and

relationships should be strategically linked to the triple bottom-line – an accounting framework that goes beyond the traditional measures of profits, return on investment, and shareholder value to include

environmental and social dimensions .

Prerequisites for Corporate Social InvestmentThere are at least three prerequisites

for Corporate Social Investment which are relevant across

the globe, but are especially important in the African

content:A clear sense of

purpose and guidelines for engagement: many

organizations in the African continent do not

recognize the difference between support ing a

charitable initiative and corporate social investment.

In addition, the lines between CSI and market ing are often blurred. Most support

initiatives are linked to the Board, chief executive or his family,

with little regard for the cost/benefit analysis or their implications on the

company. For example, a company would decide to fund a one-off football match in the city in which they operate,

instead of adopting a high-school in close proximity to their factory, which would

enable them to support the education of thousands of children, many of them who might be the children of their staff, and then build an effective recruitment pipeline in the medium to long term.

Companies must also commit to a learning culture, where they periodically evaluate the impact of their work and modify their approach to ensure high impact results for both the company and the community.


Corporate Social Investment: Making gains and improving societies in AfricaNdidi Nwuneli (MFR)


Examples of companies with very clear social investment lenses in the African context are Guaranty Trust Bank, with a focus on the arts through strategic investments in the creative industries and Nestle with its focus on water, which is implemented both globally and locally.

Integration of CSI into every aspect of the company’s operations: building and sustaining a focused CSI strategy requires buy-in and commitment from the Board, management and staff of any company. From the onset, the staff should be engaged in specific aspects of the investment, from designing the strategy, serving as volunteers for initiatives, engaging in a community day that is linked to the investment, to ensuring effective measurement and evaluation of the impact of the investments. Similarly, customers and suppliers should be informed about the strategy and encouraged to support it in some capacity. This will build customer and supplier loyalty and strengthen relationships with a range of key stakeholders.

A commitment to building strategic partnerships: Sadly, on the African Continent, there is limited collaboration between the private, public and social sectors, and in many cases there is outright competition – with public and private sector organizations attempting to launch matching initiatives instead of partnering with local social sector organizations, which have the capacity to engage at the grassroots and to deliver initiatives at much lower costs because of their mission-driven approach.

In addition, unlike their global counterparts who depend on the local private and public sectors for financial and in-kind support, African nonprofit organizations rely largely on external funding sources to drive their programmatic activities. Unfortunately, financial support available from these sources is fickle and has diminished considerably given the increased competition for shrinking donor funds, the distrust around the emergence of Non-governmental individuals (NGIs) and Africa’s poor reputation in the international environment.

Fostering Corporate Social Investment through Legal CommunityThe legal community in Africa has an

important role to play in fostering CSI. More specifically, they should lead by example by committing to providing legal aid for important social causes, or pro bono policy support for the development of a range of policies which could have tremendous impact. In addition, they should consider developing and monitoring CSI indicators to compel more corporate commitment to communities and encourage reporting to enhance transparency among various organizations.

Creating incentives by lobbying for changes in the tax laws to provide tax breaks for companies and individuals who contribute their funds to tangible social causes would be a significant boost for the sector. Lastly, a strong judiciary that is

transparent, efficient and effective will have a tremendous impact on African communities and ensure that more companies “do good” because they have no other choice.

Promoting CSI in the African context is imperative for the long-term sustainable development of our continent. However, this will require that companies commit to this new model of doing business. It will also require active support from the public and nonprofit sectors to ensure swift and transparent disincentives for companies that continue to harm our communities and environment. Finally, all three sectors will have to work collaboratively to create an enabling and supportive environment for companies that commit to “doing good” and to foster strategic partnerships that enhance the growth and advancement of our communities. n



Lead Story THE KURAMO REPORT

Sitting in a low-lying part of the Olusegun Obasanjo Hilltop Estate, Abeokuta is the FATE Institute for Venture Design (IVD), Nigeria’s first initiative that merged

enterprise with innovation. For six months in 2011, the IVD was home to fifteen fellows who went through rigorous business training to transform their businesses from idea to prototype.

“Welcome to Institute of Ventures Design,” says Gbolahan Obadimeji, the facility manager at the IVD as we walked to the lounge on the brown earth that divides layers of carpet grass.

The modern facility designed by Professor Olusanya of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lagos provides both living and design studio facilities for the fellows and their coaches. A walk through the blocks reveals the ingenuity of design. Comprising thirty self-contained rooms of equal sizes

with individual balconies; the entire building is covered with danpalon, a new eco-friendly building technology that reduces excessive ultra-violet ray penetration that provides physiological and psychological benefits, which have been proven to increase workplace comfort and productivity.

The Design Studio block is divided into two: the Design Studio for teaching and an underground area, which was further divided into two: the Mechatronic Workshop and the Wood and Metal Workshop. Walking into the Design Block, a musty smell hits the nose—the building had not been used in a while. Indicative of this fact are the drawings on writable tables; to-do-lists stuck on boards; a flip chart with ideas; a prototype cast of a car design on a table; toolboxes with mechanical and electronic kits in different drawers; and

Where innovation meets design—Welcome to FATE Institute for Venture DesignTayo Olofinlua


THE KURAMO REPORT Lead Story

a painting of a grand Almighty Equation multiplied by zero resulted to zero with the words, “If you do nothing about an idea, it does not matter how grand it is, it will always produce nothing.”

The IVD was designed to function and provide comfort to the fellows. A robust infrastructural framework is made available including quality internet service; two 20, 000 litres water reservoir; a big gas tank; two 20KVA generators; a kitchen, lounge and dining room.

Sola Adeola, the former coordinator, said that Abeokuta was an easy choice. “We felt that there is already a lot of commercial activity in Lagos, and Abeokuta is close enough to Lagos, close enough to the market. It allows you the space that you need for thinking and developing the idea. Sometimes you need to go out to retreats to think things through. The point was to remove them from their daily activities, their daily environment, grind and distractions.”

The IVD was intended as more than a building – a hub of economic change—a place where potential investors and entrepreneurs are brought together to engineer a product, create businesses and make profit. These are aimed for the long term, in order that the community where these businesses are based (and the national economy) feel the difference.

However, today, the two towers of the IVD stand tall, but unused; its high black gate waiting to embrace another set of fellows.

IVD: An Experiment towards Creating Economic ChangeMarch 2010, FATE Foundation—a private sector led non-profit organisation tackling poverty by reducing the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria—turned ten. Celebrating this milestone led to an experiment, this gave birth to the FATE Institute for Venture Design. Like all experiments, it started with an observation.

The IVD is based on a simple philosophy from the founder, Fola Adeola, a former banker and businessman that “any country that does not make, does not sustain.” This observation emphasises the importance of growing the Nigerian economy by developing the manufacturing sector.

Since the 1970s, Nigerian manufacturing has suffered from neglect owing to the

country’s dependence on petroleum. Its contribution to the economy has been dismal at 4.2 percent to the GDP in 2008. Research states that between 2000 and 2010, many industries have either shut down or temporarily halted production. Capacity utilisation in manufacturing is around 53 percent, and imported manufactured goods dwarf the sales of homemade products. The biggest problem facing manufacturing has been inadequate infrastructure, in general and lack of power supply in particular.

Questioning the SystemA team which included Sola Adeola as the Coordinator; Fola Adeola as the Chairman; Bayo Adeola as the Director; Ade Mabogunje of the Centre for Design and Research, Stanford University, and some members of the FATE Foundation met to brainstorm on ways to proffer a solution to the lingering problem to make a difference for economic development. Ideas spanned from sectors from manufacturing to technology; private sector inclusion, and start-up culture away from service-oriented and import/consuming culture of businesses.

They also looked at other countries, “America was a manufacturing country before it became a knowledge economy; China makes its money from producing; South Korea is making its money from making Samsung. These countries are all makers, so we need to come up with our own sort of way of making.” The Institute for Ventures Design was the outcome. “The IVD is the first step to finding the entrepreneurs who will be behind businesses based on a making philosophy other than a



service philosophy,” says Sola Adeola.

The HypothesisThe origin of the name emerged from a play of ideas around the word “Institute.” They recognised that investment is synonymous with venturing, venture capital, and alas, the word “venture” stood out, and gradually FATE Institute of Venture Design (IVD) was formed.” What became of utmost importance was designing that unique curriculum.

Unique CurriculumThe IVD programme is divided into two phases. The first phase entails a fellowship, which brought the fellows together for six months at the IVD facility, in which they advanced their ideas to prototype; working as teams. Also, business management coaching and social work were included. The second phase involved mentorship and supervision for a two-year period as they grow their businesses. In partnership with the Stanford University’s Center for Design Research, a unique curriculum was designed; bringing design research methodology to bear in the curriculum and training of participants. The curriculum used at the IVD was an answer to the questions; a curriculum that many of the

fellows rate above any MBAs in the world with lectures from luminaries such as Ayo Ayeni a Lagos-based Intellectual Property lawyer; and Wole Soboyejo, a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University and African University of Science &

Technology.Like most experiments, there

were expectations. The possible outcomes were wagered, and agreed that it would produce three likely outcomes after the audacious programme: first: a team with a good business idea and funding; a fragmented team with a great business idea or misfit team without the ability to launch their business off the ground, and third, a team with a good business idea, but no funding. However, with a name, a logo, a building and expectations clearly spelt out, the IVD was almost complete, but there was one thing left—fellows.

The First Class of UnreasonablesThe first and so far, only set of fellows—fifteen of them—passed through IVD walls from May-October 2011. The fellowship was the result of a rigorous exercise. “We were looking for unusual people, people who would usually be overlooked as crazy; we were looking for

IVD is the first step to finding the entrepreneurs who will be behind businesses based on a making philosophy other than a service philosophy



people that stood out,” said Sola Adeola. Over 200 people applied. At the end, only f i f t e e n w e r e selected. These f i f t e e n p e op l e w e r e t h r o w n together for six months to work on different projects; at different times working in teams; and at other times carrying out social work in Abeokuta.

Experiment: The VariablesMany times, trying e a c h v a r i a b l e presented a new challenge that one learnt from; that one adapted. The IVD project is capital intensive, and raising funds w a s d i f f i c u l t . Covering the cost of tuition, board and upkeep for each fellow carried a price tag of $30,000 in total the operating cost stood at $500,000.

Besides funding, facility management also posed a challenge. The place is under-utilised, and now; there are new challenges managing the facility and the manager, Gbolahan Obadimeji is looking at new ways to maximise the well built facilities and at the same time generate some funds for the organisation.

Though the IVD was divided into two phases; the second phase of the project—the mentorship phase—never quite took off after the fellows left the Institute. At the end of the fellowship, not everyone got funding so there was a lot of disillusionment, disappointment, and even if you were looking investors, they were not looking for you. Sola said, “In that second phase, I faced a lot more challenges, if I thought that running the programme was hard. When it started, it was even harder because you are looking for your fellows, you can’t find them; you are trying to raise money for the Institute to survive, you can’t raise money. At some point, it felt as if we were holding everything together with the tips of our fingers, as if things were slipping away.”

There were clashes between the IVD world

and the real world; between team goals and individual dreams. Segun Akin-Olugbade, one of the fellows mentioned that the team vs. individual challenge was one of the sore points of the programme. “Whenever you come together with others, who have their own ideas and their own agendas, there will always be clashes. There were some negative personal conflicts during the training, but these served only to make one stronger.”

Solape Oshisanya belonged to the group that formed Genius Factory—a company that specialised in educational toys and resources for school children—stated that the mentorship stage was significant to her business. “You need mentoring so that you don’t go wrong. We were at liberty to choose a mentor. I don’t think that anyone ever turned us down. We had Mrs. Adefisayo, from the Corona Trust Council. She directed us along the lines of what was the actual need of basic primary education at that point in time. We also had Jimi Solanke, who has been a storyteller for decades. He was of great help as he is able to get into the minds of children and told what to expect.”

The duration of the fellowship also raises questions. Most of the fellows were fine with the six-month duration; however, there may be


some options to explore. “Maybe give them the option of finish sooner and you can go. You do not have to wait the entire six months. You can stay for the entire six months, if you want. So, having that sort of plan is the way I would adjust the programme.” Sola said.

She thinks that despite these challenges that IVD met most of its expectations. At the end of the project, t h e r e w e r e s e v e n businesses—some started at the institute, while some already established pre-IVD,—namely Aspire Technologies; IthenaLogic; SE Automot ive ; Asa ; Genius Factory, Integrated Building Technologies and Pledge 51, and the institute enabled them build stronger structures.

There is optimism about the future of the businesses to employ and survive beyond the proverbial five years, during which many small business usually do not go beyond.

