The Rising Africa, Dec. 2013

A tribute to Lucien Bradet, past President and CEO of CCAfrica

the education edition

Rising Africa

the

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CCAfrica working with you since 2002

december 2013, Issue 5

SPECIAL SECTION

Nigeria Now

The country today, and where it’s headed

Africa and Canada, Partners in Education Interviews with Dr. Keith Brown, Cape Breton University and Paul Brennan, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges

Media Visionary

Plans to grow Nigeria’s culture sector

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Canadian Council on Africa Member:

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December 2013

Contents 40

features 10 The

Promise of Mobile Phones for Adult Education Project ABC’s ingenious approach to teaching literacy in rural Africa

By Christopher Ksoll

20 Training

Canadian investors will need to rely on a highly skilled African workforce

By Jacinthe Allard 33 A

Well-Deserved Honour

University of Guelph awards Tanzania’s President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete an honorary doctorate

By Rumina Dhalla

36 Reinventing

Africa

How the continent is growing its capacity in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) through higher education

By David W. Strangway 40 Furthering

Development in Nigeria through Education An essay excerpt from a renowned African-Canadian doctor, scholar and leader

By Dr. Godwin O. Eni

44 Africa

Is Enlightening

The stats show education is increasing African quality of life

By CCAfrica

On the cover 6

21 8 & 12

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Q&As 8 Understanding

Modern Africa Dr. Keith Brown on what Canadians need to know about the modern-day continent

By Kemi Adekoya

12 Bridging

the Skills Gap Paul Brennan on how Canada is helping African educators better prepare students for careers

By CCAfrica

16 Telling

Stories

Nigeria’s

Uzo Udemba on culture as a key industry to harness Nigeria’s energies

By CCAfrica

34 eLearning

Rebecca Stromeyer

on the technology that can change African lives

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22 F rom

Challenges to Opportunities Q&A: An interview with Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria

46 Exporting

Education Etienne Juneau on productive, two-way educational partnerships

December 2013

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28 On

the Move Helping Lagos State improve urban infrastructure

By Robert Scarth

By Pierre Boisvin

Days Ahead in Nigeria

30 How

Foreign Direct Investment Serves the Nigerian Economy

By CPCS

By Nwakego Linda Eyisi

26 Bright

By CCAfrica

By CCAfrica

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nigeria special

in every issue 6 Letter 49 Members List 50 Board of Directors

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letter

The “Voice of Africa” A Tribute to Lucien Bradet

On September 5th, 2013, Lucien Bradet, President and CEO of the Canadian Council on Africa (CCAfrica) announced that it was time for him to retire.

Lucien was viewed by many as the representative of the African community in Canada and often referred to as the “voice of Africa” within Canadian society. Over the last 10 years, he nurtured CCAfrica to see it grow into the well-known association we know it as today. As Chairman of the Board since October 2012, I’ve had the chance to work with him and I would like to dedicate this editorial to honouring the work of Lucien Bradet on behalf of CCAfrica.

Early in life, Lucien showed a very strong interest in Africa, which led him to later study in Rwanda—now a rare opportunity for young Canadians. He also attended the University of Ottawa, after which he joined the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and occupied various managerial positions, including elected

positions in the education sector as a school trustee for over 16 years. He also functioned on three boards in the health sector, and in the area of arts and culture, as chairman of the Radio Communautaire francophone d’Ottawa. In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Ordre de la Pléiade in recognition of his outstanding contribution to la Francophonie, and as a result was named Person of the Year for his contribution to francophone culture and to the community as a whole.

Although Lucien successfully built a strong professional career for himself, he was also very present and active in community issues. The years spent in Rwanda left an indelible connection to the continent and its story, building in him the determination to be its people’s voice and

(From left to right) Nola Kianza; Marie-France Lebreton (former VP of CCAfrica); Lucien Bradet; President of Nigeria Jonathan Goodluck

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advocate in Canada. While occupying his various positions, he made time for issues concerning Africa. Several times, Lucien has beseeched the Government of Canada to come to the aid of Africa and its people; for example, during a Foreign Affairs Development Committee held in Canada in February 2013, he urged the government to aid Mali in order to avoid another disastrous occurrence, saying that Canada cannot afford to show the same attitude of indifference that was shown to Rwanda. For the past 10 years, he has been the middle man in supporting African-Canadian trade, making it his mission to show Canada why they have to support Africa and how this can be beneficial to both parties. Lucien’s voice, so convincing and resounding, can never be replaced, because he spoke with conviction and love.

In his opinion, Africa is a continent with multiple possibilities and opportunities— opportunities that have been ignored or simply overlooked. He believes that developed countries such as Canada can help improve Africa’s situation, but not through humanitarian aid; he is instead pushing for partnership, a proposal that seemed farfetched to most Canadians 10 years ago.

He is convinced that to really support and develop the African community, partnerships will teach Africans how to fish and becoming self-sufficient. His bold certainty of the value of partnerships led him to the Canadian Council on Africa.

In 2002, CCAfrica was formed following the Kananaskis G8 Summit in Alberta, with the primary purpose of promoting institutional relations between Canada and Africa to further Africa’s economic development. In 2004, Lucien Bradet was appointed CEO of the organization, as it mirrors his principle of partnership and aid. According to him, an organization like CCAfrica will permit many entrepreneurs

Rising Africa

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CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD | CCAFRICA

Benoit La Salle VICE-PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MEMBER RELATIONS | CCAFRICA

Chris Kianza Editorial EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Léonie Perron

to leverage their Canadian counterparts, consequently helping them to improve their business methods while expanding their horizons.

For the past 10 years, Lucien treated this organization as if it were a child, using it as a vehicle of hope for his mission. Unlike other CEOs, Lucien was not profit-driven, but had another goal in mind, one that he refused to compromise. His goal for CCAfrica was more than monetary value; he derived more satisfaction knowing that he has successfully convinced a member to share in his value of partnership.

Lucien: a proud Québécois, a remarkable CEO, with a love and passion for Africa that can never be questioned, and a belief in Africa that has moved him to act and to bring others on board with him by convincing them to embrace his picture of Africa. His tenacious dedication within the last 10 years toward Africa can be felt across Canada as he successfully implemented techniques to facilitate the Canada-Africa business affiliation. Once again, his place or his voice might simply be irreplaceable.

In order to carry on Lucien’s legacy, a Transition Committee was created to assist CCAfrica’s team in finding a suitable successor.

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Council on Africa is now pleased to announce the appointment of its new President and CEO, Mr. Jean J. Gauthier, a widely respected expert with more than 35 years with the public service. He is also the Secretary/Treasurer of the Canada Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, one of the 2005 PAFSO Award Recipients, and previously a Special Advisor to CCAfrica.

Thank you for your continued support as we move forward to build our team to support your goals and expectations. Please join us in welcoming our new President. RA

MANAGING EDITOR | GORDONGROUP

Simon Osborne PROJECT MANAGEMENT | CCAFRICA

Luka Tremblay Kemi Adekoya PROJECT MANAGEMENT | GORDONGROUP

Jodi Lackey TRANSLATION | CCAFRICA

Kim Painaud Kemi Adekoya Luka Tremblay Art ART DIRECTOR | GORDONGROUP

Leslie Miles ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR | GORDONGROUP

Kelly Read-Lyon DESIGN AND LAYOUT | GORDONGROUP, CCAFRICA

Alina Oliveira, Karl Hasenhuendl CONTRIBUTORS

Kemi Adekoya Pierre Boisvin Rumina Dhalla Nwakego Linda Eyisi Rishanthi Pattiarachchi Robert Scarth Luka Tremblay

Jacinthe Allard CPCS Dr. Godwin O. Eni Christopher Ksoll Sophie Saint-Laurent David W. Strangway Dave Walker

advertising sales DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES | GORDONGROUP

Kirill Kornilov The Rising Africa is published by the Canadian Council on Africa, 116 Albert Street, Suite 702, Ottawa ON K1P 5G3.

FOR GENERAL INFORMATION, CONTACT CHRIS KIANZA: Tel.: 613-565-3011 | Toll-free: 1-888-852-9461 | Email: chris.kianza@ccafrica.ca | ccafrica.ca FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, CONTACT KIRILL KORNILOV: Tel.: 613-288-5363 | Fax: 613-722-6496 | Email: kkornilov@gordongroup.com | gordongroup.com The Canadian Council on Africa (CCAfrica) is the only Canadian organization dedicated to the economic development of Africa. It is a non-profit, membership-based organization established in 2002, the year of the Kananaskis G8 Summit, where the agenda included the development of a self-help plan for Africa. CCAfrica focuses on the future of African economy and the positive role that Canada can play in meeting some of the challenges in Africa.

NOTE: The opinions expressed within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect CCAfrica policy. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher.

CCAfrica can be a valuable partner to help your business reach the African market.

Visit ccafrica.ca to learn more about the organization and how to become a Member.

Benoit La Salle Chairman of the Board of Directors, CCAfrica

CCAfrica frique

Canadian Council on Africa Conseil Canadien pour l’Afrique

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Q&A

Understanding

Modern Africa An Interview with Dr. Keith Brown, Vice President of International and Aboriginal Affairs, Cape Breton University

By Kemi Adekoya

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I believe the further development of cultural tourism offers tremendous opportunities for community-based development on the continent.

Kemi Adekoya: As the VP of International and Aboriginal Affairs, what are your roles and duties in the university?

Dr. Keith Brown: In addition to serving on the University Executive Committee, I have prime responsibilities for international partnerships, faculty and student exchanges, promoting the globalization of the curriculum, encouraging and facilitating domestic students to study abroad, and the development of domestic Pathway Agreements.

I hold the Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies, which does research on “Best Practices” in Business, promotes the study of business at the post-secondary level, develops a curriculum that is representative of Aboriginal Business, and promotes Youth Mentorship at the high school level.

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As a current professor in Marketing and International Business, what do you think about business partnership between African and Canadian entrepreneurs?

Dr. Keith Brown

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More than half of the 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa. There is a large and young population,

Have you noticed a trend in which students from African countries are looking toward countries like Canada as the destination for a rich and concrete education? If so, how can we explain this trend, and what can be done to capitalize on it?

As I write this response I am flying from Nairobi to Amsterdam en route to Cape Breton, after having had discussions with both universities and high schools in East Africa. Students are increasingly interested in Canada as a post-secondary destination because they recognize the multicultural and welcoming nature of Canada—the world-class education is becoming more known in the region. It is known as a safe destination and compared to the UK and the U.S., and the students comment on better value for their financial investment in their education.

One of your major research interests includes cultural tourism marketing.

Many scholars have argued that due to Westernization, many African countries have been unable to preserve their cultural identity, therefore making Africa an unusual tourist destination. What is your position on this notion of Westernization and the African identity?

This has not been my experience. While globalization, at some levels, has seen a homogenization of popular culture in music, clothing styles and convenience foods, the hundreds of distinct cultural groups celebrate their languages, customs and practices, regional and local foods abound, and art is celebrated. Africans, like peoples around the world, adopt and adapt cultures. Culture is not static.

How can cultural tourism be a major economic boost to developing communities and a business opening for those seeking to invest in Africa?

Rather than a vehicle for inward investment, I believe the further development of cultural tourism offers tremendous opportunities for community-based development on the continent. Tourists are eager for experiential opportunities whereby they have the ability to immerse themselves in a genuine cultural experience. Authenticity of product and practice is paramount for this target segment, and they will shun “manufactured” culture.

land ownership is viewed as a collective property, tied to historic tribal territories.

The foundation of non-Aboriginal business in Canada is individual property rights, which oftentimes are used as collateral for business investment. Both Canada’s Aboriginal peoples and Africans have been subject to colonialism by some of the same European nations. Attitudes of the English and French, in colonial times, towards the Indigenous peoples of both North America and Africa were similar. Land was seen as something to take away from the local inhabitants, and accumulation of wealth and privilege was in the hands of the colonials. Both practices continue to impact and haunt these peoples on both continents.

With your background in communications, do you think that the media has halted the real image and history of Africa, and how has this affected the tourist business and even potential business The West… outsourcing to the may have a African continent?

