The largest meeting of the African private sector resumes its rights for a new edition which will bring together more than 1,500 participants. On June 13 and 14, the largest companies active in Africa will meet in Abidjan to reflect on the means and actions to be implemented in order to achieve prosperity on the African continent. Between panel discussions and round table discussions, representatives of different industries such as Monaco Resources Group, Meridiam, Visa and ENI will debate alongside government representatives and development banks.
For this 2022 edition of the Africa CEO Forum, nearly 1,500 participants are expected at the Sofitel in Abidjan, where the various meetings and exchanges will be held. This year, the organizers have decided to retain the following theme: “sovereignty, green growth and industrial transformation: the new roads to African prosperity”. For two years, several trends have punctuated the daily life of African economies. Race for vaccines, disruption of supply chains, soaring energy and food prices… Successive crises have had the positive point of accelerating the transformation of the continent’s economies while placing the question of economic sovereignty back at the heart of State concerns. Through this choice of theme, the Africa CEO forum invites us to reflect on how these changes could act as a trigger.
Several Heads of State have already announced their participation in the exchanges, such as Alassane Ouattara, President of the host country, Macky Sall, President-in-Office of the African Union or Mohamed Bazoum, President of Niger. These Heads of State will have the opportunity to present their vision of the future of the continent during a session dedicated to them. Alongside the latter will also be present leaders on the continent such as the Italian ENI, the Visa group, Meridiam and Monaco Resources Group through its R-Logistic and Agri Resources Group divisions. Particular emphasis will be placed on the issue of food sovereignty and the development of agriculture on the continent, which has considerable potential.
Agriculture, today a pillar in the continent’s quest for economic sovereignty
The successive shocks of Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have had the advantage of putting the issue of the continent’s food sovereignty back at the center of concerns and priorities.
A discussion panel will be dedicated to the agricultural sector and how to create synergies between the different players in the value chain in order to meet the expectations of this sector. Present on the panel, among others, Sébastien Favier, Co-CEO of R-Logistic, who will present the group’s strategy which relies on the development of synergies with Agri Resources Group in order to meet the various challenges of African agriculture. R-Logistic and Agri Resources Group are respectively the subsidiaries specializing in logistics, and agriculture and agri-food of Monaco Resources Group. Alongside him will also be Atsuko TODA, Director of the AfDB’s Agricultural Finance Department, Rita Maria ZNIBER, President & CEO of Diana Holding, and Brahima Yves KONÉ, Managing Director of the Coffee and Cocoa Council.
The African continent is now home to nearly 60% of the planet’s arable land, a figure that perfectly illustrates the continent’s potential to meet not only its own food needs, but also those of the rest of the world. According to World Bank projections, agriculture and agribusiness could represent a sector worth $1 trillion by 2030.