Transitional Trade

International Women's Day

2010-03-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

Happy international women's day to all the women across the globe. Like all other holidays, we must not only celebrate women today, but everyday. Women the world over continue to provide valuable contributions despite marginalization in many areas.

Below I am providing links to some organizations and/or initiatives focusing on women entrepreneurs in post conflict countries:

Founder for Women for Women International, Zainab Salbi and I

Information

"Rebuilding Nations Women Entrepreneurs in Post-Conflict Societies: Why women entrepreneurs are crucial for rebuilding post-conflict economies" by the International Finance Corporation.

Supporting Enterprise Development in Post-Conflict Environments - Blog by United States Agency for International Development

Women Entrepreneurs: The Key to Economic Development by The Women's Conference

News

International Women's Day - check this site out for more information on what is going on around the world

Saving the World's Women by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF and SHERYL WuDUNN (August 19, 2009) for The New York Times.

Organizations

Women for Women International is doing great work all over the world

Business Council for Peace (Bpeace) is also doing great work in Afghanistan and Rwanda

I could go on and on, but with this post I just wanted to emphasize that women in post conflict countries play an especially critical role in rebuilding their homes, communities and countries at large. As such, it is essential that they get the support they need. Please support in any way you can. Your help will go a long way.

Women are making headways in microfinance, but I still question where women entrepreneurs in the small and medium enterprise space are? What about major corporations (both in post conflict and peaceful countries)? Even though strides are being made, there is still a lot to do. Women, our challenge is to do more and be more, not only in politics and business, but all sectors of society.

An increase in fragile states - Niger

2010-02-25T22:07:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks have very eventful for the two African countries with closely spelled names, Niger and Nigeria. When news first broke about the coup in Niger, I was promptly misinformed of it. I proceeded to check the news on my phone only to be corrected (thank goodness because the prospect of a coup in Nigeria was scarier to me than a coup in Niger).

There has been a lot of talk in the past week about benevolent coups and their merit in restoring democracy. My take is as follows: if the people either by themselves or through the army do not feel they are being led in the manner in which they feel is best, then perhaps a benevolent coup is in order. Now don't get me wrong I am not advocating for the overhaul of governments when people are unhappy, but when the constitution and other legal safeguards have been violated then the people must ensure that their leadership follows the appropriate rules. After all, isn't democracy for the people, by the people, of the people?

What effect will Niger's government have on investment there? Most likely halt it until the army provides the world with a concrete plan on when democratic elections will be held and those plans are followed through. I have not heard of any investors leaving so that is a good sign.

I will definitely continue to keep my radar up for news from Niger.

Rwana Economic Development Forum

2010-01-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

The first event of the year for Transitional Trade was the Rwanda Development Economic Forum in Washington DC January 20-21, 2010.

The Forum was set up to bring industry leaders from various industries to provide input on ways in that Rwanda can grow to become the ICT leader of Africa. Among those present were Dr. Jendayi Fraser (former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs- in the picture), Ambassador Andrew Young (in the picture), Ambassador John Simon, Ambassador Kimonyo (Rwanda to the United States), Michael Fairbanks (SEVEN fund) and others.

I commend the Rwandan government and Carnegie Mellon University for the initiative. The prospect of Rwanda as the main ICT hub in Africa is essential for many reasons, including but not limited to the decrease of the digital divide, the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, a state of the art science and technology learning center to educate more Africans, the increase in highly skilled workers not only in ICT, but in the many supporting fields as well and the list goes on.

I also commend the participants for their honesty on what they saw as viable and not. Where there was a part for government to improve, the government representatives assured the group that the government will play its part to ensure that the Center of Excellence and Rwanda's goals are achieved. Even more than their thoughts, I commend the participants on their commitment to Rwanda and Africa's development at large.

For more news on the Forum, check out The New Times at US Varsity hosts Rwanda development forum.

2010 and the hope it brings

2010-01-31T21:35:00.000-08:00

2009 was a great year in many respects. Transitional Trade finally got traction and continued over the year to fulfill its mission.

Awareness, awareness, awareness

A major goal for 2009 was awareness that post-conflict countries are viable investment destinations. The awareness campaign was done by means of conference speeches, publications and sponsorship of events. This is still an ongoing mission and we are working to find ways to increase the efficiency of what we are doing.

Mentoring

We have been able to mentor entrepreneurs from Sierra Leone, South Africa, the Congo and Uganda. This process was especially moving for me as an entrepreneur because I was able at many levels to connect with the entrepreneurs and the issues they were facing starting and growing their businesses. As we continue in 2010, I hope that their zeal and motivation to grow as entrepreneurs continues and that we can continue to motivate them.

