Rosa Whitaker, CEO/President of The Whitaker Group (TWG), is a visionary, entrepreneur, former US government policy leader, career diplomat and trade negotiator with a progressive record of achievement driving investments into Africa. Notably, she served as America’s first-ever Assistant US Trade Representative in the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Named as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s Top 100 Global Thinkers, Rosa is broadly recognised as a leading expert on African trade and business engagement.
While serving as a Senior Trade Advisor to US Congressman Charlie Rangel (Former Chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee), Rosa was one of the key architects that crafted the historic African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was enacted in 2000. AGOA, America’s first comprehensive trade law towards Africa, now spanning the administrations of four US Presidents, remains the cornerstone of US economic policy towards Africa. It has delivered, inter-alia, billions of dollars in duty free products from Africa into the US market annually while also generating jobs and investments across the Continent.
After decades of supporting US and global investors to succeed in Africa, Rosa recently led TWG into its first direct investment in Africa. Supporting the region’s creative economy, in 2017, TWG acquired shares and management control of Dominion TV – a Pan-African 24/7 television, entertainment and multimedia company that broadcast in 48 African countries on DStv, Africa’s largest satellite platform.
Rosa is also a philanthropist currently serving as the President of Mercy Ships while simultaneously maintaining her position on the International Executive Board of Directors of this prominent global charity that operates the world’s largest hospital ship. Since its founding in 1978, Mercy Ships has been providing surgeries and medical treatments (~$2B in value), free of charge, to the most economically vulnerable people in Africa.
The recipient of many awards and honors, Rosa is regularly featured in US and global media outlets for commentary and insights on Africa’s business landscape. She holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from The American University in Washington, DC and has completed specialized studies at universities in London and Italy, as well as at the US Foreign Service Institute.
Growing up
It was not a life of privilege and comfort. I grew up in Washington DC, and I believe I grew up with a lot of historical significance because I was born on the campus of the historic Howard University in Washington DC. I grew up with working class parents who worked incredibly hard, and I think that was part of my foundation, understanding the value of hard work with a lot of values and integrity. I was deeply influenced by that.
I grew up understanding that my working class parents could not afford to send me to college, so I had to be better than most, so I could get scholarships. I started working from the age of 14 and from 16, I supported my parents. I wasn’t always happy about this but I understood later how it really benefited and helped me to become the woman I am today.
The Whitaker Group
My journey with the Whitaker Group started with just a burden. If you’re struggling to find your purpose, and what you want to be, look for the greatest burden. I’ve always had a burden about poverty. I saw poverty first hand, I was familiar with it and I just fundamentally felt from the time I was a child, something unfair about poverty. I felt there was something wrong with why some people had plenty and some people had little or nothing, and also the suffering that comes with that. So, the Whitaker Group is part of that journey to discover the best tool and the best strategy to deliver the most people out of poverty. For me, when I first moved to Africa in 1984, I discovered tremendous poverty and I also felt like I discovered the tools. Some of the tools included private investments, development and job creation.
So, I created the Whitaker Group to focus on mobilising private capital and businesses, and then brought that to Africa. I’m thankful to God that we’ve been able to deliver.
Experience working with the US government
The one thing that I learned from that whole experience was that, the Assistant US Trade Representative in the Office of the US President never existed before. I was brought in to establish that office. The reason why it never existed was because America did not have a trade policy towards Africa. We had Assistant trade representatives for every region in the world except Africa, and you know why? It was because our policy viewed Africa largely as charity.
So, the word ‘Africa’ was in the Agency for International Development where they were given aid in the state department for diplomacy, dealing with conflicts. Then it was just 10 of us. Five in the US, five on the African continent, that agreed we should work to change that policy, respect Africa, the dignity of her existence as a continent and develop a trade policy. We did just that. Of course, if you have a policy, you have to have someone to drive that policy. So, I came into that position.
