Event News: The 1st Annual NTU Eastern Africa Centre Symposium

Wednesday, 28 February 2024

Lecture Theatre 5, Newton Building, City Campus, NTU

Nottingham Trent University's Eastern Africa Centre (EAC) marked a landmark moment with the launch of its inaugural Annual Symposium in February 2024, bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students from across Africa, the UK, Europe, and the United States. Under the theme "Inclusive Research Evidence for Innovation and Change in Africa," the event explored how African innovation, entrepreneurship, and humanitarian partnerships can shape a more equitable global research agenda.

Programme

12:45 pm	Arrival, Registration and Refreshments
13:10 pm	Welcome and Introductions Professor Cillian Ryan, Pro Vice-Chancellor International, NTU Professor Mazeda Hossain, Director, Eastern Africa Centre and Professor of Global Health, NTU
13:30 pm	Panel Discussion One Developing an agenda for inclusive research by integrating African innovation and entrepreneurship. Panel Chair: Prof Dr Amon Simba, Director, AfrIE Research Hub, NTU
14:30 pm	Panel Discussion Two Can implementation frameworks shape the distribution of knowledge and resources? Panel Chair: Professor Mazeda Hossain, Director, NTU Eastern Africa Centre
15:30 pm	Panel Discussion Three: AfrIE Research Hub Launch Developing inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship research. Introduction: Professor Jo Richardson, Associate Dean for Research, Nottingham Business School Panel Chair: Prof Dr Amon Simba, Director, AfrIE Research Hub, NTU
16:40 pm	Closing Remarks Professor Mazeda Hossain, Director, Eastern Africa Centre, NTU Vice-Chancellor Professor Edward Peck, NTU

This panel set out to bring African innovation and entrepreneurship into the mainstream of global research. Speakers examined entrepreneurial behaviour, digital technology in African economies, and developmental entrepreneurship, drawing on cutting-edge editorial perspectives from three leading international journals: the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour Research, Information Technology & People, and the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship.

Bringing together experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Elrha, this panel interrogated how implementation science frameworks operate in humanitarian crisis settings. Panellists explored whether such frameworks adequately account for power imbalances and ensure equitable knowledge distribution, drawing on real-world case studies from Guinea, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Pakistan.

A landmark session marking the official launch of the AfrIE Research Hub at NTU's Nottingham Business School. Scholars from Africa, Europe, and the United States discussed how to build an inclusive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship research with a focus on social entrepreneurship, digital technology, women's entrepreneurship, statistical and economic research, and entrepreneurship as a driver of poverty reduction.

Featured: The AfrIE Research Hub Launch

The centrepiece of the Symposium was the official launch of the African Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AfrIE) Research Hub, led by Prof Dr Amon Simba, in collaboration with NTU's Eastern Africa Centre and Eastern Africa PhD Hub. The AfrIE Hub brings together scholars, students, and higher education institutions from Africa, Europe, and the USA to advance inclusive research through reverse learning and cross-fertilisation of ideas.

Countries Represented

Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Research Themes

Entrepreneurship and Poverty, Entrepreneurship and Wellbeing, Women Entrepreneurship, Informal Financing, Immigrant and Indigenous Entrepreneurship, Frugal Innovation, Family Business, Technological Innovation, and Bricolage

Prof Dr Amon Simba, Director, AfrIE Research Hub; Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation, NTU

Panel Chair for Panels One and Three. Director of the AfrIE Research Hub at NTU's Nottingham Business School, with expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation with a focus on Africa. Also Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Central University of Technology, South Africa.

Professor Paul Jones, Head of School of Management, Swansea University; Chief Editor, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour Research

Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation with over 120 peer-reviewed publications. Has written extensively on developing entrepreneurial activity in Africa and led international projects with the British Council.