Partnership

We established partnerships with several organizations such as the Rwanda Convention Association, Excel Scholars, Man Up, and become a charity on Leap Anywhere. We thank our partners for their continued support.

Our supporters

We are most appreciative of our supporters. Thank you for your suggestions, for your encouragement, support (financial and otherwise). Please keep it coming, we need it.

2010 - "The Year"

For 2010, we plan to continue doing what we are doing, but grow in all aspects of our work.

International criminal justice - my summer

2009-10-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

After a great meal with a friend currently in law school, we begun to talk about international criminal justice. He's taking one such class and as we talked about the many topics that plague international justice now (and for many years), it reminded me to post my blog about my summer at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown, Sierra and in the international capital of international law, the Hague.

Sierra Leone
I will write more about life in Sierra Leone later. Now I want to tell you about my experience at the Special Court. I took the summer off to learn more about international criminal law and practice and what better place was there than the Special Court? The prosecution team was very knowledgable and helpful as I settled in. We were working on the sentencing appeals in the RUF trial. For more information go to http://www.sc-sl.org/CASES/ProsecutorvsSesayKallonandGbaoRUFCase/RUFSummaryoftheCharges/tabid/185/Default.aspx . In addition to the legal experience, it was interesting to learn more about the history of the war, the subsequent reconclilation and better yet the resilience of the people.

The Hague
I had to leave Sierra Leone early to attend the Hague Academy. That was great. Housed in the International Court of Justice I had the opportunity not only to learn a lot of legal theory, but also the opportunity to meet some of the world's best jurists at the ICJ (from left to right: Judge Burgenthal, Judge Koroma, Judge Trindade). I also met a lot of lawyers from around the world all doing interesting stuff. I was inspired.

That said, my friend and I are still debating how to improve the international criminal system. We have concluded that a lot more is being done than has been done in the past and as young lawyers we hope to continue to contribute to the betterment of the system.

African Social Enterprise Forum

2009-09-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

The African Social Enterprise Forum--Saturday September 26,2009 at the Desmond Tutu Center, NYC--will have at least US$4 billion social investment capital represented as well as senior executives from leading social entrepreneurship organizations such as Acumen Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, Endeavor, Ashoka and Social Private Equity South Africa.

The forum will respond to the question raised at the Skoll Forum, "Are the Only Innovations in Social Entrepreneurship Anglo-Saxon?", by highlighting Africa's most innovative, world class social entrepreneurial solutions.

I am very happy to be speaking about the structural, regulatory and legal requirements for setting up different types of businesses in Africa.

Please visit www.asef2009.weebly.com to register.

Sierra Leone – Virgin territories: A new market for innovative investment.

2009-06-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've been in Sierra Leone for close to three weeks now and so far it has been great. I am here doing several things: 1. working as an intern for the Office of Prosecution at the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone 2. scoping out investment and entrepreneurship opportunities for Transitional Trade 3. helping organize TAN CON SL, whose theme is above "Sierra Leone – Virgin territories: A new market for innovative investment" (trying to get in some much needed rest and relaxation by going to the beach every other day is also high on my agenda).

So far, working on an appeals case at the Court is needless to say, interesting. As a transactional attorney now working on a litigation matter, it is great to put into practice skills I haven't really used since law school. It is also great to see a practical application of international law. I'll deal more with the Court at a later date.

Sierra Leone is not only very peaceful, it is very beautiful and there is great investor potential. This post conflict country has opportunities in reconstruction as well as construction in different sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, telecommunications, water etc. Name it and there is probably great potential. As we organize this year's conference, we not only aim to highlight what Sierra Leone has to offer, but I also aim to engage investors and would be investors in dialogue about the importance of social investment in Africa as well as corporate social responsibility.

I'll continue to post as I can, but for now, I bid you farewell from sweet Salone.

A Promise to Be Ethical in an Era of Immorality

2009-06-01T03:42:00.000-07:00

I was reading the New York Times Article entitled "A Promise to Be Ethical in an Era of Immorality" and it got me thinking about doing business in post conflict countries. Is there a way that business leaders doing business in those areas (and the rest of the world for that matter) can take a similar oath to be ethical? If that were possible would the blood diamond conflict in Sierra Leone have happened? Would the war in the Congo currently be taking place? I can go on, but I don't think it's necessary to list all the wars and conflicts that have arisen as a result of unethical business leaders.

