Dr Kondwani Happy Ngoma winner of the Coleman Prize 2025

“Dr. Kondwani Happy Ngoma’s doctoral dissertation contributes significantly to the understanding of how companies and states negotiated the changing landscapes that followed decolonisation in Southern Africa. It is likely to contribute to publications and add to the field of business history, given its scope, its quality, and the broadness of the documentation and quality of the analysis.”

Juan Jose Rivas Moreno, Lecturer at CUNEF Universidad, Madrid, and Chair of the 2025 Coleman Prize Committee

Dr. Kondwani Happy Ngoma's research

Dr. Kondwani Happy Ngoma earned his PhD in Economic History from the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg in 2024, and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Stockholm School of Economics. His doctoral dissertation explores state and business relations during colonisation and decolonisation in Southern Africa. It presents and analyses the identification and management of political risks and opportunities by states and firms. One of the key findings is how firms can take advantage of political processes, however often at the expense of the public interest. The project takes a business history focus to ensure that we can see this change in a long-term perspective, and places emphasis on understanding the African context.

“Africa is a relatively under-researched region, and society learns a great deal by looking back. My extensive use of previously restricted archives has enriched our understanding of economic and political processes in 20th-century Southern Africa.”

Projekt page: Disentangling Empire and Decolonisation: State and Business Relations in Southern Africa, 1923–1975 | University of Gothenburg

The Coleman Prize 

Named in honour of the British Business Historian Donald Coleman, this prize is awarded annually by the Association of Business Historians (ABH) to recognise excellence in new research. It is open to PhD dissertations in Business History either having a British subject or completed at a British University. The assessment is based on a set of criteria, divided into five fields, that focus on the intrinsic quality of the work and its capacity to contribute to the broader community and field.

• Significant contribution to theoretical and intellectual debates in business historical research
• Use of quantitative and/or qualitative techniques convincingly and consistently
• Comprehensive and novel use of archival and original material
• Very high standard of presentation
• Impact potential in the field