I picked up The Friendship Bench at chechebooks this weekend. I started reading it yesterday. By the third chapter, I had stopped underlining and simply sat with it. That is what a certain kind of book does. It does not inform you. It returns you to something you already sensed…
In this episode, Carl explains why financial inclusion and digital payments are not social initiatives, but core economic infrastructure essential for Africa’s long term growth, productivity, and resilience. Drawing on his concept of Polytunity, he reframes Africa’s current economic disruptions as opportunities to redesign markets, institutions, and business models that…
Yuen Yuen Ang encourages us to stop looking at the polycrisis and start seeing the Polytunity. Most economic models apply linear paths onto a non-linear continent. In my recent conversation with Boason Omofaye, we discussed why Africa’s real strength lies in its adaptive complexity; what I call the Coevolutionary Tango.…
Auteur : Carl Manlan Africa's top 100 banks in 2025 reveal a pattern that is hiding in plain sight. The continent's financial heavyweights are not merely products of urban affluence, mineral wealth, or balance-sheet sophistication. They are, more fundamentally, rooted in the soil — dividends of agricultural transformation. South Africa,…
Auteur : Carl Manlan The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) underway in Morocco is more than a football spectacle. It is a live demonstration of what sustained grassroots investment and long-term vision can deliver. Teams such as Comoros, Mozambique, and Tanzania have competed credibly against traditional powerhouses, underscoring a critical…
Transformative power of a soap First, I want to begin with the most basic of commodities: a bar of soap. In the early 2000s, Unilever faced a common corporate challenge: their Lifebuoy soap was stagnating in a crowded market. Today, it’s a billion-dollar business. What changed? They didn’t just sell…
Executive Summary Africa’s current polycrisis marked by a decline in traditional development aid and persistent systemic challenges is not merely a series of failures, but a symptom of a deeper flaw: the application of linear, mechanistic models to complex, adaptive economies. This paper applies Yuen Yuen Ang’s concept of “Polytunity”…
Akiko*, a Kruger National Park guide, parked by the buffalo thorn tree and then he gave my family and I a glimpse of nature’s creative spirit. That tree, with its paired thorns - one hooked and one strait - offers the Cape buffalo a protective element against predators. The paired…
A few weeks ago, while in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, I had lunch at L’usine Chez Rose, an open space where the community connects over fish. It serves simple food like your grandmother or mother would make it. On my plate, I had a large fish, attièkè and alloco. This is…
In the 1931 novel Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, we are reminded that “even our misfortunes are a part of our belongings.” My first reading comes at a time when I am reimagining the journey to date. In the novel, Rivière, the director of the mail service, believes the…
A colleague recently thanked me for the role I played in her current experience in the corporate world. I reflected on the words. I could not help but think how I was simply an instrument in her orchestra, one of many people who played their part along her way. What…
GBSN at 20 is an opportunity to reflect on the role of business schools in solving the most pressing issues facing the world today. At the intersection of human capital and technology lies the sweet spot of digitalization, financial inclusion, agriculture and climate. In focusing our attention to the opportunity,…
The conversations in Abidjan made me hopeful. Young artists in their trades, from platforms of ideas to cosmetics are writing in indelible ink, the narrative of entrepreneurship with aspirations for local, regional, continental and global markets. There was a clear sense of creating opportunities for current and future generations. As…
Over the years in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, we have learnt about the effectiveness of purpose-led partnerships. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic provided us with a sense of urgency in supporting individuals and households to take full advantage of the digital economy. The continent’s response to health emergencies…
Robert Kiyosaki, bestselling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and an educational entrepreneur, has long argued for financial literacy to be taught in schools and not only at home. Money enables prosperity and understanding its impact in society is critical. Rich Dad, Poor Dad was published in 1997 and, while financial education in schools still has a…