News & Highlights

  • AUGUST 2024
  • ALUMNI EVENT

Alumni Event with Prof. John Macomber in Dakar

In August 2024, the ARC Executive Director joined Professor John Macomber on an Africa immersion to Dakar, Senegal. During the visit, Prof. Macomber engaged with business leaders, corporates, Harvard alumni and other stakeholders to gain insights into the local business environment. The HBS Africa Research Center in collaboration with the HBS Business and Environment Initiative hosted an in-person Alumni event on Climate Adaptation and Urban Economic Development led by Prof. Macomber. The event saw over 20 attendees engage in a lively discussion.
  • AUGUST 2024
  • ALUMNI EVENT

Alumni Dinner with Prof. Ebehi Iyoha in Lagos

In August 2024, the HBS Association of Nigeria (HBSAN) hosted a dinner in Lagos, Nigeria to honour Ebehi Iyoha, Assistant Professor in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School. This dinner marked the conclusion of Professor Iyoha’s visit to Lagos, during which she conducted in-depth case study interviews with senior executives of select companies and engaged in strategic discussions regarding future case collaborations. The evening was highlighted by high-level networking and a shared commitment to advancing entrepreneurial excellence in Africa. Members of the HBSAN and ARC in attendance, expressed their gratitude for Professor Iyoha’s contributions and looked forward to the valuable case studies that would result from her visit.
  • May 2024
  • FIELD Global Immersion (FGI)

Reception and Dinner with Prof. Hakeem I. Belo-Osagie in Nairobi

In May 2024, the ARC Executive Director joined Professor Hakeem I. Belo-Osagie, his students, and members of the Harvard alumni community at a reception and dinner hosted by the Harvard Club of Kenya in Nairobi. Professor Belo-Osagie and his students were in Nairobi for the FIELD Global Immersion (FGI), a first-year MBA course that enables students to learn about business in markets outside of the United States. FGI culminates in a one-week immersion in several emerging market cities around the world, including Nairobi and three other cities in Africa (Kigali, Accra, and Morocco), requiring students to build on and apply learnings from their first-year courses into real-world business problems. During the FGI in Nairobi, students engaged with business leaders, corporate leaders, and alumni to gain insights into the local business environment.
  • May 2024
  • ALUMNI EVENT

Alumni Event with Prof. Ramon Casadesus-Masanell in Johannesburg

The HBS Club of South Africa, in collaboration with HBS Executive Education and GIBS, recently hosted a successful networking event featuring a talk by Professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell. The event coincided with Prof. Casadesus-Masanell's visit to Johannesburg for the Senior Executive Program-Africa (SEPA). Africa Research Center staff, SEPA Senior Director Philip Cacouris, and HBS Executive Education Regional Director Stephane Sinimale also attended the event.

New Research on the Region

  • February 2025
  • Case

Ingersoll Rand: Broadening Employee Ownership

By: Ethan Rouen and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2024, this case examines how Ingersoll Rand— a global leader in air, liquid, and gas handling technologies—approached broadening employee ownership. The company granted restricted stock units (RSUs) to all employees on their one-year anniversary, reinforcing a culture of ownership. As Ingersoll Rand expanded through acquisitions, CEO Vicente Reynal faced critical questions: How could the company sustain its ownership culture while integrating employees from newly acquired firms? Should it increase stock grants to strengthen engagement and retention? As Reynal prepared for a town hall with employees in Latin America, he reflected on these challenges and the long-term implications of the company’s broad-based ownership model.

  • January 2025
  • Case

Untapped Global: Financing Africa’s Missing Middle

By: Raymond Kluender and Emanuele Colonnelli

In November 2024, Jim Chu, founder and CEO of Untapped Global, faced mounting internal tensions over the company’s strategic direction. Untapped had developed a data-driven revenue-based financing (RBF) model to address the “missing middle” problem—the $5.2 trillion funding gap for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. By financing digital lenders who provided asset-backed loans to SMEs, Untapped combined flexible repayment structures with real-time data tracking, achieving strong results across 15 African countries. However, as both an investment fund raising capital from limited partners and a fintech startup seeking venture capital, the company’s dual structure had created operational challenges and conflicting priorities. This case provides an opportunity to examine the potential of RBF to address SME financing gaps in emerging markets and to explore the strategic and organizational decisions required to scale a mission-driven business operating at the intersection of finance and technology.

  • January 2025
  • Case

PayJoy: Finance for the Next Billion

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

PayJoy, an impact-driven financial technology company founded in 2015, provides smartphone financing and other financial products to customers who lack access to traditional credit products. As of early 2025, PayJoy had issued $2.5 billion in loans to 13 million customers across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Doug Ricket, CEO and founder, considers how best to maximize the organization’s social impact and fulfill its mission of providing financing for the next billion.

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Johannesburg Staff

Pippa Tubman Armerding
Executive Director
→ Biography
Tafadzwa Choruma
Manager for Adminstration and Progamming
Maagatha Kalavadakken
Senior Researcher

Lagos Staff

Ope Awosan
Senior Researcher

Nairobi Staff

Agnes Wairegi-Regeru
Senior Researcher