Our purpose The Business Breakfast organized by AIESEC South Africa and hosted by GIBS Business School aims at bringing together key players from industry, academia, and youth organisations to discuss the relevance of South African businesses in the evolving continental landscape, with a specific focus on the kind of young talent required to succeed in today's world. The topic: South Africa's role in the new Africa. A conversation of talent Africa is on the rise in the global arena. Various regions across the continent are in the spotlight for developing expertise in specific fields, from IT to outsourcing and food production. Where is the space for South African corporations to leverage on the increasing international trade? Most importantly, what human capital do we need to play a leading role in the continent?
Event Overview Date: Friday, May 9th; 7:30 – 9:30 am Venue: GIBS Business School, restaurant area Agenda 7.30 - 7.45 Greetings 7.45 - 7.55 Welcome note by AIESEC 7.55 - 8.05 1st speech: Mr David Wingfield 8.05 - 8.15 2nd speech: Prof. Nick Binedell 8.15 - 8.25 3rd speech: Mr Siddharth Bali 8.30 - 9.15 Conversations over breakfast 9.15 - 9.30 Wrap up and closing note by AIESEC
Highlights from the speakers David Wingfield – Head of Marketing, Barclays Africa David’s presentation focused on the importance of creating a strong value culture amongst employees. He explained how Barclays has undergone a process of redefining its values with a purpose of doing banking to “help people achieve their ambitions - in the right way.” Such clarity on the purpose, as well as on its values, allows Barclays to define the type of leadership it expects from its employees and to evaluate employees performance as well as alignment to values. Barclays’ thinking is that African talent is ready for the task of the next decade, but it requires value-driven growth to ensure African companies can sustainably rely on African leadership.
Prof Nick Binedell – Dean, Gordon Institute of Business Science Nick took inspiration from his personal travels to compare the standing of South Africa within the rest of the world, and specifically within the continent. Nigeria has “the highest human energy in the world,” but lacks basic infrastructure. South Africa, instead, has the opposite problem. While 10% of the African economy is located in Gauteng, our economic growth and human energy cannot match up to that of our neighbours. South Africa has a unique advantage in infrastructure and ease of doing business compared to its African competitors, but its economy is growing at a much slower pace. The continent is rising and many foreign companies are tapping into these opportunities. For South African companies not to miss out on this opportunity, they must understand the African market and its dynamics, but also to foster the next generation of economic leaders.
Mr Siddharth Bali - President, AIESEC South Africa Siddharth’s speech focused on storytelling, sharing the impact AIESEC’s international exchange programme has on young people and on organisations. He described AIESEC as “the best kept secret in the world” for its power to develop leaders through impactful experiences. Through AIESEC, South African students can go abroad to intern in other countries and develop their personal and professional skills. At the same time, companies in South Africa can attract talent from Africa and the rest of the world and access a unique pool of graduates with great attitude relevant professional experience. AIESEC provides an ideal platform to groom the leaders needed in today’s business world, and Siddharth encouraged attendees to work closely with such youth to bring the needed change in South Africa.
Organisations represented Accenture - AIESEC - Allan Gray Orbis Foundation - AngloGold Ashanti - DHL Emzingo - GIBS - Impact Hub Johannesburg - Liberty Finance - McDonalds - Murray & Roberts - Roth Observatory International - Siemens - Tata Consultancy Services - Vega Institute of Brand Leadership
Acknowledgements Event partner: Gordon Institute of Business Science Event coordinator: Alessandro Pietrobon, VP Business Development, AIESEC South Africa Master of ceremony: Michael Hubbard, VP Marketing and Finance, AIESEC South Africa
About AIESEC AIESEC is the global youth network impacting the world through leadership development experiences. AIESEC has been facilitating youth leadership activities as well as international internships and volunteer experiences for over 65 years, developing a truly global learning environment. In South Africa, we operate since 1958 and each year we facilitate over 200 international internships, involving over 400 people in our activities. We operate as NPC and we are a B-BBEE Level 3 contributor, as well as a registered Public Benefit Organisation
More about AIESEC: aiesec.org // aiesec.co.za Contact us: partners@aiesec.co.za