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What marketing ideas and advice do you have for countries seeking to distinguish themselves amongst other host countries?

somewhat That is an interesting and romanticized vision difficult question to answer. of vast plains in the Generally speaking, I do Serengeti, large not think the West has a herds of animals, clear vision of the continent Again, this is an interesting jungle and, in a as a continent of diverse and thoughtful quesmore negative countries, peoples and tion. In its simplest form, view, one of cultures. They may have marketing is about knowpoverty and strife… a somewhat romanticized ing your customer’s needs However, vision of vast plains in the and wants. That comes Africa is so Serengeti, large herds of through market research much more. animals, jungle and, in a and market segmentation. more negative view, one I have found it common of poverty and strife. In while travelling in varipart this view, while limited, is correct. ous African countries to be referred to However, Africa is so much more. While in as a European. I am not; I am a Canadian.

East Africa, I was following a news feature When I say this, people smile and say it called Africa Today which presented a is the same thing. When I explain that very different view of modern Africa. This Europe is home to dozens of different type of series, if available and promoted in countries and cultures, as is Africa—first the West, may actually have an impact on and foremost, they cannot and should not attitudes about business opportunities. generalize that this is one distinct market, and secondly, because my ancestors came You are recognized for your knowledge from Europe does not mean I share the traits of Europeans. in Aboriginal economic development.

It is imperative the host countries know From your experience, what parallels their advantages, find a way to bring clarity can you draw with African economic to the definition, and distinguish themdevelopment? selves from their continental competition.

I have become increasingly interested Once they know what their market position in that topic. Our work with Canadian is, they must do actual research in their tarAboriginal peoples (Indigenous) has get regions to clearly understand how their focused on “Best Practices” in business, while recognizing the distinct cultural target views their brand proposition and differences from non-Aboriginal Canada. from this analysis, how they will service For many of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples, the needs of their target segment. RA

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a growing middle class and links with Canada. Africa has substantial mineral and energy reserves, and Canada has substantial expertise in these areas.

Telecommunication and transportation links are also expanding rapidly, and the opportunities in agribusiness and renewable and sustainable energy are substantive.

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innovation

The Promise of Mobile Phones for Adult Education A Case Study of Project ABC

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obile phones have without doubt been the single most transformative technology in Africa in the past decades. In a continent with very low levels of landline penetration, mobile phones are now ubiquitous. And ever more uses are found for mobile phones: for example, M-PESA in Kenya and its offshoots elsewhere allow users to transfer money and also to save money as if in a bank account.

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Mobile phones are also used to remind HIV-positive patients to take their medication. The variation in grain prices has declined between markets as a consequence of mobile phones.

And yet why, of all things, would we think about mobile phones in the context of adult literacy programs? Why mobile phones and not computers? Project ABC (AlphabĂŠtisation de base par cellulaires, or adult literacy integrating cell phones)

By Christopher Ksoll, Assistant Professor, School of International Development and Globalization, University of Ottawa

was based on a simple observation that illiterate grain traders were teaching themselves how to read and write SMS messages, so that they could communicate more cheaply by SMS rather than the more expensive option of calling. Grain traders are of course a very special sub-category of the population: in order to sell at high prices, they need to know the prices in many different local and national markets.

So for them, being able to send an SMS substantially reduced their costs.

But what about an illiterate farmer in the middle of nowhere? Why might mobile phones improve educational outcomes? It turns out that in many African countries, there are relatively few options for reading once a person becomes literate, in particular in rural areas. Newspapers are absent;

village libraries, if they ever existed, are often defunct. Learners therefore often do not have an incentive to become literate, as these skills are only rarely used. When they do, their skills rapidly decline after the end of literacy programs if they do not use them. Mobile phones allow learners to practice outside of the classroom, and to continue using their skills later.

A crucial reason for focusing on mobile phones and not computers is the degree of mobile phone penetration in Africa (as opposed to computers), which has skyrocketed. In Africa, on average, there are over 60 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people in the population. Most people have direct access to mobile phones, or indirect access through another person living in the same household, a neighbour or a friend.

Project ABC

Project ABC was developed in 2008 by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Tufts University, Oxford University and the

University of California at Davis as a way of addressing these challenges, using the opportunities mobile phones offer. Learners would be taught how to use simple mobile phones in the context of a standard literacy program that CRS was implementing. CRS was responsible for a multi-sector assistance program in two regions of Niger, and part of the project activities included literacy classes. Niger is quite a challenging environment: part of the Sahel, it is hard for farmers to survive off the land, and droughts are common. It is one of the lowestranking countries on the UN Human Development Index, and in rural areas, health and education outcomes are shockingly bad. Among the older generation of women, over 80 percent are illiterate. While the government has made large progress with primary education, illiterate adults do not benefit from these advances.

The adult literacy classes covered about 6,700 learners in 134 villages in two regions in Niger. In each village, for cultural reasons, there was a separate class for women and for men. The literacy classes met for five days a week for three hours per day, between January and May 2009 and 2010.

Each class had about 25 learners.

The Project ABC program added two modifications: first, to teach participants in literacy classes how to use simple mobile phones, including where to find letters and numbers, how to receive and make a call, how to open an SMS, and how to send an SMS; second, to provide five participants with access to a shared mobile phone. A decision was taken quite early to focus on simple mobile phones for two reasons: very few phones at that time in Niger would have been smart phones, limiting the replicability. Second, the battery usage of smart phones required much more frequent charging, which in these regions of Niger would have translated into substantially higher costs for participants.

The research behind Project ABC

In order to understand whether mobile phones improve practice opportunities and the motivation to learn, we cannot just compare people with and without mobile phones. People with mobile phones are the early adopters, the wealthier, the younger— all characteristics that are likely to be correlated with learning. Instead, we decided

to implement what is called a randomized control trial (RCT). All villages received the literacy program, but only half received the ABC add-on. In order to decide who would receive the ABC project, village names were drawn in a tombola. The villages and participants in the literacy-only group and those in the ABC group are very similar, the only difference being that one half participated in the literacy program and the other did not.

In a research paper that I wrote with two colleagues,1 we analyzed the impact of providing mobile phones in adult literacy classes on two learning outcomes, literacy and numeracy (even though programs are usually called literacy programs, most of them comprise a numeracy component as well). We found that the ABC component increased learning significantly, by about 13 percent higher for writing and 8 percent higher for math (which translates into 0.19 – 0.2 standard deviations higher test for writing and 0.25 – 0.26 standard deviations higher test scores for math).

Lessons learned

In developing one of the first mobile phone-based literacy programs, we have learned quite a lot about the opportunities and challenges with this type of program.

One of the reasons it worked in Niger was its reliance on simple mobile phones, as this technology was easily teachable (even a number of teachers were mobile phone illiterate before the start of the project!).

This suggests this type of mobile phone introduction should be encouraged in literacy programs across the continent. Being able to use mobile phones motivates learners, and can provide them with a means to continue practising the skills.

More of these lessons are collected in a volume that UNESCO recently published,2 which describes a number of other pilot studies that have been conducted around the world. RA

ker, Jenny, Christopher Ksoll, and Travis Lybbert, A 2012. “ABC, 123: The Impact of a Mobile Phone Literacy Program on Educational Outcomes.” Applied Economics – American Economic Association – Vol. 4 No. 4 (October 2012), pp. 94-120.

2 UNESCO. (2013 – forthcoming). “Mobile Phones: Advancing Women’s and Girls’ Literacy,” UNESCO, Paris.

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Moussa Sakho, Senegalese Minister of Technical Education and Professional Training (far right), with (left to right) Diouma Gning, the department’s staff in charge of EFE, Hervé Pilon, Cégep André-Laurendeau’s Director General, and Marie-Josée Fortin, International Partnerships Programs Director at ACCC, during the EFE-Senegal launch.

Q&A

Bridging the

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Q&A

Prime Minister Stephen Harper (third from left) visiting the Centre d’Entreprenariat et de Développement Technique (CEDT) in Dakar, Senegal, and meeting with students studying in the geomatics program developed through a partnership with Cégep Limoilou under the EFE program. Mr. Harper was accompanied by Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation (right of Mr. Harper), and Shelly Glover, Member of Parliament (left of Mr. Harper).

An Interview with Paul Brennan, Vice-President, International Partnerships, Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) By CCAfrica

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Attracting more qualified students and immigrants to francophone communities in Canada helps them thrive.

Gap

he Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) was established in 1972 to represent colleges and the education industry among government and the private sector. Its primary mission is to defend, support and promote its Canadian member institutions. The association also operates internationally and especially in Africa. We spoke to ACCC’s Vice-President of International Partnerships, Paul Brennan, who is just as passionate as we are about Africa—he even spent a part of his life there, allowing him to better understand the issues that the continent faces.

Mr. Brennan gave us his opinions on the state of education in Africa, and explained how ACCC could help with the improvement and development of a skilled workforce in Africa.

Rising Africa:

What is the mission of ACCC?

ACCC is the national and international voice of Canada’s publicly-funded colleges and institutes, with 1.5 million learners of all ages and backgrounds at campuses serving over 3,000 urban, rural and remote communities. Our mandate is to champion, lead, partner and promote excellence on behalf of our members. We are the Paul Brennan:

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one-door entry to the decentralized Canadian system for international students, industry and governments who want access to applied learning.

Since when have you headed projects in Africa?

I have been working in this area since the late 80s and I even lived in southern Africa for three years. ACCC has been active in Africa, creating various partnerships between Canadian and African institutions since the late 70s, starting with Kenya. Since then we have worked in over 25 countries in Africa. These partnerships have established and revised programs, and helped establish the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics of Africa (CAPA).

In the last 10 years, we have focused on a really integrated approach that has made change sustainable—the Education for Employment (EFE) approach.

Can you describe your EFE program?

This program is about providing multilevel support to a focused number of countries wanting to make big changes,

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orienting their systems towards labour market needs. To do this, each country determined what types of changes they wanted in which sectors of the economy.

ACCC supports the ministry—moving to a competency-based curriculum, crafted with employers—and then facilitates institutions choosing an appropriate Canadian partner (college or institute) with whom to work over the next few years as they transform curriculum, programs, services to students, and leadership. We also support industry associations to help them articulate their needs in employees so that institutions can better orient their programs. This results in transforming the entire education and training system to an entrepreneurial one, focused on meeting the needs of learners for jobs and of employers for skilled professionals.

We have recently done a history of our work in this area that you can download in French and English on our website: www.accc.ca/xp/index.php/en/programs/ int-partnerships or www.accc.ca/ xp/index.php/fr/programmes/partenariats-internationaux

Which African countries are targeted by this program?

The three countries of the EFE Africa were Senegal, Tanzania and Mozambique.

We are currently working with Nigerian polytechnics, state governments, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to develop a proposal for CIDA and the AfDB to support the undertaking of a EFE-like program in Nigeria focusing on a few sectors: construction, agro-processing, natural resource management and the extractive sectors. This could really help unemployed Nigerian graduates and offer new learning opportunities to the many who don’t make it to university or who are unemployed university graduates. It will also improve the competitiveness of firms working in Nigeria by supplying qualified employees with the necessary skills. We are also working for a regional EFE in French West Africa.

Do you have programs that target women more specifically?

We don’t have a program in Africa

specifically focused on women. Instead, gender equality is integrated into all of our programs which focus on the inclusion of women generally, including in non-traditional sectors.

In Brazil we had a 1,000 Women Project to promote the social and economic inclusion of disadvantaged women in the north-east and north of Brazil, enabling them to improve their workforce potential, their lives, and the lives of their families and communities. There has been interest from Senegal in starting a similar program there.

Do you integrate new technologies into your programs?

Of course! Having the right technology, and having people able to use, repair, practise and advance technology, is essential.

Our programs focusing on applied careers all employ the appropriate technology to provide students with the advanced skills required to find employment. We are also interested in introducing virtual training programs in Africa. We have many of these in Canada that enable students to train on computers without causing damage and wear and tear on machinery and technology at a much lower cost. This is an area of Canadian expertise.

So far have you seen any benefits as a result of the implementation of one of your programs in Africa?

