By Our Reporter
Over 800 leading decision-makers from Africa and all over the world will be attending the 2015 edition of the Africa CEO forum. The annual event which is set for the 16th and 17th of March in Geneva aims at bringing together business leaders from across the continent to discuss key development priorities.
Under the theme ‘Africa’s new economic environment’, this year’s forum will discuss Africa’s economic outlook. Experts and delegates will deliberate over the growth paths of Africa’s economies over the next five years. The time for this discussion is more relevant than ever: several African countries have been weakened by falling oil and mineral prices while others, which are less dependent on raw materials, are seeing new opportunities open up. It remains to be seen exactly what and where these new opportunities are, and how they can be leveraged.
The meeting will also address the subject of Africa’s competitiveness, which is a crucial factor for businesses. The organizers – led by Groupe Jeune Afrique and the African Development Bank – have decided to tackle the issue of the famous Doing Business index which, every year, measures progress in the business environment of 189 countries. The question that will be asked is why Africa is lagging behind when Georgia, which is also an emerging economy, has climbed 100 places in eight years and is now in the top ten.
The urban explosion in Africa will be high on the agenda. The focus here will not be on questions of urban planning, but rather what share of the 25 billion dollars-a-year consumer market African businesses can tap into, and under what conditions. Because of their invaluable grass-roots knowledge of transport, networks of all kinds, trade, planning, building and other sectors, they could play a decisive role in structuring African cities and making them more productive.
Further, the forum will feature thematic conferences and practical seminars. Led by experts from Africa and all over the world, they will give the participants an opportunity to discuss growth sectors and the latest trends in business management and development. In addition, some new and highly innovative meeting formats will be introduced to give the business leaders, investors and financiers gathered in Geneva an opportunity to share their experiences, present their projects, find funds or new partners.