The African Development Bank has said that it will continue to support African states, especially their investment promotion agencies, in order to make them effective partners for private enterprise.
The African Development Bank has said that it will continue to support African states, especially their investment promotion agencies, in order to make them effective partners for private enterprise.
Additionally, the bank says it will give priority to processing natural resources, and support professional training in order to improve the correlation between supply and demand for productive skills, along with education in general.
Speaking on behalf of AfDB President Donald Kaberuka, Mouhamadou Niang stressed that "there was a positive atmosphere and spirit during the discussions, which were serious, useful and of very high quality. What we will take away from this meeting is that African business must have faith in its enormous abilities while remaining realistic about the constraints it has to face."
He was speaking during the just concluded Africa CEO Forum that was held in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the second such meeting of African private sector leaders, which brought together over 700 employers, investors, ministers and journalists.
The forum discussed economic issues that affect Africa like the competitiveness of African businesses, the digital revolution, processing the continent's natural resources, and facilitating financial integration in Africa, among other issues.
The meeting was informed by Amir Ben Yahmed, Director General of Groupe Jeune Afrique and Chairman of the Africa CEO Forum, that the next CEO will be held in Africa.
"It was important to hold the first two meetings outside of Africa, to make African capitalism visible to investors around the world. It was also necessary to find a meeting place that could mobilize Anglophone and Francophone Africa, along with the international mass media. Now that we have a brand, a reputation, we will organize the third meeting in Africa," said Ben Yahmed.
The Africa CEO Forum also honoured companies and investors whose strategies are proof of their determination to be part of the African growth dynamic. The aim of the initiative is to encourage the creation of competitive African enterprises.
Asky Airlines was chosen as the best African enterprise of the year. The company was founded by Gervais Koffi Djondo from Togo, a former director of Ecobank.
Daphne Mashile-Nkosi from South Africa, the first African woman to head a mining company, was named African CEO of the year.
In addition to commitment and outcomes, other key areathat were considered were promoting the African private sector, strengthening regional integration, developing intra-African exchanges, and social and environmental responsibility.
This year’s CEO Forum was organized by Groupe Jeune Afrique, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Rainbow Unlimited.
BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS
