On Thursday, Feb. 25, Vijay Mahajan presented at the African International Business Conference as the Keynote Speaker. Mahajan has written eleven books on economics and business, including his most recent book: “Africa Rising” (2009).
During his presentation, Mahajan talked about the key points found in his book and the process behind its creation. This event took place in the auditorium and was packed with interested students and faculty. Many members of the college were also at this event, including President Sharon Hahs.
The night opened with five students receiving the “Vijay Mahajan” scholarship award. After which President Hahs said a few words to introduce the main speaker. When the formalities were completed, Mahajan spoke about the message and meaning of his book Africa Rising.
Mahajan said that Africa was once seen as a “charity case.” After having students shout out what they knew about Africa, he said that people should now see Africa as an investment opportunity. One of the main points of his book was the potential economic power that Africa held. With a population three times that of the United States, Africa has the potential of having an economy “bigger than India.” One of the first indicators of the economic potential of Africa, Mahajan said, was the interest that China and India were showing in the continent. These countries were looking to Africa as potential office locations for outsourcing.
According to Mahajan’s experience, China and India “don’t waste their time in places that aren’t worth their time.” The first American company that he spotted in Africa was Coca Cola. When he looked further into the subject, he saw that Coca Cola is the largest employer, as well as the biggest distributor, in Africa.
His third and final topic of the presentation was the introduction of the “three Africas.” Mahajan’s term for the three major different economic classes found in Africa. What is basically seen as upper, middle, and lower class in America. The group of people he said investors should focus on is the “second Africa,” the working class of that country. He said that the economy is especially booming in this section of the populous. The event ended with a few comments from the audience about the topic and their reactions to the book.