2019 Concordia Africa Initiative in London

Introductory Remarks

With the youngest population in the world, and one that will dominate global population growth between now and 2050, Africa presents one of the most interesting demographic stories of the 21st century. With immense opportunities both socially and economically, it is imperative that the global community view African opportunity through the lens of investment rather than aid, with high rates of return, noteworthy economic resilience, and a strong tide of digital innovation across the continent. This conversation will explore broadly what it means to invest in Africa in the 21st century across industries from education to infrastructure, and how to keep African agendas central to the investment story of the continent moving forward.

Applying Manufacturing Best Practices for African Economic Development

Though official development assistance (ODA) retains a larger footprint in Africa than local private philanthropy, African-led philanthropy has been making substantial strides throughout key policy areas, including education, entrepreneurship, health, financial inclusion, and others. This trend reflects growing prioritization of solutions that place African civil society groups, philanthropists, and social innovators in a central position to stimulate social and economic progress. Despite robust economic growth in a number of countries, there are still significant development gaps moving forward which African philanthropy is uniquely situated to address. This session will explore the ways in which African philanthropists and corporate foundations can advance meaningful innovations and cross-sector partnerships to create social impact across the continent, focusing on best practices and the opportunities that exist for future philanthropic engagement.

Business for Social Good: Community Development on a Macro Level

With intra-African trade accounting for less than three percent of global trade, there is growing political support for enhancing regional integration on the continent. Founded in 1993, the African Export-Import Bank was created to specifically facilitate trade finance, but now with over $12 billion in assets, also focuses on export development finance and emergency programs. The formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area in 2018 has further prioritized boosting intra-African trade. This session will highlight the African Export-Import Bank’s critical perspective on trade and investments across the continent, while exploring the role of technology and innovation in this transformation, as well as sustainable methods of attracting domestic and global financing to further develop the continent’s trading infrastructure.

Remarks

Remarks: Angolan Minister of Trade

Sustainable investment has evolved from a niche within investment circles to a mainstream practice of governments, investors, businesses, and communities seeking high performing opportunities. This shift reflects a growing recognition that strategic planning that integrates environmental, social, and governance factors is critical to ensuring long-term financial returns and avoiding commercial, operational, and legal risks. This session will consider both the new normal of investments in an African context, and also how stronger stakeholder engagement can play a role in maintaining stable investments.

By the year 2050, Africa will have the largest workforce in the world. By then, one in every four people in the world will be from Africa. Its population will surpass India and China and will play a major role in the global economy, both in terms of production and consumption. In simple terms, Africa will simply be too big to ignore. Yet, the continent is not industrialised and its demographic bulge could either be a huge boom or disaster.

Ronak Gopaldas, a political economist, “pracademic” and director at Signal Risk, will explore the five major policy conundrums that need to be resolved if the continent is to prosper. In the context of Africa’s most urgent priority — inclusive growth — how these dilemmas are reconciled will be crucial in shaping the continent’s fortunes.

As a market that has played a major role in driving African economic growth, the private equity industry continues to expand, strengthen alternative financing mechanisms, and facilitate domestic investment opportunities. This session will showcase a unique perspective on the keys to enabling African private equity markets to advance critical development priorities, such as sustainable growth, supporting small-medium enterprises, and skills development. Drawing on H.E. Monica Geingos’ rich experience in private equity and the public sector, this session will also explore the important realm of public-private sector collaboration as it relates to facilitating, growing, and steering robust private equity markets in African countries.

As conversations on creating jobs across Africa continue, one solution that has gained particular traction is finding ways to better support large-scale industrial development. This session will highlight ways in which innovative partnerships can link industrialization with private sector investment, entrepreneurship and upskilling, and ultimately job creation. It will also explore how these economic priorities can be synced up with environmental ones, emphasizing how industry can be supported alongside strong sustainability practices. A particular conversation point will revolve around how successful examples of sustainable industrialization can be scaled.

Over the last several decades, the economic rise of Asia has led to significant new trade and foreign investment opportunities for African countries. Growing engagement from countries like China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Singapore has greatly altered the development financing environment in Africa. This session will document and assess best practices for African countries and companies to leverage these new opportunities, and make important headway on infrastructure development, skills and technological development, regulatory policy, and sustainability.