The Elite Africa Project is a global network of scholars working to shift how Africa and its elites are understood.

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to The Elite Africa Project

Watch a video introduction to the project and database.

Featured Posts

Introducing: The Elite Africa Project Database

Learn more about the Elite Africa Project and our Online Database!

Dafe Oputu

Scholar Spotlight: Jeanne-Marie Jackson - Part 2

Part 2 of our interview with Professor of English Jeanne-Marie Jackson

Elite Africa Roundup - 7 May 2025

DRC-Rwanda peace deal, remembering Congolese prof. Mudimbe, and more

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Elite Africa Roundup - 21 April 2025

Tracking a wave of political repression, Ethiopia wins Paris marathon

Domains of Elite Power

The mechanics of how power—the essential condition of elite status—is meaningfully generated and exercised

Economic

Economic and business elites

Coercive

Military elites and those in security agencies

Ritual

Royalty, nobles, “traditional” rulers

Aesthetic

Art, literature, music- and media-based elites including new online influencers, clothing designers, architects, etc.

Religious

Religious and spiritual leaders, and intellectual/academic elites

Political

State-based or state-focused elites including international techno/bureaucrats

The Elite Africa Project

is a Canadian-based global network of scholars working to challenge predominant understandings of Africa and its elites.

Both in academia and in wider public discourse, African elites have either been ignored or depicted as grasping and self-interested. This framing perpetuates negative depictions of the continent and its peoples and draws on a simplistic understanding of what power is and how it is wielded. Our work aims to counter these perceptions by initiating global conversations about “who leads” in Africa and how they do so.

We seek to disrupt and renew both academic and public discussions of African leadership, refocusing attention on a wider, qualitatively different set of elites from those that have predominated in the past (such as the parasitic “Big Men” of neo-patrimonial politics).

Burna Boy, Nigerian musician, rapper and songwriter; in 2021, his album Twice as Tall won the Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, and he enjoyed back to back Grammy award nominations in 2019 and 2020.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian economist, fair trade leader, environmental sustainability advocate, human welfare champion, sustainable finance maven and global development expert. Since March 2021, Okonjo-Iweala has been serving as Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

This project focuses on Africa’s elites, defined as those who operate at the highest level across a range of domains, wield significant power, and possess expert knowledge, skills, and personal strengths that are deployed in strategic, creative, and generative ways. While elites are those who possess the most consequential and powerful agenda-setting and decision-making capacity, Africa’s elites have either been sidelined in many of our analyses or rendered monotonal. When we switch frames to consider the continent as embodying and projecting new, generative forms of power, it changes our view of Africa. It may also change how we understand power itself.

We look at six domains of elite power, from the political to the aesthetic, and ask how we might shift how we think about and study Africa, and how this shift would impact our conceptualization of power and its exercise. Our goal is to contribute to popular conversations about Africa and to highlight the achievements of the astonishing new generation of leaders for a broader public audience.

This website will serve as a hub for collaborative activity by scholars, activists, and practitioners working on Elite Africa and house a searchable database of primary and secondary materials on African elites.

Kofi Annan (1938-2018), Ghanaian-born diplomat, trained in economics, international relations and management; was the first UNSG to be elected from within the ranks of the UN staff itself and served in various key roles before becoming Secretary General.

Namwali Serpell, Zambia award-winning novelist and writer; Recognised early on with the Caine prize, her numerous subsequent awards include the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize, one of the world’s richest literary prizes.

Mohammed "Mo" Ibrahim, Sudanese billionaire businessman. He worked for several telecommunications companies, before founding Celtel, which when sold had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers in 14 African countries.

The Elite Africa Project

is a Canadian-based global network of scholars working to challenge predominant understandings of Africa and its elites.

Both in academia and in wider public discourse, African elites have either been ignored or depicted as grasping and self-interested. This framing perpetuates negative depictions of the continent and its peoples and draws on a simplistic understanding of what power is and how it is wielded. Our work aims to counter these perceptions by initiating global conversations about “who leads” in Africa and how they do so.

We seek to disrupt and renew both academic and public discussions of African leadership, refocusing attention on a wider, qualitatively different set of elites from those that have predominated in the past (such as the parasitic “Big Men” of neo-patrimonial politics).

This project focuses on Africa’s elites — those who operate at the highest level across a range of domains, wield significant power, and possess expert knowledge, skills, and personal strengths that are deployed in strategic, creative, and generative ways. When we switch frames to consider the continent as embodying and projecting new, generative forms of power, it changes our view of Africa. It may also change how we understand power itself.

This website is the hub for collaborative activity by scholars, activists, and practitioners working on Elite Africa and will house a searchable database of primary and secondary materials on African elites.

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ELITE AFRICA PROJECT DATABASE

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McDade, Barbara E., and Anita Spring. “The ‘New Generation of African Entrepreneurs’: Networking to Change the Climate for Business and Private Sector-Led Development.” Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 17, no. 1 (2005): 17–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/0898562042000310714.

This paper discusses the entrepreneurial landscape in Africa and locates a new generation of African entrepreneurs and their business networks within it. Unlike others in that landscape(i.e. micro- or small-scale informal sector vendors, and traditional or multinational large-scale formal sector firms), the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs are business globalists who organized a system of business enterprise networks consisting of national, regional, and pan-African organizations. The study analyses interview data from 57 men and women network members from 10 countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). Some defining characteristics of these entrepreneurs are interactive social and business relationships, use of modern management methods and information technology, trust among fellow members, transparent business practices, advocacy on behalf of the private sector, and commitment to increasing intra-African commerce. Their mission is to improve the climate for private sector business in Africa and to promote regional economic integration. They pursue cross-national commercial ventures, maintain official observer status at established regional economic organizations, sign memoranda of understanding with multilateral agencies, establish venture capital funds, and help to change government policies. The paper identifies characteristics of the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs, evaluates goals and achievements of their networks, and concludes that despite limitations, these entrepreneurs and their organizations have created intra- and cross-national networks that strengthen private-sector-led economic growth in Africa.

Source: Article's abstract

McDade, Barbara E., and Anita Spring. The ‘New Generation of African Entrepreneurs'

This is some text inside of a div block.

This paper discusses the entrepreneurial landscape in Africa and locates a new generation of African entrepreneurs and their business networks within it. Unlike others in that landscape(i.e. micro- or small-scale informal sector vendors, and traditional or multinational large-scale formal sector firms), the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs are business globalists who organized a system of business enterprise networks consisting of national, regional, and pan-African organizations.

Economic

Kumalo, R. From Plough to Entrepreneurship: A History of African Entrepreneurs in Evaton 1905-1960s. 1st ed. Oxford: Langaa RPCIG, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1b7421j.

From Plough to Entrepreneurship is motivated largely by the fact that Africans were deprived of economic and political autonomy by white government in South Africa. This marginalisation lies in the complex and interconnected processes of displacement and dispossession by which Africans were first dispossessed of their own land; then deprived of independent productive opportunities. The increasing scarcity of land as scarce commodity and African land ownership in Evaton, best explains the history of African local economic independence. For the local residents, land possession in Evaton provided a space where a moral economy that fostered racial pride and solidarity was forged. This richly sourced monograph develops the logical explanation that sticks together all forces that constrained Africans to give up labour to an industrial economy in Evaton. It provides the reader and student of racialised inequalities in South Africa with an understanding steeped in historical ethnography on how local Africans struggled for economic independence, and how whatever independence their struggles yielded, changed over time in Evaton.

Source: book description by publisher

Kumalo, R. From Plough to Entrepreneurship

This is some text inside of a div block.

This richly sourced monograph develops the logical explanation that sticks together all forces that constrained Africans to give up labour to an industrial economy in Evaton. It provides the reader and student of racialised inequalities in South Africa with an understanding steeped in historical ethnography on how local Africans struggled for economic independence, and how whatever independence their struggles yielded, changed over time in Evaton.

Economic

Anyansi-Archibong, Chi. The Foundation and Growth of African Women Entrepreneurs: Historical Perspectives and Modern Trends. 1st ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66280-6.

This book explores how culture and tradition have impacted the tendency for African women to opt for entrepreneurship. The first section presents literature on the concept of entrepreneurship and introduces traditional African women entrepreneurs-the first-generation, culture-driven entrepreneurs, driven by the need to alleviate poverty within the family. The second section covers the modern, second-generation entrepreneurs driven by such forces as education, globalization, and technology. Further, the author assesses the regional perspectives on entrepreneurship and explores the entrepreneurial ecosystems to determine their relevance to the development of entrepreneurial spirit in Africa and among women in particular. This book expands on knowledge about the role that women play in the socio-economic development of the African continent.

