Afif Ben Yedder, the recipient of this years AMLS Lifetime Achievement Award, remains a pioneering giant in the world of Pan-African publishing. With his friend and colleague Bchir Ben Yahmed, he took the then extraordinary decision to establish a Pan-African periodical at a time, circa 1960s, when the dawn of independence was just rising for most African countries.
The stable of publications that emerged broke new ground in world publishing and over the decades has set the template of a host of other Africa-centred publications and media outlets that have followed.
We wanted to produce very high quality international publications in French and English, choosing the example of the best in the world, to tell the African story from the African perspective, he recalls.
In 1974, Ben Yedder entered the Anglophone market when he established IC Publications, an international publishing company based in London and Paris. Its flagship titles New African, African Business and later African Banker set a very high bar in the quality of its journalism. We were very fortunate to have so many outstanding journalists and editors working for us, he says.
The depth and breadth of the Groups political, economic and social analysis, the range of activities covered and the penetrating interviews with a host of personalities shaping the new Africa made the publications must-reads not only across Africa but within global decision making circles and academia.
Afif Ben Yedder was born and raised in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. He attended what was acknowledged the best school in the country, College Sadiki where a truly bi-lingual (Arabic and French) environment thrived.
Having obtained his baccalaureate at the age of 19, he went to Paris to study at HEC, Frances renowned business school. Later, in 1969, he completed his academic ambitions when he attended the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
While studying at HEC Paris, he was already committed to Pan-Africanism and after graduating in 1963, he opened the Paris offices of the pioneering Jeune Afrique magazine founded by his colleague Bchir Ben Yahmed. He was the Managing Director of the magazine until 1971 when he moved to London to launch Africa magazine, a sister publication to Jeune Afrique in English.
Over the decades, the Group has diversified its activities. It has an events division and a media relations department. It also advises institutions on strategic communication issues in Africa and internationally. IC Events organises Pan African conferences, workshops and ceremonies including the prestigious annual African Banker Awards .
The overriding editorial content and thrust of the Group has been on the upward evolution of the continent in all spheres, actively seeking out and championing the best while not pulling its punches when constructive criticism is called for.
We also work to provide the people of Africa with a platform to voice their opinions and shape an African agenda. We also set out to amplify the voice of a continent that was often marginalised, as well as showcasing and celebrating the diversity and vibrant cultures of the African continent, he says.
Ben Yedder has always given his staff full reign to express themselves and think creatively. However, he is also remembered for running a tight-ship, insisting on deadline and accuracy discipline as well as financial responsibility. My guiding principles are authenticity, integrity, and placing Africas interests at the centre of all our work.
Anver Versi who has been with the Group since the early 1980s as editor of each of the titles at one time or the other and currently the editor of African Banker , sums up Afif Ben Yedder in his role as publisher.
Afif took his role as publisher very seriously it was never a vanity project for him. He always emphasised that we were a business and that the reader came first. No readers, no advertisers, no publication. We had to provide value for money. The readers had to enjoy, as well as be informed by the content. The writing and design had to first class every time. He was always the hardest working person in the office and you got an instant response and decision no matter what time you called him with your problem.
Afif Ben Yedder has also been celebrated for his exceptional business acumen in a field that is considered one of the most difficult and complex to succeed in. My advice to African media houses is to focus on sustainability. Over the course of my lifetime, I have seen many media brands launch and fail because of a lack of focus on sustainability. This is an important message to drum home to aspiring media owners. Growing up in post-independence Africa and acutely aware of the challenges as well as the potential of the continent, the pan-African ideals of the likes of Kwame Nkrumah and Habib