Yes! We are thrilled to report at the end of the EFE Africa we have developed 54 new or revised skills development programs in areas such as tourism, mining, agriculture, construction, geomatics, logistics, air conditioning and 193 short courses. Beneficiaries include 1,800 students enrolled in new diploma/certificate programs; 1,300 graduates of short courses; 682 teachers with new skills and the capacity to deliver competency-based programs; 168 managers with a more entrepreneurial approach to institutional management and leadership; 250 government officials managing a more dynamic and responsive technical and vocational education system; 3,700 businesses and employees involved in defining the competencies required by their jobs; and many employers who are hiring graduates with employable skills.

Watch the EFE Africa documentary

to get a good sense of the program’s impact and how it has contributed to improving the availability, quality and relevance of advanced skills for employment. The video detailing the profound impact of the EFE program in Africa can be viewed on our website: www.accc.ca/xp/index.php/en/ programs/int-partnerships/efe-intro/ efe-africa or www.accc.ca/xp/index.php/fr/ programmes/partenariats-internationaux/ epe-intro/epe-afrique Do you have other programs for education in Africa besides EFE?

We are keen on promoting many more two-way partnerships between African and Canadian intuitions which would see a two-way flow of students, teachers and researchers. The focus would of course be similar—concrete, applied skills necessary for jobs. One of the priorities we have now is to get more funding for Canadian students to go abroad. We need to create global professionals, entrepreneurs and citizens, and the only way to do this is to empower students with international experience.

In which areas do you offer training in each country, and why?

We offer training in sectors determined by the countries with whom we work. Each target sector is a focus because it is based on local economic realities. So far the major focus has been on mining, construction, tourism/hospitality, logistics, agriculture, food processing and informatics.

How do you think Canada can support the development of education in Africa?

One of the strengths of our college and institution system, recognized all over world, is our close link to employers at all levels, leading to an average of 90 percent employment after graduation. In a rapidly changing economy with many youth unemployed, helping African institutions to train and prepare students for employment and self-employment is the major contribution we can make. This requires a new type of leader at both the ministry and institution levels, another area of Canadian expertise.

We have included leadership development in our programs, helping institutions to serve their communities, rather than operating in isolation. China has made

great strides in this area and has contracted ACCC to develop leadership competencies for their Institutes of Technology vice presidents and presidents. They have understood that, for China to continue to grow, the quality of leadership has to improve significantly.

African institutions must take up the massive task of providing access to relevant post-secondary education, leading to jobs, to a much larger portion of their population, or face ongoing unrest and revolts from unemployed youth.

How do you find funding for your programs?

EFE has been funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to date, now the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. We also work with the ADB and AfDB among others. We are working with a few regional and global development banks for similar programs in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, who are in the process of revising and overhauling their applied education systems.

We work with Canadian companies to train local manpower needed for the success of their projects.

You also oversee the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program (CIIP).

The offices of this organization are in China, India, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. When will there be an office for Africa?

Hopefully soon! This program responds to gaps in Canada—we have not been preparing our immigrants well enough to find jobs upon arrival in Canada. ACCC, with funding from CIC, does pre-departure orientation, assessments and personal planning sessions for immigrants before they leave. Recently we have undertaken our first two sessions in French! We hope to obtain ongoing funding to expand to French West Africa and Maghreb soon.

We are also launching a recruitment campaign to attract more francophone students to Canadian colleges and institutes.

Attracting more qualified students and immigrants to francophone communities in Canada helps them thrive, both culturally and by providing Canadian companies the skilled employees they need to compete globally—it’s a win-win. RA w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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Uzo Udemba

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Q&A

Telling

Nigeria’s Stories

An Interview with Uzo Udemba, President, the Udemba Group

By CCAfrica

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The true measure of the economic prosperity of any country is a direct consequence of its ability to attract and retain talent.

Your career path in most cases is certainly not typical in that you moved from the engineering sector to the entertainment sector. With your academic background mainly in engineering, it must have been a challenge to undergo this transition.

Can you please tell us about some of the expertise developed in your previous position that was helpful while taking up this new challenge?

Rising Africa:

Uzo Udemba: The training of an engineer prepares one to confront and resolve challenges. Therefore, when the opportunity came to engage in media and entertainment business that required different skills sets, my training became very handy.

The media, they say, are key to globalization, a process of international integration. In your opinion, how will exposing Africa to the rest of the world and vice versa be beneficial to its development? What are your expectations regarding this?

I believe the continent of Africa and Africans owe the rest of the world: they need to innovate more, create more, invent more, and to contribute more to science and technology, research and development, wealth creation and human development issues that will uplift mankind and help in making our world a better place for all. What is needed now is a proper mapping of Africans who possess w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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Design rendering of Trend Media City

ably and reaching the highest levels of academic achievement. In a recent survey in the United States to determine nationalities and families with the highest educational attainment in the U.S., Nigeria came tops... that is definitely something about Nigerians that the world needs to discover.

Let’s assume that you have monopolized the media and the engineering industry.

Can you give us a list of other business openings that are left unoccupied? What business opportunities are currently open and available to those looking to explore the Nigerian territory?

No individual or corporate entity can monopolize the business opportunities in Nigeria. Huge opportunities exist in every sector of the Nigerian economy, but I believe personally that the knowledge and culture industries have the highest return on investment.

talent and the requisite intellectual capital and the mind power to cause a change and empowerment. The next step is to hone and equip those talents with the necessary tools, and provide them the enabling environment and businesses that will retain the talents in Africa. And finally, to exploit the power of media and globalization to begin a new form of engagement between Africa and the rest of the world.

Nigeria is classified as an emerging country; however, it is a country that is high in resources with a steady annual economic growth. In your opinion, can exposure to foreign expertise bring Nigeria to the next level in the global market, resulting in a situation in which Nigerians can leverage external know-how?

Definitely. However, two issues must be sorted: first, Nigeria must exploit the power of global media and technology to tell its story to the world in the right “look and feel.” Second, an enabling physical environment must be created with the right 18

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infrastructure and ambience to lure both the foreign expertise and the indigenous expertise in the Diaspora to Nigeria for a proper engagement to begin.

After your studies in Nigeria, you successfully built a name and a legacy for yourself, once again showing that there are plenty of opportunities in Nigeria. What best practices or advice can you share with other entrepreneurs who, like you, have decided that Nigeria is their next business destination? What should they know about the business environment?

To always insist on conducting their businesses in one way—the right way.

It may take a longer time, but definitely pays handsomely in the end. Nigeria is home to a large repository of some of the world’s most important resource, the human resource. This important resource has remained largely untapped till this day.

Sixty percent of Nigerians are below age 24, and its citizens are found in some of the world’s best universities competing favor-

You are a passionate philanthropist, a leader in your community. In 1999, you founded the Mama Anna Scholarship, with which you have helped hundreds of youths. There are different ways of improving one’s society, but you have chosen to invest in the youth by funding their education. Why this approach, and what message or advice do you have for the Nigerian youths living in Nigeria and the Diaspora?

It is said that today’s youths are leaders of tomorrow; they are indeed the future leaders. In The Udemba Group, our mantra is “Future is now.” That we believe the future of our country lies in its youths of today is the only reason why MEE—Mentoring, Empowering and Educating the youths—is the content of Trend Media City Phase One that was launched in Lagos on August 2, 2013.

Can you tell us about your business relations with Canada? What is your experience in working with Canadian entrepreneurs, and what do you have to offer to those seeking to affiliate with you?

I give credit to the Canadian High Commission in Lagos and my colleague Philippe Vermande. When the strategic thinking Philippe, with the assistance and active support of the Canadian mission in

Your group is developing a visionary project in Nigeria called Trend Media City, TMC for short. Can you share with us what led you to develop such project and what is going to set Trend Media City apart?

When we made a simple decision to grow our TV entertainment business to ensure that Nigeria becomes a net exporter of African TV entertainment content not just within Africa, but to every part of the world by the year 2016, I spent the following two years traveling to different countries to meet and compare notes with some of the major players in the creative industry. As I embarked on these tours, the fact began to dawn on me that the knowledge and culture industry to which media and entertainment belong is the biggest industry on Earth, and that Diaspora Africans were a significant part of the creative talents that made the wealth for the industry from their different countries of abode.

It became quite obvious to me that the gap between Africa and the rest of the world is actually the most important

driver of prosperity: productivity. I became aware that the true measure of the economic prosperity of any country is a direct consequence of its ability to attract and retain talent... but talent can only thrive in a conducive environment that reflects their creativity. The vision of Trend Media City—to provide advanced infrastructure and create the supportive environment to explore the culture and knowledge industry on a global scale from Africa—is therefore rooted in my above experience.

A unique feature of Trend Media City Phase Two is that it will generate ZERO carbon emissions. Petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned in favour of solar-powered boats and fuel cell cars driven by robots to give the world its first true carbon-neutral city that will become the model for the world to follow. As mankind becomes an urban species, the search for ways to reduce the environmental impact of cities has to start somewhere. Trend Media City will be the place to start.

A press conference was held on August 2 to announce the launch of the first phase of the Trend Media City project, beginning with the African Film and TV Academy (AFTA). Can you tell us about the objectives of this first phase and why you are starting with AFTA?

University of Port Harcourt and the School of Media and Communication of the Pan Atlantic University Lagos, with Deloitte firms in Lagos and Toronto providing professional advisory services.

You are also involved in the organization of the African Film and Entertainment Investment Summit (AFEIS), which is to be held in Lagos next year. How does playing an active role in the organization of such an innovative event fall into your overall strategy?

Our involvement in AFEIS is an affirmation of our firm belief in the possibilities of Nigeria as an important global investment destination, especially in the culture and knowledge industry. Having participated in investment summits held in foreign countries to drive investment in Nigeria, we felt it is important to hold one in Nigeria and to bring the prospective investors to come to Nigeria and see things themselves: a most friendly people, great culture, beautiful landscape and immense possibilities.

As Nigeria is going to celebrate in 2014 its 100-year anniversary of existence as a nation, what contribution do you intend to make for such an important occasion?

We are working towards groundbreaking

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Lagos, arranged for me and some of the Trend Media City team members to visit the Canada Technology Triangle and to participate in the “Passport to Success” Event 2012 in Waterloo, the hometown of BlackBerry, they opened our eyes to the possibilities of Canada. We noticed a country very serious in developing its culture and knowledge industry, and became aware of a strong appetite among Canadian businessmen and women to invest in the culture and knowledge industry in Nigeria. We have since built important relationships with key Canadian businesses, culminating in our membership in the Canadian Council on Africa and our active participation in the 2013 Canada-Nigeria Investment Conference organized in May in Toronto.

We expect a strong Canadian participation in the forthcoming first African Film and Entertainment Investment Summit (AFEIS), which The Udemba Group is hosting in Lagos next year through Trend Media City, in association with the School of Media and Communication of the Pan Atlantic University Lagos and FEPACI, the Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers.

Nigeria must exploit the power of global media and technology to tell its story to the world in the right “look and feel.”

Trend Media City Phase One is about mentorship, education and empowerment to equip a pool of local talents and make them ready for the impending second “gold rush” into Africa—much bigger than the first rush to the African city of Timbuktu!

The Trend Media City model is built on a unique win-win-win partnership and enduring collaboration between industry, academia and the public sector. The first phase that was launched in Lagos on August 2, 2013 is a collaboration between Trend Media City, the Whistling Woods International School of Mumbai, the

for Trend Media City Phase Two in 2014 as our little contribution to commemorate our beloved country’s 100-year anniversary.

In what direction do you envisage the company moving in 10 years?

My expectation is that 10 years from its date of completion, Trend Media City will attract at least 10 companies with global presence and roots in Nigeria with a combined turnover of 100 billion U.S. dollars and make a significant contribution to the Nigerian economy. RA w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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skills

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Training A true cornerstone for the development of both African and Canadian companies

By Jacinthe Allard, Project Manager, Business Services and International projects at Marie-Victorin School Board

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he Canadian and Quebec governments are encouraging companies to do business in Africa. Now that a number of big companies are already active on the African continent—especially in the sectors of natural resources and infrastructure—it is small and medium-sized enterprises’ turn to be interested. Their presence will help diversify economic activity on the continent.

So while we can say that foreign investment is becoming more accessible in Africa, to create a more fertile breeding ground for companies to grow their business there, skills training within the African workforce must be addressed.

This remains one of the biggest challenges facing Africa.

