Oct 12-13, 2005


Deans and directors from more than 20 business schools across the continent established a new Africa-wide Association of African Business Schools (AABS) at a gathering in Lagos held October 12-13. Business school deans reviewed proposals for the association which grew out of discussions held at meetings earlier this year in Accra (March) and Dakar (June). The meetings were initiated through the pilot capacity-building programs of the GBSN.

Similar to business school associations in other regions, the association will be membership based which will serve and promote the collective interests of member schools. It will interface with other global and regional business school associations and advocate for management education and training needs across Africa. The Lagos meeting was well attended by business schools from East, West, South, Francophone and English-speaking Africa, and initial governing board members were elected from Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa. Prof Erasmus Kaijage, dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Management, University of Dar es Salaam, who was elected as a member of the governing board, said, "The association will help us work together to develop our schools and provide the kinds of management education and training programs our countries need."

AABS Governing Board

• Nick Binedell (Chairman), Gordon Institute of Business Science, South Africa
• Erasmus Kaijage, University of Dar es Salaam, Faculty of Commerce & Management, Tanzania
• Franklyn Manu, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Adminstration, Ghana
• George Njenga, Strathmore University, Kenya
• Idrissa Mgengue, Institut Supérieur de Management (ISM), Senegal