Saturday, 25 November 2023, Accra — Heads of institutions with strong representation on the African continent, captains of industry, top government officials, and members of the diplomatic community have signaled their readiness to attend and contribute to the success of the second edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD 2024) which will take place in Ghana from Thursday, 25 to Saturday, 27 January 2024.
APD 2024, will be hosted by the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo under the theme; “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, Trade.” The Dialogues will be held at the Peduase Lodge, Aburi Hills in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Ahead of the APD, organizers of the dialogues, Africa Prosperity Network, hosted a partners and stakeholders’ cocktail on Thursday, 23 November 2023, barely two months before the main event to bring partners and stakeholders up to speed on preparations and direction of the three-day event.
In a brief address to attendees of the cocktail, the Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, observed that (APD 2) “will see heads of businesses on the African continent come together, think together, plan together, and work together with the political leadership of the continent on how to make the single market trade a reality.”
“We are not just going to have conversations, we will see deliverables from there [the APD] and whatever comes out of the dialogues, there will be a compact that will be presented to the AU for their consideration,” Gabby Otchere-Darko remarked.
AfCFTA
Chief Staff at the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Silver Ojakol, on behalf of Wamkele Mene, the Secretary General of the AfCFTA, described the AfCFTA secretariat’s partnership with APD as a strategic development that will go a long way to influence the ability of the AfCFTA to deliver the much-needed prosperity the Africa continent so desperately needs.
“The theme for next [year’s APD, “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, Trade”], is very much aligned with the pillars that we [AfCFTA] have developed from the policy perspective.
“The pillars of regional value chain development, value addition, increased production on the continent in order that we can trade more with each other, and the pillar of trading, even trading across our borders.
“The AfCFTA secretariat is very much committed to ensuring that this process (the Africa Prosperity Dialogues), moves forward and delivers prosperity for the continent,” Silver Ojakol said.
UN
Charles Abani, a seasoned international development practitioner and the United Nations (UN) resident coordinator in Ghana emphasized that the UN through all its agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) considers the shrift from poverty in Africa and its management to seeking real and tangible prosperity for the continent is a refreshing development.
He indicated that to achieve the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa, initiatives such as the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, which is aimed at rallying the private sector to lead the efforts of the continent to raise the requisite finances for the development of the continent and for the establishment a strong intra-continental trade portfolio through the AfCFTA, are critical and powerful tools to achieve goals.
“Unless we produce more, unless we add more value and actually trade, all of this will just be talk. The UN stands ready with the multiplicity of agencies to provide support not only in Ghana but particularly, to help connect across the African continent and globally through the compact to enable this [the APD] to succeed. We look forward to the partnership” Mr Abani stated.
Government of Ghana
Minister for Trade and Industry, K.T. Hammond, in his remarks as the special guest for the occasion, noted that the trade ministry of Ghana, standing as the fulcrum for driving trade, industry, and private sector development, is aligned with the broader objectives of the APD 2024, which is captured succinctly in the theme for the APD, “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, Trade.”
Mr Hammond added that he firmly believes that a thriving production sector, through value addition, is the bedrock of economic prosperity and that is why the second edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues is an event he looks forward to in January 2024.
“I’m elated that this platform unites us in a shared vision to unlock Africa’s immense potential by fostering robust partnerships and collaborations. It’s through such collaborations that we can propel the AfCFTA agenda, enabling inclusive growth, job creation, and shared prosperity for all Africans.
“The opportunity to engage with esteemed leaders, industry experts, and visionary minds aligns seamlessly with our commitment to further elevate Africa’s economic growth,” the Trade Minister, K. T. Hammond said.
“Together, let us persist in our efforts, united in our resolve to chart a course toward an Africa brimming with prosperity and boundless opportunities for all,” K.T Hammond added.
APN
Acting Chief Executive Officer of APN, Njack Kane, on his part, indicated that his team is poised to deliver a world-class event that will be a platform for business leaders to connect with each other and make tangible deals that will result in solid business outcomes.
Kane registered how honoured and pleased he is to join and lead a tight team of professionals at the Africa Prosperity Network, all of whom are committed to helping execute the vision set out by the APN’s founder chairman, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.
APD
The first edition of the APD in 2023 resulted in the unanimous adoption of the Action Compact by the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union in February 2023. This groundbreaking initiative forged a crucial partnership between the continent’s private sector and the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Themed ‘The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): From Ambition to Action, Delivering Prosperity through Continental Trade,’ the APD 2023 aligned seamlessly with the AU Summit’s overarching theme.
Building on the success of APD 2023, APD 2024 offers an invaluable opportunity to engage private and public sectors, development finance Institutions, influential thought leaders, civil societies, and youth organizations in the process of syncing our economic priorities.
The dialogues will also showcase flagship projects and initiatives that are both scalable and replicable and are ready for financing and implementation with the objective of significantly enhancing trade and investment among African nations.
This will be done by focusing more on adding value to what is produced and also on how best to facilitate trade and investment across African markets and beyond.
The dialogues will bring into focus the continent’s critical challenges and priorities, with a key focus on bolstering value addition and infrastructural development, championing agriculture and food security, sustainable development of natural resources, and industrialization. Technology and financing play an essential role in Africa’s prosperity narrative.
The strategic objectives of APD 2024 under the theme “Delivering Prosperity in Africa – Produce, Add Value, Trade” are fourfold. First is, “to facilitate a comprehensive dialogue that brings together key stakeholders from government, business, civil society, and academia to discuss and develop inclusive and realistic strategies for delivering prosperity in Africa.
The second objective is, “to promote and strengthen regional and continental integration, particularly in the context of the AU Agenda 2063 and as a means to foster intra-Africa trade, economic growth, and prosperity.
The third objective is “to prioritize the inclusion of marginalized populations, women, and youth in Africa’s development agenda and ensure that prosperity is truly inclusive and lastly, “to provide a platform for sharing best practices, lessons learned, and innovative solutions that can be replicated across the continent”.
Partners
The 2024 edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) is being organized by Africa Prosperity Network (APN) in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, which is situated in Accra, Ghana.
The other partners are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), United Nations Economic Forum for Africa (UNECA), Africa Business Council (AfBC), Africa America Institute (AAI), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Africa Soft Power and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).
