Michael Sudarkasa is the Founder and Chairman of Africa Business Group (ABG) a South Africa based, continentally active, African economic development company. Founded in 2005, ABG focuses on the following areas: 1) Professional Services – economic development (public sector, foundations, large NGO clients) and management consulting (private sector and government owned corporations), 2) Industry Development Initiatives – undertaking with partner institutions various development catalyzing projects (in agriculture, tourism, renewable energy infrastructure, transportation, technology, healthcare, creative industries) and 3) Capacity Development – offering a range of initiatives intended to strengthen institutional and individual capacity on the continent (knowledge event development/ facilitation; short course development; sector/ industry platform development and management). ABG specializes in the areas of private sector development, public – private engagement facilitation, as well as the promotion/ facilitation of trade and investment within Africa, and between Africa and the global business community. ABG also undertakes a range of initiatives that support the inclusion of youth and women in the African business sector, that involve creating and strengthening business linkages between the African diaspora and the African continent, and that support the role of the private sector in disaster risk reduction on the continent.
An American commercial attorney by training, Michael has lived, travelled, and worked in 51 countries around the world (including 35 in Africa), and is the author of several publications, including: The African Union Commission’s Africa Business Directory: Toward the Facilitation of Growth, Partnership and Global Inclusion (African Union, 2014), A Field Guide to Inclusive Business Finance (UNDP 2012), Investing in Africa: An Insider’s Guide to the Ultimate Emerging Market (John Wiley & Sons, August 2000) and The African Business Handbook (1991-92; 1993-94; 2007-08)
Michael also currently serves on the Africa leadership team of the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Agency’s Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE), as Chair of Impact@Africa, an initiative focused on the development of communities of practice within Africa’s impact investment ecosystem, is a member of the University of Michigan Provost’s Advisory Committee, sits on the Advisory Board of the African Center for the Study of the United States of the University of Witwatersrand, and as also Chair of the Advisory Board of the African Studies Center of the University of Michigan. He holds a B.A. degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (High Honors in History) and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School. Of American, Bahamiin and Nigerian heritage, he is also fluent in French.