Captains Of Industry, International Community, Gear Up For 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues

Heads of institutions, captains of industry, and members of the international community say they are geared up for the second edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD 2024) which will take place in Ghana from Thursday, 25 January to Saturday, 27 January 2024.

The APD will be hosted by President Akufo-Addo under the theme; “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, Trade,” which will be held at the Peduase Lodge, Aburi Hills.

Ahead of the APD, organizers of the dialogues, Africa Prosperity Network (APN), hosted a partners and stakeholders’ cocktail on Thursday, 23 November 2023, barely two months before the main event to bring the partners up to speed on preparations and direction of the three-day event.

Deliverables

In his opening remarks to welcome attendees to the cocktail, the Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, noted that (APD 2) “will see heads of businesses on the African continent come together, think together, plan together, and work together with the political leadership on how to make the single market trade a reality.”

“We are not just going to have conversations, we will see deliverables from there [the APD] and whatever comes out of the dialogues, there will be a compact that will be presented to the AU for their consideration,” Gabby Otchere-Darko remarked.

Prosperity

Minister for Trade and Industry, K.T. Hammond, in his remarks as the special guest for the occasion, noted that the trade ministry stands as the fulcrum for driving trade, industry, and private sector development, aligning with the broader objectives of the APD 2024, which is producing, adding value, trade.

Mr Hammond added that he firmly believes that a thriving production sector, through value addition, is the bedrock of economic prosperity and that is why the second edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues is an event he looks forward to in January 2024.

“I’m elated that this platform unites us in a shared vision to unlock Africa’s immense potential by fostering robust partnerships and collaborations. It’s through such collaborations that we can propel the AfCFTA agenda, enabling inclusive growth, job creation, and shared prosperity for all Africans.

“The opportunity to engage with esteemed leaders, industry experts, and visionary minds aligns seamlessly with our commitment to further elevate Africa’s economic growth,” the Trade Minister, K. T. Hammond said.

“I extend my deepest appreciation to the organizers, the Office of the President, AfCFTA, the Africa Prosperity Network, and all partners for this initiative. Together, let us persist in our efforts, united in our resolve to chart a course toward an Africa brimming with prosperity and boundless opportunities for all,” K.T Hammond added.

New thinking

Executive Chairman of KGL Group, a wholly-Ghanaian-owned group of companies, with interests in technology innovation, fin-tech, logistics, trade, and property development among others, Mr Alex Apau Dadey, indicated that KGL Group is delighted to partner with organizers of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues and to host the cocktail event.

Mr Apau Dadey noted that there is a need for “new thinking” on how African countries can attract wealth into the continent for investment. The APD, he says, is a perfect platform to generate these innovative ways to build big African conglomerates, which will, in turn, transform the continent.

The KGL boss further suggested that it is time for Africa businesses to invest in the Western world and repatriate the returns on these investments into Africa to build the continent’s economy just like Western countries are doing in Africa and using their investment revenues to develop their respective countries.

Poised to deliver

Acting Chief Executive Officer of APN, Njack Kane, on his part, indicated that his team is poised to deliver a world-class event that will be a platform for business leaders to connect with each other and make tangible deals that will result in solid business outcomes.

He registered the appreciation of APN to its former Executive Secretary, Hannah Awuku, who left the organization at the end of September 2023. Kane noted that Miss Awuku’s contribution to the success of APN as an organization and the maiden edition of the APD cannot be over-emphasized, wishing her well in all her future endeavors.

Background

The first edition of the APD in 2023 resulted in the unanimous adoption of the Action Compact by the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union in February 2023. This groundbreaking initiative forged a crucial partnership between the continent’s private sector and the implementation of the AfCFTA.

Themed ‘The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): From Ambition to Action, Delivering Prosperity through Continental Trade,’ the APD 2023 aligned seamlessly with the AU Summit’s overarching theme.

Building on the success of APD 2023, APD 2024 offers 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.

The dialogues 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.

This will be done by focusing more on adding value to what is produced and also on how best to facilitate trade and investment across African markets and beyond.

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 under the theme “Delivering Prosperity in Africa – Produce, Add Value, Trade” are fourfold. First is, “to 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.

The second objective is, “to 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.

The third objective 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 2024 edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) is being organized by Africa Prosperity Network (APN) in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, which is situated in Accra.

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).

From Wilberforce Asare