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Empower Africa Hosts “UAE and Israel Uniting with Africa” Event in Dubai

Tel Aviv, Israel – DECEMBER 15, 2020:

Empower Africa hosted its first event in Dubai last week under the flagship of “UAE and Israel Uniting with Africa” in parallel with the GITEX 2020 Conference. Founder and CEO of Empower Africa Ezi Rapaport, VP of BD and Operations Shai Bernstein, Director of Agriculture Maoz Aviv and others represented Empower Africa at this first ever Empower Africa Event in the UAE. Distinguished guests included Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the UAE’s leading free trade zone. Over 60 guests from the UAE, Israel, Bahrain, Nigeria, Rwanda, Egypt, the UK, the US, France, and India attended Empower Africa’s evening of dining and networking, and included representatives from the investment, startup and business sectors.

The historic event was made possible by the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement which normalized relations between Israel and the UAE. This year the GITEX Future Stars event included an Israeli delegation. Empower Africa’s Shai Bernstein and Caleb Zipperstein played key roles in assembling the Israeli delegation.

Speaking at the dinner, Empower Africa’s Founder and CEO. Ezi Rapaport shared some thoughts on the symbolism of the event. “The world is becoming more of a global community,” said Rapaport. “We have this pandemic, and people are living a little more isolated, but at the same time we are connecting as a global community and global family.”

Discussing the value that Emirati-Israeli business partnerships could bring Africa, Rapaport described the strong culture of innovation shared by Israel and the UAE. “This is not just an opportunity for us to innovate for each other, with Israel innovating and providing their solutions in the UAE, and the UAE with their innovations looking to provide services to Israel. We can now come together and think about how we can create value together for others.”

Emphasizing the importance of acknowledging African creativity and innovation, Ezi explained that the normalization agreement opened the door not just for two-way partnerships between Israeli and Emirati businesses, but also for multilateral partnerships between Israeli, Emirati, and African companies. Ezi urged Israeli and Emirati business leaders to realize the commercial potential in investing and partnering with African entrepreneurs and businesses.

“It’s not about doing things for Africa,” Ezi concluded. “It’s about doing things with African entrepreneurs and businesses.”

Mr. Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), said, “Empower Africa’s event highlighted the unique opportunity that the UAE and Israel have to create value for the world and specifically with Africa. I enjoyed meeting professionals and business leaders from many countries and diverse sectors all uniting around a core purpose, to create value together, for each other and for the benefit of others. I look forward to working with Empower Africa in driving cooperative initiatives in building trade with the Continent.”

To view the media gallery for this event, please click here.

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About Empower Africa:

Empower Africa is a business with a mission to accelerate empowerment by driving investment, trade and job creation in Africa. The company’s main activities include operating the Empower Africa Business Network, hosting international events and trade missions, and providing strategic consulting and advisory services. The company has recently launched a new customized application to create a global private sector-led ecosystem driving development in Africa.

Media Contact:
info@empowerafrica.com

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