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Guest Speakers, Book Reviews and Conference Reports
Up one levelMthente directors, staff members and partners report back on guest speakers, conferences, workshops, events, media articles and books.
GR:EEN Roundtable Report - "Aid Effectiveness versus Development Effectiveness: Making European Aid Work for Africa"
Associate Professor Mills Soko discusses the outcomes of a roundtable discussion hosted by the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business, under the auspices of the GR: EEN FP7 Project, on Friday 9 December 2011. The roundtable explored the notion of aid effectiveness vis-à-vis development effectiveness within the context of European aid to Africa. The roundtable panel consisted of: Professor Ben Turok, a leading member of the South African Parliament with extensive experience of dealing in aid issues; Mr Francis N'gambi, Founder and Chairperson of the Malawi Economic Justice Network; Ms Catherine Grant, Programme Head of the Economic Diplomacy Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs; Mr Antoine Michon, French Consul General in South Africa; and Dr Mzukisi Qobo, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pretoria.
Our Conversation with Mr Nils Flaatten, CEO of Wesgro
In the first Conversation of Mthente's new Conversations Series, Nils Flaatten, Wesgro's CEO, led a discussion with Mthente's staff on 24 June 2011. The discussion centred on the work of Wesgro in the Western Cape, challenges to doing business and investing in the province, and Wesgro's future plans for promoting trade and investment in the province.
Book Review - “The Financial Times Guide to Strategy: How to Create and Deliver a Winning Strategy”
Birungi Korutaro reviews Richard Koch's highly acclaimed do-it-yourself guide on developing strategy for business units, as well as at a corporate level.
Book Review - “The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power and Politics of World Trade”
Neil Balchin reviews Pietra Rivoli's 2009 book, which tracks the global journey of a $6 t-shirt purchased in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, along the value chain from cotton production to final consumer product.
Book Review - “The Rise of China and India: What’s in it for Africa?”
Miltoinette Cupido reviews Andrea Goldstein, Nicolas Pinaud, Helmut Reisen and Xiaobao Chen's assessment of the growing influence of China and India on Africa.
Book Review - “Up and Out of Poverty”
Lwazi Sikiti reviews Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee's recently released book on the power of social marketing to contribute to poverty reduction. The book is a toolkit that discusses the role of conventional marketing tools in bringing about social change and promotes an integrated effort to fight poverty including the role of the government, the role of NGOs and the role of business.
Book Review - "eMarketing: the essential guide to online marketing"
Sandile Mtshali reviews the 2009 edition by Rob Stokes and Sarah Blakes. Following the local and global success experienced by Quirk, the authors seek to provide a guide to online marketing with the aim to divulge the latest information about technology and innovation, as well as to make online marketing comprehensible and practically applicable in any corporate or social context.
Book Review - "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies"
Jennie Tsekwa reviews the latest edition of the management classic by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras. The authors aim to move away from ‘trendy’ management approaches to a historically based, comparative review of truly exceptional and long-lasting companies.
Book Review - "The Tiger That Isn't"
Justin Du Toit reviews a recent book by Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot, who are concerned that numbers and statistics are often abused, manipulated and misrepresented. They aim to sort through the "mushy peas" and the idea(s) that ‘size does matter’ in order to see numbers and their accompanying graphs and figures for what they really are.
Book Review - "The Art of the Idea and How It Can Change Your Life"
Miltoinette Cupido reviews John Hunt's recent book, with original artwork by Sam Nhlengethwa, highlighting the pitfalls that lead to good ideas being killed in the workplace and the ways to “create space so that ideas can breathe."
Media Report - The nationalisation of South African mines debate
Sandile Mtshali reviews reports and opinions in the media on the nationalisation of South African mines, looking at the implications of this debate for South Africa's economic development.
Book Review - "Africa Rising"
Neil Balchin reviews Vijay Mahajan's recent book about understanding Africa from a marketing perspective through a thought provoking investigation of consumer markets across Africa. The book documents Mahajan’s first hand experiences, observations and conversations with entrepreneurs across Africa gathered through many visits to the continent.
Book Review - "Architects of Poverty: Why African Capitalism Needs Changing"
Molline Marume reviews Moeletsi Mbeki's book, highlighting that in this book Mbeki addresses and discusses issues that most leaders dare not confront. The book delves into broader African politics – especially exploring the failure of Zimbabwe and of various strategies for regional integration, as well as the evils of dependency on donor aid.
"The Challenges of Youth in the 21st Century: Africa - Creating Opportunities through Entrepreneurship and Education"
A report released by The Evian Group about the fourth Garnet Capacity Building Workshop convened by The Evian Group, in association with Mthente, at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business in late November 2008. Please click below to download the conference report.
"Advancing Education and Entrepreneurship is Critical for Africa’s Growth and Development"
A report by Neil Balchin, researcher and consultant for Mthente Research and Consulting Services, about the "Challenges of Youth in the 21st Century: Africa - Creating Opportunities through Education and Entrepreneurship" Conference, hosted by Mthente at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business in collaboration with Garnet and the Evian Group
"13th Annual Conference of the African Econometric Society"
A report by Neil Balchin about his participation at the 2008 Conference of the African Econometric Society hosted by the University of Pretoria.
"104th APSA Annual Meeting and Exhibition"
28 -31 August 2008 - A report by Neil Balchin, researcher and consultant at Mthente Research and Consulting Services, on his participation at the 104th American Political Science Association's (APSA) Annual Meeting and Exhibition.