A Review of TANCon USA 2008

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It was another successful year for The African Network yearly conference, TANCon 2008, an all-day event held November 1st at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto, CA.  With over 150 attendees – from students to business owners and venture capitalists – and 28 distinguished speakers, this year’s TANCon event provided a dynamic and engaging atmosphere for individuals with a genuine interest in entrepreneurship, with a specific focus on Africa.

Guest speakers, including Brenda Wright of Wells Fargo, Anthony Vonsee of Cisco, and Guy Kawasaki of Garage Technology Ventures, gave illuminating and often entertaining presentations which focused primarily on the process, pitfalls and common underlying issues of entrepreneurship – specifically in relation to business establishment in Africa.  Roundtable-style sessions were also held, with topics including women leaders in entrepreneurship, green and solar energy investment and development opportunities, as well as the impact and opportunities of information technology in Africa.

New to this year’s TANCon event was the Wharton Africa Business Plan competition, which was conducted in partnership with the Wharton African Students Association.  This competition provided fledgling entrepreneurs with the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to potential investors.  The top three entrants are not only awarded monetary prizes, but are provided guidance from a team of distinguished Wharton alumni to help refine their business plan and seek further financing.  This year’s winners were Francis Bobie (1st place – Dairlyland), Nishi Das / Kwasi Frimpong / Craig Doescher (2nd place – Fair Goods), and Banji Oladeji / Solomon Alawiye / Olu Ameye (3rd place – PayLid).