Moving Enterprises Forward: The SE Automotive Story“I went into the IVD to set up SE Automotive Limited,” says Segun Akin-Olugbade, a lover of cars who wants to transform that passion into a career. With a clear goal, he went into the IVD though equipped with degrees in Automotive Engineering and Automotive Design from Loughborough University. He thought that he was ready for business; however, at the IVD he learnt that though passion is important; though a good degree is good; business

knowledge cannot be underestimated.With the experience, his car moved beyond

his mind, and he built a prototype of the SE Dau Sports Coupe. “It was really encouraging to see my design in reality, albeit in quarter scale,” he said of the early days of SE Automotive at the IVD.

The IVD helped jumpstart the SE Automotive. The IVD did not only shelter him

from the harsh realities of the business world, but led him on the path to finding solutions. Segun found the training on business model generation useful to his business from taking the product to market, suppliers of components and materials, and profit generation through product segmentation. He acknowledges to having a better understanding of how his prototype car will eventually be produced in a way to ensure profitability. Segun went with one goal: build an SE Dau, which he built, albeit on a small scale. In the future, the SE Dau Coupe may be seen on the streets of Lagos, have assembly plants in different parts of Nigeria and export “Made in Nigeria” cars. In the mean time, he got his business running. After the IVD, he set up a successful auto-shop, which has been in service since 2011.

The SE Automotive is just one of the many businesses that an experience at the institute can transform. In the future, it is likely that Akin-Olugbade’s success story would pave the way for local car manufacturing in Nigeria. This may be nearer than we imagine if IVD takes off again; if it is sustainable, if the model is reviewed, if the hypothesis is modified.

Modification/Rejection of HypothesisThe institute may have incubated and birth several ideas; however, the incubator is hibernating now. “The IVD has been suspended,” says Sola Adeola. “There is a future



for IVD; however for a country like Nigeria with no creating culture, it is a slow patient walk to that future. Not a jump.

Sola thinks that things may not change immediately with the first set of fellows, but with continuity, the programme will only get better. There are several options if the programme is to continue. Though the IVD was made to be an investment model, it also raises some questions whether its sustainability.

Sola Fagorusi, the Director of One Life Initiative for Human Development, an NGO that focuses on micro-enterprise development proffers two options: first, shifting the responsibility of the cost of the programme to individuals and supporting individuals with cover letters to get sponsorship to attend the programme. The second option entails partnerships with organisations, targeting CSR departments and state governors, who may capitalise the programme to actualize development initiatives in the State.

But the IVD has tried the second option. “We have tried to engage both the state and the federal government, specific ministries that would have been interested. Everybody wanted us to narrow it down to just communications


of ICTs, and we felt that would take something from the programme, even the cross pollination of ideas. We can narrow it down to say a combination of sectors: agriculture, ICTs, health, etc., but not just one sector. We felt that to develop Nigeria, we need to look at everything.”

Gbolahan Obadimeji thinks that the structure of the programme should be changed from the application stage. “I will say that they should go into higher institutions

and conduct competitions (of ideas) in the different geopolitical zones of the country. Pick the best fifteen. Bring them to the IVD to sharpen their ideas with business knowledge.” He may not be far from the truth; the Innovation Hub in South Africa adopts the same model.

Clearly, the IVD is an experiment, and there are many variables to be explored. Only one has been explored. One wonders if the IVD would be given another chance, if other variables would be given a chance or if the IVD would just remain an experiment without a world changing discovery. Whatever form it takes, it remains an experiment worth executing as it has led to the beginning of similar institutes in different parts of the world. n

We have tried to engage both

the state and the federal

government, specific

ministries that would have

been interested


You have been described as a finance guru, rather than a techie, how would you describe your profession?I think of myself as an entrepreneur, and

someone who is passionately going after a dream to up-change the face of Africa, one idea at a time. O n e of the things that g o t me excited to

come back to Niger ia f rom the States was the opportunity to be part of t he e conomic redevelopment

of Nigeria . One of my friends told me that N i g e r i a felt like India and C h i n a , 15 years ago. S o

imagine w h e r e I n d i a was 15 years

ago,

and you would be talking about Barti, Mittal, the largest steel company in the world, Tata, etc. I think that is that kind of opportunities that exist in Nigeria today. So I define myself as more as an entrepreneur, passionate to make a difference. I think I found myself in a finance field because Paga is a consumer finance business. We do not think of ourselves as a technology business, although the backbone of what we do is technology based, but we are a finance business, and that is why people describe me as a finance guru because fundamentally, what we are building is, in the worst term of it is the bank of the future.

Before Paga were you aware of mobile payment models like mPesa? People always find it interesting that I never knew of mPesa in particular when I had the idea for Paga. I found out about them doing some desktop research. What I knew of, and what I liken our company to more is PayPal. I knew of PayPal and used it a lot. And I said that is what we need in Nigeria because Paga was born out of the frustration I had carrying cash with me, and so I was trying to solve my own problems. When people think of Paga, they are thinking of the unbanked in some way, but when I wasn’t unbanked; I was quite banked, but I still carried cash with me. I actually liken us today to Alipay in China. Alipay is similar to PayPal, like us they have an agent network. So these are the two that I compare us too.

Did you imagine what the impact of your product would be?In terms of the potential of the impact, I absolutely thought about it. I don’t think that we are anywhere close to the impact that I thought of. When I left

my private equity job, I took two months looking at a variety of ideas, and for

me, the number one requirement in every idea was “does it pass the big idea test?” There were two criteria in the big idea test for me. First was “no one is

going to ask me of the market size of this opportunity. It is so big that when I explain it

to someone, they would get it.” The second was, if it’s

Mobile money: Interview with Tayo Oviosu, CEO, PagaPaga is an innovative, open, secure and interoperable mobile payments platform that allows any person who has a mobile phone to transact electronically. CEO/Founder, Tayo Oviosu, in this interview, discusses the future of mobile payment technology in Africa, penetrating the core of the mass market, and positioning Paga as the bank of the future.

Interview THE KURAMO REPORT


THE KURAMO REPORT Interview

half as successful as I could imagine, we would have had significant impact in Nigeria. And I think that is the kind of impact that we will have in Nigeria, today we have already brought access to finance to over three million people. Euro monitor estimates that for every one adult in Nigeria, there are four to five adults depending on them. So for every one person that you give access to finance, another 4 to 5 people have access through them. And on those metrics, we have the opportunity to very quickly in 2015-16 bring access to 50 million Nigerians. We are on our way there, we are not quite there yet, but I think that is the sort of impact that we can have.

Is Paga going to become more than a mobile payment in the future? We consider ourselves as a consumer finance business. We have a mobile payment licence, and a lot of people see us as a mobile payment company. There are two things that we are trying to achieve. One is to solve the payment challenges in Nigeria and bring efficient payment systems to all Nigerians for a variety of transactions, and that gives us a lot of latitude in what we are doing. The second is to deliver low cost financial services to the mass market. We are agnostic to funding sources of transactions, we just want to help you solve your transactions and take a humble cut. For the mass market, as we build our network, across Nigeria, we believe those could be valuable service points to deliver low cost financial services to the mass market.

What sort of mass market low cost financial services does Paga render?We have started doing that already, we haven’t announced it. Since May, we have been running Paga savings, and now have sixty of our agents in Lagos. So you could go to the agents and open a savings account. It is a defined savings; you could save for a month, three months, six months, a year. In the mass market, some of these people cannot go into First Bank, and open a savings account. With Paga Savings you can tell us how much you want to save and it’s free to put your money in, and free to get your money out. If you withdraw before your withdrawal date, we will charge you N50 because we want to make you save. We charge you a small monthly fee. You can save N10 or N5. It has taken off quite well, and we are just ironing out kinks before we roll out. That is just the beginning of us offering financial services. We had a session on how we can offer credit on Paga. Paga’s future is already evolving. While we are not coming out with products, we are already evolving it. Three years from now, people will see us as a financial institution rather than just a mobile payment.

How far do you see mobile payment models evolving and developing in a decade?The future of the industry is hard to say. I think you are going to see a lot of companies, there are already 18 licenses, and you see that whittle down in the

next two years, significantly. I think you will have some large partnerships, where banks will take a lead role with players like us or start-ups. I think there’s a role Telco’s will play, but I think Nigeria is such a big market, a lot of people look at Kenya and I always have to remind them that Kenya is the size of Lagos—20 million people. And it took them about 5 years to cover that country as a single Telco that dominates the industry. Nigeria is a very different beast. Nigeria can have 3 or 4 companies in this business successfully.

Last words.In terms of entrepreneurship, my thing is ‘get started’. A lot of people talk, and you get further faster, by just getting started. Don’t spend too much time on a business plan. The business plan helps you understand the dynamics of your business, but you get faster with anybody you are asking to invest if you can show progress versus a well ironed business plan. In fact, unless you are willing to engage in a conversation with the person, learn and change your approach. The truth is no matter how well you design that business plan, once you hit the ground running, it will change. Nothing is going to work the way you want it to work. In Paga, we did not have a business plan finalised for a year and a half, and by doing a business plan then, I understood the business so much better than when I started. It was easier to be more concrete about it because I also understood the issues and could actually address them. You have to have a summary or a pitch deck, but a detailed business plan? I don’t think you have to do one. Think about what takes you to the next milestone, and the next step, and what you have to do to move forward, and every time, go do it. Keep moving forward, keep showing progress. Show progress, show milestones and things will fall in place. n


The Business of Nollywood

The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng28

The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng28 The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng 29The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng 29


Photo Essay THE KURAMO REPORT

The film crew of the Nollywood movie “Two Brides and a Baby” prepares to shoot a scene on set in Lagos

The actors of “Two Brides and a

Baby” on set



THE KURAMO REPORT Photo Essay

Nollywood film director Teco Benson watches Nollywood film on the Silverbird TV channel, a privately owned network catering to Nollywood fans, in Benson’s office in Lagos

The mall at Silverbird Cinema

is seen in Lagos, The Silverbird

was Nigeria’s first modern multi-

screen cinema and shows Nollywood

films alongside Hollywood

productions.


A typical Nollywood film shop to attract buyers

Nollywood movies line the racks at a film market in

Surulere

Photo Essay THE KURAMO REPORT



Posters for Nollywood movies in English and Yoruba hang on the doors

Display of Nollywood latest

film releases

THE KURAMO REPORT Photo Essay


There is a fallacy with equating publishing with just physical books. Publishing is more than that. A vibrant publishing industry joins in the dissemination of

knowledge. Information and knowledge are not synonymous. The information age has come with its share of problems. There is so much information online that it can be sometimes overwhelming to sift for the diamonds in the rough, but the publishing industry is a sifter.

A perusal of most of the literature on how developing countries are planning to make the leap to the knowledge economy shows that they all start by referring to culture and values rather than hard economic facts.

The knowledge economy is a natural consequence of the rise of the automated factories, of the rise of the information age, of the ease of knowledge dissemination. Defined as the use of knowledge (savoir, savoir-faire, savoir-etre) to generate tangible and intangible values, the term was popularised by economist Peter Drucker, who attributed it to another twentieth century economist, Fritz Machlup. Drucker presented the idea that the Knowledge Worker works with his head, not hands, and produces ideas, knowledge and information. A key concept of the knowledge economy is the

value tied to the quality of human capital on the premise that through education, it can be treated as an exportable business product with expected high value return on investment, or as a productive asset.

A Global Knowledge Indictment But the publishing industry worldwide faces significant challenges, especially in the twenty-first century with the emergence of new technologies, which has transformed the industry, and waged a war between traditional print and new formats of e-books. Against the backdrop of these challenges, global bookstores have shut down for businesses, and small imprints are swallowed up in mergers with conglomerates in the industry. The emergence of new technologies question the relevance of old institutions with its ability to offer competitive prices, by-pass bureaucratic processes and gain access to millions of people vis a vis the handful of people that traditional print can reach.

Notwithstanding the medium, publishing remains important because of its role as a conduit for transmitting and bolstering knowledge industries, and the West still comes out on top. UNESCO report shows that globally, countries such as France, Japan, Germany,


A paradox of desire: The knowledge economy and a frail publishing industryEghosa Imasuen



United Kingdom and United States are among the top publishing countries in the world, followed by China, Egypt, India, Russia, and Spain. These countries enjoy numerous market advantages such as global markets, a readership, and the ability to publish in multiple languages, which is not the case in Africa. Publishing capacity is limited with heavy dependence on western publishers for book rights and supplementary services to ensure quality control. In addition, there is a lot of emphasis on text book publishing.

Beyond publishing, Africa must contend with facilitating the process towards becoming a purveyor of knowledge, and building structures that would enable a holistic knowledge economy. In the 2012 World Bank Knowledge Economy Index, for knowledge-based economies—African countries do not feature among the top KEI rankings. Specifically, Nigeria scored an abysmal 2.04 in the Knowledge Economy Index ranking above countries such as Yemen and Mali. The Index (KEI) measures a country’s ability to generate, adopt and diffuse knowledge based on four pillars: an economic and institutional regime to provide incentives for the efficient use of existing and new knowledge and the flourishing of entrepreneurship; an educated and skilled population to create, share, and use knowledge well; an efficient innovation system of firms, research centres, universities, consultants and other organisations to tap into the growing stock of global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it to local needs, and create new technology; and lastly, information and communication technology to facilitate the effective creation, dissemination, and processing of information.

