The Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021, which is currently taking place at the Durban International Conference Centre, will be hosting tomorrow, 18 November, its Investment Day. Organised under the theme “Unlocking Investment and Accelerating Deal Flow in Africa”, the Investor Forum is a full day dedicated to showcasing Africa’s investment potential and showcasing investment-ready projects. The Investment Forum will also feature sector specific parallel sessions on: Agriculture, Logistics, Technology and Tourism.
IATF is Africa’s biggest in-person B2B and B2G event of the year and seven Heads of Government attended the opening ceremony. The message was loud and clear that there is the political will and engagement to make the African Continental Free Trade Agreement a success and that at the heart of this is developing intra-African trade and investment.
IATF has featured three days of debates and discussions to help overcome the obstacles holding back trade such as the cost of moving goods and cross-border payments. Afreximbank has developed some specific products to help deal with these structural issues: the Afreximbank African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme (AACTGS) and the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS). A full day of deliberations focusing specifically on the Automotive Sector and the Pharmaceuticals Industry to help grow domestic manufacturing is also taking place.
The Investor Day will focus on investment opportunities on the continent and unlocking cross-border investment by African national champions, focusing on some key sectors and learning from investors and companies who are committed and invested in the African continent.
Confirmed speakers include: Hon. Ms. Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, Global Economist, Kenewendo Advisory and Former Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Botswana; Mr. Amr Kamel, Executive Vice President, Business Development & Corporate Banking, Afreximbank; Dr. Acha Leke, Senior Partner and Chairman, McKinsey & Company, Africa; Mr. Akol Ayii, Founder and Chairman, Trinity Energy; Mr. Paulo Gomes, Chairman, Orango Investment Corporation; Ms. Ndiarka Mbodji, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Kowry Energy; Mr. Abdou Souleye Diop, Managing Partner, Mazars.
“I have always been a believer in the development of national champions and for these national champions to be the locomotive of private sector investment across the continent. We’re seeing it but the examples are still too seldom. The pandemic has highlighted the necessity to become self-reliant and this will require cross-border collaboration,” said Omar Ben Yedder, Project Lead on the Investment Forum and Publisher of African Business magazine. “This Investment Forum is built on this same spirit of cooperation, bringing together projects from across the continent to present the investment potential in Africa,” he added.
To coincide with the dates of the event, the IATF 2021 Investment Forum team, in coordination with African Investment Promotion Agencies, is making available an IATF 2021 Project Book, a compilation of investment ready projects across multiple sectors. The IATF 2021 Project Book can be downloaded here.
