Welcome from the Illinois MBA

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2 Welcome from the Illinois MBA Dear Participants, On behalf of the faculty and students at the College of Business here at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and especially the Illinois MBA, I welcome you to the first Africa Business Conference at the University of Illinois. I congratulate the members of the Africa Business Club across campus for putting together this event. It is indeed a testament of all your hard work and dedication and a good example of the leadership values we instill in our students at the Illinois MBA program. This is an initiative we at the Illinois MBA are proud to support. It is a celebration of our diversity and a good way to give back to the business community. Such initiatives are encouraged as they help emphasize important issues, opportunities and indeed create platforms that aid in the resolution of these issues and the positive exploitation of new opportunities. The Africa Business Club at Illinois has worked tirelessly to create this occasion for dialogue and positive action on business in Africa and we at the Illinois MBA are proud to partner with them on this noble cause. I extend a very warm welcome to our speakers who have travelled from far and wide to be part of this occasion, as well as to our wonderful faculty here present and to you our participants. I hope this conference inspires you to become part of Africa s success. Enjoy the day. Darcy Sementi Assistant Dean, Illinois MBA University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

3 ABCI Team Welcome Dear Participants, Africa Business Club at Illinois(ABCI) welcomes you to our 1st annual Africa Business Conference at Illinois. ABCI exists to promote the business opportunities in Africa through the Illinois network and beyond. Our annual conference series is a major way we look to accomplish this goal. We focus on important business sectors including but not limited to finance, agriculture, energy, sustainability, IT, insurance, trade, and media, all sectors that are experiencing rapid and substantial development in Africa. This year, the conference theme is Business in Africa: A Practical Perspective. We are glad to have four distinguished speakers who will be sharing practical insights on their various areas of business: Ms. Margareth Chacha (MD of Tanzania Women s Bank), Dr. Madhu Viswanathan (UIUC Professor), Mr. Jeff Vosseller (Founder and Publisher of Africa Agribusiness Magazine), and Mr. Conal Duffy (SVP of Alliant Insurance).We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all our speakers this year for their time, sponsorship and overall support. We also want to thank all our corporate and institutional sponsors - The Center for African Studies, Student Cultural Programing Fund, The Illinois MBA, Tayo Laleye & Co.- for their very generous contributions. Finally, to all the attendees, volunteers, students and faculty who have supported our conference, we thank you. Ultimately, we hope that this event fosters lasting connections and relationships as well as actionable ideas for the future. Yours sincerely, ABCI Team

4 Agenda From To Activity 8:00 AM 9:00 Breakfast & Registration Audience registration. Breakfast served. Networking 9:00 9:05 Conference Opening Oladipupo Ogunnubi President, Africa Business Club at Illinois 9:05 9:15 Welcome Address Darcy Sementi Assistant Dean, Illinois MBA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 9:15 9:45 Doing Business in the Subsistence Marketplaces Madhu Viswanathan Diane and Steven N. Miller Professor in Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 9:55 10:00 Biography and Overview of Panel Paul McNamara Associate Professor of Consumer and Family Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 10:00 10:30 Micro-financing and Banking in Africa Margareth Chacha Managing Director, Tanzania Women s Bank PLC 10:35 11:10 Agribusiness and the Future Jeff Vosseller Publisher, Africa Agribusiness Magazine 11:15 11:50 Myths vs Reality of Doing Business in Africa Conal Duffy Vice President, Alliant Insurance Services (Emerging Markets Unit) 11:55 12:25 Q&A Session Paul McNamara 12:25 13:00 PM Conference Closing & Networking Babajide Adeyemi VP of Fundraising, Africa Business Club at Illinois

5 Speaker Profiles Prof. Madhu Viswanathan Diane and Steven N. Miller Professor in Business University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Madhu Viswanathan a Diane and Steven N. Miller Endowed Professor, has been on the faculty at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, since He is part of the faculty team teaching a unique course on Sustainable Product and Market Development for Subsistence Marketplaces including African countries like Tanzania. Professor Madhu s research and accomplishments have recently earned him an invitation to serve on a newly formed advisory board of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He is also the recipient of numerous awards and his course on subsistence marketplaces was ranked one of the top entrepreneurship courses by Inc. magazine. Ms. Margareth M. Chacha Managing Director Tanzania Women s Bank PLC. Ms. Chacha is the Managing Director of the Tanzania Women s Bank PLC. She has over 29 years experience in senior managerial positions including as the Operation s Manager UNDP Tanzania, Budget Officer - UN Mission Sudan, Director of Banking, Eastern Zonal Director, Branch Manager - CRDB Bank and Compliance Manager - NPF (NSSF). Ms. Chacha is a pioneer of the Women s Empowerment platform. In 2009, she successfully spearheaded the establishment of the first women s bank in Tanzania. The bank has become a model for many African countries that are interested in learning its best practices. Being a woman and a Director is a challenge, because Tanzania as a country is still undergoing culture and social evolution. Ms. Chacha is an embodiment of the positive economic and social growth taking place in Tanzania and the African continent.