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In a document entitled “At the Center of Africa’s Transformation – Strategy for 2013–2022,” the African Development Bank Group states: By 2020, 250 million Africans will be from the ages of 15 to 24 years: the challenge facing Africa is not only to create jobs fast enough to cope with this growth, but also to provide all the necessary skills to be part of the productive labor. There is a mismatch between the skills produced by the education system and those sought by the private sector. (...) To meet the rapidly changing demands of African economies, the education system must strengthen skills in traditional professions (...). Likewise, it should urgently strengthen the necessary skills for microenterprises, small and

December 2013

medium enterprises.

Workforce training is not an issue only for Africa.

Clearly, access to a skilled workforce is a cornerstone of business development whether in Canada or Africa. Because it is closely tied to economic development, many Canadian organizations and institutions, including the education sector, have been mandated to assist companies in training their employees (literacy, vocational and technical training, continuing education, corporate training, customized training, training of trainers in the workplace, etc.).

Clearly, solid foundational training for the workforce is a requirement for achieving economic objectives—and providing access to a skilled

workforce remains a major challenge for economic development officials. Thus workforce training is wise investment to promote economic development of a region, a country, or even the great continent of Africa.

It is one of the greatest Africans, Nelson Mandela, who said: “Education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to change the world ...” RA

Jacinthe Allard

Nigeria “ Annual growth rates that average over 7% in official data during the last decade places Nigeria among the fastest growing economies in the world.� - The World Bank, Nigeria Economic Report

Read on for a look at the present and future of this booming, vibrant country, featuring interviews with some of its most influential leaders.

Chris Kianza from CCAfrica greeting former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo (centre).

Nigeria special

From Challenges to Opportunities An interview with Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria Rising Africa: The Canadian Council on Africa is planning a mission in Nigeria this year. What would you say to convince Canadian companies to join this mission?

It is always a pleasure to be in Canada, particularly in Quebec—I was here six months ago and here I am again. For us in Nigeria, we have a very close relationship with Canada, which dates back to our colonial period. We have become very close because we practice the same kind of “British system” of law. For that reason, whatever we do should not be strange to Canada, and Canadian companies should feel at home as a result of the fact that our rules, laws and regulations are similar, because they originated from the same source.

The second point that I will make is that Nigeria has a population of about 170 million, making it the largest country in Africa, and in fact the largest black nation in the world. That in itself should make any Canadian company who want to make business in Nigeria to view Nigeria as the first point of call, because of our population. Some people might say that Nigeria is the second largest economy in Africa, but in a matter of time Nigeria will assume the place of largest economy because we have all that it takes to achieve that: the population, natural Olusegun Obasanjo:

p h oto s : b o b c h i tty

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We now have Nigerian investors within the last 12 to 15 years in a way we never had them before.

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By Pierre Boisvin

resources, land for agriculture, and other minerals.

Now let me talk about agriculture, because that is what I do—it is my profession, my occupation and hobby. What I would say is that if any country has something to give us in the area of agriculture, Canada has; you have really excelled in agri-business.

Some time ago, someone asked me what I do for a living and I replied that I am a farmer, but when I explained my activities to him he told me that I am in agri-business and therefore not a farmer. I believe that is what we really need in Nigeria or indeed Africa as a whole. We should implement a value chain that does not stop at commodity but adding value until it gets to the consumers or exported. We also have manufacturing and infrastructural challenges; one of our challenges in Nigeria is infrastructure, but rather than view it as a challenge we should view it as possibilities. In Canada, there are so many things that you guys have done well such as IT, housing, logistics and transportation—all these are expertise that Nigerians need and the gap can be filled by Canadian businesses.

In fact, one other underdeveloped sector in Nigeria is our mining sector. When I was in government and I wanted to go into solid minerals as opposed to oil and gas; it was then that I realized that we have no w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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“ We paid a lot of attention to agriculture, and it paid off.”—Olusegun Obasanjo laws or map put in place for future investors. With the help of the World Bank, we started what is needed to be able to take decisions on investment possibilities for solid minerals in Nigeria. So this is another business opportunity for those seeking to do business in Nigeria.

Your Presidential functions and co-chair of the Forum Africa called you to work closely with Canadians. What do you think are the strengths of Canadian entrepreneurs, and what can they bring to Nigeria?

Nothing succeeds like success. There are great Canadian entrepreneurs of different shapes and sizes that are shining successes, and that is what we want to be able to achieve in Nigeria and emulate: entrepreneurs at different levels of returns, equity and partnership, but that are all successful.

That is one thing we need to learn and that is what we want to encourage Canadian entrepreneurs to impart on Nigerians and indeed Africa. We want this momentum to be brought to Nigeria.

According to the Nigeria Economic Report by the World Bank: “Annual growth rates that average over 7% in official data during the last decade places Nigeria among the fastest growing economies in the world.” A big part of this economic boom was under your Presidency. What was put in place by your administration to contribute to that major economic growth?

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This growth can be summarized in one word: reform. Reform that is all-embracing and all-encompassing. It is reform at the political level: democracy came in and we nurtured it, resulting in good governance. Then public service reform; we had to change the mentality and the orientation of public servants to know that helping the private sector is our duty and their responsibility. In the past, the private sector used to be seen as those wanting to take advantage of the economy, but that is not the case; in fact, they are the ones driving the economy and the public sector should provide a conducive environment and atmosphere for the private sector, and this fact became accepted and acknowledged.

All doors are open to foreign investors.

In the past, one of the things that used to happen is that when you came to Nigeria to register a business, it might take three months. But now we have created a onestop shop, a site put in place to facilitate business registry where all you want is available under one roof—these are some of the things we did. We encourage foreign investors, we treat and see them as kings; and of course I used to say that farmers are also kings, just like investors are kings. In one word, reform. We want to change the way we do business and adapt new methods.

According to the same report, “the Nigerian non-oil economy is now 240% times higher than a decade ago.” What are the areas that have known the greatest growth? When you look back at your career as President, is there one particular achievement that warms your heart?

I would say agriculture. In those years between 2003 and 2007, we paid a lot of attention to agriculture, and it paid off.

For instance, production of cocoa in 2003 increased from a total production of about 150,000 metric tons to over 400,000 metric tons by 2007. This goes to show that growth can be achieved and it has been done. We made similar progress in the production of grains and tubers like cassava. So when you talk about 7 percent growth, it is not restricted to oil and gas, but this growth also includes other areas of the economy such as telecommunication, ICT, manufacturing,

agriculture and even the film industry, called Nollywood, that is showing all over Africa and even outside Africa.

Another thing we did which has helped was to encourage Nigerian investors, as this will entice foreign investors to Nigeria.

If foreign investors come into the country, they will want to see how local Nigerian investors are faring. We now have Nigerian investors within the last 12 to 15 years in a way we never had them before—Nigerian companies who in their own right can be called multinationals in Africa, and some have ventured beyond Africa. Therefore foreign investors can come and say that if local investors are doing well, then I can also do well.

How do you think Nigeria can achieve the 20:2020 vision [to become one of the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020]?

The year 2020 objective was set by me, but one of the main setbacks is lack of consistency and continuity. I believe that Nigeria slipped off in 2007 from being able to achieve 20:2020. But it is possible that if we cannot meet 20:2020 as I had implemented, we should not exceed it by more than two or three years. What we need to do is obvious and possible. Whether we focus on these things continuously and consistently is the issue: energy, infrastructure, water and transportation. These are issues that we must address to be able to achieve 20:2020 or 20:2022 or 20:2023.

Another thing we must fight and deal with is the issue of corruption. I know that there is no country in the world that is free from that. In fact yesterday someone was telling me that Montreal has changed leadership so frequently in the recent past.

But what is important is that something is being done about it, provided that corruption is not accepted as a way of life. We need to ensure that corruption does not become endemic by not neglecting those practicing corruption; we have to deal with all those that are corrupted to deter others.

Do you have the impression that things are evolving as far as anti-corruption methods put in place in Nigeria?

I think that the infrastructure to deal with it is in place, but again, we need the political will to deal with corruption. RA

A D V ER T o r i a l

“ CanAm is a Canadian enterprise with Canadian marine management and technical experts supplying technical and logistical advice, support and services to this nationally and internationally significant Niger River barging project.”

International Co-Operation Drives Barge Project Ninon Transport develops Niger River barge fleet to serve Nigerian bulk and manufacturing industries

C

anAm Ship Management’s involvement in African marine transport began some years ago, working with Ninon Transport of Lokoja, Kogi State, on the development of inland waterway barging in Nigeria.

Ninon Transport Company Ltd. is led by CEO Ndudi Enenmoh, who is well placed in the Nigerian business world.

CanAm is a Canadian enterprise with Canadian marine management and technical experts supplying technical and logistical advice, support and services to this nationally and internationally significant Niger River barging project.

“As technical advisors to the barge business operators, we at CanAm Ship Management are firmly behind Ninon’s vision of building a Niger River transport infrastructure based on the Mississippi River model,” says Chief of Operations Capt. Lance Farrell, a master mariner with many years of experience in the shipping industry.

CanAm is supplying barge and tow-boat designs for a fleet-building program that is

extremely likely to span the next decade or more. CanAm organized in-country personnel and product movement logistics for this long-term program.

The first barges are already operational, built in Nigerian yards. Starting out with adapted tow-boats, as building progresses the new designs will become the backbone of the fleet.

“The initial pushers will be smaller units for general barge work; however, we are designing a more powerful series of larger shallow-draft vessels for the movement of iron ore and steel products downriver. This fleet is projected to total 12 or more vessels, with steel hulls and aluminum superstructures,” says Dave Walker, V.P. Canada for CanAm. Captain Farrell adds, “The Nigerian government has expended approximately 36B Naira [USD $225,000,000] on the dred­ ging of the Niger River, and welcomes extended development in the inland water transport field. These efforts have raised keen interest with both private and public sector organizations in Nigeria. The river is an invaluable

resource in this great country’s progress.”

Ninon Transport and CanAm Ship Management have welcomed valuable input from the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority and Export Development Canada in the pursuit of this important enterprise. The project will be a valuable and significant development tool in the operation of the Ajaokuta steelworks and associated Itakpe iron ore mines. The massive Agbaja iron ore mining project also has the potential to be a mainstay of this Mississippi brand of water transport. The mining areas and steelworks are located in the general area of Lokoja at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers.

The barge fleet has the potential to reach several hundred units for the iron ore and steel movement alone. In addition, the CanAm project has generated serious interest among other local industries in the area. This has resulted in contracts for barges currently in operation, with more agreements following.

To support the Ninon Transport Niger project, CanAm is developing a logistics system that will see containers and project cargo moving through Canadian East Coast ports on a trans-Atlantic route feeding coastal feeder ships in West Africa.

“This development is a logical extension of the need for integrated logistics for the Niger barge project,” says Farrell.

“Canadian firms seeking direct shipment to the Nigerian hinterland will benefit from Eastern Canada deepwater berths dedicated to serving this route.”

“It would be foolish to simply say, ‘Yes, let’s just start barging on the Niger’,” says Walker. “As logistical and technical support, CanAm’s network of Canadian suppliers is available to back the needs of the Ninon Transport project, which has great potential and benefit for Nigeria and Canada.”

By Dave Walker

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Nigeria special

Bright Days Ahead in Nigeria

By CPCS

I

n recent years, economic reform programs, major public-private partnership initiatives and investment promotion have encouraged investment in Nigeria from parties who have traditionally been reluctant to invest.

Fifteen years after the restoration of democracy, Nigeria is experiencing an exciting moment in its history.

Lack of electricity impedes development

At the same time, Nigeria faces many challenges. Nigerians and the international development community agree that the number one issue impeding greater development is the lack of a reliable supply of electricity.

In 1999 the Nigerian electricity sector was at the lowest point in its 100-year history. Due to lack of investment and maintenance, only 19 out of the country’s 79 power-generation units were able to produce any power at all, with an average daily generation of roughly 1,750 megawatts. (To put that into perspective, the province of Ontario, Canada can produce more than 35,000 megawatts to serve a population of roughly 13.5 million—one-twelfth that of Nigeria’s approximately 170 million inhabitants.) In addition, it was estimated that roughly half of all electricity generated in Nigeria was lost due to technical and non-technical losses. These losses affected the entire sector’s liquidity and led to lack of investment or even routine maintenance on the electricity assets.