A Troubled IndustryThe publishing industry is culturally relevant and can engineer the process to achieve those four pillars of the world knowledge index, but this can only be achieved by the expression of our own will. The publishing industry is not just a conduit to knowledge; it is a catalyst to reviving an intellectual society. It precedes the assumption of how human minds will work to promote new ways of thinking for

self-expression, cultivating and resolving societal problems. But with past wars, unstable policies, military administrations and economic downturns, publishing has taken a back bench.

For instance, the Nigeria publishing has been in trouble for many years now. Once vibrant with independent Onitsha market publishers in the south-east releasing short novellas almost daily, and the big publishers involved, not only in textbook publishing, but also in edifying literature. It has, since the austerity of the 1980s and the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), of the 1990s, been hanging unto life by a thread. The underlying reason may be the push for STEM subjects: technical education to lead our leap from an agrarian and raw-material exporting economy into an industrial economy.

Furthermore, a high tariff was placed on paper to encourage local production, but paper became more expensive to import than to make it in Nigeria. The consequence was that it was cheaper to import a given weight of finished books than it was to import the same poundage of paper. It became economically expedient for the publishers who had set up presses to move their printing operations abroad. They also have to deal with low quality produced books. In Ghana’s case, producing content is a huge challenge; hence, the trend has led to low-quality products.

Uganda suffered the same fate. Its book industry suffered a decline after the rise of Idi Amin’s regime in 1971, which brought political


Inteview THE KURAMO REPORT

According to Wired Magazine, it’s been 10 years since eLearning emerged as a new category, and the market is now massive and growing. How much has the African

market grown?For obvious reasons, the African market for e-learning is actually one of the world’s most incredible growth stories. According to Ambient Insight (the most authoritative source of e-learning market research), the African market for e-learning has a cumulative average annual growth rate of 15.2 percent. Revenues already reached $250.9 million in 2011 and will more than double to $512.7 million by 2016. Countries like Senegal and Nigeria are even doubling this average of 15.2 percent and achieving close to 30 percent CAGR in this sector. So there is little question about e-learning market in Africa, especially when you consider mobile learning is really hot right now.

E-learning is driven by interactive exercises; webinars, quizzes; and threaded discussion areas to mention a few. What will it take to create a state of the art online education technology and services stack, the way Fora intends?To be honest, it takes some pretty significant software engineering prowess and a lot of mutually beneficial local and international content and technology partnerships. You see, a huge part of the problem is that when we are building online education technology for this market, we have to develop it so that it is bandwidth conscious since we don’t want students spending hundreds of naira every month just to learn online. Also, we have to make sure the content that is on our platform is the best learning content on the market since there isn’t a lot of localized learning content. These are the constraints online education technology and service companies elsewhere in the world don’t face, but we have to deal with them to do well in this market.

Will these courses be accredited and recognised internationally?Some of our courses are internationally accredited and recognised. As you might imagine they are also pricier. Many of our courses are simply supplementary teaching resources we have licensed from top schools all over the world.

Those simply carry the accreditation of the local Nigerian Universities we work with to improve their teaching and learning processes. We can’t guarantee they will be internationally recognised.

What about the Open University? Does it serve as a good platform to offer online courses?I think the Nigerian Open University is an amazing institution and national treasure. If we will get an affordable higher education to everyone, they will have to be a pillar of our higher education system. That said, I don’t know that they have been able to overcome the many technical challenges associated with offering online courses although they have been doing a pretty good job in the distance education side of things. Professor Jegede who currently leads the Nigerian Open University comes from the British Open University system, which is one of the world’s largest Open University systems, so I am sure some of that experience will rub off positively on the Nigerian Open University.

Do you think that the education industry is a viable investment in Africa? It certainly is and I think a lot of African Venture

Interview with Iyinoluwa Aboyeji CEO of ForaFora is an education technology company that partners with top tier universities and organizations around the world to enable access to high quality digital learning content for young African students and professionals via in-novative online, offline and mobile technologies. In this interview, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, CEO/Co-Founder of Fora, discusses the exponential growth of online education and the education industry as a viable investment sector.


THE KURAMO REPORT Inteview

Capitalists and Private Equity firms are missing out by leaving heavy investments in the education industry to government and men of God. By 2035, Africa will have the largest work force population in the world, yet we currently have the lowest education attainment rate in the world with barely six percent of the entire population of Africans University educated (the world average is thirty percent). So the question people who think education is a “pity investment” need to ask themselves is: who will educate the world’s work force by 2035? Also, there are existing successful models of higher education done at scale in Brazil, India, the US and China. Especially in Brazil, higher education is a billion dollar business and some of the largest school chains in the world like Kroton and Ahanguera and Brazillian. So the education industry is in my opinion one of the most viable investments you can make in the current environment because all the growth we talk about in Africa is heavily dependent on the quality of talent available to make it happen.

How capital intensive is this project, and how do you intend to source for investments?Well, it is a capital-intensive project, which may eventually run into millions of dollars, but we have started very small so we can learn to be capital efficient and learn as we go along. We raised capital already from local and international investors. I think the smart money is convinced about the opportunity and we have a very solid team of experienced entrepreneurs and operators who are very passionate about this problem so our backers have a lot of confidence in our ability to execute.

With rapid advances in technology for e-learning, how challenged are the public and private Universities to adapt and grow to these rapid changes in the future? Our Universities are pretty far behind but I am a big believer in our ability to change and adapt quickly to technology given the right support and resources. Our approach to helping public and private Universities adapt is to remove the cost barrier for access to technology. We provide our software and any other

technology consulting services required to deliver courses through e-learning to our University clients for free. All we charge for is the content. We do this because we know that the problems of our education system have gotten so bad that any solution that doesn’t have technology at its centre won’t scale fast enough to meet the growing demand for education in the country. All that said, I think if our Universities are given the flexibility by the regulators like NUC to adopt technology, products and services that will help them improve enrollment and delivery to their students, they will catch up in no time.

You aim to assist more Nigerian universities increase enrollment through the online course you offer through Fora, will the courses be complimentary to those offered by the schools or an extension such as Harvard and MIT like you listed? The courses will be complimentary to those offered by the schools. In some cases we might even help schools with authority professors in specific subject areas market their courses to other parts of the world so our Nigerian Universities are teaching the world just as the professors we work with from Harvard and MIT are.

Will more traditional Universities invest resources to build capacity and train staff in e-learning skills and facilitation? Or do we need new teachers?This is an interesting question. Personally, I wish we could train new teachers but looking at the data we cannot train teachers fast enough to meet the incredible demand for higher education all over the world. It is almost impossible. We have a 40 percent shortfall in teachers for science and technology and over half of the teachers who currently teach science and technology don’t even have the qualifications to do so. So as much as I would like to say training new teachers is the answer, it is not. Universities in Africa and the bodies that regulate them have no choice but to invest resources in training staff on e-learning skills and facilitation because that is the only way we can scale the current teaching capacity we have to reach everyone who needs an education. n



and economic tu r m oi l an d w i p e d o u t Uganda’s book industry, but the industry is slowly being revived, p r o d u c i n g contemp orar y writers including acclaimed author, of Tropical Fish, Doreen Baingana. H o w e v e r , the Ugandan g o v e r n m e n t has prioritised technical subjects over literature, which Doreen finds disturbing, “I think the Government of Uganda is making a big mistake by emphasising on the sciences and not the humanities. The humanities encourage creativity, and in the long run will teach students how to solve problems.” Even in Kenya, publishers claim that there is too much concentration on educational publishers at the expense of fiction.

This challenge is predominant with African publishing as reported by the Independent Newspaper UK, which stated that publishers in Africa struggle with factors such as a few leisure readers, a primarily urban reach, small local print runs and a heavy reliance on skills-enhancing textbooks over novels, and as a result of this dilemma, publishing has suffered.

Then, there is piracy and the lack of protection of intellectual rights. UNESCO report further indicates that intellectual rights are central instruments in the twenty first century and those who control copyright have a significant advantage in the emerging knowledge-based global economy. The country manager for Microsoft Nigeria, Emmanuel Onyeje, suggests that Nigeria loses N47.5 billion ($300 million) yearly to intellectual property theft. According to a 2010 Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) report, in fourteen months, agents of the commission arrested 145 suspected pirates and confiscated over 6,193,210 units of pirated copyright works at an estimated value of over a billion naira, during its antipiracy operations across the country—this was three years ago.

Ensuring a thriving publishing industryEarly in 2013 the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, (SON), took books off of its hallowed Not-For-Inspection list and passed a policy that came in July 2013. Nigerian

intellectual pirates had begun to outsource the production of counterfeit books to foreign printers, and the new policy demanded inspection at the port of departure of any consignment of books headed for Nigeria. The exporters had to show evidence of ownership of copyright for the books they were supposed to be shipping to Nigeria. This new inspection regime is supposed to lead to two things: stop the importation of pirated content from places like China, or increase overheads for the importer of pirated books. This would drive up their costs and make them less competitive in the market. This is a step in the right direction.

If publishing is to be revived punitive measures for intellectual theft crimes have to be dealt with through a strong judiciary. There would have to be a radical balance of technical subjects and the humanities by governments because publishing is a valuable industry, which would suffer the vagaries of the market place if left unprotected. Therefore, providing adequate subsidies to publishers would cushion the effects of these vagaries. It would also lead to the availability of a variety of books including text books for educational purposes.

A healthy economy would also encourage the growth of a knowledge economy as the struggle to choose between knowledge and daily survival will be at its minimum, and innovation will be one of its by-products of this resurgence. The countries which have succeeded in building a viable knowledge economy did so by recognising and incorporating culture and values. Without a viable publishing industry, the drive to create a knowledge economy will be a mirage, a paradox of want and desire. n


THE KURAMO REPORT Review

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), on e of t h e d e f i n i ng characteristics of the trade

and commercial relationship between the United States and Africa, will expire on Septem- ber 30, 2015. So far, there have been heightened discussions both by African and U.S. policymakers on the post-2015 commercial relationship between the United States and African countries, excluding North Africa. These discussions have largely focused on whether to extend the current legislation, and, if so, for how long, and what elements of the current legislation should be changed. Although there have been propositions as to what m ay h ap p e n under different s c e n a r i o s , these are not supported by hard empirical evidence and thus are not v e r y u s e f u l in informing the design of the post-2015 r e l a t i o n s h i p . A s A G O A’s e x t e n s i on i s debated, it is important to have empirically based analyses of how changes to the legislation c o u l d a f f e c t trade patterns as well as how changes in the global trading e n v i r o n m e n t could affect U.S.-

Africa trade volumes and African economies more broadly.

The report provides an analysis of outcomes of U.S/Africa trade under five categories of post-2015 scenarios. These scenarios look at the trade and income implications of i) not extending AGOA beyond 2015; ii) expanded product eligibility for AGOA; iii) revisions to the currently eligible countries; iv) a restructuring of AGOA to resemble the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) of the European Union; and v) the effects that a possible EU-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) could have on AGOA or an EPA-like situation, with an additional scenario examining how a

continental free trade area (CFTA) would play into such an integrated trade environment.

The results indicate, first of all, that should AGOA not be extended and current AGOA-eligible countries revert back to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), then trade

losses would be distributed in a very unequal fashion across the continent due to the variation in AGOA eligible products that are exported by different countries. The results also show that expanding product eligibility for AGOA would only have small effects on the exports coming from AGOA-eligible countries—unless complete duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access was granted because the most import-sensitive sectors for the U.S. (e.g., sugar, cot- ton and clothing) are still where Africa would gain the most. The results of the analysis also show that U.S. producers and exporters would not be affected by providing

these additional benefits. In addition, the analysis

shows that excluding middle-income countries that are currently eligible for AGOA or adding other non-African least-developed countries (LDCs) that are currently not AGOA-eligible would result in considerable trade losses and increased competition for Africa. Last, the results show that EPA-like agreements could result in large losses in tariff revenue for African countries, but also demonstrate the importance of regional integration because there is a higher increase in intra-African trade when EPAs are in place with a CFTA instead of the currently proposed regional FTAs. n

The entire report was published July 2013, and can be

found on www.brookings.edu

The African growth and opportunity act: An empirical analysis of the possibilities post-2015Simon Mevel Zenia A. Lewis Mwangi S. Kimenyi Stephen Kar


Report THE KURAMO REPORT


THE KURAMO REPORT Sustainability

That access to electricity is low in Nigeria cannot be attributed to lack of sufficient energy resources to meet its energy consumption requirements. Nigeria

produces over 2.17 million barrels of oil per day, has proven gas reserves of about 5,000 billion cubic meters, an estimated reserve of 2.7 billion tons of coal and lignite, and an additional 31 billion barrels of oil equivalents in tar sands reserves. The country’s energy consumption mix is made up of crude oil (53 percent), natural gas (39 percent), and hydro-electric (7percent). Large hydro accounts for 31.3 percent of grid electricity generation while the remaining 68.3 percent comes from natural gas. Coal, though abundant, is currently not part of the energy mix. The generating infrastructure has an installed capacity of about 6,000 MW, far short of the 2010 estimated electrical energy demand projection of 33,250MW (based on a presidential pronouncement of generation requirement to aid achieving 13 percent GDP growth for the country by year 2020).

