Driving Business in Africa – Panel Discussion on AfCFTA: “The African Continental Free Trade Area: What is it, where does it stand, and what does it mean for the global business community?”Held 2:00 PM GMT on Wednesday, October 28th 2020. In June 2018, 49 African states signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to establish the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to increase intra-African trade and remove current barriers to continental economic integration. The Agreement went into force in May 2019, and the operational phase of the Agreement was initially due to commence in July 2020. Since then, the entire world has been turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the death toll from Coronavirus infection is relatively low compared to the global average, the pandemic has already wrecked economic havoc on the continent. Full and partial lockdowns along with border closures and international supply chain disruptions drastically reduced economic activity on the continent. The World Bank has stated that Africa has entered its first recession in 25 years. Increasing intra-Africa trade is crucial to sustainable economic development on the continent. Implementing the AfCFTA can accelerate the post-Covid recovery, open regional markets to African businesses, and pave the way towards a prosperous, economically integrated Africa. In order to allow governments to focus on the current public health crisis, the commencement of the Agreement was pushed back to January 2021.
Empower Africa hosted its first event in Dubai on December 9, 2020 under the flagship of “UAE and Israel Uniting with Africa” in parallel with the GITEX 2020 Conference. 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.
For the second year in a row Empower Africa organized an Education Day celebration hosted in the Kono district of Sierra Leone.
The recent “Driving Business in Africa” cocktail reception at the Arts Club in London is a prime example of Empower Africa’s network building tools. The reception, held during the week of the January 2020 UK-Africa Business Summit, brought together some seventy investors, businessmen, government officials, and non-profit representatives to share ideas and spark conversations on driving business in Africa. The different speakers who graced the event sparked thought-provoking conversations on the benefits of investing in Africa.
The evening also featured speeches by Shai Bernstein, V.P. of Business Development and Operations at Empower Africa; Zandile Nkwanyana, President of the Africa Business Club at London Business School; Sharon Bar-Li, Deputy Head of Mission at the Israel Embassy in the UK; Ron Crean, Vice President of Commercial Business at Windward; and Mr. Douglas Hansen, Founder and Chairman of Future Planet Capital.
The uniting theme that stood out from all the speakers was the value that can be created when diverse groups come together.
Zandile Nkwanyana – President of the Africa Business Club at London Business School, speaks at the Empower Africa Driving Business in Africa Event.
Ezi Rapaport – Founder & CEO of Empower Africa, speaks at the Empower Africa Driving Business in Africa Event.
Joe Demby – presidential advisor on economic and financial policy Sierra Leone, speaks at the Empower Africa Driving Business in Africa Event.
Douglas Hansen Luke – Founder and Chairman of Future Planet Capital, speaks at the Empower Africa Driving Business in Africa Event.
Shai Bernstein – VP of Business Development & Operations at Empower Africa, speaks at the Empower Africa Driving Business in Africa Event.
