Oxford — We live in volatile times. With economies all around the world caving in on them, causing ripple effects that spread throughout our increasingly global planet, investors and governments alike are frantically searching for signs of hope. And many are finding that hope in a region with its own share of rocky histories and failed economies. Africa.
A continent of 54 unique countries, it has certainly seen its share of upheaval. But now it is becoming a land of opportunity as it experiences the highest rates of return on investment found anywhere in the developing world and many of the fastest growing economies on the planet.
But are Africa's private and public organisations ready for the challenges to come?
These Executive Minds (TEXEM) is an innovative service-based social enterprise that provides research, consulting and learning platforms for organizations to enhance their performance and for senior executives to grow their organizations by reflecting, renewing their passion to excel and challenging their assumptions.
They partner with global businesses and top Universities in the United Kingdom and beyond to meet the objective of providing cutting edge research, solving organizational challenges via consulting and training senior executives (in Africa and beyond).
TEXEM in partnership with first-class institutions provides select research, consulting and capacity development programmes that draw from real-world organisational scenarios taking place in some of the world's top institutions and condenses these lessons into fast-paced programmes that top executives can use to soak up new skills swiftly and bring back home to implement in their organisations right away.
Their latest Executive Development Programme (EDP), "Creating Sustainable Solutions: Transformations in Governance," takes place this April in collaboration with the University of Oxford, and like most of their offerings is not only based on real-world experiences but is tailored to confront the realities of changing organisational governance in modern-day Africa.
This ensures the course offering is far more than just generic theory; it speaks directly to the issues faced by Africa's leading executives.
In countries that still struggle to keep up, the problems that plague any developing nation are rampant, with unstable electric grids, constant security challenges, atrocious road networks, endemic corruption, and institutions struggling just to stay afloat. Even Africa's more developed nations can feel the effect of their neighbours' struggles as spill over occurs or as they attempt to work with other governments or markets in the region.
With coming changes and forecasts of further explosive growth, these challenges must be addressed and they must be addressed fast. This is the intention of the latest EDP programme.
According to Dr. Caitlin McElroy, Programme Director of the University of Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, "Executive development with leading academics and the insights of practitioners from the Transformations in Governance, Creating Sustainable Solutions programme provides participants with a new perspective and approach to their own leadership roles. Participants' engagement with the latest research and best practice cases will help prepare them for the challenges of governing in a changing world "
Meanwhile, Alim Abubakre, the Chief Executive Officer of TEXEM, notes: "Many senior executives already acknowledge that governance challenges in emerging economies hamper their ability to foster inclusive and sustained growth within organisations and nations. The issue addressed in this programme is how transformations in governance can offer sustainable solutions to the myriad of challenges that these organisations face. The programme will enhance participants' expertise and their conceptual foundation while challenging assumptions and empowering them as leaders to shape and strengthen their organisations' performance, with a view towards achieving national prosperity.
Programme:
The forthcoming 4-day capacity development programme is scheduled from the 14th to the 17th of April 2014 at Oxford University, a world renowned institution of higher learning known throughout the international community for its unparalleled track record in educating leaders, solving organisational challenges and shaping government policies. Participants will access some of the unique lessons and insights offered by TEXEM in collaboration with Oxford through a range of important topics, including Strategic Management, Adaptive Leadership, Organisational Innovation, Principled Negotiation, Executive Innovation, and Sustainability.
Each participant will walk away with a certificate from the University of Oxford, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment and membership in a new community of invaluable contacts – like-minded executives spanning the African continent and the world at large.
Who should attend:
Chief Executives, Entrepreneurs, Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, Senior Managers engaged in leadership roles in prominent local companies and internationally based firms with operations in emerging markets.Managers, team leaders and middle management staff aspiring to climb the leadership ladder in their organisations.Senior public sector cadres involved in policy and strategy formulation.Senior Officers in Government sponsored economic and industry agencies.Senior Consultants working on large infrastructure projects.
EDP sessions include:
Instructors will introduce key concepts and then present examples using case studies, real-world scenarios, and simulations based on the realities of doing business in Africa. Detailed discussions will follow.
Reviews:
"I regard the These Executive Minds Executive Education programme as the best I have attended in recent times. Not one of them, but the very best as it was humanly perfect." Peter Atolo Irene, Executive Director (Finance & Admin), Union Assurance
"It was a genuine pleasure working with 'These Executive Minds' on their recent capacity development programme at Cambridge University. The topics presented and panel questions were stimulating for both the faculties and audience alike." Sak Navagam, Managing Director, Climate Change Services, Accenture.
"The capacity development programme brought together an interesting and diverse set of views on Green entrepreneurs. It highlighted the enormous opportunities that exist both for those interested in creating their own business and for those seeking to create change within large companies." Terwin Resorick, CEO, Global Action Plan
"I truly enjoyed the evening, great speakers and good questions from the audience. So thank you for the invite!" Stine Jensen, Manger, The Bigger Picture, Sky
"I was impressed with the interdisciplinary nature of the faculties and the audience was also from a wide range of backgrounds. As long as they work on this area intensively, they can change the world." Conrad Young, Associate Director, 2degrees
Learn more
To discover more about how the new EDP course can help African leaders prepare for the future, please visit
texem.co.uk/creating-sustainable-solutions-transformations-in-governance-1