Given the role energy consumption plays in the socio-economic and technological development of nations, it is clear that the country must add to its energy mix if it is to bridge the large gap between installed capacity and demand. One way to achieve this is through the inclusion of solar as an utility scale electricity generation source. Solar power is among the fastest growing segments of the renewable energy market. At 3,850,000 exajoules (1 exajoule=1018 joules = 277,777,777.778 MWh of electricity), the amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet in one year is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of Earth’s non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined. While only a small amount would be available for solar power use due to plant consumption through photosynthesis, more than enough can be transferred into a significant amount of electricity.

Casual observers will conclude that dire need for electricity generation in Nigeria will motivate decision makers to expand the energy mix. This may be true regarding conventional sources like gas and hydro as efforts in the country already show a drive towards increasing natural gas generation. However, with regards to utilisation of alternative power generating sources like solar, it is neither as clear nor as predictable. According to the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) which is the government body that oversees energy policy efforts in Nigeria, the main constraints in the rapid development and diffusion of technologies for the exploitation and utilisation of renewable energy resources in the country include the absence of appropriate policy and regulatory

Making the case for utility scale solar energy utilisation in NigeriaOlufemi Olarewaju, Ph.D


Sustainability THE KURAMO REPORT

and institutional framework.Practically, solar power can be converted

into electricity, either directly using photovoltaic (PV) technology, which converts light into electric current using what is called the photoelectric effect, or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP) where lenses or mirrors and tracking systems focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. These can employ centralised or decentralised approaches. Unlike centralised solar power that utilises power grids-power plants linked to distant consumers through transmission and distribution lines, decentralised (or distributed) solar power is produced close to the source, and does not require extensive infrastructure. This makes distributed solar preferable for certain applications. For example, solar powers street lights and traffic signs, and is increasingly deployed in homes and businesses, especially in remote or rural areas where the grid system is not available. Distributed solar is well deployed in many developing countries in rural Sub-Saharan Africa where governments and private donors have promoted rural solar electrification. In Kenya for instance, between 1998 and 2001, no money was invested to bring conventionally generated electrical power to rural areas, but more than $10 million was

invested in distributed solar power.At the utility scale however, developing

countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, are yet to engage the generating capability of solar technology, despite documented advances in the utilisation approaches by more developed countries of Asia, Europe and North America. In the United States, there are 46 known operational PV solar power plants (10-55 MW capacity), another 28 under construction (10-550 MW capacity), and yet another 122 under development (10-2700 MW capacity). Thus, the US has a total of 196 plants capable of contributing about 25,018 MW of electricity to existing energy capabilities. At an approximate cost of $5,213.00 / KW, a 20 MW utility solar plant can provide the energy needs of 6-10,000 homes. Generation from gas and nuclear sources carries an approximate cost of $1,264.00/ KW and $5,845.00 / KW respectively which includes building, operating, and maintaining the plants. Other factors including fluctuations in gas prices and financing terms may affect these costs.

Nigeria’s National Energy Policy (NEP) document broadly express two key objectives with regards to solar energy utilisation: the nation shall aggressively pursue the


THE KURAMO REPORT Sustainability

integration of solar energy into the nation’s energy mix, and the nation shall keep abreast of worldwide developments in solar energy technology. To achieve the NEP objectives, the document recognises, amongst others, need for strategic intensification of research and development in solar energy technology, and provision of fiscal incentives for installing solar energy systems. The important questions are: What blend of policy and incentives will contribute to successful harnessing of the sun at the utility scale in Nigeria? Given the high, though rapidly falling, start-up costs of solar technology, when are such policies best deployed?

Despite these barriers, Nigeria is still positioned to leapfrog into utility-scale utilisation of solar technologies. First, most of the on-going solar projects in Nigeria have the government as sole sponsor, and such efforts have already created a commercial market of solar equipment merchants and technology installers in the country. However, while the ECN has made strides, it lags in unifying the combination of parameters that will drive utility-scale solar technology in Nigeria.

Analyses reveal that countries that have successfully harnessed grid-connected centralised PV technology (providing centralised power generation for the supply of bulk power into the grid) use a combination of public policy instruments and incentives to encourage and foster collaborations with the private sector. That is, the government provides the enabling environment and the private sector owns the bulk of the projects. Clear and practical private sector-enhancing

public policy instruments in the areas that include land lease contracting, grid-connection contracting and power purchase agreements stand out as critical success factors. In addition, government must devise investment incentive instruments to drive policy initiatives like tax reliefs, grants, loan guarantees and corporative agreements. An example of a global best practise is the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), a unit of the US Department of Energy. The EERE works with industry and outside agencies through two mechanisms: f inancial assistance and procurement. Financial assistance awards transfer money,

property, or services to a private-sector recipient so that it can accomplish a public purpose authorized by federal statute (public policy). In fiscal year 2009 for example, EERE awarded $2.2 billion in financial assistance.

The magnitude of change necessary in the electricity generation environment is complex and of significant scope as the environment has deep-rooted structures that have historically enjoyed prolonged equilibrium due to the absence of sustainable punctuations that will provide incentives and motivations for sustainable change. Uprooting these entrenched

structures, as is the case with the Nigerian bureaucracy, involves the introduction of new and sophisticated technologies, which means a need is created to master new techniques and tools. This type of change takes time, and will involve stakeholders from every sphere in both the public and private sectors. To define a change approach that will incorporate all these therefore will involve incorporating a significant understanding of policy implementation processes and strengthening of existing institutions or establishment of new strong ones.

The question then arises: what role should the policy environment play in driving required change? A window of opportunity for such fundamental changes is now open. The ongoing privatisation of the generation and distribution subsectors is evidence of the changing policy environment. The private sector should exert pressure on policy makers to commit to expanding and incentivising use of utility-scale solar energy. n


design a streamlined and effective governance structure that is helpful and responsive to the sectors needs, using its knowledge of the various subsectors to design useful enabling interventions.

Useful government interventions can come in the form of incentives for companies funding or participating in various value chain stages of the different creative industry sub sectors. Tax breaks, reliefs, credits and custom duty waivers have been used to varying degrees of success to stimulate growth in various creative industry sectors. It is estimated for example that tax relief for video games could help to increase the sector’s contribution to the UK economy by £280 million over the next five years.

Apar t f rom p ol ic y inter vent ions , government needs to invest (with both private and creative sector expertise and support) in high quality skills development initiatives to plug existing skills gaps in the sector, but also to create skilled workers that will support the sector’s increased growth and innovation. Skills need to be relevant to modern trends and technology as experience shows clearly that talent underpinned by skills in no small measure boosts the growth and competitiveness of the Creative Industry. Skills interventions should use a variety of approaches including training programmes, apprenticeships and continued professional development on the job.

The case also needs to be made for subsidising the arts not just because art like education and health needs to be accessible to all ( again debatable but for another day), but because the subsidised arts directly feed the commercial sector. UK Film Productions like Slumdog Millionaire, War Horse, and Trainspotting have all gone on to huge commercial success after starting in the subsidised sector. War Horse for example

started out at the National Theatre in Britain (which is subsidised by the arts council) on to the West End and then to Broadway and theatres in Toronto and the US in 2012. Made into a film by Steven Spielberg, it grossed $175,713,196 at in box office.

Running a small business is hard enough; running it in a sector where there are so many other challenges—access to finance, relevant skills at the right level, and IP protections issues, is even more difficult, and so the UK for example has both public and privately funded initiatives aimed at supporting new/small businesses to grow. For the sector to grow in Nigeria, both government and the private sector need to invest in initiatives that will accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. These initiatives need to support research and networking for small businesses in the sector and help them with necessary tools to transform great ideas into creative goods and services that can reach target audiences and markets.

The sector itself has lost several opportunities to articulate its needs and resource/ intervention requirements. Various guilds and associations characterised by fractiousness and factions weaken the sector’s ability to lobby effectively with external stakeholders for enabling interventions such as access to finance, skills, export markets, regulation, intellectual property (IP) and infrastructure etc. Alas, we cannot all love each other, but the sector must work together to produce a united external front to strengthen its position externally.

Ultimately, success should be achieved by the creativity of the Nigerian people and innovation by businesses, not by government action. Our government and other stakeholders should simply create the best conditions necessary for innovation and growth. n

Column THE KURAMO REPORT



Aquaculture in Africa: Creating a viable investment approachFrancis Jakpor

KEY NOTEResearchers at Salem State University note that in the US, where over 80 percent of fish in the market is imported, about 50 percent of that number is aquacultured fish

As global concern for food security in developing nations mounts, stakeholders are looking for sustainable ways to ensure production meets ever-growing demand.

In Africa, where seafood is more or less a staple in many homes, increasing consumption levels do not seem to have a one-to-one relationship with supply. Recently, The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) declared that aquaculture (also known as fish farming) in Africa must expand by 250 percent in the next decade if the current per capita consumption levels are to be maintained. This jells with the findings of the health and environmental research group, GreenFacts, which disclosed that in the last three decades, fish supply had remained static in Sub-Saharan Africa but contrastively witnessed a dramatic rise in East Asia and the Near East.

Aquaculture (also known as fish farming) involves breeding and harvesting plants and animals in water. The process usually takes place in natural water bodies such as ponds, lakes, marshland, brackish water or the ocean. It can also be conducted in manmade tanks, often found in fish hatcheries. Fish farming, which provides about 53 million tons of fish yearly and over 7 per cent of the animal protein consumed, is said to account for over 50 per cent of the world’s market for fish products. The reason is not farfetched. Competition and unpredictable ecosystems have made the harvests for commercial wild fish sub-optimal and unsustainable. That explains why developed nations have since set their sights on more promising substitutes such as aquaculture.

Aquaculture ViabilityResearchers at Salem State University note that in the US, where over 80 percent of fish in the market is imported, about 50 percent of that number is aquacultured fish. Likewise, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) report on aquaculture for Year 2010 revealed that though a developing region, Asia contributed an impressive 89 percent to global fish farming in 2008, providing employment opportunities for

94 percent of the world’s fish farmers. But that does not seem to be the case with tropical sub-Saharan Africa, which despite a wet climate ideal for fish farming, produced a paltry 1.8 percent of global aquaculture in the same year, employing just 1 percent of global fish farmers.

Meanwhile, The World Bank and several national development agencies have explored the viability of the project on the continent and given it a pass mark. Identifying inadequate planning and aquaculture zoning as major roadblocks to the sustainable growth of fish farming, the World Bank introduced cushioning measures such as zoning, data collection, record keeping, market access and financing for SMEs in the business in 2005.

Indeed, the benefits of aquaculture are multiple. Besides accounting for 50 percent of the world market for fish products, it is a sustainable way to meet public demand for quality seafood. Unlike wild fish populations which are unstable and susceptible to environmental and other factors, aquaculture provides consistent supplies of fish as and when due – leaving wild fish to thrive and serve as backup in the event of global shortages. But much more than that, it provides jobs for those farmers who would ordinarily be



be needed. Typically, the life cycle of a fish starts with fertilisation. After hatching, they are transferred to bigger tanks where they have enough space to grow and move around. The quality of feeding matters during this stage since the size of the fish determines how marketable they will be at maturity.

Risky VentureWhile aquaculture remains a viable investment option with proper planning and adequate capital, experts advise that African smallholder fish farmers restrategise so they can produce not just huge but healthy quantities of fish that will yield them more income in the market. This demands they form clusters that will develop a viable commercial

fish farming sector rather than the decades-old fish ponds that only produce enough to feed small households.

For more business-inclined investors, practitioners warn that fish farming is a capital-intensive enterprise which requires an initial capital-intensive investment.

They are quick to add that returns may not come for several years due to the timeframe required for the production of a marketable yield. Risks for such large-scale investments include labour shortages, currency fluctuations, industrial action, competition and environmental hazards occasioned by culturing fish in open water cages or ponds. The result is that such fish become susceptible to temperature fluctuations, water/airborne pollution, excessive build-up of waste, diseases from birds and run-off waste water from polluted lands close by.

However, Lola Adefulu, a ten-year veteran in the Aquaculture business, and the Managing Director/CEO of Lagos-based Coris

Aquatics and Agricultural Services Limited, opined that the business is an investment worth making, provided the right amount of funds is injected starting out and the fish given adequate food.

