David Karangu could possibly be the only Kenyan immigrant to the United States that owns his own luxury plane.  A toy purchased with the spoils from years of hard work and focus in the US car industry.  The very straight forward and focused Karangu often talks about his ambition early on during his early years in Baltimore saying, “I will be a millionaire before I’m 30 years old.”  He says that is what he wanted more than anything else and he went for it.

He was born at Grady Hospital in in Atlanta in 1967 but grew up in Kenya. He later enrolled at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD where he studied Marketing. In 1985, he won an internship by the General Motors Corporation where he spent his summers working at Jerry’s Chevrolet. During this time, he developed a passion for the automobile industry. He worked in every department of the dealership and made up his mind that the automobile industry was going to be part of his future.

Upon graduating in 1987, he went to work for the Ford Motor Company in Jacksonville, FL. At Ford he spent the next eight years rising through the ranks and honing his skills while working with Ford dealerships throughout the state of Florida. He left Ford in 1995 and attended the NADA Dealer Academy. While attending the academy, he worked as a Sales Manager at a Lincoln dealership in Melbourne, Florida.

On November 1st, 1997 David opened his first dealership - Fairway Ford of Augusta in Georgia. At the tender age of 30 he was the youngest Ford Dealer in the United States. While there he achieved the following:

• Ebony Magazine 2001 Dealer of the Year
• Ford Motor Company 2005 President’s Award
• Black Enterprise Top 50 Dealers in the United States

On July 1, 2005 he opened Mercedes Benz of Augusta. This was to be the crown jewel of the new empire. From the beginning, it was a success, setting new records for a Mercedes dealership and David being one of five African Americans in History to own one.

April 2nd, 2007 was yet another milestone in his automotive career. He acquired a BMW dealership in Columbia, SC and renamed it BMW of Columbia. Along with it came other franchises - Ivory VW and Ivory Subaru. Black Enterprise Magazine has ranked the Ivory Auto Group as the 26th largest minority owned Dealership in the United States with Sales over $100 million Dollars annually.

In December 2007, David sold the entire Ivory Group of dealerships to Group 1 Auto Group. He retired at the age of 40 to pursue his lifelong dream of travelling throughout the world, he also became a chef and a luxury homebuilder.

Only July 14, 2010, he purchased the former Steve Rayman Chevrolet South and renamed it Ivory Chevrolet. This is yet another new beginning as he rebuilds his auto empire.

Throughout his journey, David has always believed in helping and motivating others. He has given motivational speeches to various groups throughout the US and to corporations in Kenya. He has donated funds in Kenya for HIV/Aids awareness, educational scholarships and orphanages.

July 28, 2005 was declared “David Karangu Day” by the Mayor of Augusta. In 2007, the Mayor of Augusta gave David an Honorary Key to the City. The Governor of the State of Georgia appointed him to the board of the Medical College of Georgia - the second largest hospital in the State for a three year term.

David Karangu currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his family and is an avid Real Estate investor in the United States and Kenya.

The delegation of U.S. government and private-sector executives will meet host country senior government officials to discuss challenges for U.S. private-sector investment in energy infrastructure projects.

Delegates from the American business community will represent firms in a position to advance large-scale, on-grid generation and fuel supply projects.

Discussions are to include specific constraints to attract private-sector investment in the power generation and fuel supply sectors.

The mission will underscore economic development as a path towards sustained prosperity and peace and highlight the U.S. initiatives in the region, such as the Partnership for Growth Initiative and the Millennium Challenge Corporation programs. Additionally, the mission provides an opportunity for U.S. power developers and fuel suppliers to promote new energy infrastructure projects.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya welcomed MasterCard’s announcement. “We are pleased to welcome MasterCard to East Africa and in particular to Kenya, as we see the region’s growth path continue. MasterCard’s products will see the benefits of inclusion into the financial system extend to many more East Africans, giving them the opportunity to transact electronically with people and companies and so keep their precious money safe and secure, helping to build prosperity for their future.”

“Nairobi’s reputation as an African commerce, trade and development hub made it a strategically sound location for MasterCard to establish its regional headquarters. We believe it is a natural recognition of Kenya’s role as the financial heart of the East Africa region,” says Daniel Monehin, Area Head, East & West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide.

The Nairobi office will act as MasterCard’s liaison office for customer banks, business associates and consumers in its main markets of Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, Ethiopia and Uganda, as well as across the rest of the East African region, bringing the organisation’s knowledge of electronic payments best practice to these markets.

This will include a significant emphasis in the areas of card knowledge and skills development, advising on development of card acceptance infrastructure, new products, and developing partnerships with ‘technology enablers,’ as well as retailer education and best acceptance practice.

“We are establishing the new Nairobi office as a gateway through which MasterCard will liaise with its existing customers across the East African region. It will also be a launch pad for further expansion across the region, by providing advice to support MasterCard’s ongoing quest to shift consumers from traditional cash payments to non-cash payment systems, so that they can avoid the costs, risks and inefficiencies associated with cash,” comments Monehin.

Bringing the benefits of electronic payments to people across the African continent is a primary focus for MasterCard. “East Africa, and indeed Africa as a whole, has always been heavily reliant on cash - both in the consumer and corporate sectors,” says Charlton Goredema, Vice President and Market Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands for MasterCard Worldwide. “This dependence is costly - the costs of printing notes and keeping them secure are significant - and cash payments restrict an individual or company’s economic activity to their immediate geographic area.”

MasterCard has already been active in the Kenyan market working with banks and other business organisations to advise on developing payment solutions that are best suited for Kenyans. Most recently, in collaboration with Airtel & Standard Chartered Bank, the world’s first virtual card that operates off a mobile wallet was launched in Kenya.

“PayOnline is a unique virtual card payment solution, developed specifically to address the needs of consumers in Kenya. At the Mobile World Congress 2011 this product was awarded top honours as the Best Mobile Money Product or Solution. PayOnline makes it possible for Kenyan Airtel clients to shop online, even if they do not have a bank account,” says Goredema. “This is just one way that MasterCard products are working to extend financial inclusion to all through the development of solutions that take into account the unique attributes of each local market.”

“MasterCard products make it simple and safe to process electronic payments anywhere in the world,” Goredema points out. “Consumers using electronic payment systems don’t have to worry whether the cash they are carrying is sufficient for their intended purchase, and they do not have to fear for their security, as is common when carrying a large amount of cash on their person.”

In addition, the electronic payments solutions brought to market by MasterCard facilitate transparency in banking, through innovation and security that provide clear transaction records at every step, allowing protection from fraudulent activities. Goredema believes that these solutions are key to the continued success of East Africa’s rapid economic growth.

“MasterCard’s products include debit, prepaid, mobile and credit card payment solutions, which can be used to avoid the pitfalls of cash,” says Goredema. “We have already used these products in a variety of revolutionary applications on the African continent, including prepaid solutions for transport, and the secure disbursement of citizens’ social security payments.”

MasterCard’s global payments expertise will be very relevant across East Africa and particularly in Kenya, as the country evolves to implement the National Payments Systems Bill, passed by the country’s government during 2011.

“We believe that the Bill is a recognition that efficient payment mechanisms are essential to the development of the Kenyan economy, and we look forward to working with policymakers to bring electronic payment solutions to this market,” says Goredema. “We have worked on similar projects across the globe, where we have responded to local needs with products that offer the best of MasterCard’s global experience.”

MasterCard will also be offering the services of MasterCard Advisors into the East African region, helping to ensure that best-practice principles are implemented across the payments network. MasterCard Advisors is the professional services arm of MasterCard that provides payments consulting, information, analytics, and customised services to financial institutions, governments and retailers worldwide.

“We have invested significant resources into understanding East Africa, its business dynamics, how its consumers operate and the unique conditions that make this region one of the most exciting places to do business,” says Goredema. “We realise that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy and each market has its own unique challenges, opportunities and needs. MasterCard has invested extensively in research both on the African continent, and globally, and we are equipped to offer advice on payment industry best practice at every level.

“For MasterCard, the opportunities Africa brings forth will push the payments frontier faster and further than ever before and we continue our vision to realise a world beyond cash, bringing greater efficiencies to the payments system,” concludes Goredema. “We look forward to now working even more closely with our customer financial institutions, businesses and consumers across East Africa to leverage new technologies and innovative payment methods to enable safe, simple and convenient ways for consumers to pay.”

The hackathon’s goal is to identify communities of developers, their expertise and also their needs and bring together engineers, developers and enthusiasts to design simple applications that meet the needs of the African people.

