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Concordia Africa

A continent rich with unparalleled diversity, unprecedented dynamism, and continuous growth, Africa presents a wealth of opportunity. As the continent undergoes a period of rapid demographic expansion, Africa’s position on the global stage is becoming of paramount importance, but global efforts must be undertaken to ensure that African leadership is placed at the forefront of this progress.

By providing an international platform through which to elevate African voices and priorities on a global scale, the Concordia Africa Initiative puts Africa in the driver’s seat and brings African voices to global discussions. Organically cultivating a community-led initiative underscored by African stakeholders, Concordia’s focus is on enhancing the scope for partnership development and exploring opportunities for innovation on the continent, while ultimately showing that African perspectives are integral to an international dialogue about the continent’s future.

Concordia Africa Events

The Concordia Africa Initiative was officially launched at the 2018 Annual Summit, with addresses from two major African heads of state: President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. That same year, Concordia appointed two remarkable African leaders as the recipients of the 2018 Leadership Award: Her Excellency Monica Geingos, First Lady of Namibia, and Strive Masiyiwa, Founder & Executive Chairman of Econet Wireless

In February 2019, Concordia hosted its 2019 Africa Initiative in London (report available here), which fostered a community of cross-sector leaders to share strategies and priorities for economic growth and lasting prosperity on the African continent. The Initiative focused on three key issue areas: youth employment & entrepreneurship; financial inclusion & technology; and, Asian-African ties in investment, trade & infrastructure

“I was delighted to address the inaugural Concordia Summit Africa Initiative in London. The Concordia Africa Initiative provides a platform for cross-sector leaders to share their priorities for economic growth on the African continent and to identify opportunities for collaboration. I joined Noella Coursaris Musunka to discuss moving away from the ‘aid narrative’ and towards African-led philanthropy and sustainable community collaboration.” H.E. Toyin Saraki, Founder & President of Wellbeing Foundation and Concordia Leadership Council Member

The 2019 Annual Summit built on these conversations and themes, hearing from H.E. Prof. Benedict Oramah, President & Chairman of the Board of Directors at the African Export-Import Bank, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, Founder & CEO of Malaika, H.E. Fayez al-Sarraj, Prime Minister of the Government of the National Accord of Libya, Eddie Mandhry, Director for Africa at Yale University, and Vivian Onano, Youth Representative for the Global Education Monitoring Report at UNESCO and Founder & Director of the Leading Light Initiative, among others. 

A crucial milestone in the creation of Concordia Africa was the appointment of H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria, to the Concordia Leadership Council in August 2018 (the full announcement can be found here). Serving as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, and Chairperson of the African Union from July 2004 to January 2006, President Obasanjo provides unparalleled insight into the political landscape both in Nigeria and West Africa as a whole. As the first Nigerian leader to hand power over to a democratically-elected president, he has played a critical, historic role in shaping the country’s political dynamics, and his steadfast commitment to political activism provides tremendous value to the development of Concordia Africa. 

In April 2019, Concordia welcomed H.E. Toyin Saraki, Founder & President of The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, to its Leadership Council (the full announcement can be found here). In a conversation titled African-Led Philanthropy: Recasting the Aid-Dependent Narrative at the 2019 Africa Initiative, Mrs Saraki shared her insight into the ways in which African philanthropists and corporate foundations can advance meaningful innovations to create social impact across the continent. 

Concordia is proud to name Union Maritime as the Founding Sponsor of Concordia Africa. A London-based owner and operator of chemical tankers focused on clean petroleum products in West Africa as well as internationally, a key focus area for Union Maritime is its educational maritime program with African seafaring nations, such as Nigeria. With Africa yielding vast potential in terms of partnerships for social impact, the collaboration between Concordia and Union Maritime is engaging African stakeholders across a wide range of industries, particularly financial services, in order to identify investment strategies that generate positive impact.

Concordia Africa Speakers Include:

Concordia Africa Community Members Include: