Five African heads of state and another from the Caribbean, as well as influential figures from the fields of business and thought leadership, from various corners of the African continent and its diaspora have confirmed their participation in the second edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD), which is starting from tomorrow, January 25, 2024.
Organized by the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, with support from the Government of Ghana, APD 2024 will see the participation of eminent figures such as Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana; Mohammed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo; Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of Guinea-Bissau; and Sahle-Worķ Zewde, President of Ethiopia.
Government officials, including Mozambique’s Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane, Côte d’Ivoire’s Vice-President Tiémoko Koné, Algeria’s Speaker of the People’s National Assembly Ibrahim Boughali, and AfCFTA Secretariat’s Secretary-General Wamkele Mene, will also attend the event.
Business leaders
Prominent business leaders confirmed for APD 2024 include Professor Benedict Okey Oramah, President of Afreximbank; Mohamed Abou EI Enein, Chairman and Founder of Cleopatra Group; Sidi Ould Tah, Director-General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa/BADEA; Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary of the regional bureau for Africa at UNDP; Solomon Quaynor, Vice-President of the African Development Bank/AfDB; and Bridgette Radebe, President of the South African Mining Development Association.
The summit will also feature key figures like Cherif Abdallah, Chairman of the CONEX Group of Companies, Liberia; Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Chancellor of the University of Cape Town; Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana; Marufatu Abiola Bawuah, CEO of UBA Africa; Alex Dadey, Chairman of KGL; Julius Mwale, Principal behind Mwale Medical and Technology City in Kenya; and Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa.
ATT
APD 2024 will showcase the lighting of the “Africa Trade Torch” (ATT), a private sector initiative to promote the AfCFTA among African people and the private sector. The ceremony, to be led by the Africa Business Council and President Amany Asfour, will be a testament to the private sector’s commitment to the AfCFTA’s operationalization.
The three-day event, being held under the theme “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, Trade,” is expected to attract over 800 delegates and will take place at the Presidential Lodge at Peduase in the Aburi Hills of the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The It will feature eight high-level sessions, a by-the-fireside conversation with Aliko Dangote, and fringe events on days one and two. The summit will culminate in the “Africa Prosperity Champions Awards and Presidential Gala Dinner” on Friday, January 26, at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra.
APD 2024
Building on the success of APD 2023, APD 2024 will offer an invaluable opportunity to engage private and public sectors, development finance Institutions, influential thought leaders, civil societies, and youth organizations in the process of syncing our economic priorities.
APD will also showcase flagship projects and initiatives that are both scalable and replicable, and are ready for financing and implementation with the objective of significantly enhancing trade and investment among African nations.
The Dialogues will bring into focus the continent’s critical challenges and priorities, with a key focus on bolstering value addition and infrastructural development, championing agriculture and food security, sustainable development of natural resources, and industrialization. Technology and financing play an essential role in Africa’s prosperity narrative.
Objectives
The strategic objectives of APD 2024 are fourfold. First, it will facilitate a comprehensive dialogue that brings together key stakeholders from government, business, civil society, and academia to discuss and develop inclusive and realistic strategies for delivering prosperity in Africa.
Second, it will promote and strengthen regional and continental integration, particularly in the context of the AU Agenda 2063 and as a means to foster intra-Africa trade, economic growth, and prosperity.
Third, is to prioritize the inclusion of marginalized populations, women, and youth in Africa’s development agenda and ensure that prosperity is truly inclusive, and lastly, “to provide a platform for sharing best practices, lessons learned, and innovative solutions that can be replicated across the continent”.
Partners
The other partners are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), United Nations Economic Forum for Africa (UNECA), Africa Business Council (AfBC), Africa America Institute (AAI), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Africa Soft Power and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).
About The Author
