Encomium
Chief Executive Officer of EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu, was a speaker at New York University’s Annual Economic Forum (AEF) on April 26, 2014. The speakers and attendees dialogued on the theme: “The African Gold Rush: Realities of Africa’s Economic Growth and Potential”. The aim of this year’s forum is to present a balanced depiction of the current economic state in many African countries, while highlighting promising transformation across Africa.
Abudu shared on “How we did it” – building a proudly African media company to tell a different story to the world. “Africans must tell their own story, we are best placed to tell our own story. We need to ensure African brands become global brands,” she said on Saturday.
Discussions included the challenges that lay ahead of Africa’s path to realizing its full potential as the world’s final investment frontier. The event featured a series of panels covering topics ranging from Technology and Entrepreneurship, to Entertainment and Private Capital, amongst others. There was also a Leadership Fireside Chat and a “Five-Star Speaker’s Series”. Speakers that delivered keynotes were LadiBalogun, CEO and Managing Director of First City Monument Bank and MakhatarDiop, World Bank’s Vice President for Africa.
Other speakers were Adebola Williams, Founding Partner of Red Media Africa, Georg Kell, the Executive Director at United Nations Global Compact; Charles Kie, Group Head at EcoBank; Daniel Monehin; Eric Kinoti, CEO of Shades Systems East Africa Limited; AminiKajunju, President of the Africa America Institute, KunleOlaifa, head of HR at Samsung West Africa; Chika Nwobi, Managing Partner at L4Lab, Eric-Vincent Guichard, chairman and CEO of GRAVITAS Capital Advisors, amongst others.
