As young organizations across any industry will bear witness to, first-time challenges are like tests that interrogate one’s commitment to vision. As such, we approach those challenges with a doggedness that seeks to solve them swiftly. When we triumph we commend ourselves, oblivious that the novelty of our victory will wear off, ushering in a string of challenges to solve than we have time to recover from.

We all face challenges, and the African Business Roundtable has faced its fair share. As the scope of these challenges increased, they reverberated across the ABR, causing us to redesign, restructure, re-evaluate and improve the policies that guide the execution of our obligations.

Samuel Ayodele, Executive Secretary, African Business Roundtable: “Living organisms, including institutions, undergo different phases of existence and ABR was no exception. Our transition from toddlerhood to adolescence experienced some bumpy rides, natural consequences of this phasal growth.”

Fast forward from 1990 to date, and today there is so much change that every organization is facing a simple choice: adapt or shut down your business. Equally glaring is an indisputable need to design solutions that respond to the current realities we face, and the ABR is conscious of this truth.

Immediately after Mr Samuel Dossou-Aworet assumed office in 2017, he championed a thorough diagnosis of the ABR in order to build momentum and carry on the organization’s achievements from where his predecessors stopped. As President, he wanted to introduce improved governance mechanisms into the ABR to enable the continuous attainment of the objectives of the organization.

Mr. Dossou’s leadership was positioned to create an enabling environment that is conducive to sustainable economic growth and responsive private investment. Thus he directed efforts to rebuild the ABR’s relationship with the African Development Bank, attracting active members for ABR and understanding the occurrences in the organization from 1990 to 2017. He capped it by proposing a review of charter and bylaws, updating them to respond to current realities and demands for corporate best practices.

With the new phase of leadership in motion, a priority course of action was to improve the ABR’s relationship with the African Development Bank. With the AfDB’s area of focus for economic transformation and economic stability (the High 5s) and ABR’s unwavering dedication to the Africa’s private sector, an alliance between both organizations could only produce strong wins for the continent.

Also worth stating in the current management is the embracing of disruptive technology and progressive practices, as evidenced in the ABRs strategies for the future – inclusion of youth into its operations and membership, direct SME empowerment and gender equality at the business table.

Mr. Samuel Dossou-Aworet, President & Chairman of the Board, African Business Roundtable: “We realize that today’s economy is largely driven by advancing technology, active social media involvement and personal and corporate online branding. These are also dynamics we intend to factor into our future activities, and we hope the presence of vibrant and technology savvy members can aid our projections. Through this synergy, we believe that we can build a Roundtable that better advocates for the cause of the private sector as we keep abreast of the dynamics of a rapidly changing world.”

www.abrnetwork.org

About the African Business Roundtable

The African Development Bank Group set up the African Business Roundtable in 1990. Today the ABR is Africa’s foremost and continent-wide association of businesses and business leaders, and is the representative of the African Business Society to the United Nations. An independent, non-partisan, non-profit private sector funded organization, The African Business Roundtable is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and is the only organization representing the African Private Sector within ECOSOC.

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