Carl Manlan's journey as a 2014 MIF Fellow at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

Ebola in West Africa remains the key learning moment of my Mo Ibrahim Fellowship (MIF) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The former Executive Secretary taught me about the importance of having a worm’s eye view on the African continent. At the height of the Ebola crisis in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, he commissioned a report with local experts to carry forward an African voice with data to Africans and to the world.

Prior to MIF, I had been thinking about a transition to the continent as I wanted to become a better leader. One with the critical skills of being grounded in the reality and context of what an African transformation could mean in practice. Up to that point, my time in Kinshasa and Cape Town gave me a taste of what it could be. Thus in 2014, MIF opened the gates of the continent through Africa’s political capital. That year, remains foundational in understanding the role that African institutions play in advancing the continent’s agenda, notably Agenda 2063.

Up to that point, I had a very limited understanding of the African institutions and their impact on the policies that shape the daily lives of African. African policy makers collaborate on issues such as agriculture, land reform, climate, industrialization, urbanization and trade. Their work navigates through the working groups and are presented to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs prior to Assembly of heads of states. My first AU Summit was in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and two notable outcomes related to the Common African Position for the post 2015 development agenda and the Continental Free Trade Area. As I reflect on the past ten years, the unique opportunities afforded to me were multiple yet three remain with me as critical enablers of the 10 years that followed. Firstly, there is no substitute for being in the room to understand the story behind the headline and the work required to move the needle of human progress. Secondly, as a note taker, you work on your patience and sharpen your listening and analytical skills. Thirdly, the courage to connect the dots about Africans and Africa through a clearer understanding of the political economy shaping Africa and the world.

I realized then how little I knew about the role of the United Nations in Africa and let alone the African Union. Having grown up in Abidjan, I was very familiar with the African Development Bank’s mandate on the continent and beyond. With the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Leadership Fellowship, I started a 7 year journey on the African continent from Addis Ababa to Lomé via Johannesburg and Accra. From Addis Ababa, I moved to Johannesburg to lead the newly formed Africa Against Ebola Solidarity Trust then joined the Pan-African banking group Ecobank to lead their Foundation’s operations for 5 years in Accra and Lomé respectively. These 2 experiences sat at the intersection of public, private and civil society; where transformation happens. Today, I lead social impact and sustainability for Visa across Central & Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa.

As I think back, MIF served me with a challenge which shaped the following 10 years of my career. So when I landed in Addis Ababa in April 2014 I was ready to observe as a cheetah and absorb as an elephant. On one hand, cheetahs not only achieve an unbelievable top speed of 110km per hour, they preserve their energy for the prey that matters. On the other hand, elephants find their power in loyalty, wisdom and fertility of the mind. Life is often a series of additions, substractions, multiplications and divisions. In 2014, while I was adding to my professional experience, I had to subtract from my life as a husband and father while I was apart from my young family with a toddler and an expected baby. It was a crucial balancing act because it was for a better future where we aspired for a multiplication not necessarily at a cost of division. So when one plays the long game, one has to constantly balance between these four components of life. I believe that inner and external harmonies are found within resolving the simple and complex equations that life awards you.

I was awarded MIF at the inflection point in my career. I found the balance with the deep investment in my learning by the Former Executive Secretary and the team at UNECA. My family and I are grateful for the learnings and the opportunities that followed allowing us to be on the journey we are currently on. Ebola reminded us of the fragility of life and most importantly of the solidarity that comes with being who we are in a world in transition.