MobileHackAF is scheduled for September 24th, 2011 and would bring together multiple developers in various cities of Africa, whereby each hub/community would host 3 - 5 teams of 2 to 3 developers for a 24-hour marathon of hacking.

At the end of this 24-hour hackathon, each team will present its application and the winning team will receive prizes from the sponsors.

This event will take place simultaneously in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Cotonou (Benin), Dakar (Senegal) and Douala (Cameroon).

The technology labs involved are Akendewa (Côte d’Ivoire), Jokkolabs (Sénégal), Appstech (Cameroon), Act Dakar (Sénégal), Etri Labs (Bénin); and iHub Senegal (Sénégal).

Judith Aidoo

Judith began her career as an investment banker in 1987 with Goldman, Sachs & Co., where she specialized in structured finance. Upon leaving Goldman in 1991, she started her own firm to both advise and invest in technology; telecommunications and media; and financial services. She has co-managed a hedge fund with over $200 million in broadcast and entertainment assets.

Ms. Aidoo has been honored for her business accomplishments and philanthropy as a board member of the following institutions: co-chair of Harvard Law School’s Class of 1987 20th Reunion Committee; WNYC, the City of New York’s public radio station group chaired at the time by Mrs. Billie Tisch; President Clinton’s Transition Team, responsible for covering the Federal Reserve System of the US, and as a member of his U.S. Trade Advisory Committee chaired by the US Trade Representative at the time, Ms. Charlene Barshefsky; the US-South Africa Business Development Committee co-chaired by the US Secretaries of Commerce Brown and Daley; the Constituency for Africa; and the 2001 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute which emphasizes values-based leadership in business. 

Ms. Aidoo is also a founding member of the African Women’s Development Fund; the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University’s Advisory Board; and an investor and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Alliance Co., a boutique merchant bank; Caswell Communications, Inc., the operator of WPAL-FM, and one time owner and joint operator of WZJY 1480 AM, both in Charleston, SC.

Judith graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with high honors from Rutgers College in 1984 and from Harvard Law School in 1987. She has been a television contributor for MSNBC and CNN, and has been profiled and quoted in major business publications on investment matters including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Financial Times and Black Enterprise. [Credit: The Women's Media Center]

Subscription growth remains high in East Africa, but this is not driven by an increase in customers, rather multiple SIM usage as a result of fierce price wars amongst the operators. This has had a negative impact on ARPU which has declined to reach just US$7.13. New players, the imminent introduction of mobile number portability and improved connectivity has forced operators to look beyond price as a winning competitive tool.

New opportunities for operators now lie in the provision of value added services and mobile broadband but services are still evolving and an optimum business model is still to be established. It is for this purpose that 650 telecom leaders will meet tomorrow at East Africa Com conference, 5-6 April. Representatives will include mobile, fixed, satellite and WiMAX operators, ISPs, MVNOs, regulators, ministers, solutions and technology providers, investors and consultants to ensure a truly 360 degree perspective of the market. Attendees will pool their different perspectives, ideas and experiences to set strategies around convergence, broadband, LTE, value added services, telecoms Fraud and connecting rural areas.

The 2 days of discussions will be led by a panel of 45+ speakers representing leaders of the region’s most dynamic operators, from pan-regional investors (Pan-regional players Orange France-Telecom and Airtel Africa, represented by Vice President Michel Barré and Group Director of Networks Bayan Moadjem respectively), incumbent operators (such as Telkom Kenya and their CEO Mikhail Ghossein), competitive mobile operators (with CxOs from Safaricom, Vivacell Southern Sudan, Zantel Tanzania, Airtel Kenya, amongst others), the self proclaimed original triple play provider in Africa, Wananchi (represented by Group CEO Richard Bell, and Kenya’s Country Manager Peter Reinartz), alternative service providers (Jamii Telecom, Roke Telkom Ugansa) and more.

She blogs at The Huffington Post, where she has authored a popular series of articles on African entrepreneurship, and at Magatte.

She serves on the board of ASNAPP (Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plant Products), The SEED Academy (Sports for Education and Economic Development) of Senegal, and on the Advisory Board of TriLinc Global, a fund dedicated to impact investing in the developing world. She serves as a mentor for developing world entrepreneurs for the MIT Legatum Center for Entrepreneurship and Development and was named a TED Global Africa Fellow in 2007.

