Thomas de Dreux-Brézé, the Head of Strategy and Project Management at Rawbank Congo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was perplexed as he reviewed annual adoption rates for the bank’s launch of Illico Cash 2.0. As the bank’s mobile money app, Illico Cash literally promised “Fast Cash” for its users who also had a Rawbank account. Unlike most mobile money platforms on the African continent, Illico cash was backed by an established bank — not a technology or a telecommunications company. As he contemplated Rawbank’s next strategic move, the future of Illico Cash, and the bank’s future moves into digital payment systems in the DRC, he saw multiple challenges to Illico Cash’s adoption in several regions across the DRC. Seeing lower-than-anticipated usage rates, he wondered if local preferences for cash seemed just too powerful to overcome. Can the bank’s digital payments efforts overcome hurdles in local infrastructure, entrenched interests that favored cash, and currency instability? Would crafting a digital ecosystem be a worthwhile investment for Rawbank without a wholesale structural shift in beliefs?
The Freedom Fund founded in 2013 to end modern slavery had raised more than half its intended target (by 2025) of $200 million. In 2021, impressed by its decentralized-partnering style of operations, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott awarded the Fund a gift of $35 million over 5 years. The beauty of the gift was that it came with no strings attached. It was completely unrestricted for use the way the company’s management and staff deemed fit. Nick Grono, the organization’s first CEO was wrestling with the question of how to put the money to best use.
Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 718-422, 718-423, and 718-424. The cases explore the long-term relationship between Tempur Sealy (TPX, a mattress manufacturer) and Mattress Firm (MFRM, a bedding retailer and TPX's largest customer). For almost 20 years, the firms enjoyed a mutually beneficial and commercially prosperous relationship. Yet in August 2016, Steinhoff (a large, South African retailer) made an offer to acquire MFRM. Whether this acquisition will affect the symbiotic relationship that had existed between TPX and MFRM was the subject of intense speculation. While some industry observers believed it would increase MFRM's bargaining power vis-à-vis TPX, others argued it would not alter the balance of power, and that the incentives to collaborate would remain intact.
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Pippa Tubman Armerding joined Harvard Business School in 2017 as Executive Director for the HBS Africa Research Center, opened this year in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pippa’s work spans sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on the development of cases and support for faculty research in the region. She also plays an important role in establishing and fostering relationships with companies and alumni in Africa on behalf of HBS.
A lawyer and strategist with 20 years of experience as an attorney and business professional operating across Africa, Europe and North America, Pippa has held a number of leadership roles with large multinationals working across the continent. Prior positions includes serving as Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs for Microsoft South Africa, and Director of Pan-African Strategic Initiatives for Coca-Cola South Africa.
As a graduate of Harvard College, Pippa has been an active alumnus, serving in a number of volunteer roles for the alumni community in South Africa. In addition, Pippa holds a JD from New York University, specializing in international law, and is fluent in French. Raised in Liberia, Pippa returned to Africa 13 years ago and has since lived in South Africa and Kenya.