In 1995, Papa Madiaw Ndiaye did the unthinkable. He went home.
With successful stints under his belt in corporate and international finance at Salomon Brothers and JP Morgan, the Harvard- and Wharton-educated businessman raised eyebrows among his family members most of all. As he reported with wry amusement during his keynote talk at the conference, certain of his relatives in Senegal couldn't quite accept his decision.
"Some of my cousins told me, ‘Papa, you've been away too long; you don't really know the reality over here. Who would ever leave Wall Street to work pro bono for the opposition party in Senegal of all places? Those are nifty concepts that you've learned, but you cannot apply them to Africa.'
"So I was told. Those same cousins come to me today to ask for a meeting with members of the government, because the guys I worked for are now in power," he said with evident satisfaction.
In addition to his role as Special Advisor for Economic and Financial Affairs to President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, who was elected in 2000, and chairmanship of the president's economic and financial advisory council, Ndiaye is also director of AIG-African Infrastructure Fund, which has $400 million in commitments. He also serves as managing director of MIDROC-BVI, which invests in Africa for Saudi businessman Sheikh Mohammad Hussain Al-Amoudi.
Successful though he was as an equity specialist, government advisor, and role model for the students, his more personal advice to the audience of mostly African MBA students resonated most of all. Though Ndiaye had the last laugh over his cousins upon his return to Senegal, as he described, he told the story at the HBS conference in order to illustrate a more serious message. In his view, pessimism about Africa often functions as an Achilles heel to Africans especially. A change of mindset is in order, he asserted.
"Let's first look at ourselves ..." he said. "Think about the last time you told your family you wanted to return home. Were there any African pessimists within your own family? I can tell you from personal experience that my family is no exception."
| For Africans, the word ‘international' must begin to include other African countries. |
| — Papa Madiaw Ndiaye |
Governments in Africa have a lot to do to create a more investor-friendly environment, but he is optimistic, he said. Among the many developments in Africa that gave him hope, he was inspired by the changes in South Africa when apartheid was finally abolished. Investors in Africa want what they want anywhere, Ndiaye said: political and economic stability, respect for property rights, an independent judiciary, and the rule of law.
But change starts at the individual level, he reminded the students. He encouraged them to reacquaint themselves with the people and potential of their home continent.
"For Africans, the word ‘international' must begin to include other African countries. Not just Europe, America and Asia," he said. " ...[but] I'm not suggesting that we limit our frame of reference to Africa. The times of Afro-centrism—Dashiki-wearing and all that—I think we know that that's gone. But we must not lose what was behind that. I insist that we need to include Africa in our international frame of reference."
Another piece of advice: Be creative. There are many unaddressed needs in Africa, and opportunities will come from addressing inefficiencies, he said.
In an increasingly competitive global financial system, African nations and companies need to be brought up to speed, he added. He related an easily recognizable parable to stress the point.
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it has to run faster than the fastest lion in order to survive. And every morning, a lion also wakes up. He knows he has to outrun the fastest gazelle or he will starve to death.
"Quite frankly, it doesn't matter whether you're a lion or you're a gazelle," Ndiaye said. "When the sun comes up, you better be running.
"The situation is no different in today's globalized economy. As globalization sweeps across the world, Africa runs the risk of being marginalized" in terms of investments in development including technology. "We cannot and we must not let this happen. In order to prevent it, we all need to join forces. We all need to participate: governments, civil society, multilateral institutions, and the private sector toward one common endeavor: to move Africa from the periphery to the mainstream of the global flow of capital."