How can ethics lessons be taught to business leaders at all levels from the smallest of business owners to business leaders heading multinationals? Can you imagine if there was enforcement all over the world if such "promises" were broken? How can such lessons be adapted in post conflict countries' business environments?

During our orientation as freshmen at Davidson College, we too, had to sign an honor code pledging to uphold the highest standards of integrity. I really believe that Davidson College produces ethical leaders. I'm glad that more schools are adopting such practices.

I hope we can find out the answers/solutions fast because I think that we have the opportunity to prevent future conflicts.

To read the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/business/30oath.html?_r=2&em

Iron ladies of Africa that have inspired me

2009-05-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Left to right: Ms. Wureh, Esq. (Chair of the International Colloquium, Jacqueline Musiitwa, Esq., Minister King-Akerele, Liberian Foreign Affairs Minister)

For the past month I have been negligent about updating the blog. Being super busy is not an excuse (even though it has been super busy). I have taken time out during the past month to learn and absorb a lot of what has been hapening around the world. I have continued to post Twitter updates of news that is relevant to Transitional Trade`s work. Sad to say, the situation in the Congo and Darfur remain the same, violence in Sri Lanka, Iraq and Pakistan has escalated. It is sometimes disheartening for me because as one conflict subsides, another arises. Not all is grim though. A few weeks ago I attended a dinner hosted by Ambassador Barnes fo Liberia at which several other Liberian politicians and business people were congregated to discuss the trade potentials in Liberia. I was especially inspired by the words of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable King-Akerele who challenged everyone in the room to find the many opportunities in Liberia and take part in Liberia`s continuing success. The night after I was one of many who saw President Sirleaf-Johnson discuss her new book, This Child Will be Great. It was such a humbling experience to see such an accomplished woman discuss her trials abd tribulations and better yet learn how she overcame them. Then, two weeks ago, I moderated a panel at the Stanford African Business Forum, where many speakers gave updates on the postive developments taking place in Africa`s economy. The Honorable Amina Ali, African Union Ambassador to the United States spoke about Africa`s potential to grow into a greater trade force than it is. Indeed, Africa is ready for business. Lastly, this past weekend I moderated a panel at the Rwanda Convention which was held in Montreal, Canada where the Rwandan Minister of Commerce, Monique N`Sanzabaganwa spoke about all of the positive developments being made in Rwanda to improve the trading and investment environment.

Left to right: Jacqueline Musiitwa, Esq., Ambassador Amina Ali, African Union Ambassador to the United States

One of the most impressive elements of all of the above spokespersons for Africa is that they are all female. At the end of the day, an effective leader is an effective leader regardless of gender, but I think that the fact that at long last African women are taking such prominent roles in the public sector is an inspiration to us, the younger generation of aspiring leaders.

Africa related conferences I spoke at this weekend

2009-03-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of speaking at the Columbia African Economic Forum. I was a panelist on the Law & Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Globalized Markets & Legal Regimes (http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/aef/law.html) and a moderator for the Post-Conflict Economic Development (http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/aef/post-conflict.html).

I had a great weekend interacting with people in different sectors and brainstorming creative solutions to Africa's problems. Better yet, several people and I got together to start taking action rather than just speaking. I was very inspired by the people I met.

The keynote speakers, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, William Kamkwamba, George Ayittey, were phenomenal. Great job Columbia!

I also spoke at the “Neo-Imperialism” in Post-Independence Africa:
Definitions, Case Studies and Human Impacts at Yale University. I also met some interesting people and learned a lot about different aspects of Neo-Imperialism in Africa. http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/african/Neo-ImperialismSchedule.pdf

I am even more ready than I was before to be of service to Africa.

Presiden Kagame of Rwanda interviewed on HARDtalk

2009-03-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Watch the interview with President Kagame of Rwanda. Some touch questions about Rwanda's role in the Congo are posed. A must see.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7948535.stm

Is Sudanization of aid Sudan's solution?

2009-03-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

After the ICC put out a warrant for Al-Bashir's arrest, the Sudanese government retaliated by expelling foreign aid workers. This seems counterproductive when many aid agencies are not directly involved with lobbying the countries of their origin. Also, aid agencies provide relief for citizens that the government is failing to provide for.

The idea that aid agencies are somehow a threat to the governement or that by expelling them the international community will see where the power in Sudan lies makes no sense. If the government wants more Sudanese to work with aid agencies then the government should enable more Sudanese to get trained in those skills. If the government wants to implement Sudanese solutions to Sudanese problems, that is okay provided that the Sudanese government is fair to all its citizens and protects the human rights of all. Unfortunately that is not the case.