What I tell people is always to be prepared for that big door that will open up because preparation cannot be developed overnight. Success is not merely the big breakthroughs. Usually, success is a result of what you’re doing every day. It has to do with the daily preparation, daily habits, daily self-improvement and daily prayers.
So, if you want to be successful, look at what you’re doing every day, because time cannot be redeemed, and that is what I have learnt as a woman who just turned 61. Make every day count. Learn everything that you can because you can never know what information you would need as a young person.
Successes and Challenges
Success is a great motivator. When we started the Whitaker Group, we immediately found businesses that wanted to work with us to help them to invest in Africa. When I worked for the US Congress, when I was in the executive office of the US president, that gave us the policy framework to work through because it provided incentives for investments into Africa. Now, it was just a matter of getting the companies to take the leap and to put money on the ground in a way that will create transformation and we were able to do that. What inspires me were the investments that we made that benefited women. I go to most African countries and see women that are working, that are sending their girls to school as well as boys as a result of the investment we helped to generate.
In Ghana, every day I pass by, for example, the Cargill factory, where we were able to work with them, one of the world’s largest cocoa companies, to help them to add value so that Ghana would reap more. I’m also able to see the benefits of a healthcare company and I’m most proud of what we’ve been able to do, to bring manufacturers to Africa, where 85 percent of those jobs are held by women.
In Nigeria, we work with Procter and Gamble to do some very transformative things. I am encouraged by a new generation of young African women like you Kemi, because if we can just address gender inequality globally, we know that that would put an enormous amount of money into the global economy. When I see women benefiting from that work, when I see incredible rise of a new generation of young people, it inspires me to do more.
Being America’s first-ever Assistant US Trade Representative in the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
It was incredible because I felt like I had this huge responsibility. My appointment was very competitive. I had my haters, people fighting against the appointment and then I had my supporters. So, I felt the burden of being the first and I was very cognizant of the fact that I was a foundation builder. It’s like anything else, and if I did not build a proper foundation for people to follow, it will collapse and I realised that I could not go in bitter against those who opposed it. I had a responsibility to my mentors and to a younger generation looking up to me. So, I worked incredibly hard and I can never forget the experience.
I walked in the second day on the job and I had a reporter from the New York Times who wanted to capture this moment in history and he started asking me about what I’m going to do and deliver. I remember I said I better get it right because I’m creating a record”. And by the grace of God, I was able to deliver beyond. This is why faith is important. If I tell you in error that I did it by own strength, I will be lying. God opened up the opportunity, He gave me the intellect.
He prepared me because He can see before we can.
I had incredible faith in God that what I did not know, He would provide. So, I approached Him with incredible sense of responsibility, gratitude and burden for what I had to deliver and achieve. That position exists today and has grown from strength to strength. The woman who occupies that position today is the woman I recruited when I was in that position.
Rating US economic policies towards Africa
I think that we have done a lot, we’ve made a lot of progress in terms of US economic policies towards Africa but we have not done enough. So, I’m very elated that President Biden is in office. What I know about them is that they care a lot about Africa. I also know that they have a lot to learn about Africa. There are not enough people with deep knowledge of Africa within the US administration, but that’s not a bad thing because we can start with caring. It is up to Africa to be more active in defining who it is and what it wants, whether it’s a regional approach or country by country approach, having some unified vision of what it wants from the US. Africa should be defining and be active participants in helping us to establish a new economic policy approach to Africa.
So, I’m working on a new policy to look into opening up the US tax code for American companies to invest in Africa. I’m looking at a policy to see how we can leverage the US bond market to provide long term capital to Africa. We’re looking at a policy to see how we can get pension fund investments in Africa for long term capital and we’re looking at how we can bolster the economic engagement, not just government to government, but institutions to institutions, people to people, and how else we can incorporate more women and young people in that policy-formulation process. This is ongoing right now.
We’re getting the best ideas like we did before. We will be presenting those to President Biden’s administration. We’re doing our homework and I believe just as we were successful before, we will be successful again.
