I had the pleasure of interviewing ALUSB all-star faculty member, Bill Egbe, during his time at the business school in Kigali. Here’s what he had to say about how ALU School of Business is building leaders for the African century:
“[I am] an experienced corporate executive, and former president of Coca-Cola South Africa. I’ve been retired for about 18 months now. So I consider myself a pensioner after thirty years of being in the corporate trenches in the US, in Latin America, in Europe, and in Africa. I thought it was time to focus on something different other than corporate life.
[Coming to ALUSB], I was really intrigued by two elements the business school was focused on. It is really focused on trying to build a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders for Africa. And I think those two elements that, especially in the context of Africa, makes a lot of sense to ensure that people are nurturing the sense of entrepreneurship to accelerate the development on the continent.
The continent is not going to be developed by big corporations; entrepreneurs will drive the development. Not the politicians either; entrepreneurs will drive the development. So we need to make sure that we are building a new generation of leaders who are focused on grabbing the entrepreneurial activities.
I also like the fact that they have this unique model of taking experienced leaders in business, NGOs, private sector, public sector, bringing them into an MBA programme. The students spend some time on campus through face-to-face intensives, using cutting-edge technology to engage students when they are off-campus. The students’ interaction with top-level global academics and experienced business leaders make a combination that is going to be very dynamic in shaping how successful they will be as they go on to play leadership roles on the continent.
And I just want to be a part of that.”
Watch Bill’s full interview here:
