Kwame Som-Pimpong

  • No. 56: Reflections from Yale’s 2014 Sankofa54 Conference

    While doing research for another article, I ran across my talking points from a presentation I gave at Yale’s Sankofa54 conference. They were interesting to take a look at a year later. I figured it could not hurt to post them here. Reflections on role models for Anna Olivia Last night was incredible for me.…

  • No. 55: World Economic Forum Panel on Africa’s Growth Agenda

    The World Economic Forum is taking place this week. At 10:15am today, January 21, a panel will discuss Africa’s Growth Agenda. A link to the panel is below. Africa’s Growth Agenda

  • No. 54: Lumumba Was Here

    Yesterday was the 54th anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, independent Congo’s first prime minister. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, one of the first blacks to attend my alma mater, wrote a nice piece on the importance of Lumumba and his death. He recently published a biography of Prime Minister Lumumba that I look forward to reading.…

  • No. 53: Nigerians Feel Good About Their Well Being?

    So, personal well-being in Nigeria is trending upward, according to data compiled by NOIPolls. December produced the highest results for the year – a month when the naira stumbled significantly, the Nigerian Stock Exchange went for a wild ride, and Boko Haram deadliness persisted.More than anything, I think this displays the resiliency of this country’s…

  • No. 52: Municipal Broadband Gets President Obama’s Attention

    I was excited to read that President Obama has set his sights on ensuring that cities can develop their own broadband networks, should they choose to do so. While working with the Georgia Municipal Association, we had a couple of close calls that would have prevented Georgia cities from operating their own broadband networks. President Obama…

  • No. 51: Private Equity in Africa Made One Big Little Step

    I may have done a fist pump when I saw that Helios Investment Partners raised $1.1 billion for its latest Africa-focused fund – a new record besting the $908 million the firm raised about three years ago. The notion of investing on the African continent is not such a novelty any longer. Sixty percent of…

  • No. 50: Three Podcasts That Will Make Your Daily Commute Amazing

    Helpful resource podcasts to give a listen.

  • No. 49: EB-5 Visa and African Investment in the US

    As the number of wealthy individuals in Africa grows, I wonder if the US will see more public investment from such individuals. For example, Tony Elumelu invested an undisclosed amount in a California-based satellite startup last year. Will we see more folks follow the lead of, say, the Qatari government which gave around $100 million…

  • No. 48: LinkedIn Not Paying Attention to Africa Would Be a Huge Mistake

    LinkedIn is missing an opportunity to capitalize on its reach into the top management talent around the world to capture the stories of Africa’s top business talent and their experience before and ruing the economic sea change taking place across the continent. The company’s Influencers program has been running for over two years now and it does…

  • No. 47: Is AGOA Right For US Trade With Africa?

    The African Growth and Opportunity Act is up for re-authorization on September 30, 2015. The Act essentially makes it easier for certain African countries to export some of their goods to the United States, by making them duty-free. The goal of the Act was to support development on the continent and increase US-Africa trade. Fifteen years…

  • No. 46: Is A Tax Credit Going to Encourage US Investment in Africa?

    Is the right next step for promoting American business investment in African markets a tax credit that encourage American companies to repatriate their investments on the continent? The Africa Report ran an interview in November with Rosa Whitaker, head of the Whitaker Group. She argues that this tax credit is the right investment response for US-Africa…

  • No. 45: My Goals for 2015

    Feel free to check in over the course of the year to see how I’m doing in making this stuff happen. Love God. Love People.  Last year really tested my faith. I hit some really dark spots and had some real highs. I look forward to listening to God’s word daily and writing out my prayers…

  • No. 44: My A-Listers For Africa – Business and Policy

    List of my top people to follow for insights on Africa’s business and policy environments.

  • No. 43: Why I Do What I Do?

    I was 10 or 11 years old when I started crying while watching a PBS show about something related to HIV/AIDS in Africa. It is a bit blurry now, but I believe there was a woman with a child on the screen. Something about the image shook me so deeply. I remember writing in my…

  • No. 42: Nigerian Fashion Makes a Statement: This Week in African Markets

    From LinkedIn. ECONOMIC PAIN CONTINUES – Moody’s downgraded South Africa’s five largest banks, nine of its municipalities, its two development finance institutions, following the firm’s downgrading of the government’s debt ratingand Eskom’s bond rating last week. While the outlook remains stable for the banks and one of the development institutions – the Industrial Development Corporation…