Information and Communications Technology (ICT) presents the next frontier in economic development for Africa. Given the continent’s delayed start in participating in the ICT trend, on some fronts, Africa’s ability to harness ICT for positive good at times appears overwhelming. However, around the continent stunning examples of ICT innovation demonstrate Africans’ entrepreneurial and inspiring spirit. Still, questions remain: How will Africa successfully “leap frog” technological stages as a path toward economic development? What are the implications of the continent's move toward more advanced technologies while bypassing such basic infrastructural elements like cable systems and fixed lines? This panel highlights pioneering technological advancements in Africa, and their economic impacts.
Leila Chirayath, Samasource, Founder and CEO
Christopher Fabian, UNICEF, Co-Head of Innovations Team
Francis Quartey, Intercom Data Network, Founder and CEO
Moderator: Murray Low, Eugene Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School, Director, Business Strategy Research, CBS
Leila Chirayath
Samasource, Founder and CEO
Leila Chirayath Janah is the founder of Samasource, a social business that creates jobs in low-income countries by connecting small service businesses to a global client base. Samasource won the Business in Development Challenge in 2007 and the Stanford Social E Challenge in 2008.
Prior to Samasource, Leila co-founded Incentives for Global Health with Professors Thomas Pogge and Aidan Hollis to develop new financing mechanisms for pharmaceutical R&D on diseases of the poor. She has also served as a Visiting Scholar with the Stanford Program on Global Justice and a Visiting Researcher at Australian National University’s Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.
Earlier in her career, Leila worked for Katzenbach Partners, a management consulting firm based in New York, and at the World Bank’s Development Research Group. She currently resides in San Francisco.
Christopher Fabian
UNICEF, Co-Head of Innovations Team
Christopher Fabian and Erica Kochi are responsible for determining the creative direction of the Innovations team, a group of developers, writers and designers within the Youth Section of the Division of Communications at UNICEF Headquarters. Specializing in the confluence of media, education, and communication, Christopher has been instrumental in developing the UNIWIKI system of tools, which allow people to connect to each other without computers or internet access. Currently, UNIWIKI-based projects are being piloted and developed in several UNICEF regions around the world. Christopher was born in New York City, and studied philosophy of literature at Trinity University in Dublin, and American University in Cairo. Prior to joining UNICEF in 2005 he founded media, entertainment and online information companies in Tanzania and Egypt, taught Philosophy and Literature in Lebanon and worked as a freelance photojournalist in the Arab world.
Francis Quartey
Intercom Data Network, Founder and CEO
Francis Quartey is the founder of Intercom Data Network, an internet access provider services company based in Ghana and Nigeria. The firm also provides international long distance services. Francis is also a director of Citi 97.3 FM Radio in Ghana and President of the Ghana Internet Providers Association.
Murray Low
Eugene Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School, Director, Business Strategy Research, CBS
Murray Low is an Associate Professor of Management and Director of the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School. Low is an experienced entrepreneur and a leading authority on entrepreneurship in independent, corporate and not-for-profit settings. Starting businesses in several industries led him to study how the entrepreneurial process differs by context. His current research examines the dynamics of entrepreneurial careers. As the founder of the Columbia Entrepreneurship Program, he has worked to make entrepreneurship a viable career option for MBA graduates. Low consults to both small and large companies, family businesses and not-for-profits. He teaches executive seminars in the areas of entrepreneurship and strategic management and makes frequent presentations to academic and industry groups. He has published widely in academic and practitioner journals and is a regular commentator in the media. At the Business School, Low teaches a number of courses on entrepreneurship, including the two popular Master Courses High Potential Entrepreneurship and Private Equity and Entrepreneurship in Africa.