I fear that expelling aid agencies and alienating the international community will for regions like Darfur (other parts of the country are doing much better as a result of the exploitation of oil) result in humanitarian crisis similar to that in Zimbabwe. Did not Zimbabwe start its downward spiral with similar "pro Zimbabwe" sounding slogans? Where did that leave the country? I am in full support of African solutions to African problems, however I believe that diplomacy with the African Union and the rest of the international community is essential. I also think that learning from countries like Zimbabwe will help save many lives, livelihoods and the current stage of development.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30201&Cr=darfur&Cr1=

A warrant it out for Al Bashir's arrest

2009-03-05T04:54:00.000-08:00

After about a year, the prosecutors in the case finally got a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir. This is a powerful message that the international community will not sit back as leaders commit or allow crimes against humanity to be commited to their people.

There are several legal issues, including whether or not Al Bashir can be arrested. According to Sudan's law, a head of state has immunity from criminal prosecution during his term. That said, nothing in Sudan's law or international law has recognized immunity for crimes against humanity.

This is definately a case I will continue to follow.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGNAU200903049632&lang=e&rss=recentnews

Transitional justice in the Hague

2009-03-05T04:38:00.000-08:00

One the one hand, prison sentences were handed to five senior officials in the government of the Milosevic government and on the other hand, former Serb president Milutinovic was acquitted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/world/europe/27hague.html?_r=1&ref=world

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/02/26/world/AP-EU-War-Crimes-Kosovo.html?em

Sierra Leone rebels brought to book

2009-03-02T03:37:00.000-08:00

Three rebels found guilty of heinous crimes during the war in Sierra Leone were found finally brought to book. The biggest question is whether people in the future will be deterred from committing such crimes based on the verdict in this and other cases of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Also, what next for Charles Taylor?

http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6953628

Howard African Business Conference

2009-03-01T23:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend I attended the Howard African Business Conference. For only having been the second annual conference, the organizers did a great job. My panel, Entrepreneurship, show cased myself, albeit briefly since I was moderating, Dr. Ajayi, an optometrist from Lagos with great goals of providing quality access eye care to all in need in Lagos and Mr. Phillips, the founder and CEO of Phillips Consulting, a consulting firm based in Nigeria and South Africa. I met lots of interesting people and was once again motivated to do more for Africa.

http://www.howardabc.com/

Survival versus environmental protection

2009-02-24T16:30:00.000-08:00

Liberia's Sapo National Park is facing that dilemma. Per the article, in a country where over 85% of the population is unemployed, it is no wonder people are resorting to illegal mining in the forests. The issues for Ms. Johnson and her government are how to create more jobs generally and also how to protect national forests.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-20-voa57.cfm

Thomas Friedman, the bailout and start ups

2009-02-24T05:15:00.000-08:00

Now Friedman might be onto something here. It might lead to the resparking of the start up sector. What if the money from the bailout plan was given to entrepreneurs? Better yet, what if the money were given to social entrepreneurs? Not only would we create jobs, but the social and environmental causes would benefit too. I am not proposing taking money away from the auto industry, banking or the mortgage industry, I am proposing coming up with more innovative ways to bounce back the economy. Considering the fact that the government wants to add more money to the plan, perhaps we need to rally the government's focus on social enterprise.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/opinion/22friedman.html?em

I spoke at the Harvard African Business Conference

2009-02-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I was a panelist on the Investing in Post Conflict Countries in Africa panel at the Harvard African Business Conference. It was a great forum at which to learn about various topics relating to the business environment in Africa. I met a lot of great people and learned a lot. A special thanks to the organizers.

http://www.hbsafricaconference.com/custpage.cfm/frm/14557/sec_id/14557

El Salvador, the environment and corporate social responsibility

2009-02-18T06:26:00.001-08:00

The Salvadorian government launched a "Green Network" to encourage good environment practices and also increase corporate social responsibility.

http://www.temasactuales.com/temasblog/environmental-protection/el-salvador-launches-green-network-on-corporate-environmental-responsibility/

Conflict and Investment in Madagascar

2009-02-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for mainstream US media to put the spotlight on the violence in Madagascar, but nothing. Many of my Twitter friends are doing a great job of providing updated information otherwise I wonder if I would have even know about the conflict. Then again, it took years for the crisis in the Congo to receive continuous attention in the New York Times. I am not a fan of highlighting only the negative aspects of Africa, but I think it is important to inform citizens of the world of what is going on.

