Austin Okere, group chief executive officer of Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) just back guest lecturing at Columbia Business School’s Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Legatum Centre for Development and Entrepreneurship has been appointed by Columbia Business School (CBS) as an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) in their Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP).
Okere is to serve as an Entrepreneur in Residence at CBS, where he shall be heavily relied upon for his domain expertise in Entrepreneurship in an Emerging Economy, having built the Computer Warehouse Group into a Pan African Systems Integration Company with revenues in excess of $120 million per annum, and a staff complement of 650 specialists operating in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon.
Austin Okere, who considers himself an incurable entrepreneurial advocate, has made quite a name for himself over the last 20 years.
In 2012, Okere was named ICT Man of the Decade by ICT Watch Africa Digital Network, and CWG was named Conglomerate of the Year.
The organizers cited CWG’s immense contributions towardthe growth and development of ICT, youth empowerment through ICT education, and nationbuilding.
CWG was also named ICT Company of the Year by Technology Africa Group.
Okere’s schedule will require him to visitthe United States of America (USA) twice a year for two weeks during spring and fall, and also spend a minimum of eight hours per month in online interactions with Faculty and Students.
It will be recalled that after CBS wrote a case study on CWG in early 2009, Austin has been a regular visitor at the institution, guest lecturing in New York and Boston.
On his entrepreneurial passion, Okere explains that there is a systematic relationship between a country’s level of economic development and its level of entrepreneurial activity.
According to him “It is better to have a thousand millionaires than ten billionaires.
It is better still to have a million people with access to a hundred thousand dollars, if they can be taught how to nurture and grow it through entrepreneurial endeavor”.
He continues “I like to put the story of the Computer Warehouse Group out there because such success stories contribute immensely to the attraction of capital to the region, which combined with the entrepreneurial acumen and the youthful population unleashes waves of economic boom”.
According to him, Africa has a rapidly growing young population, which could bring a democratic dividend if optimally tapped, or constitute a source of social unrest, if millions of Africans continue to enter the labour market without any hope of employment.
His passion for entrepreneurial advocacy stems from his desire to see the Human Capital gainfully engaged through sustainable Start Ups rather than chasing non-existent jobs.
To buttress his point, Okere cites a survey of 3,692 MIT alumni who graduated between 1987 and 2007. The survey results showed that 40% of respondents have started their own companies, with 70% doing so within five years of graduation.
41% of PhD alumni have a patent or invention. In his view, this could not have been possible without the strong entrepreneurship drive that characterises America.
Okere has also been appointed as‘Catalyst’ by The Legatum Center at MIT.
This would involve helping the institution to scout for shinning Nigerian Entrepreneurial examples upon which case studies could be written, to help the institution to develop a library of African case studies.
Shockingly, the case study developed by MIT on CWG is indeed the first and only one from Africa so far.
The Institution is looking to tap Okere’s knowledge and local expertise to help close this gap. He shallalso help to recommend worthy Entrepreneurs to share their experiences at the Annual Legatum Symposium at MIT.
This is a two day symposium for entrepreneurs, investors, scholars and policymakers to convene to discuss global entrepreneurship.