Privatization will rehabilitate the electricity sector

This dire situation compelled the Nigerian government to take radical action. It enacted the 2005 Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSR Act), which called for unbundling the national power utility company into a series of 18 successor companies: six generation companies, 11 distribution companies covering all 36 Nigerian states, and a national power transmission company. The Act stipulated that ownership of these companies be granted to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (the privatization arm of the federal government) and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

CPCS contracted to manage the privatization process

Since 2007, CPCS has been working with the Nigerian Government (through the Bureau of Public Enterprises) to provide advice about the best ways to move forward with the privatization of the country’s 11 distribution companies and six

generation companies. In this first phase of contracting, CPCS developed a series of privatization options that would meet the goals of the Nigerian government.

In the course of its work on behalf of the Nigerian government, CPCS carried out legal, regulatory, technical, financial and environmental due diligence on the Nigerian power sector and all 17 companies. CPCS also designed a privatization structuring and implementation plan, reviewed the commercial arrangements of the power sector, and recommended creditenhancement schemes that would encourage private investment.

Additionally, CPCS met with and advised the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on a comprehensive review of the tariff methodology to ensure a policy of cost-reflective tariff was implemented that would support private sector development while protecting Nigerian consumers.

The Nigerian government continued to engage CPCS so that the organization could reform the power sector’s commercial arrangements in a way that would better support private industry. The revised commercial structure provided a contractual framework for the private sector to participate and vastly increased the “bankability” of the transactions.

CPCS led the development of bidevaluation guidelines and then held evaluation workshops to train government stakeholders who would take part in the evaluation of proposals. Once CPCS received bids, it provided key evaluators and additional support staff to work with the government throughout the evaluation process, which was observed by the Nigerian

Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and State Security Services Commission for transparency. CPCS helped the client receive all necessary approvals to declare the preferred bidders for 15 of the 17 companies (two are being re-bid as no proposals achieved the minimum technical qualification score).

CPCS then led negotiations between the client and preferred bidders and, on February 21, 2013, supported the client in achieving the execution of all transaction and industry agreements. The Bureau of Public Enterprises received 25-percent down payments from all bidders on March 21, 2013.

A continuing relationship

CPCS is excited to announce that we are now assisting the Bureau of Public Enterprises in achieving all the necessary legal steps for the completion of the 15 transactions. We are also managing the re-bid process for the final two transactions. CPCS is also supporting the BPE and its partner, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, in the privatization of 10 power plants with a combined capacity of over 5,000 megawatts in Nigeria, which are at their end stages of construction under a government funded fast-track investment program. It is expected these plants will approximately double the power generated on the national grid. RA About CPCS

CPCS provides clients with international expertise in transaction structuring, public-private partnerships (PPP), financial and economic modeling, legal and regulatory reform, operations, engineering and social and environmental advisory. CPCS has completed more than 1,000 projects in 100 countries.

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Nigeria special

On the Move

By Robert Scarth

Lagos LRT elevated track, Eric Moore Junction

e

Helping Lagos State improve urban infrastructure and living conditions for residents

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NL Development Solutions (WNL) is a Canadianbased multi-discipline engineering firm focused on development projects in West Africa. For over 23 years WNL has helped governments, development agencies and private sector clients plan, design, construct and improve the sustainability of urban and rural infrastructure.

WNL delivers projects in the sectors of transportation, water supply, and institutional and industrial buildings. WNL Canada and our locally registered subsidiary, WNL Development Solutions Nigeria Ltd., have completed more than 35 projects in Nigeria, in most parts of the country.

Over the last five years, WNL has been extensively involved in helping Lagos State improve its urban infrastructure to ease traffic congestion in Lagos and to reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of residents, particularly in low-income and slum areas.

New roads improve living conditions

On the World Bank–funded Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP), in association with Advanced Engineering Consultants of Lagos (AEC), WNL is supervising several contractors for the construction of nearly 50 km of existing urban residential roads and 8 km of large drainage canals in the worst slum areas of Lagos, including Ajegunle, Agege, Amukoko, Badia, Bariga, Ilaje, Ijeshatedo, Iwaya and Makoko. The new roads provide improved living conditions in these communities including easier access from main thoroughfares, reduced congestion and a cleaner overall environment, and perhaps more importantly, improved drainage to reduce the severe and persistent flooding that has been common to most of these areas.

Better public transit will reduce gridlock

With Lagos being one of Africa’s largest and busiest commercial centres, it is not uncommon for residents to face a four-hour commute in the morning and evening peak traffic periods. To provide improved access to public transportation, Lagos State has constructed a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system along the north-to-south corridor of the city. Based on the success of this initial route, Lagos State is now extending the BRT to include the city of Ikorodu. The project is being funded by the World Bank and the French Development Agency and is being executed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA). The project, with a capital cost in excess of $100 million, will extend the BRT from Mile 12

Rendering of the Lagos BRT/LRT

junction, its current limit, into Ikorodu, a distance of 12 km. The new BRT will have two dedicated centre-median laneways with 10 stations and pedestrian bridges, two terminals and a new maintenance depot/customer care centre. Construction started in October 2012 to expand the roadway, with the other works following thereafter for services to be available by 2016. With this line in service and the new expanded roadway, the city of Ikorodu will shortly change from a major traffic hold-up to an attractive suburban location. WNL is also involved with Advanced Engineering Consultants of Lagos (AEC) on this project. AEC-WNL, also in association with High Point Rendel of the UK, are providing complete engineering services from initial planning, to detailed design, to construction supervision and contract administration.

Assisting the “Blueline” LRT build

To further improve access to modern public transportation among the general population, Lagos State is currently building its first light rail transit (LRT) passenger rail service that will operate along 26 km of elevated and at-grade track from Okokomaiko to Marina. At full service, the Lagos “Blueline” LRT will carry up to 300,000 people each day and will significantly reduce road traffic and commute times. Phase 1 of the project is nearing completion with 5.0 km of track, 4 stations and pedestrian access. From 2008 to 2010, WNL was involved with this project, providing senior personnel to the consultant project team led by CPCS. WNL’s role included contributing to conceptual design and costing, tendering and supervision of the design-build contractor to ensure compliance with design intent and construction specifications. RA For further information, please contact Robert Scarth at robert.scarth@wnlds.com

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Nigeria special

How Foreign Direct Investment Serves the Nigerian Economy

By Nwakego Linda Eyisi

in Africa’s largest consumer market, greater exposure to Nigeria’s retail banking space, as well as increasing ETI’s market share in Nigeria, among others, were the reasons for the merger.

How to correctly track FDI in Nigeria

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et us look at recent examples of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria in the beer, financial and research markets.

SABMiller acquires Pabod Breweries

In 2009 SABMiller, South African world brewing giant, bought Pabod Breweries, Port Harcourt. In its quest to tap into a $3 billion (N45.9 billion) informal market, the giant brewer is encouraging Nigerian farmers to raise cassava and barley for its new discount beers. A growing economy, strong population growth, a teeming youth population enmeshed in a culture where 30

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entertainment has gained a foothold, low per capita beer consumption and growing disposable incomes: all these factors make the Nigerian beer market very attractive for foreign investment.

ETI acquires Oceanic Bank

In September 2011, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of the pan-African banking group with a presence in 32 African countries, acquired Nigeria’s Oceanic Bank. ETI paid $24 million worth of Oceanic’s ordinary shares and N16.5 billion in preference shares to acquire the lender. Increasing ETI’s footprint

Tracking FDI is not rocket science—it is just following the process from when a foreign investor acquires a local company to when it starts sales.

Let us use our previous example of SABMiller acquiring Pabod Breweries.

The acquisition means that SABMiller will acquire stocks and shares in Pabod; this should boost activity in the stock market, specifically in the volume of shares traded.

Also there will be significant expansion in terms of physical assets like buildings and plants. Import and export trade will change, especially if SABMiller/Pabod exports the beer it manufactures to other African countries, and if they have to import equipment or other kinds of inputs not available in Nigeria for beer production. Allied industries will also emerge to support brewing—a good example is cassava farming and processing, among others. Employment figures will change because new workers will be hired to work in new and refurbished plants. An improvement in employment means an increase in disposable income for Nigerians, reduction in poverty and improvement in GDP growth.

Based on this example, the following marks left behind by SABMiller’s foray into Nigeria’s beer industry can be appropriately used to track FDI: • Acquisition of stocks and shares • Construction of new and resuscitation of old equipment and buildings • Increase in sales • Increase in employment

Some empirical evidence

Apart from the slump in the 2008–2009 period due to the global economic crisis, all the indices (GDP, trade, investment, exports, stocks, Net FDI) for tracking FDI have been growing positively. The positive growth in these trackers is largely due to economic reforms that were implemented by the Obasanjo administration in the last decade. These reforms ushered in a period of unprecedented growth in FDI for the Nigerian economy.

How should the Nigerian government attract and sustain FDI?

The answer lies in the use of these trackers or indices for tracking FDI, to guide the government on where to focus.

The Nigerian government can proactively build infrastructure, improve the rule of law and improve the tax code, among others, as it is an effective way of not only attracting FDI but keeping it and making it useful for the local economy. RA About the author

Ms. Eyisi’s focus is to enlighten people about economics and policy in Africa. In addition to being a feature columnist for Afribiz Media, she has covered G8-20 and Africa-EU conferences, among others, for the same organization. She is also responsible for the yearly economic outlook and midyear economic recap series for major economies (Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa) in Africa. She also consulted for multinationals in Africa and is co-author of two books on Africa business and trade. She writes a blog on West African economics and policy for Euromoney Country Risk.

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Billions ($)

This same pattern will also occur when new FDI enters the Nigerian economy.

In all cases stock and shares will be traded, there will be investment in new office space and infrastructure, employment will be created, and there will be boosts to consumer spending and allied industries resulting in economic growth.

Some trackers of FDI

Percentage of GDP

• Increase in investment • Shifts in import and export patterns • Growth in allied industries like farming and agro-allied industries • Tax revenues • Economic growth

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’01

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Percentage of GDP axis Total private capital flows Total value of stocks traded Trade

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Billions ($) axis Net FDI Export of goods and services GDP Private investment in telecoms source: world bank, 2012

Attracting and sustaining FDI TRACKER* WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO* Shares and Stocks Develop a transparent capital market with suitable infrastructure.

Employment Develop a skilled workforce via adequate funding of educational, healthcare and allied institutions.

Imports and Exports Build railroads, new air and seaports as well as other transportation infrastructure.

Taxation Develop a computerized, efficient and transparent tax collection system. This should encourage small business and multinationals to pay taxes instead of dodging it.

FDI Implement a competent judiciary and consistency in government policy, and build infrastructure.

GDP Growth

Ensure the rule of law and consistency in policy making. *This is not an exhaustive list

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Leadership

A Well-Deserved Honour University of Guelph awards President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete an honorary doctorate

By Rumina Dhalla

(From left to right) Ambassador Alex Massinda, Tanzania High Commission to Canada Honorable Shukuru Kawambwa, PhD., Minister of Education and Vocational Training Honourable Bernard Membe (MP), Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania Dr. Maureen Mancuso, Acting President, Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Dr. Kevin Hall, Vice-President, Research and External Partnerships Dr. Anthony Clarke Professor, Assistant VP (Graduate Studies & Program Quality Assurance) Richard Moccia, Associate Vice President, Research, and Professor, Aquatic and Fisheries Science Dr. Rumina Dhalla, Project Leader, Guelph East Africa and Assistant Professor, Department of Business

O

n September 20, 2013, His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Guelph..

President Kikwete, the fourth president of Tanzania, was recognized by the University for his contributions as a politician, negotiator and humanitarian. President Kikwete has helped lead efforts in Africa to improve agriculture and ensure food safety. He has become the continent’s pioneer and spokesperson for the “Grow Africa” initiative, and has promoted a green revolution known as “Kilimo Kwanza” (Agriculture First) to update farming practices and increase productivity. A champion of community development, education and literacy, he has fought corruption and promoted women’s rights, particularly by improving access to education and health care.