The FutureWith new technology, experts insist aquaculture does not have to be such a risky venture. This revolutionary system involves closed recirculating aquaculture structures that overcome the challenges posed by environmental factors with a more bio-secure environment for the cultured fish. Natural predators are kept at bay, the possibility of the fish contracting diseases from external sources is reduced, water is passed through state-of-the-art filtration systems to flush out toxins, faeces and uneaten food, and can therefore be recycled. So ultimately, it is a win-win situation for investors and consumers since the fish produced through such advanced systems are healthier and more marketable. n

displaced by the competitiveness that defines commercial fishing. With the right conditions in place, this form of fish breeding creates a level playing field for all interested and capable investors.

“You think about feeding the world going forward, you think about a 50 percent increase in the population over the next 40 years, and sea food is the logical way to feed people if there is an increasing demand for animal protein, which we think there will be,” said Dexter Paine, founding father of Paine and Partners which specializes in food and agribusiness investments, in a recent interview.

Starting OutFor those interested in starting a full-fledged fish farm, practitioners list several factors that must be considered. Land and infrastructure top the list, and must fall within the range of a half plot and beyond. In making this choice, there is a need to ensure the tract of land is accessible to foot and vehicular traffic, close to the market and labour. Also, the climatic conditions in the immediate environment must be conducive to fish farming. The list includes such factors as steady water supply and good drainage facilities.

Just as the choice of a pond is determined by location, adequate water supply and reliable backup systems, good fish food producers is also crucial to the success of this venture. If the target fish farm is a large one, for instance, a fish food maker should be contacted beforehand to produce a considerable amount of food. This will ultimately ensure that the cultured fish are not denied the nourishment that will make them robust and healthy. However, if the farm is a small or medium-sized one, appropriate scraps of food ideal for fish can be collected privately without recourse to external sources.

Fish type and life cycles can by no means be overlooked. In Nigeria, for example; catfish, prawn and tilapia are the most commonly reared fish in farms. The life cycle of aquacultured fish is also important because it determines the size and number of facilities that would

Aquaculture remains a viable investment option with proper planning and adequate capital


THE KURAMO REPORT 2010 Executive Report Summary

Special Report: Kuramo Conferences

2010 & 2012

The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng 47


2010 Executive Report Summary THE KURAMO REPORT

Knowledge Creates Wealth was the theme of the maiden Kuramo Conference 2010. The premise behind the theme was based on the fact that

in the new millennium, the continent will be presented with both challenges and opportunities that can only be treated with raised awareness and knowledge to stimulate and regenerate growth in order to create wealth.

In the keynote speech by Governor Fashola, he surmised that the conference created a platform for the best minds to examine the existing legal order for trade, finance, the exploitation of natural resources, the protection of the environment, global peace, and the dignity of the human race, and to see whether the existing body of rules that comprise the current legal order, some of which are 60 to a 100-years-old and which were made when the boarders were more clearly defined, but far flung, and are still able to respond to the age of globalization

and the fast disappearing borders.The two-day Conference attracted

experts, professionals, regulators, policy makers, and business people from different parts of the world especially the African Diaspora to deliberate on issues with the main

objective of influencing the human condition positively and providing a platform for promoting African ideas and opportunities.

The conference was chaired by Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ay o o l a , C O N , D C L , J S C (RTD), who noted that the 2010 conference came at a time when the realities of our day and age have met with various challenges that face nations and engender a compelling need to ponder on the structure of the world order,

in order to reposition our world for greater benefit to humanity. As the world continues to experience breakthroughs in modern information technology, in faster and more efficient means of transportation and in the ease of sharing knowledge and ideas across

Special Report: 2010 Kuramo Conference

The conference created a platform for the best minds to examine the existing legal order



borders, the world is inching gradually and steadily to what is becoming a global village.

Plenary sessions were chaired by distinguished speakers such as Rt. Hon. Lord Paul Boateng, Former Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury & former British High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa. He spoke on “Developing Economies: Rethinking the Present, Shaping the Future”, and emphasised that energy and power generation, removal of bureaucratic obstacles, tariff reform and regional economic integration within Africa were all matters that Africa leaders could influence directly.

Other plenary speakers held discourse on “Urban Citizenship Rights & Obligations”, chaired by Rev Jesse Jackson. Mr. Jackson stated that Good workers and fair wages build great citizens. He called attention to the need to focus on skills, trade training for youths, and investment in infrastructure. Lastly, the session, “Strategic Drivers for Socio-economic Transformation – The Next 50 years”, was chaired by Mrs. Mary Robinson, the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Regions and former President of the Republic of Ireland. She noted that good governance is of credible importance for Africa as a whole. She noted that the worst problem of human rights is absolute poverty, for this amounts to absolute deprivation of rights.

Selected highlights the conference agenda include:International Tribunal for the Recovery of Stolen Wealth: one in which States and NGOs have a standing should be established to deal with corruption and the recovery of stolen wealth should be empowered to deal with cases of corruption and recovery of stolen wealth.

Education: following successful models, there is need to quadruple investment in education by increasing budgetary allocation for education being a strategic driver for human development.

Producing Affordable D rugs to combat Deadly Diseases: African countries should negotiate affordable access to drugs with relevant international institutions and drug manufacturers.

Housing and Urban Regeneration: To ensure access to affordable housing and urban regeneration such as mortgage financing, cooperative housing schemes and housing associations, and government support for finance institutions to provide low interest funds.

Promotion of Agriculture: Invest in best available scientific research to promote agriculture and provide affordable food and

food security. Climate and Environmental Justice: there

must be fair and equitable treaty based on developing communities when compared with developing communities whose



activities are responsible for adverse climate change.

Reform of Global Trade: Deliberate and strategic direct investment in vessel fleets will provide the momentum to redress the present imbalance between ship and cargo owing countries, particularly in the area of trade and maritime disputes.

Regional Integration: regional collaboration and economic communities will be the future of development hubs; hence, treaty obligations that promote multilateral obligations should be implemented.

Actualising Potentials of E-commerce: pursue expansion of intra-West African Trade such as tax incentives for ICT investments, improved banking and other financial services, and harmonisation of intellectual property law.

The Future of Disputes: Arbitral institutions serve parties to disputes well, but remain f lexible and party friendly ; regional international inst itut ions should be encouraged where ad hoc bodies are still the only inevitable methods.

State Immunity: it was also resolved that nation states be called upon to sign the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of State and their Property (2004) and deposit their national instruments of ratification by March 31, 2011. Also, States were enjoined to pass national legislation on state immunity to protect commercial enterprise from uncertainty created by case law in dealings with state enterprise.

The Kuramo Conference 2010 DeclarationThe objectives of the conference inter alia were to exchange knowledge, encourage improvement and influence change around policy makers/private sector operators may engineer the future of governmental and nongovernmental decision making. Mindful of these objectives, the following emerged as the Kuramo 2010 Declarations as obligations that ought to be performed at municipal, sub-national and international levels.

1. Human Development: there is a need to create culturally appropriate and sensitive models for the development that build on the strengths of indigenous institutions—unique to communities, yet adaptable to global trends.

2. Sustainable Growth: Cities, sub-national communities continue to require enabling environments that create sustainable context for private enterprise and an active and engaged citizenry protected by due process of the rule of law with effective law enforcement, transparency and accountability. n


The vision of a global common wealth

Increasing globalisation has made it clear to us that a problem in one part of the world escalates to all other parts of the world. We believe that in a multi-collaborative way, everybody will

benefit from an idea whose success means, more peace on the African continent, more prosperity on the African continent, more opportunities for the African child. It will further reduce migration to Europe and America, which I believe will help these economies stabilise, as we really cannot isolate the dwindling economic situations in parts of Europe from African immigrants. Furthermore, a situation where we lose our best because there are no opportunities will only further impoverish and make us a risk to the rest of the world.

Africa’s potential I have always believed that the African has not expressed himself sufficiently on the global space, maybe because the opportunities have thinned out, so to speak. What is required is an increasing space of opportunities for Africans to express themselves. Africa has more resources within her than the amount of aid she can ever receive from anyone across the world, but it is how we unlock these resources that truly count, as they will not unlock themselves.”

Aid and dependence on the west I would like to see a planet that is more peaceful,

where opportunities are more equitably distributed, where everyone has a relative fighting chance at survival in his place of location. Therefore, it is necessary to establish continental or cross-continental partnerships. I cannot be your partner in any relationship, if I do not bring anything to the table or if I bring dependence. It is that dependence that I want us to eliminate gradually and I think that this kind of platform will raise some of the best from across Africa and from other parts of the world; to come and discuss how we can do things differently;and also hear from Africans themselves what the plans are for development. I believe we can have a better world.”

Infrastructural development in Africa The insufficiency of infrastructure on the African continent severely constrains economic growth and hampers human and social development. Road transport accounts for 90 percent of inter-urban transport, but physical links and services are inadequate. However, Lagos State has one of the largest and most extensive road networks in West Africa, due to its significance as a commercial centre. Its strategic location has led to it being the end-point of three Trans-African Highway routes using Nigeria’s national roads.

The environment “We saw how an oil spill in America was tackled. America can deal with its own oil issues but

Kuramo Question

THE KURAMO REPORT Inerview


it doesn’t buy its own special oil. It buys oil in a globally denominated pricing market. One of the issues I canvass is that, if the price of oil is globally determined, the standard of clean-up must be global; whether you are a weak or a poor nation, because the environmental problems don’t stay with us alone. Some of the oils polluting the Niger Delta will find its way to the Atlantic, and it is this same Atlantic that binds us here in Nigeria, with Brazil at the Port of Recife, or in Florida.

Law and development On the development of the law, you must e m p o w e r your judicial system and your law enforcement system, to a point where we are able to demonstrate t h a t a government can respond when people act in a non-c ompl i a n t way. Lagos State is gradually building new courtrooms, exposing our judges and magistrates

to the highest possible level of training and skill acquisitions, providing for their welfare, securing them against vulnerability by providing homes for judges, which will be theirs even after retirement, so that they are able to dispassionately and courageously determine cases that come before them. We have also provided Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms that enable cases, including commercial cases, that shouldn’t be in regular courts move on expeditiously through Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation. This way, we can really deal with the problems that manifest themselves as the high indices of corruption.

Building lasting institutions in Africa: The Lagos approach Institutions represent the story of humans. It is the people that determine how institutions perform. If institutions work, it is an indication

of good men and women who excelled, and if it fails, it is as a result of men and women who have under-performed. In Lagos, we are training young people; re-training the middle aged and the elderly, to a new consciousness of responsibility, to continue to propel and push on the developmental successes we have achieved. We have also kept our feet on the ground, as a major reality check that we are on a journey whose destination still lies far ahead.

Aqua culture: A viable business opportunity and a means to economic growth As government, we can lead the way for developing capacity to operate in the industry. Currently, we have established a school in Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State, where the Ministry of Agriculture provides training and support in emerging technology for fish farming

and cultivation, and optimizing harvest yields. We are also providing finance by way of credit to young graduates. There are local markets with local demands now for these products. Even the ministry now has become an anchor purchaser; so that everything you produce: be it poultry, fish, vegetables, etc, we will buy them from you. To this end, civil servants now

have a mart and a cold store within the ministry, where shopping is done at the close of work. We are hopeful that this will spread to other parts of the state.

Creativity and investment drive We must salute the ideas that have come out of the creative and particularly entertainment industry in Africa. This is an industry that was borne against the odds, and we all see where they have taken it. But I think they have reached the limits of their ability to run on their own, and therefore, we must definitely impact them. Today, as a government, we have invested in the acquisition of equipment that will enable the production of movies in the best quality possible; to compete globally. This equipment will become the asset of the Film Production School we set up at the Lagos State University. This will also serve as a resource centre to improve the skills of entrepreneurs in that field. n

Inerview THE KURAMO REPORT

Interview with the governor



The theme of the Conference, “The Global Common Wealth,” highlighted some of what are considered to be the most global topical issues—the creative industry in

local economies; the recovery of stolen oil wealth to public coffers; solutions to addressing contentious energy issues; creating a knowledge economy; dispute resolution in Africa; and consumer rights in developing economies. The Special Interest Segments in the conference featured the rule of law as a strategic tool for development and the agricultural economy.

The two-day Conference attracted experts, professionals, regulators, policy makers, and business people from different parts of the world especially the African Diaspora to brainstorm and deliberate on issues with the main objective of influencing the human condition positively and providing a platform for promoting African ideas and opportunities.

Professor Wole Soyinka who chaired the 2012 Kuramo Conference said that the Conference seeks to develop a blueprint for the modern state in terms of development, and at the same time preservation of ecological resource and to provide a cerebral yet accessible

platform for the intersection of law, public policy, private sector initiatives, and non-governmental advocacy thereby promoting the products of that collaboration as tools for local, national and international development.

