Social Good Summit 2013 kicks off this weekend in NYC. This year I was invited to share the stage with Magatte Wade, the sharp tongued (her take down of Jeffrey Sachs is a must read) and serial entrepreneur from Senegal. She is the CEO of Tiossan, “a high-end natural skin care company based on indigenous Senegalese recipes.” She was recently on Forbes’ 20 youngest power women in Africa.
The great thing about this duet is that I’ll be doing the interviewing instead of speaking. Magatte is someone I’ve always admired in the African development discourse space and have looked up to as a successful African social entrepreneur. To have a few minutes with her on stage is a coup and worth attending to hear her speak.
We plan to explore the Africa Rising meme from the perspective of the Africans who are driving the movement, and less on the external players like multinational corporations and NGOs. A lot of ink and attention is given to multinational corporations raking in millions in the energy sector and extractive industries.
What are/were their challenges of Africans that are busy creating the millions of jobs that are needed to fuel a rising Africa? What is their inspiration? Is the “Africa by Africa” movement short-lived or here to stay? What is the role of social entrepreneurship for our developing continent?
I think there’s a lot to unearth at the intersection of a rising continent and identifying who is really responsible and will be responsible for sustaining its growth into the near future. This is especially important as the continent faces 500 million youth coming of age in the next 5-10 years. Make sure to sign up for Social Good Summit if you haven’t already bought a ticket.
Social Good Summit 2013
A New Africa Rising: A duet with Magatte Wade & Teddy Ruge
Date: Sunday September 22nd
Address: 1395 Lexington Avenue (between 91st and 92nd)
Time of session: 3:33pm
Format: 15 minute conversation