Before being elected president in 2005 and reelected in 2010 for a second term, Kikwete was Minister of Water, Energy and Minerals, and had been Tanzania’s youngest Finance Minister. As Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, he helped bring peace to the African Great Lakes region, particularly Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He chaired the East African Community’s Council of Ministers, and helped to establish a customs union among Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

President Kikwete, accompanied by his Minister of Education and Vocational Training and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was welcomed at the President’s House at the University by Dr. Maureen Mancuso, Acting President and Provost, and Dr. Kevin Hall, Vice-President, Research and External Partnerships. He spent a full day on campus, meeting with senior researchers who briefed him on high-profile research at the University and touring the Plant Science

and Animal Health Lab. Later, the wellattended Awards Ceremony was held in the War Memorial Hall, where the President was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and gave a public lecture on agriculture, food production and innovation. The day’s event finished with a dinner attended by politicians, diplomats, alumni and faculty of the University, industry executives, and members of the Tanzanian Diaspora.

As part of its Guelph East Africa initiative, led by Dr. Hall and Dr. Rumina Dhalla, a business professor, the University of Guelph plans to establish an Institute to help solve regional problems. The institute, which will be located in Tanzania, will bring together academia, business, government and NGOs to support research and teaching in food, health, water, education, environment and community. RA For enquiries, contact Dr. Dhalla at rdhalla@uoguelph.ca

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Q&A

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When was the first conference on eLearning in Africa and how did this initiative come together?

rising africa:

Rebecca Stromeyer: eLearning Africa dates back to 2006. Initially, it was a shot in the dark—based on the local observations of ICT developments, our own commitment to growing knowledge about the benefits of technology-assisted learning, and my passion for the African continent, we came up with the idea of organizing the first pan-African conference on the role of technology in the continent’s education. While we had been working on similar projects in other parts of the world for the past 20 years, we really had no idea how successful it would turn out to be.

In spite of all the uncertainties, my colleagues and I shared a firm belief not only in the power of eLearning to transform people’s lives, but also in Africa itself and the new opportunities that education can create for its citizens. So we launched the first eLearning Africa conference in Ethiopia; then there were editions in Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Zambia, Tanzania and Benin.

This year, the event took place in Namibia with more than 1,480 cross-industry stakeholders, 300 speakers and chairpersons, 60 exhibitors, and a ministerial round table gathering ministers and government representatives from 13 African countries.

Online learning is expanding in Africa.

How can you describe this phenomenon?

The rise of online learning goes hand-in-hand with the digitalization of African societies. Among the 167 million African Internet users, many now pay and get microcredits online with mobile payment systems, chat with instant messaging applications, work in ICTdependent sectors and nurture their entrepreneurialism through innovative incubators and hubs. Just like in other places around the world, as daily life is permeated by digital technology, learning is also moving online.

There are so many examples of ways in which technology is transforming learning in Africa and, 34

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eLearning The Power to Change Lives in Africa

By CCAfrica

‘‘

The rise of online learning goes hand-in-hand with the digitalization of African societies.

‘‘

he eLearning Africa Conference, which is now in its eighth edition in 2013, is a key event for eLearning in Africa. Each year, the conference allows participants to attend lectures by renowned experts in the fields of education and ICT; this year’s conference hosted 1,480 participants from 65 countries and 300 speakers. As in every edition, the conference this year has enabled its participants to understand the importance of eLearning in the development of education in Africa. We spoke with Rebecca Stromeyer, Director of International Conference and Workshop Exhibitions (ICWE GmbH), a firm specializing in the organization of international conferences focused on education and training, and the organizer of eLearning Africa.

Rebecca Stromeyer

as the organizer of eLearning Africa, I have seen hundreds of them. For example, I have seen Senegalese teenagers improving their literacy and numeracy with computer-based programmes, rural Namibian girls using mobiles to learn to read and write by themselves, Kenyan teachers integrating “flipped learning” into their classrooms. At the same time, the enthusiasm for online learning is inspiring numerous other sectors too: politics (eGovernment), economics (eAgriculture) and medicine (eHealth), for example.

For individual learners, online learning means a new system that enables them to learn at their own pace with personalized programmes. For learners on the African continent as a whole, this revolution is supporting them in competing in the global employment market. On top of this, educational technologies are also progressively bridging the “digital informational divide” between urban areas and remote parts in a variety of countries.

How would you describe the importance of learning in Africa?

With nearly 200 million young people aged 15–24, the African continent has the youngest population in the world. But along with this hopefully positive demographic, young people make up 60% of the unemployed in Africa, whilst 38% of adults are illiterate.

I do believe that Africa should focus on the role of education in overcoming these issues. Indeed, from an individual’s point of view, learning is the key to freedom of thought and judgment. It is an important foundation for material and psychological welfare. Learning is synonymous with empowerment.

For the wider community, learning confers prosperity and social peace by reducing unemployment and poverty, and speeding up growth and economic integration.

What do you think of the tablet’s arrival in the education sector in Africa?

What you have got to remember about the tablet is that it is relatively new to education in some parts of the world. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have the potential to revolutionize education. As the eLearning Africa Report 2013 mentioned, we’re already seeing that teachers who use tablets can really break down the boundaries between them and the students, and that the touch-screen interface

goes a long way towards making the tabletlearning experience much more intuitive.

What’s more, as mobile learning devices, tablets have the sort of flexibility required to provide education outside formal structures and in more remote areas—something that is hugely important in many African situations.

But there’s a big danger, as “one tablet per child” programmes become more fashionable, that tablets and other ICT tools will be treated in Africa as an educational panacea and dumped on teachers without giving them the proper pedagogical support, and ways to improve the quality of teaching. It’s also important to note that education without ICTs is not intrinsically of less value than eLearning—tablets are a tool enabling the extension of learning beyond its traditional capabilities. Broadening the scope of mobile learning does raise a whole host of issues, internet and power grid connectivity not least among them. Many innovative ideas in education require equally innovative infrastructural and technological back-up—it’s a partnership we’re seeing more and more of in Africa today. With solar power reaching more schools in Africa than ever before, I believe tablets do offer an opportunity to supply first-rate eLearning materials at a very low cost, especially now that the first African-made tablet has reached the market.

What do you think of Google’s massive investment in Africa?

Are you referring to a specific investment or a general trend? Anyway, it’s not just Google, of course: they’re just one of the global companies to have recently realized that clever solutions can give them access to African markets they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to reach. The eyes of the world are turning to Africa, both as a hotbed of innovation and an investment opportunity. And whilst foreign investment is a huge boon to eLearning in Africa, it mustn’t be allowed to eclipse the importance of home-grown initiatives, which are also taking off in a big way. African-made technology and African-owned infrastructure projects are vital to sustainable and effective development. It’s the potent combination of external investment and African solutions that has the power to drive lasting change.

What do you think of the central debate of the last eLearning Africa conference:

whether Africa is too focused on innovation in education at the expense of sustainability?

I think that it was a very important debate to have and there were some incisive points made on both sides. The result of the debate came down on the side of sustainability, though it was very close and, of course, it is not a black-and-white issue.

Personally, having observed many changes and developments in the ICT-supported education and training sector, both in Africa and globally, I have certainly found that the best projects and programmes find a balance between the two sides.

Sustainability and pragmatism are vital to any project that requires investment not only of money and time, but also of the futures of individual learners. However, we must be prepared to take chances and allow space for imagination in order to progress and find solutions to the many problems that afflict education and training in Africa and beyond.

Finally, when and where will the next eLearning Africa conference take place and what will be the central debate?

Our host for 2014 is the Ugandan government; our location Kampala, Uganda’s capital, on the banks of Lake Victoria. If I had to choose just one place in Africa to visit, it could well be Lake Victoria: this enormous inland sea, teeming with life, surrounded by forests and mountains, and a source of the Nile, holds a fascination for Africans and non-Africans alike. Uganda is one of East Africa’s big players, as far as technology is concerned—ranked third in the region for ICT usage this year.

This year the main theme and focal point will be “Opening Frontiers to the Future.” It is undeniable that African renewal draws the attention of international decision makers, but many obstacles to full growth remain questions unresolved. The challenges for Africa will be to define and deliver the fundamental skills students need to become leaders in the global marketplace, to create legal, political and social frameworks that ensure young entrepreneurs can give life to their innovative projects, and to ensure the public and private sectors work effectively together.

The Kampala edition of eLearning Africa will gather people from across the continent and around the world to find ways to take up these challenges together. RA w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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capacity

Reinventing Africa Higher education, Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for development

By David W. Strangway, PhD, FRSC, OC

I

have had an opportunity in the past few years to observe development in education in several African countries.

All across Africa there is a rapidly growing commitment to building the economy through investments in the capacity for science and technology and related innovation activities. It is widely understood that without a capacity for science and technology, the world will pass the continent by and leave its people even more impoverished.

In the developed world, Gross Expenditures on Research and Development (GERD) as a portion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) range from 2.0 to 4.0. The African Union has set a target of 1.0 for each African country. In Sub-Saharan Africa only South Africa has come close to this target, and they have set a target of 1.5 to be reached in the next few years. Without South Africa, in Sub-Saharan Africa the level is only 0.3. There is a long way to go to raise the capacity of African countries to produce their own researchers and to provide conditions that will help them to attract and retain the very best. Even in the developed world the competition for these people is high. Several countries have followed Canada’s lead in creating research chair positions as key to centres of excellence, such as Finland, Australia, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and others.

The African Union has commissioned a high-level report on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for 2014–2024. This report has been completed and will be released very shortly. It again focuses on building capacity, including a program of research chairs. The World Bank, after decades of focusing only on literacy,

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It is widely understood that without a capacity for science and technology the world will pass the continent by, and leave its people even more impoverished. has now backed the need to build Africa’s STI capacity. The Bank has issued a call for proposals from West Africa to support the creation of research chairs in the context of centres of excellence based on the Canadian model. Much of the need to build Africa’s capacity for STI was laid out at a major conference held in Nairobi, Kenya in April 2012. This conference brought leaders from all parts of Africa. It was sponsored jointly by the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and UNESCO. I give here a few examples showing how African countries are building the capacity to compete in the world of STI. There are many others across the continent.

South Africa

South Africa has followed Canada’s example and created a program of research Chairs (SARCHI). At this point they have filled 160 positions at South African universities. I had the opportunity to be part of the review team that examined the outcomes of the first five years. The impact of the program is very high and is helping to produce more research, and more gradu38

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ate master’s and PhD programs to meet South Africa’s needs. Interestingly, they attract more national and international funds than it costs to run the program.

South Africa has won an intensive international competition to host the largest part of the world’s largest radio telescope. This will focus on the southern hemisphere and over time will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This is technology at the cutting edge.

Zimbabwe

Botswana

Kenya is fast building its ICT capacity.

It is creating Silicon Savannah as a hub for building ICT capacity. The first two research chairs are now in place; one of these was funded by IDRC. Interestingly, Kenya has just completed the building of Africa’s first supercomputer.

A recent report in Botswana is titled “Diamonds Are Not Forever.” This is their way of saying that they must diversify their economy by playing a role in the knowledge economy. They have just opened a new campus, the Botswana International University of Science and Technology.

They have created a dynamic organization known as the Botswana Innovation Hub that is introducing a program of research chairs. They were my hosts.

Malawi

Malawi has just announced that they will open a new university of science and technology in 2014.

The country has just announced that it will open three new universities, so there will now be a university in every province of Zimbabwe. Already opened some years ago is the Bulawayo University of Science and Technology. It is many years ago in the late 1940s and early 1950s that I went to high school in Bulawayo.

Kenya

East Africa

The Aga Khan Foundation has already created a modern hospital that serves the community with the latest and best techniques available. These hospitals are modeled on their success in Pakistan. They are now creating a full medical and nursing school, and many Canadians are playing a central role in this new venture. I was privileged to be

one of the external reviewers of their plans.

They will also open a new undergraduate campus in Arusha, Tanzania. They are working with Quest University Canada on an exchange program.

Rwanda

Rwanda has been committed to building its ICT capacity for some years. Their former Minister of Science and Technology, Romain Murenzi, played a key role in developing their plan. He is now the Executive Director of the World Academy of Science (formerly the Third World Academy of Science). They have attracted a campus of Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh as the core of their innovation hub. The public universities are being placed under one super board with the idea that they can coordinate better and create strong research programs. It is interesting that a Canadian missionary founded the National University of Rwanda.