With violence comes detrimental consequences. The latest in Madagascar is a potential pullout by South Korea of funding for a farming project. What should an investor do when the country they are looking to invest in is unstable? How soon after conflict should an investor invest? Who is to say that the violence won't remain localized and not even affect the area where the farm was to operate?

I shall continue to keep the people in Madagascar in my thoughts.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i5LtbH2-oNaYQ47us9pfjNTjaKLw

A story with a happy beginning

2009-01-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

Sierra Leone is set to open its first stock exchange. This is exciting news considering that this is their first exchange and also it was not too long ago that the country was engaged in a brutal war. This is a great sign that despite all odds, Africa continues to prosper.

Check it out:
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/22904

Good news for Ethiopia

2009-01-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

From a posting on the AngelAfrica site:

Ethiopia announced perhaps the first sub-sovereign corporate bondaimed at the diaspora. A release by the Ethiopian Ministry of ForeignAffairs says that the bond launched on December 23rd will providefunds to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) forinvestments which will increase power supply to the nation, where only27 percent of the people currently have access to electricity.The government-guarante ed bond will be issued for a minimumdenomination of US$500, maturing in 5, 7 or 10 years (with interestrates of 4%, 4.5% and 5% respectively) . The interest earned would befree of income tax. The news that companies in developing countriesare starting view migrants as a potential source of external (hardcurrency) finance is indeed noteworthy.

Check out:

http://peoplemove.%20worldbank.%20org/en/content/%20ethiopia-%20announces-%20first-diaspora-%20corporate-%20bond

The new year so far

2009-01-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

The new year has started on a chaotic note for the Palestinians and Israelis, cholera is still killing many in Zimbabwe, and the political future of Guinea remains uncertain. On the upside, the Bush government has authorized emergency supplies shipments to Darfur and the Obama administration starts its term in a week and a half or so which brings new hope for change in US foreign policy.

For 2009, I look forward to following world events and continuing to make a difference.

Ethiopia following Zimbabwe on intrusive NGO laws?

2008-12-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

The current country of concern is Ethiopia. This is of great concern to us since Ethiopia is one of the countries on our radar. The issue is the proposed law to regulate charities. It is being seen by some as an attempt to regulate a sprawling sector and block foreign political interference or a clampdown on civil society. Seeing as the legislators are still debating the proposed law and incremental changes are being made as they continue to debate, there is hope that civil society will be able to provide great input on how the government should regulate them.

I think it is essential for a country to have laws regulating civil society organizations, however, restricting their activities, especially human rights related activities is never good. Obviously the circumstances in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, but there is no question that lots of negative legislation eventually has a detrimental impact on the development of the country.

Any input on the topic would be great.

For the full details of the article, go to:

http://en.afrik.com/article15084.html

The Social Enterprises of the Year by Fast Company

2008-12-22T21:57:00.000-08:00

It is reading articles such as this that continue to inspire me. Kudos to all the winners and all the people making a difference in the world.

Watch the full slide show:
http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/slideshows/content/social-enterprises.html

Learning from the wise

2008-12-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

I think it's great that baby boomers are being trained and encouraged to be engaged in social entrepreneurship. The younger generations can definitely learn a lot from their array of skills. I hope there is strong collaboration rather than having older people run organizations with younger people standing by. Let's see what happens....

Read the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/business/13next.html?em

The birth of Transitional Trade

2008-12-14T14:03:00.004-08:00

Greetings,

Recently I started Transitional Trade, a non profit organization that aims to promote socially inclined trade, investment and entrepreneurship in transitional communities and post conflict nations.

All my life, but especially since I moved to New York in March, I have met some very inspiring people that are working on many social issues and it inspired to follow my heart and follow a cause that is dear to me. Last year I traveled to Mozambique, a country that had been in war for years. It was the first post-conflict country I had been to. I was struck by the contradictions of bullet holes in the infrastructure yet the increased trade and development on the other. I was also struck by people's stereotypes of all the trade potential because people still perceived to be reeling from the war and thus an unsuitable location to invest. Despite not having been to a post-conflict country prior to Mozambique, I have, been to many so called "depressed communities", which I prefer to call transitional communities. I found that similar to many post-conflict nations, the stigma of war in countries or the dire situations in transitional communities seem to have an impact on whether people are willing to invest there.

After making those observations I decided to start doing things I feel could make a difference in increasing trade, investment and entrepreneurship in post-conflict nations and transitional communities. I have a few ideas of my own, but I am welcome to your suggestions too.

Thanks.