Anakazi Center

Customer Relations in Africas Hospitality Industry

Liz Ngonzi returns to Voices of Anakazi, speaking to us about Services Management in the Hospitality Industry.

Born in Uganda and “raised” at the United Nations, Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi is an international educator, entrepreneur, and speaker. She is a 2011-2012 Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration’s Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship on whose advisory board she has served since 2010. Additionally, her views on hospitality and service can be found in the recently published book: The Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice.

Liz consults to and trains NGOs and small businesses (in the US and Africa) on online branding, services management and social entrepreneurship. Very passionate about education, Liz has over the last eight years, taught and developed numerous college-level fundraising, events and hospitality management courses. For the last six years, she’s been a frequent guest lecturer at her alma mater, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration — including serving as one of 15 Dean’s Distinguished Lecturers in the fall of 2005 and a panelist during the 2007 Entrepreneurship@Cornell Celebration. Since 2009, Liz has been on the new media faculty at New York University Heyman Center for Philanthropy — specializing in online and mobile fundraising.

A frequent conference speaker, this past May Liz spoke in Southern Africa Institute of Fundraising’s 10th Biennial Convention in South Africa – whose delegates voted her as the top speaker. This fall, Liz spoke on issues related to bridging the economic gap for African Americans during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 41st Annual Legislative Conference; the Wired Women Conference: How Technology Can Change the World, in South Africa; and served as a moderator for the BuildEthiopia Conference at Harvard University, and the ICT, Digital Governance, and Citizen Participation in Africa panel during Columbia University’s African Diplomatic Forum. In December, she will serve as a featured international speaker in the Kenya Association of Fundraising Professionals’ 18th Eastern Africa Resource Mobilisation Workshop in Kenya.

Liz spent her 10-year corporate career in marketing, sales and business consulting management at Digital Equipment Corporation, MICROS Systems, Inc. and Arthur Andersen, respectively. Additionally, while completing her Master of Management in Hospitality degree from Cornell University, Liz interned with McDonald’s Corporation, the famed Tavern on the Green Restaurant and the Park Hyatt Embarcadero Center. Liz obtained her B.S. in Information Systems with a concentration in Telecommunications Systems from Syracuse University and graduated from the United Nations International School, which she attended for primary and secondary school.

Click HERE to learn more about Liz’s views on how we can bring Hospitality Back to Africa.

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Export Readiness and FDA Requirements

THIS SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 12 NOON EASTERN, ON VOICES OF ANAKAZI WE SPEAK TO DR PATRICK WILSON

The unique positions held over twenty-nine years as a U.S. Food and Drug Administration first line, mid and senior level manager, serving in the capacity as first line pharmaceutical and food chemistry supervisor, and Laboratory Director, as well as international capacity infrastructure associate director, has enabled him to transfer knowledge and expertise in the areas of , laboratory science enhancements, International Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA), U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and Equivalency Agreements (EA), compliance, investigation, analytical and research laboratories in pharmaceutical, food and microbiological chemistry regulations/laws to U.S. government departments/agencies, private sector and the international community.

He has given numerous regulatory and capacity building infrastructure presentations to government, private sector, academia and civil societies in/to Afghanistan, Angola, Bahrain, Brazil, England, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, India, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda as well as conducted observed inspections/assessments in many of these countries.

He also conducted several regulatory Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS)/Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) seminars to/for U.S. African Trade Hubs, such as “Overview of the U.S. Regulatory Framework” for the Southern Africa Global Competitiveness Hub in South Africa, “Demystifying U.S. AGOA and Agriculture Exports” (2009), “African Agribusiness-Recipe, Rules and Regulations for Agribusiness Exports and Imports” (June 23, 2010) were facilitated by The Africa Trade Office (Prince George’s County Maryland Economic Development Corporation), and his most recent presentation, “Regulations, Rules and Recipes: The game of Agricultural Chess” , given to 38-women captains of Africa delegation on behalf of the U.S. Department of State on July 27, 2010.

At the request of the Government of the Republic of Angola, Dr. Wilson developed and introduced the Angola Project. This project specifically targets coffee, seafood, and timber for regulatory infrastructure capacity building and sustainability export ready preparedness for successful export to the U.S.

Dr. Wilson created a comprehensive Export Ready train-the-trainer curriculum for the Cameroonian government, coffee producers, academia and Civil Society at the request of The Africa Trade Office (Prince George’s County Maryland Economic Development Corporation).

Education: B.S., M.S., Ph.D. – Biology, Biochemistry
City University/New York University System, U.S.A.

African Women in Fashion – Adiat Disu

THIS SATURDAY ON VOICES OF ANAKAZI Adiat Disu President Adirée
Director Africa Fashion Week | New York | Paris | London | Milan | Tokyo

Adiat Disu is the President of Adirée and Director for Africa Fashion Week in various fashion capitals. Disu attended Bentley University, where she established student-leadership organizations that still function and operate today. She graduated from Bentley in 2008 and joined IBM after working as an allocation analyst at TJX Inc. Departing from IBM, she created her company Adirée.

Adirée TM is an International full service boutique (public relations firm) based in New York, New York with a focus on fashion, art and home decor .

In less than one year, under Disu’s leadership Adirée secured a proclamation from Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, declaring the week of July 12-18 as the official date for Africa Fashion Week -a production founded and managed by Adirée – in the state of New York. The success of the show since its conception has increased awareness of African fashion by 8.5 million views, generated financing for designers and artisans marketing initiative, and created 100 jobs. Adirée continues to liaise between African designers and press, buyers, and investors from the United States.
Disu is currently working on developing the production in other fashion capitals. Her goals include operating a showroom in vital locations to help facilitate the purchasing of designers garments from each showcase, increasing African designers and artisans reputations internationally, and re-branding Africa as a continent whose resources are rich, however internationally manageable by its occupants.
As quoted in the Washington Post “I wanted to remind them [African men and women] of how powerful our culture is and how others around the world are using it to generate revenue,” she said. “I wanted them [African men and women] to know that they shouldn’t be ashamed of claiming their culture in their business ideas. We also don’t want it to be a [passing] trend. We want people to pick up a dress from Uganda or Ghana the way they pick up a dress from Target.”

Feel free to visit www.facebook.com/adiatgbemidisu and www.twitter.com/adiatdisu . Join this woman on the move in her mission of (L.A.W) Luxury Brands | Africa | and Women Empowerment.