Nelson Mandela Institution for Knowledge Building and the Advancement of Science and Technology

Within the framework of this institution, a commitment was made about a decade ago

by Nelson Mandela and the World Bank to build a number of world-class universities in a network. These were seen as necessary to build Africa’s capacity and were to be on the basis of public-private and industryacademy partnerships.

Tanzania

Tanzania has created the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology in Arusha. This campus is extremely impressive and is now open for graduate students and research. The Tanzanian government has committed to a program of research chairs in support of the capacity they are fast building.

Burkina Faso

There is another institution in the network in Ougadougo. This is a university that focuses on environment and water, known as the International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (2IE). They are graduating masters and PhDs who are almost instantly employable.

Nigeria

Nigeria is a highly populated country with over 100 universities, both public and private. And yet they have created a new university in the network, the Nelson Mandela African University of Science and Technology (AUST).

They are fully determined to be part of the knowledge economy. Affiliated with AUST is the institution known as G21, which focuses on the science and technology of exploration and production in the oil and gas industry.

Mali

Another part of the Nelson Mandela network is in Bamako, Mali. This is affiliated with AUST and is known as a Pan-African Institute of Earth Sciences or the African School of Mines.

Angola

Like other African countries, Angola is determined to have a place in the knowledge economy. They see the need to educate many more of their people and to create centres of excellence that can do research on the problems of development.

They have now created six new universities in various parts of the country. I have been privileged to be the keynote speaker at their first three biennial conferences on science and technology. They are making considerable progress in building capacity, but they have much to do. They are now looking at the creation of centres of excellence supported by a series of chairs.

At the most recent national conference, they had a fair for innovators and creators.

There was considerable, enthusiastic participation by young people from all parts of the country.

Pan-African University

The African Union is also committed to building Africa’s advanced studies capacity.

They have recently taken a major initiative by creating the Pan-African University.

This initiative has been funded by the African Development Bank as part of its 10-year strategic plan. Funding is to a large degree provided by the host country.

Four of the five campuses are now open, and the fifth is still in the planning stages.

The intent is to build nodes of excellence in STI that serve countries across Africa.

The campuses are as follows: • Ibadan University, Nigeria – Institute of life and earth sciences (including health and agriculture) • Yaounde University 11, Cameroon – Institute of governance, humanities and social sciences • Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenya – Institute of basic sciences, technology and innovation • Aboubekr Belkaid University, Algeria – Institute of water and energy sciences (including climate change) to open in 2014 • Southern Africa – Institute of space and satellite sciences (to be established) MasterCard Foundation

The MasterCard Foundation has established a fund of $500 million to bring young African students to the West.

They have set up two programs; the first of these is focused on graduate and research students from particular African universities to study largely in the U.S. and Canada. In Canada, McGill University, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia have each received $25 million to support bringing students from their African partners. Arrangements are being made to ensure that these students will return to their home countries.

The second program links up universities in North America with the African Leadership Academy. This is a South Africa–based high school that draws good students from all across Africa. Under the program, these students would be given a chance to study in North America. The only Canadian university that is in this second partnership is Quest University Canada. Quest will accept two new students each year for a total of eight students.

Quest is designed so that these students will be able to go on to graduate programs at research universities.

These are just some of the many steps that are being taken across Africa to build the capacity to train researchers and to perform research on the problems of development in the continent. RA w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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Furthering Development in Nigeria through

ducation [ An Excerpt ] 40

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By Dr. Godwin O. Eni

expertise

F

or a variety of reasons, which include civil wars and corrupt practices, it is difficult for many African countries to rise above inherited colonial education systems, or to implement a need-based national system of accountability in education. My experience as a consultant and advisor in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe informs me about the challenges developing countries face in fulfilling educational needs that lead to significant national development. What, therefore, are the challenges facing a developing country such as Nigeria since the end of colonialism, civil war, and the discovery of petroleum?

Post-colonial development in Nigerian education

The educational gains that were achieved in limited areas of study that led the country out of political dependence and colonialism were quickly dissipated soon after the civil war of the 1960s and the proliferation of academic institutions without supportive resources. Today, Nigeria has 50 universities, many of which have marginal pedagogy, equipment and resource support. As Division Chair, Director of a Graduate Program, and Chair of the Admissions Committee in one of the top three Canadian universities, I was astonished at the extremely poor performance of a graduate student from one of the newly established Nigerian universities compared to other students; as well, as a visiting professor to a top-tier Nigerian university in 2008-09, I was amazed at the lack of supportive resources and equipment to encourage quality professional education.

How, therefore, can Nigeria revisit its education policies, structure, and content to achieve incremental developmental progress? It seems that much of the colonial educational mentality still remains in Nigeria as students focus on knowledge acquisition and not on sufficient skill development in areas necessary for national development.

The theory that works is the theory that gets the job done.

Getting the job done is achieved through the acquisition of relevant knowledge and skill.

The fast-changing world of knowledge and skill acquisition

It seems that many educated Nigerians simply follow an established occupational or professional template in fulfilling their jobs. Some Nigerians with technical expertise fail to engage in critical thinking, devoid of personal gain, that contributes to development within their jurisdiction. We know that technological change, the utilization of appropriate information, w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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and new ways to organize labour, skill and production are essential elements to the national development process. These factors have transformed the world economy more than machines and manpower alone. According to the 1990 World Bank Report, “education is a key to developing that knowledge and the sense of personal efficacy needed to adjust to rapid change.”

Some developing countries such as Korea, Singapore and Malaysia recognize the importance of planning for change in development. Since 1990, these non-oil producing countries have moved up, at least one tier, on the ladder of development because of adherence to well-planned changes in approach to education policy and training for national development.

We also know that economic development accrues from investment in formal education and training. We can assume that civil wars, corruption, inadequate planning and governance issues lead to economic crisis and mediate national development. We can also assume that continuing economic crisis constrains the

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ability of a developing country to maintain present levels of educational achievement or the ability to be competitive globally.

More importantly, there is a widening gap in knowledge base between developed and developing countries. New products or modifications to existing products are rolled out every year in developed countries. Nigeria provides an attractive market population for many of these products as consumers. Will it be advantageous for national development for Nigeria to explore changes in education policy that would prepare future generations to innovate, produce quality products and compete successfully in the global market?

Avenues for improvement

The recent World Bank economic update on Nigeria is encouraging in the sense that it suggests ways to advance progressive policies for economic development.1 The report suggests better coordination of policies and activities between the federal and state government policies as well as the establishment of an institutional

framework for macroeconomic management. Although the macroeconomic outlook is strong, “poverty reduction and job creation have not kept pace with population growth, implying social distress for an increasing number of Nigerians.” Furthermore, the report notes that although the states possess significant financial independence and autonomy which can be potentially advantageous for development, Nigeria is nevertheless constrained by minimal market connectivity, governance challenges, and wealth policy coordination resulting in market fragmentation. As a result, “Investors with the potential to set up large scale operations and create many jobs will be reluctant to do so if they cannot service a larger market. Under these conditions, a number of Nigerian states have limited opportunities to attract significant investors.” A well-articulated and coordinated federal/state education policy, which understands the relationship between economic development and education, including measures for improving the quality of education and assessing successes and

failures of previous education and training policies will go a long way to advance national development opportunities. We therefore suggest the following: » Identify gaps in the education system that hinder critical thinking, innovation, and “hands-on” skill development that is consistent with modern times and jettisons the colonial education mentality of just possessing a degree as end-product, doing the job routinely, and not thinking of the best way to innovate or to make a difference. The “acquisitive consumer mentality” has become very pervasive in Nigerian society. Education policy should encourage contribution rather than what Nigerians take from society. » Identify and develop relevant skills for “modern jobs” in technology, trades, entrepreneurship, industry, and manufacturing including the non-institution-based jobs and those that were once categorized as non-prestigious blue-collar jobs. According to the World Bank, “Skilled workers are more likely to have jobs, earn higher incomes, and are better able to take advantage of economic opportunities. Research shows that the level of skills in the workforce is a better predictor of growth than years of schooling. But skills levels, particularly in poorer countries and among disadvantaged groups, are inadequate, and skills mismatches persist.”2 » Develop and implement tools to measure skills. A generalized tool for measuring gaps in selected professional and occupational skill-sets necessary for national development will go a long way to improve the quality of products made in Nigeria. The areas may also include cognitive, behavioral, technical and social skills. » Change student achievement assessment systems using the SABER Benchmarking System for Workforce Development.3 The foundation of the SABER system includes: investing in people’s knowledge and skill to promote development; building knowledge-base and strengthening education and training systems; systematically documenting and benchmarking against evidence-based global standards; workforce development and fostering dialogue, and action on reforms. The five-step approach to education includes: (a) getting children off to the right start; (b) ensuring that all children learn; (c) building job-relevant

(Top) Dr. Eni addressing the audience at the launch of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Policy Guidelines in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2012; (Bottom) Professor Eni and 5th Year Med Rehab Students, University of Nigeria Medical School.

skills; (d) encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation; and (e) facilitating labour mobility and job-matching.

Conclusion

The transition from knowledge acquisition to knowledge application requires the transformation of a colonial education system and expectations to those of a modern, industry and technology-driven system.

An appropriate institutional framework that coordinates federal and state education policies in ways that encourage the identification of relevant skills necessary for national development and the implementation of credible evaluation tool to measure, improve and follow-up on outcomes, would lay a solid foundation for future improvements. The economic outlook for Nigeria is encouraging compared to some developing countries. Regardless of her income from petroleum reserves, Nigeria has adequate manpower and ability to move up the development scale in future. RA

About the author

Born in Nigeria, Dr. Eni became the first Nigerian university-graduate physiotherapist. He came to Canada in 1970 and undertook graduate studies in Neuro-Muscular Facilitation Techniques at the University of Saskatchewan, then moved to British Columbia to pursue further studies [M.Sc.] in Health Services Planning and Administration, and a PhD in Medical Sociology and Epidemiology at the University of British Columbia. A renowned Canadian health care authority, Dr. Eni has represented Canada abroad and consulted for governments and international organizations in health and education in 22 countries. orld Bank. “Nigeria Economic Update.” Abuja, W Nigeria, May 2013.

2 World Bank. Education and Development: Evidence for New Priorities. Washington, DC, 2012.

3 Jee-Peng Tan. Benchmarking Workforce Development Workshop. World Bank: Education Department: Human Development Network.

Singapore, March 5-8, 2012.

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progress

School children group outside a school building in Nega-Nega, Zambia.

Africa Is Enlightening Africa’s progress in education

By CCAfrica

R

ecent economic indicators predict higher development prospects for Africa in the years to come. Now the concern is whether this economic growth momentum acts as an impetus to human development progress on the continent. Although Africa used to lag behind many other developing regions in the world with respect to human

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development, according to recent statistics, Africa’s progress in education—one of the three key determinants of human development—is promising. This article analyzes few key achievements of Africa in the education sector.

Human development progress

The Human Development Index (HDI), which is published by the United Nations

Development Program (UNDP), is the key indicator to gauge the level of human development of a country. Based on their HDI, countries are categorized into four groups: very high human development, high human development, medium human development, and low human development.

As Figure 1 shows, the world HDI was as high as 0.694, while the HDI for Sub-Saharan Africa was as low as 0.475,

According to Figure 2, the adult literacy rate in Africa increased from 52% (during 1985–1994) to 62% (during 2005–2011), a 16.13% increase. Both the adult male literacy rate and adult female literacy rate showed upward trends during the same period. However, the adult female literacy rate, which was 53.5%, was the lowest literacy rate in Africa for the period from 2005–2011.

The youth literacy rate in Africa increased from 65.9% (in 1985–1994) to 72.9% (in 2005–2011), nearly a 10% increase, as illustrated by Figure 3. Both youth male literacy and youth female literacy rates increased during this period.

It is important to note that the female literacy rate was significantly lower than the male literacy rate all the time, and recorded 67.4% and 78.6% respectively for the period 2005–2011. However, the gap between the youth male and female literacy rates continued to decrease over time. This is an indication that gender equality is also increasing in Africa.

