….on the margins of the World Bank / IMF 2023 Spring Meetings
Washington DC
April 18th, 2023
The UK-based African Leadership Organization and publishers of the foremost Africa-focused good governance publication – the African Leadership magazine, recently hosted finance industry stakeholders and investors to an exclusive African Finance Leaders Networking Cocktail – 2023, at the National Press Club, Washington DC, USA, with the theme -Financing for Africa’s Development.
The Networking Cocktail, which took place on the margins of the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, USA brought together African finance ministers, central bank governors, as well as top executives and leaders of leading financial and development institutions in Africa, alongside their global counterparts, to discuss current issues around Africa’s economic resilience, growth, and sustainability, as well as exploring pathways to financing Africa’s development.
The invite-only meeting featured Ministerial presentations, high level panel discussions and networking opportunities for finance stakeholders to enable connections and build relationships towards the socioeconomic development of the African continent. African Leadership Organization promoted the meeting as a measured follow up to the December 2022 US – Africa Leaders’ Summit convened by U.S.
President Joseph Biden and which had in attendance over thirty (30) African presidents and government officials.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of African Leadership Organization, Dr Ken Giami, called for the deepening of current U.S. African ties through a ramp up of business deal making gatherings and cultural tourism / exchange visits to Africa, as a necessary first step that can boost people-to-people engagements. He further called on US investments into the key growth sectors of the continent such as Agriculture, Technology and renewable energy.
Also speaking at the Networking Meeting, the Honorable Minister for Economy, and Finance of Madagascar, HE Mrs Rindra Rabarinirinarison, called on participants and US Institutional investors to visit and invest in Madagascar, especially in the Agriculture and Food Security sectors, stating that upto 70% of arable land in the country was uncultivated. She reiterated that aside Agriculture, opportunities for investments and partnerships exist in the oil and gas, infrastructure, and other key sectors of the economy.
Minister for Economy, and Finance of Madagascar, HE Mrs Rindra Rabarinirinarison presenting
The meeting, which took place in strategic partnership with US based international affairs and business development firm, Global Political Solutions also highlighted two fire side chats related to actionable next steps to drive sustainable growth in the balance of trade volumes and practical interests between the United States and the African continent.
Other key speakers at the forum included Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya; Hon. Johnny Ohisa Damian, Governor, Bank of South Sudan; Derek Campbell, Chairman of the African Metals Group and former Principal Member of the U.S. EXIM Bank; and Dr. Hippolye Fofack, Chief Economist of
the AFREXIM Bank. Other participants at the exclusive networking cocktail included CEO of the largest commercial bank of Tanzania (CRDB Bank), President of Solid Investments Group (SIG Africa), and firms from 26 nations across Africa and the US.
Cross section of speakers
The meeting concluded with presentations to select listees of the African Leadership magazine’s Top 25 African Finance Leaders 2023 for their contributions to developing innovative pathways to financing African development. The full list of the Top 25 African Finance Leaders List 2023 can be found at www.africanleadershipmagazine.co.uk/afl-2023/
It is noteworthy that the African Leadership magazine and its parent organization, the African Leadership Organization, has continued to promote US -Africa trade relations with multi-year trade missions to Africa, US – Africa business matchmaking and trade facilitations, and major deals signing at its business networking forums that continues to attract African Heads of states, senior government ministers, US private sector leaders and government officials.
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Kingsley Okeke