6 Speaker Profiles Mr. Jeff Vosseller Publisher Africa Agribusiness Magazine (AAM) Jeff Vosseller began his love for Agriculture and Commodities back in 1995 as a grain trader at the Chicago Board of Trade. Two years ago he founded Africa Agribusiness Magazine with the vision of helping smallholder farmers in Africa increase both their yields and incomes through proper planting techniques and the ability to eliminate post-harvest losses. Africa Agribusiness Magazine focuses on the success stories of both big and small enterprises and promotes the many reasons why foreign companies and individuals should be investing and doing business in Africa. Mr. Conal Duffy Vice President Alliant Insurance Services (Emerging Markets Unit) Conal Duffy has more than 25 years experience in international project finance and development. He has worked for several US Government foreign assistance agencies, including the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) where he specialized in major infrastructure projects in Africa and the Middle East. His current role as Vice President of Alliant Insurance Services Emerging Markets Unit involves underwriting and brokering political risk and trade credit insurance for many countries in Africa and worldwide. He currently works with exploration and production companies, independent power producers, financial institutions, telecommunication and Internet service providers, and agribusinesses. He has led high-level negotiations with financial institutions, the U.S. government, World Bank, and foreign government agencies, and has led numerous project due diligence efforts. Mr. Duffy experiences have brought him great insight into the reality of the role of political risk when doing business in Africa.

7 Moderator Profile Prof. Paul E. McNamara Associate Professor of Consumer and Family Economics University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Paul McNamara is an Associate Professor of Consumer and Family Economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. McNamara is a health and consumer economist and his research addresses policy-relevant questions facing consumers and society. Dr. McNamara has been involved in international development and international research work since He has vast experience in West Africa specifically Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana. He has published numerous articles in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and the Journal of Food Protection. He also runs the Illinois Rural Health Workshop, this workshop provides rural communities with impact information, and helps consumers, community leaders, and public policy leaders with research-based information to improve rural health decision-making.

8 Africa Business Club at Illinois is a pioneer student organization established to promote business and related activities across different sectors on the African continent through the University of Illinois network and beyond. Our aim is to provide a suitable platform to educate, enlighten and promote investment interests and opportunities in Africa. We also hope to provide support for students seeking business and career opportunities in Africa through access to investors, employers and organizations with a presence in Africa. Membership of our organization is open to University of Illinois students of all backgrounds. Africa Business Club at Illinois is committed to engaging the entire University of Illinois community through the range of professional, educational and social activities we organize throughout the academic year. The pool of talent available at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign make an excellent hub for brilliant minds to discuss ways to further the economic development of the world s next largest economy. We believe that our club is an excellent avenue to facilitate this goal. Feel free to contact us regarding activities of the club, or ideas about other partnership proposals that you may have, or for information on giving a general contribution. [email protected] Website:

9 The ABCI Team Oladipupo Ogunnubi MSEE/MBA 15 President Webiro Wasira MBA 14 Vice President, Finance Babajide Adeyemi MBA 14 Vice President, Fundraising Christiana Laleye MBA 14 Vice President, Operations Damola Kale MBA 14 Vice President, Relations Nhan Vo MBA 14 Vice President, Media Gabriel Ejezie MBA 14 Vice President, Marketing

10 Acknowledgements We would like to thank everyone who played a role in making this event a success: To our Provost, Professor Adesida, we thank you for finding time to honor our invitation despite your busy schedule. Your dedication and support of noble causes such as this is an encouragement to every student and individual seeking to excel and contribute to the development of Africa. To Darcy Sementi, Assistant Dean of the Illinois MBA, your belief in the Africa Business Club at Illinois has been instrumental to our success thus far, and your unwavering support has helped us make this event a reality. We are most grateful. To our distinguished speakers who travelled far and wide to honor our invitation, we thank you for dedicating your time and personal resources to support our cause. Your insights and expertise have planted a seed of positivity that will certainly result in a greater Africa. We are sincerely humbled by your generosity and remain tremendously grateful. To our sponsors, Center for African Studies (CAS), The Illinois MBA, Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), Students Cultural Programming Fee (SCPF) and Tayo Laleye and Company, your continued support of initiatives that promote the improvement and education of society is laudable and we sincerely thank you. To our dear faculty at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who made time for this event, despite your busy schedules, we say a very big thank you. Your presence here and genuine interest in education and our initiative remains an inspiration to us. To all our participants alumni, business associates, students, volunteers and everyone here present, this event would not have been a success without you. Thank you for your continued support. We hope to host you all again in the coming year at the 2nd Annual Africa Business Conference Thank You!.

11 Thank you & See you again next year!

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