Over the last four years, the Alliance has diversified its ecosystem and in so doing has unlocked $1.24 million from a growing network of corporations, foundations, investors and Harambeans. The Harambeans Founders Club is the newest member of the ecosystem and was officially launched at the 2023 Global Summit, held in Franschhoek, South Africa. The Founders Club is made up of dynamic Harambeans across Africa who are increasingly supporting the Alliance and who contributed $29,000 to the sponsorship of the 2023 Global Summit.
To launch the Founders Club, Colin Coleman, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs for Sub Saharan Africa, and Rob Dower, the Executive Director of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, joined members of the Founder Club for a session during the Global Summit to reflect on how they, as accomplished business leaders, have leveraged their partnerships to build incredible businesses. They generously shared their career insights into the art, science and value of transformative partnerships. The session took its lead from a paper titled, ‘What makes creative partnerships work’ published in the Harvard Business Review, which found that ‘For the extraordinarily successful, a partner or small, long standing team is often an integral part of their success. Excellence of any kind often involves some mysterious alchemy, but research suggests that there are distinct patterns to a successful symbiotic relationship, which often is the building block for a more long-term partnership.’
“Partnerships matter, and when done right, can become a competitive advantage. The most valuable alliances are those that are not merely transactional but where both partners ultimately create new value together,” said Idris Bello H’11, the Founding Partner at LoftyInc Capital Management and a member of the Harambeans Founders Club.
The Founders Club also met for a dinner, hosted by Lord Hastings, at the House of Lords. During the gathering, Lord Hastings spoke about what made the British Empire strong and the fact that shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, people around the world honored and recognized an 80-year-old monarch. He reflected that ‘organization’ was at the core of what made the empire work. During the Alliance’s first dinner at the House of Lords in 2010, Lord Hastings’ first command to the Alliance was for Harambeans to co-resource. The Founders Club is proof of that having been achieved. The Lord’s latest command to the Alliance was “Thou shall organize!”
The Founders Club includes Eric Muli H’14, Naadiya Moosajee H’15, Adetayo Bamiduro H’15, Velani Mboweni H’18, Janade du Plessis H’18, Zachariah George H’19, Tesh Mbaabu H’20, Aéko Ongodia H’20, Mike Mompi H’20, Douglas Hoernle H’22, Hema Vallabh H’22, Katlego Maphai H’23 and Kiiru Muhoya H’23.
“Partnerships are important for the success of any effort and the Founders Club is a sign that our ecosystem is reaching maturity and demonstrates that Harambean companies are not only growing, but are choosing to support the ecosystem in increasingly meaningful ways,” said Okendo Lewis-Gayle, founder and chairman of Harambeans.