The public and private sector globally is facing major environmental and social challenges. Sustainability is a great opportunity and a key to success for new business in emerging markets. This impacts how organizations are managed. The fast technological changes, transformation of institutions through continuous policy reforms and rapidly changing industry boundaries, have necessitated for both academics and practitioners alike, the need to better understand the emerging insights that come along with these changes.
The overall objective of the international conference of business and management in emerging markets (ICBMEM) conference is to provide a platform to stimulate discussion and explore collectively on various issues affecting management of business for public and private enterprises that are within or operate in emerging markets (view of business environment of the 21st century).
The trends that shape the emerging markets of today are constantly evolving. The businesses and organizations in emerging markets have faced tremendous changes due to fast changing environmental factors on the one hand and pressing new global development priorities on the other. This has brought significant implications on the way the organizations are managed. The fast technological changes, transformation of institutions through continuous policy reforms and rapidly changing industry boundaries, have necessitated for both academics and practitioners alike, the need to better understand the opportunities and challenges that come along with the trends. It is thus important to understand the key drivers and outcome of these trends that shape emerging markets of now and future not because of their sake but because of the global interconnections.
This first conference was opened in Zanzibar at Zanzibar beach and papers ranged from economics, finance, information technology, marketing, supply chain management and contemporary management. The conference was attended by scholars from Asian, Europe, North America and Africa. The 2017 conference was organized by Mzumbe University in partnership with Nelson-Mandela African Institute of science and technology between 19th-20th 2017. In 2018 the conference took place between 12-13 in Dar es salaam and was conducted in partnership with Agder University (Norway) and Cambridge Centre for Alternative Financing (UK). A special session on crowdfunding that was lead by the leading experts from Scandinavia Crowdfunding alliance, Cambridge centre for alternative financing and African crowdfunding association was the important additional feature that was added in this year conference. The nationalities that participated in the conference included; Tanzania (host), Botswana, South Africa, United Kingdom and Norway.In 2019 the conference took place between 18-19th October in Norway at Norwegian Business School and in 2020 a digital conference was chaired by Fontys University of Netherlands.