The plenary session was the venue of the launch of the Lagos Court of Arbitration, an institution envisioned as an arbitration hub for the West African region. On hand for this was the President of the newly launched Court of Arbitration, Mr. Babajide Ogundipe, founding partner of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe & Belgore, a firm of legal practitioners. The Convener of the Conference, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, the Governor of Lagos State delivered an address delivered where he gave a historical insight into the birth of the idea for the Kuramo Conference against the backdrop of the impact of Africans in the evolution of critical global sectors and phases. This paved way for the discourse from the plenary speakers in the persons of Professor Paul Collier (Professor of economics and the Director for the centre for the study of African economics) and Dr. Dambisa Moyo (an International Economist and Best-selling Author).

The Global Common Wealth: Kuramo Conference 2012


The Kuramo 2012 Declarations The Kuramo Conference beings multi-disciplinary experts with the objective to covering emerging issues tailored to address advocacy and policy required for shaping on-going decision-making. Mindful of these objectives and pursuant thereto, the following emerged as the Kuramo 2012 Declarations as obligations that ought to be performed at municipal, sub-national and international levels:

Access to Affordable and Sustainable PowerEnergy continues to be underprovided across the continent, delivery and transport infrastructure for natural gas for power must be liberalised to readily allow for investment. A review of the fiscal regimes to facilitate and encourage investment should be undertaken. Sectorial planning in Petroleum and Power is needed to embrace all aspects of Energy, and the value of power should be market value and the use of tariff mix and tax regimes should be mechanisms for subsidising the poor.

AquacultureThe Public sector should embark on and implement marine planning policies to map the sustainable and predictable use and management of assets and activities in local and territorial waters. The establishment of an aquatic life management office is imperative. Also, public policy should encourage partnerships between the government research institutions and private sector should be established to undertake research aimed at the culture production of new species of fish or commercial production and the poly culture of fish species like catfish and Tilapia.

Corporate Social InvestmentPolicy should be developed to direct private sector to mainstream Corporate Social Investment policies in their business objectives. There should be a review of the regulatory framework to cover the protection of consumers and award of damages in the event of negligence or violation.




The Knowledge Economy and capable workforceKnowledge acquisition is being greatly affected by the quality of training, certification, development, motivation and reward there is an urgent need to address education delivery across the continent. In addition, private sector investment and non-governmental action for knowledge services must be deployed.

Recovery of Stolen Wealth – Revenue & the Oil IndustryRoyalty is the property of the people, withholding royalty payments under any guise is “theft”. Also, reporting obligations of operators in the Oil sector should be strengthened to include a requirement to report sales, profit and taxes paid in all jurisdictions in which they operate. Beneficial ownership, control and account of companies, trusts and foundations should be publicly available to facilitate effective due diligence. Furthermore, predicate offences for money laundering charges should be harmonised and codified within the OECD. This will assist best practice and introduce a universal set of standards to help to curb the flow of illicit capital. Revenue Services must be independent, empowered and trained to investigate tax returns of oil companies- all underassessment arising from tax claims in the areas of Operating and Capital Expenses, intangible drilling works and gas flaring penalties included.

Supporting the Creative IndustryResearch, data and mapping of the Creative sector must be carried out to create “state and national plans” for Sectorial investment and decision-making. Public funding should be committed to building infrastructure for the creative sector, e.g. purpose-built theatres. Private sector orientation to lending to the creative industry needs better understanding through communication and leadership.

The Conference ended on Saturday November 10 with a special spotlight on the local creative economy spanning fashion, entertainment and the media. The conference concluded on the same day with a seafood festival. n


THE KURAMO REPORT Interview

of these sectors include, housing. Moving around Nigeria, it is easy to notice that there is a dearth of housing in the country, not just in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality. Agro business is another labour intensive sector, where you do not necessarily need very high-level tertiary skills, but would still create a high amount of jobs. There are several other sectors that Nigeria can develop; housing and Agro business are just a few.

It’s a good thing you just mentioned Agro business because the Lagos State has taken up quite a number of projects to develop Aqua Culture in the state. With this progressive move, where do you see Lagos in the scheme of things for development in Africa?One key message that people seem to forget, is that whatever happens in Nigeria, will set the tone for what will happen to the rest of the continent. The country has the largest population on this continent. If Nigeria fails and by extension Lagos, which is the country’s mega city, then I think the entire continent will be on a downward spiral. Nigeria is very central and crucial to Africa’s success story. Lagos as a mega city on the continent is particularly unique and I think it was Paul Collier who speaking to me, quite aptly explained the role of Lagos as the economic hub of the continent. According to him, the city has access to water, which gives it the outward view, but at the same time, it has a massive

The theme of the conference talks about a g lobal commonwealth. How is Africa positioned to deal

with global economic challenges? The good news is that in my lifetime, this would be the first time I feel pretty optimistic about where the continent is. Quite clearly, there are lots of issues and headwinds that the world would be facing. Not just Africa, but globally the world would be facing, everything from incoming equality, jobless growth, issues of commodity scarcity, price volatility, etc. So still big issues coming down the pipe, but for Africa, there are three key things I consider big drivers of the economy. The first is that we have a strong capital base, not too much debt, not a lot of the deleveraging story the rest of the world is grappling with; the second is a strong labour base with very strong demographics (a very large population under the age of 25, which will help us over a long period of time). The third is total factor productivity. This for me, is the X factor of goods and services, things and policies, that basically are key drivers of economic growth. The political climate is improved considerably, as over 50 percent of African countries are now democratic; we have a strong technology base now, with over 60 percent of African population having access to telephony, etc. These are all moves in the right direction; there is still a lot of work to be done, but we are definitely on the right track.

Back to Nigeria, where do you think our next level of growth will be coming from? There are two aspects to this. On the one hand, there are policies and things that should be done to continue to improve sectors that don’t offer much in terms of job creation. I think the Oil & Gas, Mineral & Mining Sectors even though they create labour, they do not have a real high push for job creation. As we continue to invest in those sectors, but we should also recognise that natural resources like oil & gas is scarce, finite and depleting and will not be around forever. What are we doing with the monies from these sectors to ensure we fuel the other parts and create policies for these other parts of the economy that can actually create jobs. Some

Whatever happens in Nigeria, will set the tone for what will happen to the rest of the continent

Kuramo QuestionInternational Economist and New York Times best-selling author of the books, Dead Aid, How the West Was Lost; and Winner Takes All, DAMBISA MOYO, was a Guest Speaker at the 2012 Kuramo Conference held in Lagos, Nigeria. Moyo has been listed as one of the “150 Extraordinary Women Who Shake the World”, along with Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright by the Daily Beast.


inward population. This is a very unique place Lagos finds itself and no other city on the continent can boast of the advantage of both the inward and outward factor. In this context, I think Lagos is really at the heart of predicting where the continent will go.

It is one thing to have all of these significant factors at our disposal and another to turn these unique features into economic advantage. Do you think leadership has a role to play here? Absolutely! I started this conversation by saying to you that there are a host of problems, ranging from incoming equality, jobless growth, commodity scarcity, price volatility and a lot more. It is not a Nigerian or African thing. These are issues that countries around the world; developed or developing, have to grapple with, at this time. So the question is how is it that some countries seem to be doing better than others at addressing these issues. And I will argue that it boils down to leadership. Nonetheless, there are two sides to the leadership coin. There is the corruption part and then the other part with bad leadership. What we must do now is to spend a lot of time combating these ills, such as corruption, subsidy etc. Things, which to me undermine the ability of the economic growth generating systems to actually take place. This is true, not just for Nigerian policy makers, but for international policy makers too. There’s no use talking about free trade when the United States and the European countries are at the forefront of creating these subsidy pro g r am me s t h at benefit their population, but hurt Africans. It is really about creating an environment that aggressively reduces corruption (not just talking about it); putting in place penalties that ensure the government is doing its job, and at the same time removing barriers and obstacles that hinder the operation of free capitalism.

We cannot end our chat today without speaking about your b o ok, Dead Aid,

which caused quite a bit of stir around the world. Tell us about aid and development. Do you think a lot of African countries would ever cross that ‘thin line’ between being a developing countr y and becoming a developed country? I am so glad you have asked me this question today. I spoke with someone from the BBC who called to say that following a series of protests from India in the last couple of years saying it didn’t need aid, the British Government

has finally given in; announcing that by 2015, it would no longer give aid to India.

This is partly to do with self-preservation and self-dignity. If India, which by the way has more poor people than all of Africa put together, is willing to say, “We don’t need aid anymore, we are going to solve our own problems”, why do we as Africans continue to depend on aid? I think that aside from the fact that the traditional donors – America and Europe themselves have economic problems, it still does not make any sense for the United States to borrow money from China, and then give it to Africa as aid. This makes no sense to me at all, particularly given the bad record aid has had in terms of delivering economic growth and reducing poverty. We are at a point where I

think we can transform our economies by doing the right thing and accessing the capital markets. I am pretty much an optimist and I do believe that if India can be considered alongside Britain and others, then it won’t be long before Nigeria is also in that category. If the forecast given by many of the big research companies is anything to go by, then Nigeria is almost there. Mckinsey recently put out a report that by 2050 Nigeria could be in the top 15 countries. Note however, that the report said “It could be.” This is not a fait accompli. It is about execution. Can Nigeria actually get there? I hope I’m on this earth in 2050 to say, “isn’t it fantastic that Nigeria finally made.” n

What we must do now is to spend a lot of time combating these ills, such as corruption, subsidy etc.

Interview THE KURAMO REPORT


THE KURAMO REPORT Column

Enabling the Nigerian creative economy Ojoma Ochai

KEY NOTECounter-intuitively, many governments around the world have fallen into the trap of regulating rather than enabling the sector, which is based on individual freedom and ability to create

The Creative Industry—those sub sectors industries that according to the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport, have their origin in individual creativity,

skill and talent, and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property—have in the last few years come to the fore as a potential key contributor to Nigeria’s GDP and job creation cornerstone.

This recognition of the sector has come about not because of the runaway success of Nollywood, Nigerian music, literature and TV, and more latterly fashion, regionally and on the international stage. With music and movie/television, personalities wielding an almost cult following and fortunes made (and lost), the role of the sector in contributing significantly to both economic and social development is no longer in question.

What is less certain is how the stakeholders in the sector—government, private sector and the practitioners can make consistent and concerted efforts to create an enabling environment to ensure that the sector achieves its full potential. Since it has almost become a truism that ‘this is Nigeria; it cannot work here’, which has been spouted so many times across the breadth of the globe, one is tempted to assume that our creative economy growth strategies must, like our Nollywood models of film-making, be novel and against every tried and tested model. This would be a mistake and an unnecessary re-invention of the famed wheel.

As a first step, we need to have a clear picture of what kind of animal our creative economy is. We need to understand: What sectors? What actors? What activities? How much? We need to understand the value chains in the various subsectors in the industry for us to begin to legislate, regulate, invest and innovate for the sector to

achieve sustained growth. The UK has some clear experience in this regard, but various countries from Brazil to Estonia, Lebanon to South Africa have invested in gathering the much needed data to help them understand their creative industries and gather clear empirical information on barriers to the sector’s growth for more effective enabling intervention.

Counter-intuitively, many governments around the world have fallen into the trap of regulating rather than enabling the sector, which is based on limiting individual freedom and stifling the individual’s ability to innovate and stretch the mind. We could segue into a moral or intellectual discourse about intellectual property or censorship and what the boundaries should be, but the point being is the acknowledgement that for government participation in the sector to be effective, the rules of engagement need to have ‘enablement’ rather than ‘containment’ or ‘regulation’ as a motivator.

Having given people the freedoms they need to create and innovate, government and its agencies must then ensure that the Intellectual Property (IP) of these creations is protected. IP laws need to be evidence-based and up to date with current infringement practice to ensure that these creative goods and services are bankable and the creative

businesses good investment propositions. Protection of IP lies with innovation and skill at the heart of any thriving creative economy.

At t h e m om e nt in Nigeria, there is a cacophony of government interventions in the sector, in part due to the over dispersion of the governance of the sector across multiple ministries and agencies of government. This lack of coordination in the approaches to inter vent ion creates unnecessary bureaucracy in decision making and slows down growth by causing remit overlaps in some cases and gaps in others. There is a need for deliberate effort to


define the sector and design a streamlined and effective governance structure that is helpful and responsive to the sectors needs, using its knowledge of the various subsectors to design useful enabling interventions.

Useful government interventions can come in the form of incentives for companies funding or participating in various value chain stages of the different creative industry sub sectors. Tax breaks, reliefs, credits and custom duty waivers have been used to varying degrees of success to stimulate growth in various creative industry sectors. It is estimated for example that tax relief for video games could help to increase the sector’s contribution to the UK economy by £280 million over the next five years.

Apar t f rom p ol ic y inter vent ions , government needs to invest (with both private and creative sector expertise and support) in high quality skills development initiatives to plug existing skills gaps in the sector, but also to create skilled workers that will support the sector’s increased growth and innovation. Skills need to be relevant to modern trends and technology as experience shows clearly that talent underpinned by skills in no small measure boosts the growth and competitiveness of the Creative Industry. Skills interventions should use a variety of approaches including training programmes, apprenticeships and continued professional development on the job.

