All stakeholders agree that there is an information gap between the developmental potential for international trade and local resource persons and bodies where they exist. Who, in your view is responsible for bridging this gap and why?
The business community is the central player to trade and everyone else provides supporting structures to facilitate buying and selling at scale. In my opinion the business community engagement around trade in Africa is low and need to increase. For Nazaru we continue to raise awareness, make relevant information available to stakeholders, train and convene those looking to participate in growing African trade.
The business community instead of waiting must take proactive steps to empower themselves with knowledge as well as network to both regionally and globally build trade partnerships. Trade happens at the speed of relationship and that is one of the reasons we created the Trade with Africa Business Summit as a platform to bring all relevant stakeholders together. Through this platform we convene buyers, sellers, investors, trade finance institutions, bankers, policy makers, retailers, manufacturers and distributors of products.
We can take a glimpse at China to see how they grew their economy. They did not sit in China expecting opportunities to come and meet them there but they ventured into uncharted territories to capture trade opportunities. I would like to see the same rigor from Africa’s stakeholders as they pursue to become global citizens. No one is coming to “save” Africa. Africa must save itself!
Your background is in info tech and entrepreneurship. What is your interest in international trade?
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Sciences with a minor in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems. All through my career the focus has always been to evaluate ways to improve business performance particularly through use of technology. I had the opportunity to serve in leadership roles at the largest companies in the world in retail and manufacturing at both Walmart and Whirlpool Corporation.
When you work for the world’s largest company you see the world through another lens because you can view trade at the highest levels. Working at a company with annual sales volumes reaching $500 billion dollars made me realize what was possible when people came together to achieve a common vision with tenacity and fortitude with the right level of leadership. I consider it an honor and privilege to now be able to apply all that I have learned in support of Africa’s emergence as an economic force.