African Countries of engagement
What we have is a multifaceted policy for the various countries in Africa. For instance, Ghana would benefit immensely from US Economic Investment and Trade Policy, Somalia may not benefit from that because Somalia is building its security and political infrastructure. So, for Somalia, it may benefit from security and political assistance, and also humanitarian assistance. Ghana could benefit from development assistance and political engagement.
So, we need the breadths and depths of US Policy towards Africa to ensure that we’re engaging each country in various customised way, while at the same time, having a policy where we’re supporting the regional economic communities and the African Continent Free Trade Agreement.
Africa can make that much easier because, part of the reason why people treat Africa as one country is because it is the most balkanised continent in the world. That’s the way it was designed by the colonialists. In Africa, 30 percent of the people live in landlocked countries without access to ports. So, with that kind of balkanisation, it makes it very difficult for Africa to have leverage. But if there was an integrated confederation, where those African countries, even regionally, had positions consolidated, it would be better because, despite the differences, there are lots of commonalities and synergy of interest and vision in Africa.
The other issue is the American educational system, and it is that historic divide where there has been a cut off from Africans, and it is up to us as leaders to take the lead in coming together and educating ourselves about each other.
The Covid-19 Effect
I think that the only way I’ve been able to stay very optimistic despite the tragedies of COVID-19 is my faith. So, I know that there is a God, and He is the King over every storm. I just looked up and I was very prayerful. I took the time of the lockdown to go deeper into my relationship and I love the church because it helps me to build that relationship. It’s really only faith. I believe we’re dealing with a plague and I don’t believe that God caused that plague but I don’t believe it could have happened without Him permitting it.
I think that when you see something like this, it’s a classic conflict between good and evil, and what this pandemic has done for me is to really help me to appreciate how uncertain life can be and how we have to make every day count, how we have to embrace our loved ones. It also drove me professionally into being innovative and I can say is that the key for me has been my faith and despite the tragedies of COVID-19, I am now even more optimistic than prior.
Dominion TV
Dominion TV was very aligned with my faith and so we made a proposal. We believed that we can take this platform and grow it into a Pan-African Christian lifestyle network. We’re not finished, we’re on DSTVchannel 352 and we’re all over Africa. I believe it is an incredible medium to influence the world. I want to leave a legacy that outlives me and television is a great mechanism to do that. Africa is the youngest continent in the world and I believe that by creating this platform, it can be a meeting place for people to share their stories and Africa’s stories that will influence and change lives.
Our vision is ‘for inspired and empowered living’ and that’s what motivates me about Dominion Television. It’s about having dominion in life, and that’s what we want to solve. If demography is really destiny, then Africa has a very strong destiny path, and we should not take the demography for granted. Africa can yield demographic dividends or disaster. I want to be a part of making that demographic successful and I can do that through Dominion Television.
Programmes on Dominion TV
We show films, fashion, food, preaching, teaching, entertainment and lots of exciting contents. We’re going to be dealing with some of the taboo concepts that you don’t see on Christian television. We are going to be dealing with gender inequality, issues like rape, fistula, businesses and all. We’re going to be a platform where you can come to be empowered and inspired.
We’re also working on a show called Queen for a Day, where we find deserving women on the continent and really bless them. We have comedy and we’re rolling out some children shows, not only for Africa but also for America where we redefine Black identity.
Whenever you see black children that still want white dolls, it is to let you know that we still have a lot of work to do in defining Black identity. We will be taking shows all over the world where you will see the Black Cinderella’s and we will be talking about the history of Africa.
Women in Leadership
What I would say is that, women should always recognise that they are largely standing on the shoulders of other women. If you look at the women in Africa, America and around the world, a lot of them suffered to deliver the opportunities to the women of today. I would say that the women are the beneficiaries of these opportunities. We should recognise that they are standing on someone else’s shoulders, so, they should create that ladder to lift other women up. It’s it not just because of their brilliance and preparation, women before them paid a price. Many of them suffered to create the environment for women to thrive and so, I think that we have to be prepared, seize the opportunities and recreate these opportunities for other women.