Source: Book description by publisher

Anyansi-Archibong, Chi. The Foundation and Growth of African Women Entrepreneurs

This is some text inside of a div block.

This book explores how culture and tradition have impacted the tendency for African women to opt for entrepreneurship. The first section presents literature on the concept of entrepreneurship and introduces traditional African women entrepreneurs-the first-generation, culture-driven entrepreneurs, driven by the need to alleviate poverty within the family.

Economic

Ojo, Sanya, Sonny Nwankwo, and Ayantunji Gbadamosi. “African Diaspora Entrepreneurs: Navigating Entrepreneurial Spaces in ‘Home’ and ‘Host’ Countries.” International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 14, no. 4 (2013): 289–99. https://doi.org/10.5367/ijei.2013.0126.

African entrepreneurs in the diaspora are increasingly leveraging the duality of transnational space to expand economic opportunities in their countries of origin. Using the UK (London) and Sub-Saharan Africa migration corridor as a contextual prism, this paper explores the ‘everydayness’ of entrepreneurship among African entrepreneurs in relation to how they traverse entrepreneurial spaces linking their countries of origin (home) and country of residence (host). Data collection combined discovery-oriented and ‘observer as participant’ techniques and emerging strands were fully explored using focus group protocols. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the findings indicate that Africans in diaspora contribute to Sub-Saharan African economic development through entrepreneurial investments. Diaspora direct investment (DDI) is an authentic avenue that unlocks untapped investment opportunities, and its objectives are driven by both economic and non-economic factors. Thus policy makers need to focus on harnessing its benefits.

Source: Article's abstract

Ojo, Sanya, Sonny Nwankwo, and Ayantunji Gbadamosi. African Diaspora Entrepreneurs

This is some text inside of a div block.

Using the UK (London) and Sub-Saharan Africa migration corridor as a contextual prism, this paper explores the ‘everydayness’ of entrepreneurship among African entrepreneurs in relation to how they traverse entrepreneurial spaces linking their countries of origin (home) and country of residence (host).

Economic

Giese, Karsten, and Laurence Marfaing. Chinese and African Entrepreneurs: Social Impacts of Interpersonal Encounters. 1st ed. Boston: BRILL, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004387423.

This book offers in-depth accounts of encounters between Chinese and African social and economic actors that have been increasing rapidly since the early 2000s. With a clear focus on social changes, be it quotidian behaviour or specific practices, the authors employ multi-disciplinary approaches in analysing the various impacts that the intensifying interaction between Chinese and Africans in their roles as ethnic and cultural others, entrepreneurial migrants, traders, employers, employees etc. have on local developments and transformations within the host societies, be they on the African continent or in China. The dynamics of social change addressed in case studies cover processes of social mobility through migration, adaptation of business practices, changing social norms, consumption patterns, labour relations and mutual perceptions, cultural brokerage, exclusion and inclusion, gendered experiences, and powerful imaginations of China.

Source: book description

Giese, Karsten, and Laurence Marfaing. Chinese and African Entrepreneurs

This is some text inside of a div block.

This book offers in-depth accounts of encounters between Chinese and African social and economic actors that have been increasing rapidly since the early 2000s.

Economic

Beveridge, Andrew A., and Anthony R. Oberschall. African Businessmen and Development in Zambia. Princeton University Press, 1979. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt13x17q8.

Drawing on their extensive fieldwork in Zambia, the authors address these central concerns: the social origins and motivations of African entrepreneurs, and the determinants of their success; the impact of government policies on business growth; the relative performance of Zambians in business; and the effects of small business on Zambian society.

Source: book description by author

Beveridge, Andrew A., and Anthony R. Oberschall. African Businessmen and Development in Zambia

This is some text inside of a div block.

Drawing on their extensive fieldwork in Zambia, the authors address these central concerns: the social origins and motivations of African entrepreneurs, and the determinants of their success; the impact of government policies on business growth; the relative performance of Zambians in business; and the effects of small business on Zambian society.

Economic
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