Under the High Patronage of His Majesty The King Mohammed VI.
6th INTERNATIONAL AFRICA DEVELOPMENT FORUM
Attijariwafa bank group and its Africa Development Club are organizing the 6th edition of the International Africa Development Forum, on March 14th-15th,2019, in Casablanca.
Held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, this edition under the theme «When East meets West» addresses regional integration and growth issues of the continent.
On the initiative of its major shareholder, the Pan-African investment fund Al Mada, and building on a strong intra-African strategy, the Attijariwafa bank group launched the International Africa Development Forum in 2010. Henceforth, considered as the reference platform for dialogue, investment promotion and intra-African trade, the Forum plans to bring together for this 6th edition more than 1,500 international economic and institutional operators from more than 30 countries.
Considering the current global economic reconfigurations, the continent’s development challenges and opportunities as well as the African Continental Free Trade Area project, participants in the 6th edition of the Forum will focus on:
1. Examining the dynamics of intra-regional integration in terms of value creation and opportunities, particularly through the participation of high-profile figures and experts in 4 plenary sessions:
• Accelerating regional integration, increasing value creation: How to better connect the subregions, particularly East and West Africa? with the participation of Mr. Albert Muchanga, African Union High Commissioner in charge of Trade and Industry and Mr. Mohcine Jazouli, Deputy Minister in charge of African Cooperation (Morocco),
• How to reposition African youth at the heart of action and value creation? with the participation of Mr. Thierry Breton, ATOS CEO and Mr. Tomi Davies, President of the African Business Angels Network (Nigeria),
• «Stand Up for African Women Entrepreneurs» (SUFAWE) with the participation of Ms. Achamyelesh Ashenafi, President of the Addis Ababa Women Entrepreneurs Association (Ethiopia) and Ms. Alicia Hammond, Gender Specialist at the World Bank,
• The «Positive Impact», guarantor of solidarity and responsible growth with the participation of Mr. Hassan Ouriagli, Chief Executive Officer of Al Mada and Mr. Lionel Zinsou, Founder and Managing Partner of SouthBridge.
2. Participating in previously organized B to B meetings to identify concrete development levers and generate partnerships.
3. Participating in the Investment Market where 8 countries are honored for this edition, by the invitation of official delegations to present national development plans and investment project banks. The eight countries are:
– Cameroon
– Côte d’Ivoire
– Egypt
– Ethiopia
– Kenya
– Mali
– Morocco
– Rwanda
Within the Investment Market, besides the country stands, presentations of structuring projects are also planned, as well as presentation sessions of economic actors initiatives in favor of African companies.
4. Participating in on-demand B to G appointments.
5. Participating in the South-South Cooperation Awards.
Under the aegis of Al Mada Foundation
The Young Entrepreneur Awards
Culture, Education and Entrepreneurship, Al Mada Foundation encourages and accompanies initiatives that catalyze the potential of African youth.
After a pitch session, a jury composed of qualified figures will reward 3 young entrepreneurs for the quality and ambition of their project. The awards will be presented by Mr. Hassan Ouriagli, Chief Executive Officer of Al Mada.
This rendezvous is also a moment of celebration where African energies converge to participate in the realization of a spirit of solidarity and confidence in its own strength.
Since its creation, The International Africa Development Forum has brought together more than 7,500 operators from 36 countries and has generated more than 17,000 business meetings, inducting year after year more impact through the concretized interests of economic operators of the continent and of its partners.
In this context, previous editions of the International Africa Development Forum, placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, echoed the concerns of economic operators and the structural changes in the national development plans of countries resolutely invested in South-South cooperation.
The growing emulation of economic operators for the Forum, resulted in the creation of Africa Development Club in 2016, whose vocation is to federate structurally this dynamic. Since then, the Africa Development Club has initiated 15 multi-sectoral missions in 10 countries on the continent through Attijariwafa bank’s group network, with the participation of more than 2,000 business leaders from 12 African countries.