That’s what we should understand. The moment we think that it’s about us, or it’s just for us, then it is a great mistake, a fallacy.
Women on boards
It’s very important to have women on boards. If corporate boards do not put women on, they do so at their own peril because diversity is the photograph of innovation. The world is now globalised which means, it’s much more competitive. To be competitive, you have to have the diversity of ideas and inclusion. That means people can’t just be there to satisfy a quota.
They have to feel and be included; their views have to be considered. There’s an empirical data that those boards that are diverse with women are more successful. So, having women on corporate boards is a great differentiator and so, I’m excited about that.
However, as you know, globally, the percentage of women on boards, particularly people of colour is still very low. There is a lot of work to do and I think we still need to keep talking about it and raising awareness.
The 5 Cs of Success
It’s very important. I have some keys to share and I tell everyone that if you follow these keys, I don’t believe you’ll fail.
The first is Character. Without character, your success will be short lived if you would achieve any success at all. So, character is the foundation. Next is Commitment. You have to approach these opportunities in life with commitment, you have to be extraordinarily committed to what you do, you can’t fake it. People know when you’re not committed.
The third is Courage. You have to have courage, without courage, all else fails. Next is Competence. You have to have competence which requires daily preparation. In your profession, you must be able to sustain success; overnight stuff won’t work, because if you want to get it overnight, you are going to be competing with people who have been preparing all their lives. The last one is Confidence. I’ve seen so many brilliant people who have the character, the commitment, the courage and competence but they didn’t believe it and so, they did not succeed.
For me, those five Cs provided the keys. I also learnt some other lessons. I found so many people stopped in their tracks because they failed some tests. More tests have to do with the test of mastering offenses. It’s not a matter of when someone or something offends you, offence will surely come, it’s a matter of ‘when’ not a matter of ‘if’.
Being the President of Mercy Ships
I’ve been involved with Mercy Ships for 13 years. Our main goal is to bring hope and healing to the poorest and most economically vulnerable poor in Africa. We have the world’s largest private hospital ships. We dock those ships usually for 10-11 months in a country and we provide free surgeries, medical treatment on our modern vessel. We have 350 volunteers from all over the world.
We have some of the top surgeons who live on the ship to provide services and they are volunteers.
We’re now rolling out another ship this year and it is by far larger than what we have. It will enable us to quadruple what we have been doing. We have now provided more than $2 billion in value of free services to millions of Africans. We’re also training the next generation of Africans and healthcare workers.
The real heroes are the volunteers. We have a surgeon who has been on the ship with his family for 27 years without a salary doing this. We are faith based, we treat anyone and we have been very much embraced in Africa. President Nelson Mandela was a big supporter, he loved us. So, we’re very encouraged. That’s the humanitarian charity which I’m very proud to be associated with.
Greatest lesson of life
It is to never measure your circumstances by a moment and never measure people by a moment. You could be having a terrible season, try to see what is there to learn about the lessons and know that it will get better. The Bible talks about joy coming in the morning, but a lot of people don’t believe that. I’ve seen a lot of people take their own lives, abort their own destinies because they had a bad moment. So, we must learn to master the moment.
Some of the people who have offended me the most have been my teachers and represented my biggest opportunities. So, I did not know that at the time. If I had to tell my 25-year-old self something, it would be that.
Don’t measure a person and a circumstance by the moment. Joy comes in the morning; also, the benefits can come in the morning.
Words of encouragement
Get to know God in your youth. Having that faith that we are not mere human beings but also spiritual beings, having a very human experience and as a part of that human experience, nobody will live through this life without some problems and pains. You may look on Instagram and think everybody is living a wonderful life, nobody escapes problems and pains, but there’s an antidote, Jesus.
I do believe that having that relationship with God while you’re young, and using every disappointment and transforming that pain and problems into possibilities and promise, working and knowing that it will get better, is very important.
Define yourself. Don’t let circumstances define you. Know that God created you and He did not create a mistake. Know that within you is promise and possibilities.
