June 30, 2026
This Symposium is dedicated to a critical engagement with Corporate Governance in Africa, a timely and significant contribution to the growing body of scholarship on governance across the continent. The book provides a nuanced exploration of the legal, institutional, and practical dimensions of corporate governance in diverse African jurisdictions, offering insights that are both contextually grounded and theoretically informed. This symposium brings together scholars to reflect on, interrogate, and extend the arguments advanced in this book.
The importance of this work lies in its recognition that corporate governance in Africa cannot be reduced to a mere transplantation of global models. While many African countries have adopted governance frameworks influenced by developed economies, the book demonstrates that these frameworks interact in complex ways with local realities, including political economy structures, regulatory capacity, and socio-cultural practices and the challenging institutional environment in developing and emerging markets. In doing so, it moves the discussion beyond formal compliance to consider how governance operates in practice, and whether it effectively promotes accountability and sustainable corporate behaviour.
A central strength of Corporate Governance in Africa is its engagement with the enduring tension between convergence and divergence in corporate governance systems. On the one hand, there is a clear trend toward harmonisation, driven by globalisation, cross-border investment, and the influence of international institutions. On the other hand, the book highlights the persistence of local variations that shape the implementation and effectiveness of governance norms. This tension raises important questions about the appropriateness of existing models and the need for approaches that are responsive to African contexts.
The contributions to this symposium reflect a diversity of perspectives and approaches, ranging from doctrinal analysis to comparative and interdisciplinary inquiry. Together, they aim to provide a comprehensive and critical assessment of Corporate Governance in Africa, highlighting its contributions while also identifying areas for further exploration and debate. Finally, this symposium is intended not only as a review of a significant scholarly work but also as a platform for advancing the discourse on corporate governance in Africa. By engaging critically with the themes and arguments presented in the book, it seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of how governance systems can be designed and implemented to promote accountability, resilience, and sustainable development across the continent.
Contributors
1. Victor Ediagbonya: Book Review Symposium Introduction: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Decolonising Corporate Governance in Africa: Exposing the Structural Limits of Legal Transplants
2. Adaeze Okoye: Book Review Symposium I: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Corporate Governance: Challenges and Prospects of Contextualised Models in Africa
3. Anna Antoniou: Book Review Symposium II: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - The Shareholder Model in all its Glory? A Rethink of Corporate Governance for Africa
4. Folashade Adeyemo: Book Review Symposium III: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Beyond Legal Transplants: Rethinking Banking Corporate Governance Framework through an African Legal Lens
5. Tioluwani Comfort: Book Review Symposium IV: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Corporate Governance Convergence Debate: Myth or Reality? Toward a Contextually Grounded African Governance Model
6. Princess Thembelihle Ncube: Book Review Symposium V: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Towards Context-Responsive and Institutionally Grounded Reform
7. Emeka Chiedozie: Book Review Symposium VI: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Remodelling Corporate Governance in Africa’s Banking Sector – A Fresh Perspective
8. Temitope Omotola Odusanya: Book Review Symposium VII: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Rethinking Corporate Governance in African Banking: A Functional Stakeholder Approach in Context-Constrained Environments
9. Damola Olatunji: Book Review Symposium VIII: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Beyond Formalism: A Contextualised Theoretical Framework for Corporate Governance in African Banks
10. Velusamy Kalyani: Book Review Symposium IX: Corporate Governance in Africa, (Routledge 2025) - Corporate Governance Challenges in Africa’s Banks: Towards a Contextual and Institutional Framework