Associate Professor Mumin Abubakre, Loughborough Business School; Senior Editor, Information Technology and People

Research spans the digital economy and implications of digital innovation on individuals, businesses, and societies. Published in Information Systems Journal, European Journal of Information Systems, and Information & Management Journal.

Professor Michael H. Morris, University of Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Development; Chief Editor, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship

Professor of Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation and pioneer in curricular innovation and experiential learning. Previously George and Lisa Etheridge Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Florida.

Prof Ndemo Bitange, Kenya's Ambassador to the EU; Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Nairobi Business School

Global technocrat and champion of Pan-Africanism. Chaired the Kenya Distributed Ledgers and AI Taskforce and has been a Permanent Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Information and Communication. Advisor to Safaricom, the OECD, and the World Economic Forum.

Prof Jackson Kivui Maalu Dean, School of Business, University of Nairobi

Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy. Holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management and has held senior administrative roles at the University of Nairobi.

Prof Dr Susan Müller, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Institut Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Professor of Entrepreneurship researching design principles of effective social innovations and responsible entrepreneurship education. Currently conducting an exploratory study on low-cost private schools in informal urban settlements in Nairobi.

Prof Dr Peter Quartey Director, Institute of Statistical, Social & Economic Research, University of Ghana

Director of the Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) Research Network and former Deputy Director, Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana.

Dr Oyedele Ogundana Senior Lecturer, Accounting & Finance, Nottingham Business School, NTU

Research portfolio spans entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance, micro-entrepreneurship, family businesses, social entrepreneurship, and international business.

Dr Diana Nandagire Ntamu Director, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Incubation Centre, Makerere University Business School

Entrepreneurship development specialist with 20 years' experience advancing entrepreneurship through training and research. Her work focuses on women's entrepreneurship, youth employment, and entrepreneurship as a driver of poverty reduction.

Dr Christopher Kusemererwa Head of Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Makerere University

Also a coach within the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Incubation Centre at Makerere University.

Dr Mathew Nyashanu Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, NTU

Contributes to modules including Global Health and Development and Health Promotion. Engages in research on diverse health issues and collaborates with community groups working in health and development.

Professor Mazeda Hossain Director, NTU Eastern Africa Centre; Professor of Global Health, NTU

Social epidemiologist leading transdisciplinary research on gender, violence, and health in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Co-Director of the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub (£15 million global consortium). Currently developing a new multidimensional index on societal wellbeing.

Dr Enrica Leresche Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Completed her doctorate at LSHTM. Adapted an implementation science tool to study how operational research is implemented by humanitarian frontline practitioners in conflict and crisis settings — including within the ICRC (Lebanon and Myanmar) and MSF (Pakistan and Guinea). Over 20 years' experience in conflict-affected areas across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South America.

Dr Charles Tolnò, MD, MPH Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Guinea

Over 15 years of clinical and managerial experience in public service and the humanitarian sector. Experienced in responding to epidemics including Ebola and measles, and in managing multidisciplinary teams in medical-humanitarian projects.

Rodolfo Rossi, MPH, MSc Research and Methodology Adviser, ICRC Centre for Operational Research and Experience

Epidemiologist and Public Health specialist (LSHTM) with over 20 years' experience in humanitarian settings across Africa and the Middle East. Served as epidemiologist and scientific advisor for the ICRC during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cordelia Lonsdale Senior Research Impact Advisor, Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC), Elrha

Supports R2HC grantees to plan strategic engagement and communication of research to policy, practice, and community stakeholders. MSc in International Relations and Manager of Successful Programmes (MSP) practitioner. Came to Elrha after 7 years in the international development sector.

Part of the NTU UN75+3 Conference.

The EAC Symposium formed part of NTU's UN75+3 Conference, building on NTU's engagement with the UN Sustainable Development Goals since 2020. This year's dialogue theme, Sustainable Global Levelling Up: The Role of Technology Policy and Communities in Reducing Inequalities, ran throughout the full conference, with the EAC Symposium as a core part.