Figure 2

Human Development Index in Sub-Saharan Africa (1980–2012)

Adult literacy rates in africa (ages 15+) 80

0.8

Total

Male

Female

70

0.7 percentage (%)

human development index

World Sub-Saharan Africa

0.6

0.5

60

50

40

0.4

30

0.3 ’80

’90

’00

’12

Source: Human Development Report 2013

’85–’94

’95–’04

’05–’11

Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics

Figure 3

Figure 4

youth literacy rates in africa (ages 15–24)

gross enrollment ratios in africa (1990–2012)

80

120

Total Female

Male

Primary Education Secondary Education 100 enrollment (%)

Literacy rates

Figure 1

percentage (%)

in 2012. Nevertheless, the progress Africa has made recently with respect to HDI is impressive. The HDI for Sub-Saharan Africa increased from 0.366 in 1980 to 0.475 in 2010, a 23% increase.

Although most African countries fell into the low human development category, some demonstrated exceptional achievements in 2012. For instance, with a HDI of 0.806, Seychelles belonged to the very high human development category. In addition, Libya, Mauritius, Algeria and Tunisia fell into the high human development category.

The HDI consists of three indices: life expectancy, education and income.

Accordingly, the educational level of a country is a determinant factor of the human development level. Moreover, the other two indices have a positive relationship with the Education Index.

A high education level improves health conditions that contribute to higher life expectancy. Similarly, a high education level increases the level of income and economic and social well-being of its citizens. Therefore, educating a nation is essential not only to expedite the development process, but also to sustain development outcomes.

70

60

80

60

40

20

50

’85–’94

’95–’04

’05–’11

Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics

Gross Enrollment Ratio in primary education

Figure 4 shows the trends for Gross Enrollment Ratios in primary and secondary education in Africa. By the year 2010, Africa has achieved over 100% Gross Enrollment Ratio in primary education. This is a 26% increase, from 75.3% in 1990 to 102.3% in 2010–2012.

Only 15 countries reported below 100% while other 39 African countries reported over 100% Gross Enrollment Ratio in primary education for the period 2010–2012.

Gross Enrollment Ratio in secondary education

Compared with the Gross Enrollment Ratio in primary education, the same ratio for

’90

’00

’05

’12

Source: African Statistical Yearbook 2013

secondary education is less impressive.

Although there was almost a 25% increase from 1990 to 2010–2012, the Gross Enrollment Ratio in secondary education was as low as 43.5% in 2010–2012. Against this backdrop, four African countries have achieved more than 85% Gross Enrollment Ratios in secondary education: Cape Verde, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Tunisia.

The recent developments in Africa send a clear message to the world that the continent is ready to strive for more advanced knowledge acquisition. Therefore, it is high time that the developed world join hands with inspiring Africans in order to help the latter approach a more advanced knowledge domain. RA w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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Interview with Etienne Juneau, Director General of Éducation internationale

By CCAfrica

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Q&A

The international mobility component has enabled many Quebec students at primary and secondary levels, and even teachers, to spend some semesters abroad. In turn, EI reaches out to students from all over the world with the hope that they will come to Canada and take advantage of Quebec’s educational system. The international development component was put in place in order to help developing countries to improve their educational system at the national level. EI focuses on restructuring the educational system as a whole, which equally includes both basic education (preschool, primary, secondary and adult streams) as well as vocational and technical training.

The Rising Africa spoke with Etienne Juneau, director general of Éducation internationale.

Rising Africa: What are the areas of intervention preferred by Éducation internationale in Africa?

Etienne Juneau: EI intervenes in areas of education mostly by exporting Quebec’s know-how in education and allowing African students to come to Quebec for studies or vocational training.

Can you give us some examples of achievements realized in Africa within the sphere of international development?

EI intervenes not only in the areas of basic education, technical and vocational training, but also in a broader

‘‘

‘‘

F

ounded in 2001, Éducation internationale (EI) is a not-for-profit cooperative offering exchange and development services in education. When they founded the cooperative, Quebec school boards and associated organizations created a single window to open up the Quebec schooling system to the international scene and to assist students in becoming citizens of the world. EI’s membership is composed of the majority of Quebec’s francophone and anglophone school boards. Its activities are organized along three intervention areas: • I nternational mobility: student and teacher exchanges » Increasing exchange opportunities and promoting international networking of Quebec-based educational institutions.

• International development: exporting Quebec’s know-how in education » Implementing international development projects, primarily in Africa and Latin America, funded by international financial institutions and agencies such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the World Bank.

• International recruitment » Favouring recruitment of international students by promoting the educational offer in technical and vocational training in Quebec.

Education is the engine of development and economic growth.

manner for ministers. For example, EI worked in Burundi to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Education in different sectors while maintaining a collaborative approach based on the expertise already in place, thus providing tailored solutions. Our organization also helped in developing educational inspections to reduce student repetition and develop adequate report cards. But at the local level, for example, EI helped to develop a vocational training centre in Mali.

How has Quebec’s expertise adapted itself to the African reality?

We work primarily with an approach that emphasizes support, advice, training and follow-ups. Our partners identify their priorities and we help them to implement educational reforms and solutions. We help them to formulate creative and feasible solutions to the situations they face.

In recent years, have you noticed improvement in the quality of African education systems?

For example, has there been progress in the education of girls?

Education is the engine of development and economic growth. Many African countries need skilled labour in order to meet the needs of the labour market. Most Africans are aware of this issue and have undertaken major reforms in their educative systems, both within the basic education system and the vocational and technical training system. This is the progress we’ve seen, which does include the education of young girls.

EI promotes education for all and we have noticed a very positive impact—and it is important to note that the African governments have also noticed the positive results. Once we have stabilized the primary and secondary education system, then it is important to prepare young people to enter the workforce. It is also important to prepare a vocational and technical training system that is adapted to the needs of the market.

As for young girls in particular, we must convince them and their parents of the importance of registering in these technical training programs. Furthermore, it is a good practice to direct girls towards non-conventional work environments as well as those they are more likely to be interested in, such as education and health.

In addition to international development, EI also assists African students who wish to study in Quebec. Can you explain this process to us?

[Summary of the answer] EI coordinates recruitment activities for international students with Quebec school boards at the technical level. To do this, we have implemented strong recruitment initiatives; for example, we have developed a platform called ‘Quebec métier d’avenir’ that includes all school boards in Quebec and all courses offered in Quebec. Through w w w. c c a f r i c a . c a

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this program, we offer quality technical training for short terms, about a year or two years, in all of Quebec’s school boards. At the end of their training, students have the opportunity to obtain a Canadian work permit and gain valuable experience in the field. Our organization is responsible for supporting the student in all administrative procedures before arriving to Quebec; then, once they’ve arrived in Quebec, we place them in a welcome home to ensure that they are taken care of. In addition, we offer a scholarship program provided

by MELS [Quebec’s Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports] that offers eligible students extensive financial support—and, in fact, 65 percent of the recipients are African students.

In which sector should African students study if they want to contribute to the economic development of their respective countries?

EI favours African students who enroll to study in regions of Quebec or vocational training centres that have shortages of students, and those who enroll in training programs for fields that lack skilled labourers.

Indeed, dozens of training programs in Quebec are short of students, and the arrival of African students creates a win-win situation. EI ensures that students will be very interested in these programs, because we make them aware that the related field needs qualified workers.

Moreover, since Quebecois students are not taking these programs and getting trained in the field, this creates a favorable environment for African students who choose to stay on after graduation. RA For more, please visit www.quebecmetiersdavenir.com and www.education-internationale.com

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CCAfrica Members List Corporate Members

Affutjob African Gold Group Afrique Expansion Magazine Agriteam Canada Alberta Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations Anyway Solid Environmental Solutions Ltd. Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) Atlas Partenaires Aviation Zenith Inc. Barrick Gold Corporation Black Business Initiative BlackBerry Ltd. Bombardier Inc. Broccolini Construction Inc. CANAC International Inc. Canadian and African Business Women’s Alliance (CAABWA) Canadian Bank Note Company, Ltd. Carleton University Cégep de Trois-Rivières Centre de formation professionnelle Val-d’Or CIMA+ International Inc. Consortium for International Development in Education (CIDE) Consultation Contacts Monde Cordiant Cowater International Inc. CPCS CRC Sogema Inc. DAM Développement International Dessau Développement international Desjardins Dundee Corporation E. T. Jackson & Associates Ltd. Éditions L’artichaut inc.

Education internationale Emerging Markets Financial Group EM-ONE Energy Solutions Excel Employment International Fasken Martineau Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP Freebalance GENIVAR Groupe Belfontaine IAMGOLD Corporation IMW Industries Ltd. Innovision Jainji International Inc. JR International Trade Kestrel Capital Management Corp.

La Cité collégiale Lussier Centre du camion McAlister Consulting Corp.

McCarthy Tétrault Mercy Ships MGS Energy Group Ministère du Développement économique du Québec Nexen Inc. Oasis Voyages PricewaterhouseCoopers RA International RemedX Remediation Services Inc. Sama Resources Inc. SDV Canada SEMAFO Sherritt International Corporation SNC-Lavalin STRATEGEUM TFO Canada The Udemba Group Tronnes Surveys TruQuest Global University of Ottawa Velocity Trade Wayne Dunn & Associates Windiga Energy Inc.

CCAfrica frique

Canadian Council on Africa Conseil Canadien pour l’Afrique

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD | CCAFRICA

Benoit La Salle PRESIDENT AND CEO | CCAFRICA

Jean J. Gauthier FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR | CCAFRICA

Nola Kianza VICE-PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MEMBER RELATIONS | CCAFRICA

Chris Kianza VICE-PRESIDENT, ATLANTIC PROVINCES | CCAFRICA

Gregory Nazaire VICE-PRESIDENT, WESTERN CANADA | CCAFRICA

Frank Kense DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT | CCAFRICA

Léonie Perron PROJECT MANAGEMENT | CCAFRICA

Camelia Bucur

Associate Members

Alberta International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Relations Canadian Commercial Corporation Export Development Canada Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Natural Resources Canada New Brunswick Department of Intergovernmental Affairs Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) Quebec Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade African Members

Business Club Algero-Canadien (BCAC) Canada Business Association - Ghana Evergreen Supermarkets Fédération des Chambres de Commerce de Madagascar Fédération des Entreprises du Congo Mali Chamber of Commerce Nigerian Economic Summit Group Rwanda Development Board Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture

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CCAfrica Board of Directors Chairman of the Board of Directors

Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors

Benoit La Salle President and CEO, Windiga Energy Inc. Canada

Marie-Josée Fortin Director, Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC)

Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors / Member of the Action Plan Committee

Executive Committee / Member of the Action Plan Committee

Peter Kieran President, CPCS

Michael Wyse President, Black Business Initiative

Executive Committee

Executive Committee

David Ireland Director, International Business Development, Canadian Bank Note Company, Ltd.

Executive Committee

Executive Committee

David Baron President and CEO, Cowater International Inc.

John Treleaven Vice-Chairman, Mercy Ships

Sam Boutziouvis VP, Government Relations and Multilateral Institutions, SNC-Lavalin

Member of the Action Plan Committee / Executive Committee

President of Governmental Relations Committee / Executive Committee

President of the Action Plan Committee / Executive Committee

Pierre Boivin Partner, McCarthy Tétrault

Simon Lafrance Managing Partner, STRATEGEUM

President and CEO

Director

Jean J. Gauthier President and CEO, CCAfrica

Michel Cote President, CRC Sogema

Director

Director

Director

Director

Matt Fisher Vice-President, AnyWay Solid Environmental Solutions

Alanna Heath Director of Government Affairs, Barrick Gold

Charles Field-Marsham Chief Executive Officer, Kestrel Capital

Mark Sitter Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Sherritt International Corporation

Founder and Director

Nola Kianza President and CEO, Trans Africa Resource Corp.

Director

Denis Belisle Chairman, Dessau

Yvon Bernier Vice-President, Développement international Desjardins

Director

Amina Gerba President, Afrique Expansion

Director Director

Denis Painchaud Director, International Governmental Relations, Nexen

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Wayne Dunn Professor in CSR, McGill University; Managing Director, Wayne Dunn & Associates

December 2013

Director

David Gamble Vice-President, Business Development, IMW Industries

Director

Andrew McAlister McAlister Consulting Corp.