Africa Investment Forum (AIF) 2006
21 September 2006
Over 400 high profile delegates including government ministers, business
leaders, industry captains and economists will convene in Johannesburg, South
Africa on 9 - 11 October to mobilise African entrepreneurs and capital at the
Africa Investment Forum.
In partnership with the South African Department for Trade and Industry and
New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Commonwealth Business
Council (CBC) is organising its fifth Africa Investment Forum which forms part
of the continuing Africa investment series, a unique private-public programme
on business and investment, which the CBC launched in 2002 and has since helped
mobilise investment in 11 African countries.
Leading companies that are already major investors in Africa will
participate and provide a positive and realistic assessment of doing business
in Africa, based on experience. Moreover, NEPAD as an initiative for Africa,
led by Africans presents huge opportunities for the involvement of smaller
business in its programme.
This year the forum will focus on the areas of creating opportunities for
joint public private sector partnership and provides prospects for creative
partnerships between the public and private sectors in Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) and transportation, agro-industries, tourism,
deepening of financial markets, human resource development and in tackling the
challenges of urban renewal and rural development.
Delegates and speakers who are expected at the forum include Mandisi
Mpahlwa, Minister of Trade and Industry, Professor Firmino Mucavele, Chief
Executive, NEPAD Secretariat, Makhenkesi Stofile, Minister of Sport in South
Africa, Pascal Dozie, Chairman, Diamond Bank, Nigeria and Yvonne Muthien, Group
Public Affairs and Communications Director, Coca Cola Africa. They will
deliberate on various issues including how African and international business
view progress made by the Group of Eight (G8) and the African Union (AU). The
forum will highlight the importance of African capital and also discuss the
2010 World Cup: challenges and opportunities.
The opening session will continue the discussion from last year's AIF when
it was agreed to measure performance against commitments and focus on G8 and
Africa: business perspectives on progress, balance sheet. Ministers and
business leaders will examine how African and international business view the
progress made by the G8, the AU and the African Peer Review Mechanism
(APRM).
As Diaspora remittances now exceed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), some of
Africa's largest companies are now listed on global exchanges and African FDI
from South Africa and Nigeria which is becoming an increasing force in many
economies on the continent. Industry captains will examine the importance of
African capital and observe how capital flows are changing. They will discuss
if capital and equity markets are adjusting and if treasury management is
facilitating investment in Africa.
Moreover, are the expectations of the government and the public expectations
with regards to Africa's corporate giants realistic or are attitudes towards
the expanding role of African-led investments hindering their growth? This
session will be addressed by Chiel Ruiter, Executive Director, Investment
Banking Division, Goldman Sachs International, South Africa and Russell
Loubser, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), South African Stock
Exchange.
With South Africa hosting the 2010 World Cup, it is inevitable that the
forum should address issues relating to the prestigious project. The session
2010 World Cup and Africa I: opportunities and challenges, will look at how
South Africa and the continent could benefit from the investment created for
the project. This session will be addressed by Makhenkesi Stofile, Minister of
Sport South Africa, Bernhard Esau, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry,
Namibia and Naledi Mayo, Vice President, World Association of Investment
Promotion Agencies (WAIPA).
Another important session will focus on information and communications
technology (ICT). It is a well-known fact that ICT has driven dramatic growth
in the Small Medium Enterprise (SME) sector by driving down costs and has
opened up new possibilities for improving government services. The session will
explore constraints in the regulatory environment on the development of
collaborative technologies and integration of mobile and wireless technologies
and address the question of how governments and technology providers can work
together to sustain high impact growth.
Also, at the forum, Frank Nweke, Minister of Information and National
Orientation, Nigeria will bring in some fantasy and merge it with finance by
addressing the topic of African film industry acting as a vehicle for
continental integration.
For more info please go to www.cbcglobal.org or call 0044 207 024 8274 or
email Ishara.Bhasi@cbcglobalorg.
For media registration email Ishara.Bhasi@cbcglobal.org.
NB:
The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was established by the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting in October 1997 to involve the private sector in
the promotion of trade and investment.
Confirmed participants include:
* Professor Firmino Mucavele, Chief Executive, NEPAD Secretariat,
* Honourable Makhenkesi Stofile, Minister of Sport and Recreation South
Africa,
* Honourable Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Enterprise and
Investment Promotion, Sri Lanka,
* Hononourable Bernhard Esau, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Republic
of Namibia,
* Dr Ishmael Yamson, Chairman, Unilever Standard Chartered Bank and Ishmael
Yamson Associates, Ghana,
* Dr Pascal Dozie, Board Member, Commonwealth Business Council and Chairman,
Diamond Bank, Nigeria,
* Cyril Ramaphosa, Executive Chairman, Shanduka Group, South Africa,
* Russell Loubser, President and Chief Executive Officer, South African Stock
Exchange
* Paris Mashile, Chairperson, Independent Communications Authority of South
Africa (ICASA),
* Koosum Kalyan, Senior Business Development Adviser, Shell International,
United Kingdom (UK),
* Baroness Lynda Chalker of Wallasey, Chairman, Africa Matters, UK,
* A Christopher M Low, Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank, South
Africa,
* Jacques Lamarre, Chairman, Commonwealth Business Council and President and
CEO, SNC-Lavalin Group, Canada,
* Dr Mohan Kaul, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth
Business Council,
* Sandra Coetzee, Deputy Director-General, Department of Public Enterprises,
South Africa,
* Robert G Blackburn, Senior Vice-President, SNC-Lavalin International,
Canada,
* Naledi Moyo-Ndwandwe, Vice-President, World Association of Investment
Promotion Agencies,
* Dr Yvonne Muthien, Group Public Affairs and Communications Director,
Coca-Cola Africa,
* Dr Michael I Mah'moud, Lead Financial Economist and Acting Director NEPAD,
Regional Integration and Trade Department, African Development Bank
* Khalil Hamdani, Director, Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise
Development, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
* Chiel Ruiter, Executive Director, Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs
International,
* Dr Charles Mensa, Chairman, Valco, Ghana.
Contact:
Henriette van der Merwe
Tel: (012) 394 1640
Cell: 082 572 8184
Bongani Lukhele
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Cell: 083 291 8689
Bethuel Mnguni
Tel: (012) 394 1647
Cell: 083 624 8888
Donavan Jacobs
Tel: (012) 394 1641
Cell: 082 751 1078
Please address all your media enquiries to:
mediarelations@thedti.gov.za
Issued by: Department for Trade and Industry
21 September 2006
