Africa Must Invest and Develop Boards of Directors

There is a realization: many companies in Africa struggle or fail primarily because of the quality of the Board. When wealthy people with limited knowledge capabilities in sectors control Boards, CEOs and executive management fade.

The case study of OpenAI and Sam Altman should challenge Africa’s Institute of Directors to invest more resources to develop Directors in the continent.  No company can rise above the capacities of its Board because Boards influence Executive Management.

As the men who orchestrated the own-goal coups in OpenAI apologize, we must understand that such do happen regularly across economies. With no media limelight, visions fade and companies collapse. OpenAI is lucky because it has a big profile; most firms do not, and collapse over time because Boards bolted.

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: Having a high-quality board is clearly crucial for any company’s success, including direct-to-consumer startups. Board members shape strategy and guide executive decisions.

For DTC founders and investors, prioritizing digital expertise on boards rather than just general business experience could make a big difference. As ecommerce scales, oversight on technology, marketing, data analytics etc. gets essential fast.

This reminds DTC leaders that everyone has blind spots – ourselves included.

Thanks Ndubuisi Ekekwe highlighting why board development merits more focus across sectors!

My Response: “For DTC founders and investors, prioritizing digital expertise on boards rather than just general business experience could make a big difference.” -indeed, domain experience is always important

Comment 2: Hi Nd, thanks for the submission! The concept and function of board membership is still highly undervalued, especially in Africa where it is deemed a honourary function.
Board membership should also be balanced across specialties, what I see in this instance is a composition of techies and funders, so to say. Well, it does not seem like we know the whole story yet, Let me grab my guguru and epa as the saga unfolds. Cheers.

My Response: “The concept and function of board membership is still highly undervalued, especially in Africa where it is deemed a honourary function.” – indeed with traditional rulers appointed to chair bluechip companies.

Comment 3: You’re right sir. Most board members of African companies are big belly rich men most of whom are politicians and understand nothing about risks and serious modern management issues. The same “either it’s my way or let everything scatter” approach they have used in African politics to stagnate African countries, that’s their approach in those boards.

I agree with you Prof. People with the right mix of skill and experience and also have a shared vision to see the company grow should be made to occupy board positions. And from time to time, the criteria for selecting board members and their scope of activities must be refreshed

— Emma Bowin (@SirBowin) November 21, 2023

OpenAI Investors Consider Suing the Board after firing Sam Altman amid 700 Staff Resigning

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