Magatte has a business degree from Ecole Supérieure de Gestion et de Commerce, France.

Femi Akinide has worked in a variety of high-level positions at well- known telecommunications and software firms in the world, including Gateway Communications, AT&T (Consultant), T-Mobile, and Microsoft. Throughout his telecommunications career, he has been a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for T—Mobile’s mobile data platforms and wireless portal. He switched careers after receiving his MBA and joined Microsoft as a Senior Finance Manager on the TV, Video & Music Finance team. In 2009, he resigned from Microsoft to start SlimTrader. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and a BS in Electrical Engineering.

SlimTrader is the first platform in Africa that allows consumers to purchase services or shop for goods with their mobile devices. This is especially valuable given the slow and erratic internet access on the continent, which leaves residents with the sole option of traveling and waiting in line to conduct potentially simple transactions. Under his leadership, the company has begun operations in four African nations with a sting of early success stories. SlimTrader recently teamed with EarthWise Ferry Service to help reignite the long-formant yet economically vital waterway transportation system along Lake victoria and, in turn, strengthen the social fabric of the three countries that border it. SlimTrader also created the first Mobile web and SMS ticketing platform in Africa for Aero Airlines, a leading West African Airline.

With the unveiling of the new brand identity Airtel, becomes the master brand for all the group’s 19 operations in Asia and Africa covering over 200 million customers. Airtel replaces the Zain brand and is promising to deliver higher quality customer benefits through the power of their global Airtel brand.

In tandem and going forward, all Airtel future products and services will follow the Airtel brand structure. In Kenya, just as in all other Airtel markets in Africa, fast growing ZAP mobile money service has also re-branded into Airtel Money with immediate effect.

In a communiqué released in Nairobi, Bharti Airtel CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director Mr. Manoj Kohli said that the continental rebrand to Airtel now brings together all the firm’s operations under a single, strong and unique identity.

“Airtel brings together all our operations under a single, strong and unique brand identity. We can deliver more for our customers by operating as a single brand across Africa to fulfill our vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services for all customers. The new youthful identity will be the most loved brand in the daily lives of African people for years to come.

“Our customers will experience the same familiar brand and enjoy consistent quality of service, reliability, innovation and affordability wherever they live, work or travel. Airtel will also make a positive impact in the communities in which we operate through extending our network to rural areas and through our education initiatives.”

Airtel Kenya Managing Director Rene Meza expressed the firm’s commitment to bridging the digital divide with a strategic goal to win the customers hearts in Kenya.

“We remain committed to taking our network deeper into Africa, ensuring our services touch everyone and bridge the digital divide in the continent. I am confident that over the coming years Airtel will win the hearts of customers in Kenya and emerge as one of most admired brands of the continent,” Meza said.

Over the next couple of months Airtel says it will launch a number of product innovations which focus on delivering relevant information to customers to enhance their quality of life and provide tools that will help them overcome their daily challenges.

In the past four months Airtel has already made tariff interventions in 11 of its 16 markets in Africa.  It has also signed agreements to extend its networks to the most remote areas which are still not connected with the outside world.

Bharti Airtel is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and is trading at 336.5, up 2.5 points.

GM North Africa will include Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania. These countries will be integrated with GM Egypt under the leadership of GM Egypt President and Managing Director Rajeev Chaba.

GM Sub-Saharan Africa will include other countries on the continent. They will be integrated with GM South Africa under the leadership of GM Africa President and Managing Director Edgar Lourencon.

“Africa’s emerging markets offer tremendous long-term potential for General Motors,” said Tim Lee, President of GM International Operations (GMIO). “Our new business structure will align our growing business in Africa with the rest of GMIO and provide better visibility for the continent within our entire company.”

Lee added, “By fully leveraging our existing structure as well as our global resources to focus on each individual market, we look forward to growing and strengthening GM’s business across Africa.”

In the first 10 months of 2010, GM’s sales in Africa (including Egypt and Israel) rose 15 percent on an annual basis to 146,000 units, giving it 12.9 percent of the market. GM’s two largest country markets on the continent, Egypt and South Africa, accounted for more than 70 percent of the company’s sales in Africa.

Chevrolet is GM’s primary brand across Africa. A range of popular Chevrolet models are offered, including the Aveo small sedan, Cruze compact sedan and T Series pickup.