On February 19th – 20th, the Africa Business Club at Harvard Business School will present its 12th Annual Africa Business Conference which will focus on the theme "A Continent Comes of Age: Defining a New Era in African Business." 

The largest African student-run conference will bring together pre-eminent keynote speakers, expert panellists, and over 900 students and professionals from across the globe to Harvard Business School's (HBS) campus in Boston to discuss and debate this important phase in Africa's development.  The conference also includes prospective students' events, a career fair, fashion show, concert and networking receptions.

"A Continent Comes of Age: Defining a New Era in African Business."

Over the last decade, Africa has gained tremendous ground in terms of economic growth and political stability, but there still remain many challenges to address. Since the last conference, a fibre optic cable connected an ever-growing number of African countries with the rest of the world, the UK and DRC announced a partnership to rebuild the country's road and rail systems, and the introduction of new agricultural technologies significantly increased the continent's food production.

The theme of this year's conference which, say the organisers, is open to everyone is "A Continent Comes of Age: Defining a New Era in African Business."

"The Conference attracts over 900 participants each year, including African students and business professionals from around the world," explains Abhi Sharma, the Co-Conference chair of the HBS African Business Club Conference.

"The HBS Africa Business Conference provides a unique forum for discussion around the opportunities and challenges confronting business people in Africa. The event presents attendees with an excellent opportunity to learn more about the continent and network with business and community leaders, corporate sponsors, current and prospective HBS students, HBS alumni, students from other graduate programs and educators from around the world."

"This year's Conference will focus on what the future holds for Africa," says Sharma. "We believe 2010 represents a landmark year for Africa. In 2010, over 15 African countries celebrate their 50th anniversaries of independence and the World Cup comes to South Africa. Despite these achievements, challenges that persist continue to attract the wrong kind of attention to the continent. We believe this juxtaposition presents us with an opportunity to think about what lies ahead for African businesses and how we can work toward actively shaping this future."

Violence in Zimbabwe and Uganda has raised questions about the political stability of African countries, high profile Somali pirate attacks drew new attention to existing concerns about the safety of doing business on the continent, and international media coverage of refugee and health crises foster the perception that Africa is not a viable business location, says Sharma.

With this in mind, discussion at the 2010 Harvard Business School Africa Business Conference will focus on answering questions such as:

Throughout the conference, distinguished keynote speakers and panellists will offer their perspectives on these questions, and conference participants will be given the opportunity to engage them and fellow participants in meaningful discussions about defining a new era in African business.

The Africa Business Club at Harvard Business School was founded twelve years ago to promote awareness of business opportunities in Africa. Each year, the Club hosts the HBS Africa Business Conference, the world's largest student-run conference on business in Africa.

The Club's current Co-Presidents are Kayode Ogunro and Farai Shonhiwa. The Co-Chairs of this year's Africa Business Conference are Erin Frackleton and Abhi Sharma. 

This is an event for anyone with an interest in Africa's future, says Sharma.

"Don't miss this unique opportunity for learning and networking with like-minded individuals who are passionate about making a difference in Africa!"