The case also needs to be made for subsidising the arts not just because art like education and health needs to be accessible to all ( again debatable but for another day), but because the subsidised arts directly feed the commercial sector. UK Film P r o d u c t i o n s like Slumdog M i l l i o n a i r e , War Horse, and Trainspott ing have all gone on to huge c o m m e r c i a l success af ter starting in the s u b s i d i s e d s e c t o r. Wa r H o r s e f o r example started o u t a t t h e National Theatre in Britain (which is subsidised by the arts council) on to the West End and then to Broadway and theatres in Toronto and the

US in 2012. Made into a film by Steven Spielberg, it grossed $175,713,196 at in box office.

Running a small business is hard enough; running it in a sector where there are so many other challenges—access to finance, relevant skills at the right level, and IP protections issues, is even more difficult, and so the UK for example has both public and privately funded initiatives aimed at supporting new/small businesses to grow. For the sector to grow in Nigeria, both government and the private sector need to invest in initiatives that will accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. These initiatives need to support research and networking for small businesses in the sector and help them with necessary tools to transform great ideas into creative goods and services that can reach target audiences and markets.

The sector itself has lost several opportunities to articulate its needs and resource/ intervention requirements. Various guilds and associations characterised by fractiousness and factions weaken the sector’s ability to lobby effectively with external stakeholders for enabling interventions such as access to finance, skills, export markets, regulation, intellectual property (IP) and infrastructure etc. Alas, we cannot all love each other, but the sector must work together to produce a united external front to strengthen its position externally.

Ultimately, success should be achieved by the creativity of the Nigerian people and innovation by businesses, not by government action. Our government and other stakeholders should simply create the best conditions necessary for innovation and growth. n


Source: Seun Oyediran blog


THE KURAMO REPORT Money

Ubongo.co.tz (Tanzania)

Tanzanian social enterprise poised to change the face of learning in Africa, starting from Da re Salam, Tanzania. Its website creates engaging local content

relevant for the educational needs of the African child and youth population. Founded by Nisha Ligon, a media prasctitioner who had also cut her teeth as an instructinal teacher and later as a content meastro at the virtual school, where she spearheaded the production of an interactive video platform for UK students. She has also done some documentary projects, and digital content,such as the The Twiga Stars, Tanzania’s famous soccer series. Ubongo is unique because it leverages on new interactive learning materials and tools. It thrives by delivering this materials via TV, radio, web and mobile and grassroots educational programmes. Ubongo creates content for organisation and educational institutions, and focuses on story driven media that helps learners to understand concepts, and not just memorise them.

saveandbuy.com.ng (Nigeria)

Online purchases are not new to the highly effective and every busy Nigerian who

are mostly living in cities. Leading online retailers like Konga, Jumia and DealDey have to constantly battle for market share with the likes of OLX, Buy am, amongst others. Nigeria has a potential of harnessing 15 billion from ecommerce alone and there is struggle for the larger part of the e-cake. But saveandbuy.com brings to the fore a unique platform where the buyer can target his or her savings to a particular item they desire and even get a discount on it. Save and Buy is Nigeria’s first saving payment platform which opens a new vista for consumers who want to have access to to luxuries of life without being bogged down by the weight of debt.

dumaworks.com (Kenya)

A visit to dumaworks.com, Kenya’s fast growing social jobsite, you will encounter this statement in bold capitals, “You are a job seeker with a face, not an anonymous resume in a folder stuffed in the corner. Join DUMA to stand out from the crowd.learn more about our work”. This is the underlining principle of the technology company which has found a meeting point between HR departments, employers and job seekers. Founders, Christine Blauvet, an american, and Arielle Sandor, individuals with distinct artistic flairs formed Duma in 2011. They have since been able to work with companies like safcom, ace, daily-nation amongst others. At the moment the firm boast of 2700 people who have had contacts with the website and 2500 are active users. These active users have

Start up City—Promising Tech Companies in Africa


Money THE KURAMO REPORT

suitable formats, slideshare presentaions and other media formats. obami.com packages it’s online content according to educational grades therefore creating formats that are easy for the user. obami.com is currently working on a partnership with the University of Capetown where it hopes that it’s digitalised resource or content will drive social learning to undergraduate students. Obami was founded by Barbara Mallinson. She has been recognised as one of the top entreprenuers and women in business in Africa by IT West Africa, CNN, to mention a few.

eduze.com.za (South Africa)

Content is king in Africa and in any part of Africa that content is the very heart of the mobile devices they are available not only for calls but a media tool and as a fun tool. eduze.com is posied to provide alternative and cheaper means of providing internet to the populace. With the use of Clox, a hardware device powered by solar panel, used in his taxis, shopping malls, restaurants and other places, including schools and rural areas, wifi is made available as a value added service in partnership with company which manages the wifi location. It commercially distributes content which are harnessed through partnerships and sourcing. It pays attention to content in these areas, entertainment, education, news, community and sports. It finds interesting and compelling content and distributes it for free. The SA firm was founded by Shaka Sisulu and Charlie Beuthin, a former executive mid-tier media & ICT corporations for over a decade, and Beuthin was formerly Head of Talent and Music for MTV Networks Africa. n

access to job placements in cities, Nairobi, Mombasa,Kisumu, Nakaru, Naivasha and Eldoret. The edge that duma has it’s social edge and the validity of the potential of referalls and CV made available for employers to consider. With duma, the smart and strategic prospective employee is no more scouting on the streets, he or she is weighing his or her options through her computer or mobile devices.

buyology.com.ng (Nigeria)

Buyology.com.ng is the new online shopping mart in the e-commerce space. It may be a green horn, but unlike its counterparts in the industry, the online company intends is prepared to offer more than just convenient online shopping experience; but also promote buyer education to its consumers. Through its buyer education strategy, Buyology.com.ng, intend to ensure that shoppers are guided and well informed of the quality products and services it offers, a service which is niche, and stand out in the industry.

obami.com (South Africa)

This is a social learning platform that is becoming one of the solutions to learning content in South Africa. obami.com is a social platform that is focusing its content on teachers, learners and even parents. The tech firm creates online resources in form of videos, maps, downloadable docs in


THE KURAMO REPORT Power

Kuramo question: Interview with david frame

Eko Atlantic City has received a lot of interest and attracted attention from investors across the globe, what realistic projections are we looking at in terms of economic development?

The project has attracted a lot of interest. We have had the opportunity to discuss with the people of the City of London, and it is quite clear that they are interested in the project—not only the project, but the development of Lagos State as a whole. And all the signs are encouraging that we will get substantial response. There are a lot of interested people particularly in the Nigerian diaspora in the UK, and in America. For example, people are interested in building an educational institution of international standard, from nursery one to university, another is interested in building a world-class hospital. We also have ongoing discussions with people who are planning to establish a shopping mall of about a hundred and fifty square metres and the design for that has quite advanced at the moment.

In Former US President, Bill Clinton’s own words, “The Eko Atlantic project is one that holds a lot of hope for millions of people around the world.” Are we anywhere near meeting the world’s expectations of this great city?Well I think we have to say that we really are beyond the preliminary stages, but we are still establishing the footprints of the city. Many banks, both local and international have intention to establish offices here. What this will do is to enable them operate in a more efficient way, which is one of their major concerns, and to facilitate that we are putting infrastructure. We are establishing a fibre optic network throughout the entire city. If you have access to state of the art fibre optic network, it will significantly enhance your ability to connect worldwide. Another district that has gained a lot of interest is the Marina district in The City, which is in diameter 300 metres; it will accommodate 350 to 400 vessels. We have established an area on tourism for the Eko Atlantic and Lagos State, and West Africa in general; there will be bars, restaurants, hotels, anything that goes towards providing a focus for the tourism industry in Eko Atlantic.

What are the challenges with the land eroding rapidly in the Atlantic?Perhaps we should go back a little bit in history. In 1905, the ports authority at the time had considerable challenges trying to resolve the continuous silting up of the access to the harbour and that was caused by sandbags, an area of sand which is exposed during low tide and covered during high tide, preventing large vessels coming into Lagos. In order to counteract that, the solution was to build two

sea rocks extended in the sea to protect any sand from entering. They did that between 1905 and 1908 and they were successful in achieving their goal. They were able to dredge the channel and allow larger vessels to come into the ports. Unfortunately, it disrupted natural process, which is known as lateral drift. This is a body of sand that is carried by current from other West African countries to the harbour. And year on year, it was deposited on the coast of Lagos, Victoria Island, and the result was that you had sand collected on the west side and the ocean on the east side. Bearing in mind that the original coastline in 1905 was two and a half kilometre south or out of the sea from Ahmadu Bello Way you will appreciate it that the land bells didn’t start ringing immediately, but by

Lagos is the economic capital of Nigeria and the most populated state in Africa. The Eko Atlantic will posi-tion the State to take the leading role in the African economy, and become a major global force. The city is intended to create prosperity, and will be where business gets done. David Frame, Managing Director of The Eko Atlantic gives insight on how the project will harvest economic opportunities, and solve coastal erosion due to climate change.


1950, one kilometre of beach front had been lost and people had started to notice that there was a problem. Various attempts were made. I think I am correct to say in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, to rectify the problem and the solution was replenishment. Basically, a dredger came in, pumped a 100 cubic metre of sand on the coastline band, and immediately that exercise was over, they were eroded again. The bottom line was that we were losing the battle. And the sea was relentless, moving closer and closer to Victoria Island, until we reached a period in 2005 when

we had a very serious storm which removed all the sand at Bar Beach and undermined Ahmadu Bello Way, there are pictures to confirm it.

There have been conflicting opinions about the construction of the city causing coastal erosion and ocean surges through living areas, flooding access roads and taking down electricity poles and forcing residents to relocate. Can you throw some light on this? At the time, the incumbent governor, Governor Tinubu, approached us and

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explained that the phenomenon threatening the existence of the whole Victoria Island. So the first thing we did was engage a consultancy in Holland, one of the experts in the field. They presented a prototype solution, known as a sea wall, which is what we are constructing at the moment. But the location of the sea wall is critical, from an engineering point of view, if you put that sea wall on the original coastline of 1905; you go a long way to mitigate the causes of erosion at the place. The Eko Atlantic is actually, quite significantly reducing the

effects of the erosion. The electrical curve or wedge, which makes up our footprint of the Eko Atlantic, is not there for any artistic flair, it is actually replicating as much as we can the original coastline of 1905. The far eastern side has a ’S’ curve, that is a design; the curve trains the South West currents coming from the coastline to run parallel to the coastline rather than cutting in and creating erosion. We can protect certain areas in VI and Lekki Phase 1, but we can’t protect the entire 95 Kilometres of Lekki Peninsula.


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What are the solutions to solving the problem of eroding land? The only way to protect the whole Lekki Peninsular is to extend the sea wall, a very costly exercise, and construct what is called groins. This is an exercise that the Lagos State has embarked on. A contractor is installing groins out to sea; I think about 400cm into sea. It is a tried and tested solution used a lot in western Europe and the east coast of the UK. They crap sand, which prevents the ocean current from gouging the sand from the beach front and what normally happens is that on an annual basis, there is a certain redistribution of the sand within those zones to make a more useable beach front. When you have the effects of global warming, rising sea levels that has further tackled coastal areas, and if you go to the west, the coasts of Ghana, Benin, Togo, are also experiencing erosion. So it is an issue that needs to be addressed and thankfully Lagos State has started the process of protecting their coastline. But it is a larger problem that one state alone can accomplish.

How has The City been designed to become the new gateway to Africa’s business hub?We are working on the infrastructure for the phase one, which includes the financial district, so we are putting in place the surface water drainage network, which is virtually complete now, and most of phase one. We are putting in place the sewage network, the water supply and the cable distribution for power to go in, just about the last items to go because they will have to go through shallow trenches. So we are working hard to put all that in place so when the financial institutions are ready to construct their buildings, they have a plug and play facility. It will be a rapid process. n


THE KURAMO REPORT Diversity

Redefining empowermentMinna Salami

I n 2012, an in-depth global analysis of gender equality showed that women in sub-Saharan Africa faced the highest level of discrimination in the world.

Whether to do with issues such as domestic violence, marital rights, inheritance, lack of access to healthcare and political power; women in African countries were found to be confronting major challenges with gender inequality.

This is despite the fact that female empowerment had become the focus of institutional policy-makers in Africa over the past couple of decades; largely as a result of the UN organised landmark “Beijing Platform for Action” conference. The conference, which took place in Beijing in 1995, resulted in African countries adopting the Platform for Action agenda as an operational framework to advance the empowerment of women in twelve primary areas of concern.

In the years since the Beijing conference, official institutions arou nd t he c ont i ne nt h ave developed strategies to tackle t he t we lve probl e ms . From implementing gender-sensitive laws and constitutional provisions in countries like Uganda, Senegal and South Africa; national gender policies in Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana; improving gender parity in basic education in Mauritania and Malawi (where girls topped boys in primary school enrolments); and instituting government parastatals such as the Ministry of Women Affairs in Nigeria, there is no doubt that efforts have been made towards gender equality.

Most significantly, there has been an increase in women in leadership in African societies. For example, in 2011, South Africa’s main opposition party elected a young black woman, Lindiwe Mazibuko, as its parliament

leader. There are now two female heads of state in Africa (Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson and Joyce Banda), and Mamphela Ramphele, the South African scholar-activist might hopefully join them after the 2014 elections. In addition, Rwanda holds the top position in the world for the number of women in parliament and, for the first time in history, the African Union voted a woman, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, as its chair in 2012.

However, African countries remain among the most unequal countries in the world as shown by the global inequality index. Women remain under-represented at all levels of decision-making and the Beijing Platform for Action agenda on gender inequality, signed by African nations, has not been implemented. Most of all, empowering women has become stilted despite the progress made.

The concept of women’s empowerment has its roots in the second wave of feminist and the black power movements of the 1960s, during which empowerment discourses provided


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THE KURAMO REPORT Diversity

an important backdrop for activists, intellectuals, theorists and grassroots organisations that sought a revolutionary concept with which to confront systemic domination.

At the time, it was more popular for official institutions to speak of reform, and focus on solving problems rather than addressing the root causes. It was only in the 1980s when Structural Adjustment Programme for women (SAP) became increasingly popular in Africa and world-over, that official institutions working with SAP began to co-opt empowerment rhetoric to back their actions. This trend spread across sectors, but the vigour and heritage of socio-political transformation that had become aligned with empowerment work was not fully imported to work in a realistic, modern African society. In fact, the contrary occurred, official institutions that to varying degrees disempowered women turned around to claim to empower them, but only through rhetoric.

For instance, while there is no doubt that women empowerment work is a major part of the World Bank’s agenda (a search for “gender empowerment” on their Website on the 31 October, 2013 produced 6,821 articles), its initiatives often fail to tackle the underlying causes of women’s disempowerment. To give some further background; in the past decades, the World Bank has informed gender policies internationally with an “efficiency approach”, meaning that gender equality is seen to function with economic development. This is not untrue; however, the problem is that the World Bank has restricted women empowerment to only economic growth; and not included the non-economic dimension of empowerment; thereby, depoliticising women.

Furthermore, the efficiency approach does not work. The World Bank in its 2012 World Development Report (the first-ever dedicated to gender equality) discovered that despite the “smart economics” approach that drives much of the World Bank gender inequality programmes, it turned out that increased prosperity for a nation has not necessarily led to an improvement in women empowerment.

Still, there is an understandable logic to why official institutions across Africa have come to adopt the efficiency approach. In a situation of limited resources, the policymakers have to choose between feminist agendas, which

argue for change on transformative, politicised grounds, and their familiar approach of poverty and efficiency. Also, were empowerment work successfully connected with feminist practice, it would no longer be the darling of official institutions that want to reform rather than transform the world.

The failure to incorporate a feminist approach into the formation of empowerment policy raises critical issues of power. Social transformation is neither an abstract nor an insignificant debate. In fact, the opposite is true – empowerment projects need a vocabulary that tackles both the politics of oppression and power simultaneously. Notwithstanding, empowerment work by official institutions in Africa has added value. But when empowerment is connected to feminism, it extends to a state of social, economic, political and individual well being that is the opposite of isolation, poverty, disenfranchisement, poor health, alienation and powerlessness. Strategising from this perspective is a monumental task, but the complexities of both oppression and empowerment require such a careful analysis.

In redefining empowerment work to include feminist values, a close, ongoing dialogue with feminist actors must be nurtured. Organisations that engage in advocacy using a feminist approach to empowerment such as the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), FEMNET, UNICEF and The Open Society foundation can ensure that the language in which women’s issues are addressed in African institutions is a language that addresses the political as well as that of their economic struggles. n


The Good Company Robert Girling Hill Press (2012) 216 Pages

The book shares inspiring case s t u d i e s o f e s t a b l i s h e d

companies and social enterprises around the world who are making all the difference by creating e n v i r o n m e n t a l sustainable values, t e ch nol o g y and p r o d u c t i o n policies. The Good Company focuses on why we need to ensure that the ecosystem is not affected by the output of firms, repair of the depleting ecosystem, and that it provides meaningful work. Fortunately, there are a growing number of companies who have made community development part of the core of their operations, yet they attract profound profit. Companies like Clif Bar, Triodos Bank, Natura Cosmeticos, Google, Give Something Back, among others.

Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s ‘Last Frontier’ Can Prosper and Matter Kingsley Chiedu MoghaluBookcraft Ltd (2013)399 pages Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu explores the myths and conventional wisdoms about Africa’s quest for economic growth in a globalised world with a paradigm-shift perspective on the continent’s future. Deploying arguments grounded

i n p h i l o s o p h y, e c on om i c s an d s t r a t e g y f r o m c a p i t a l i s m t o t r a n s f o r m a t i o n agendas, finance to foreign investment, he demonstrates persuasively how Africa’s progress in the 21st century w i l l r e q u i r e nothing short of the reinvention of the African mind.

Brokers, Voters, Clientelism: The Puzzle of Distributive Politics Susan C Stokes, Thad Dunning, Marcelo Nazereno and Valena Bosco Cambridge University Press (2013) 344 Pages T h e b o o k critically looks into factors of d i s t r i b u t i v e p o l i t i c s , a situation whereby politicians win over bloc votes by prom i s i ng to make certain groups of people, better off, yet it remains il legal to pay people for their votes. It also reveals the reasons why political parties are comfortable with courting party loyal voters rather than pitching their tents towards the political neutral and the undecided that make up the swing votes. The book develops a Broker merchantilist distribution theory to respond to these developmental and governance concerns.

Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons From Nigeria MIT Press (2012) 216 pages. Dr Iweala, a Havard and MIT trained economist and a director at the World Bank is currently Nigeria’s coordinating Minister for the economy, under the Jonathan administration. In her move to carry out long lasting macroeconomic structural reforms and growth, she met blockades of high powered corruption, broken institutions and hostility. For the

reader, the book is a revelation of the instutional decay i n t h e c ou nt r y and the challenges of governance in Niger ia . It a l s o provides insights into the interplay between personnel, cultural knowledge and political will in governance and governments.

Recommended books

Policy Shelf THE KURAMO REPORT



THE KURAMO REPORT Policy Shelf

An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions By Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen Princeton University Press (2013)(448 pages)

Despite economic development in India since it regained

independence, there is still the issue of inequality among the masses. An Uncertain Glory explores the need for greater understanding of these inequalities in India. Over the last three decades, India’s has witnessed steady economic growth becoming one of the fastest growing economies among large economies. This book addresses India’s deprivations and inequalities, and proffers solutions through democratic practices. It further touches on issues as health care, education, corruption, lack of accountability, growing inequality, and their suppression in India’s elite-dominated public space.

Poor Numbers: How We are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do About itBy Morten Jerven Cornell University Press (2013)176 pagesThis book poses questions that challenge the accuracy and origin of generated data by world agencies used to develop economic strategy in Africa. Poor Numbers is the first analysis of the production and use of African economic development statistics. The book illustrates that statistics is a powerful tool used in policy-making. The author research shows how the numbers generated considerably do not state the actual state of affairs in Africa. These findings from sub-Saharan Africa have far-reaching implications for aid and

d e v e l o p m e n t p o l i c y . P o o r Numbers provides the opportunity f o r p o l i c y -m a k e r s a n d social scientists to redefine their appro ach us e d to make the ir d e c i s i o n s a n d construct their arguments about development.

The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy BiggerBy Marc Levinson Princeton University Press (2008)400 pagesThe Box is the first c o m p r e h e n s i v e history about the shipping container. The book shows how an entrepreneur, Malcom McLean, d i s r u p t e d t h e shipping industry by tu r n i ng an impractical idea of using containers to transport goods around the world. As a result, it eased trade, enabled speedy delivery, lowered prices and widened the offering of goods everywhere; therefore creating a global trade in shipping possible. By making shipping so cheap, the industry could locate factories far from its customers. The container paved the way for Asia to become the world’s workshop and brought consumers a previously unimaginable variety of low-cost products from around the globe.

Rwanda, Inc.: How a Devastated Nation Became an Economic Model for the Developing WorldBy Patricia Crisafulli, and Andrea Redmond Macmillan (2012)248 pagesT h e a u t h o r s investigate Rwanda’s resurgence seventeen ye ar s a f t e r t h e genocide in Rwanda. This war-torn country h a s p r o s p e r e d a n d b e c o m e a promising African model for economic development under the leadership of P r e s i d e n t P a u l Kagame. Kagame has placed more importance on education, agriculture, universal health care, unification and reconciliation, and grassroots change, which the authors argue has improved the quality of life and encouraged investment by outsiders. Rwanda Inc. is a review of President Kagame’s leadership and the key elements of the country’s development model, and how it can lift developing nations out of poverty without relying on Western aid. n

The KURAMO Report www.tkr.com.ng 71



Lagos Court of Arbitration: The new centre for resolving disputes Tade Ipadeola Esq.

Welcome to LagosLagos is the most populous and diverse city in Africa with elements of cultural diversity, speed of social change and intense com-mercial culture. A unique city with more than twelve million active inhabitants, it is necessary to find swift civil, impartial and ac-ceptable solutions that enable the city to deal with friction. It is not in the interest of anyone, least of all the people saddled with running modern enterprise to leave disputes festering between those who participate in the social and business life of the city. This realisation is what drives the vision of Babajide Ogundipe, President of the Lagos Court of Arbitration – cutting edge alternative dispute resolution forum operating out of Lagos poised to cap-ture the entire West African ADR niche.

Dispute resolution viewed in timeFor more than a hundred years in Lagos and West Africa (Lagos was serviced by the West African Court of Appeal), traditional adversarial courts fashioned after the court system in England were the dominant forum for dispute resolution. The bulk of disputed claims were civil claims whereby one party sought the enforcement of an agreement with the other party. In pre-independence Nigeria, before the explosion of domestic and inter-national trade, regular courts coped with the disputes for judicial administration. By the time Nigeria gained independence however, the exponential rise in human population and commercial activities made recourse to the traditional court system a prescription for so-cial and economic chaos. It is this challenge of the late twenty and early twenty-first century that has made alternative dispute resolution mechanisms a necessity.

Arbitration arrives One realistic and robust response from Lagos to the formidable challenge of social innova-tion is the introduction of the Lagos Court of Arbitration. Arbitration is a judicial process recognised by both domestic and interna-tional law. It is essentially the hearing and determination of disputes by knowledgeable persons agreed upon by the disputing parties. Many standard contracts contain an arbitra-tion clause (known among lawyers as Scott vs. Avery clause) that obligates disputing parties to refer to an arbitrator—agreed between the two parties—instead of proceeding to traditional courts. It is both a pragmatic move as well as a

wise one if the city of Lagos is to recommend itself to the world as a serious city of business. By Law Number 8 of 2009, the Lagos Court of Arbitration was formally instituted, and according to Mr. Onayiga, this development means that parties can pre-select the Lagos Court of Arbitration as the venue for contrac-tual dispute resolution in the event of dispute or difference, and this saves time and expense.

A necessary institutionPrivate sector led and owned, the Lagos Court of Arbitration is prime venue for alter-native dispute resolution in West Africa. Ac-cording to Megha Joshi, Executive Secretary of the Lagos Court of Arbitration, the court possesses expertise in municipal, regional and international ADR best practices. On the continent, Lagos ranks with Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Accra, Cairo, Rabat, Algiers and Maputo; however, trends show that Lagos is set to rival much larger cities such as Tokyo and New York in the future. Planning for this scenario is a challenge in complexity think-ing, jurisprudence, work and motion studies and sociology, and one feature of a viable system of arbitration is the acceptability of its verdicts in all civilised contexts.

Efficient deliveryEquity and common morality are the main items on offer at alternative dispute resolution venues such as opposed to law and retribution in the regular courts. To ensure the LCA ren-ders timely and efficient services, training the necessary manpower, acquiring the technolo-gies appropriate and attracting the best minds possible are all important. However, the most significant challenge still remains creating awareness in the citizens of the importance of efficient resolution of commercial or technical disputes outside the four walls of traditional adversarial courts. It is of the utmost impor-tance that citizens, businesses become aware that the city has come of age and is beckoning to willing and bold adventurers.The world was not built on stasis. Change and continuous improvement are the hall-marks of thriving societies. In choosing to provide the Africa with the court of arbitra-tion, Lagos has finally taken the bull by the horns in transforming into a 21st century powerhouse where all players can rest as-sured of knowledgeable, timely and equita-ble treatment of contractual grievances. n

The Kuramo Report Magazine Edition 1

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