Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2024 (APD 2024): five heads of state, top business leaders confirm participation

Five African heads of state and another from the Caribbean, as well as several top business and thought leaders from across the African continent and the diaspora, have confirmed their participation in the second edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD), which take place starting Thursday (25 January 2024).

APD 2024 is organised by the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, based in Accra, with support from the Government of Ghana.

Among the heads of state attending APD 2024 will be the host, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, as well as Their Excellencies Mohammed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana; Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal; Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Republic of Togo; Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau; and Sahle-Worķ Zewde, President of Ethiopia.

Other top government officials who will grace the occasion are the prime minister of Mozambique, His Excellency Adriano Maleiane; the vice-president of Côte d’Ivoire, Tiémoko Koné; the Speaker of the People’s National Assembly of Algeria, Ibrahim Boughali; and the secretary general of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene.

Business leaders

Heads of leading businesses and institutions on the African continent who have also confirmed their participation are Professor Benedict Okey Oramah (president of Afreximbank); Mohamed Abou EI Enein (chairman and founder, Cleopatra Group); Sidi Ould Tah (director general of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa/BADEA); Ahunna Eziakonwa (assistant secretary of the regional bureau for Africa at UNDP); Solomon Quaynor (vice-president of the African Development Bank/AfDB); and Bridgette Radebe (president of the South African Mining Development Association).

Others guests are Cherif Abdallah (chairman of the CONEX Group of Companies, Liberia); Precious Moloi-Motsepe (Chancellor of the University of Cape Town); Ernest Addison (Governor of the Bank of Ghana); Marufatu Abiola Bawuah (chief executive officer of UBA Africa); Alex Dadey (chairman of KGL); Julius Mwale (principal behind Mwale Medical and Technology City in Kenya); and Lacina Koné (chief executive of Smart Africa).

Also among the panellists and speakers will be Wale Tinubu (chief executive officer of Oando pIc); Yofi Grant (chief executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre/GIPC); Serge Ekué (president of the West African Development Bank/BOAD); Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah (chief executive officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation); and Ebenezer Asante (senior vice-president in charge of markets for the MTN Group).

Africa Trade Torch

The activities for APD 2024 will feature the lighting of the “Africa Trade Torch” (ATT).

The ATT is a private sector initiative to popularise the idea of the AfCFTA among African peoples and the African private sector, including owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, women and the youth.

It will also be an opportunity for the private sector to show its commitment to the operationalisation of the AfCFTA.

The lighting of the ATT, which will be under the auspices of the Africa Business Council, led by its president, Amany Asfour, has been carried out on 20 January each year for the past two years. However, the Africa Business Council has decided to hold the ceremony this year at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues.

His Excellency Joaquim Alberto Chissano, the former president of the Republic of Mozambique and chairman of the Africa Forum, supported by President Akufo-Addo and other heads of state and government, will take part in the lighting of the Africa Trade Torch together with Wamkele Mene, Dr Asfour and other dignitaries.

APN 2024

The 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues, under the theme “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, Trade”, are expected to welcome over 800 delegates to the three-day event, running from Thursday 25 to Saturday 27 January.

The main venue for the summit will be the Presidential Lodge at Peduase, in the Aburi Hills of the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Apart from eight high-level sessions that will feature top business and thought leaders from across the African continent, global Africa and the Caribbean, there will be a by-the-fireside conversation with Aliko Dangote, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Dangote Group.

There will also be fringe events on days one and two, as well as the “Africa Prosperity Champions Awards and Presidential Gala Dinner”, which will take place at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra on Friday (26 January).

Reporting  by Wilberforce Asare in Accra

Asaase Radio 99.5 broadcasts on radio via 99.5 in Accra, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 100.3 in Cape Coast and on our affiliates Bawku FM 101.5 in Bawku, Beats FM 99.9 in Bimbilla, Somua FM 89.9 in Gushegu, Stone City 90.7 in Ho, Mining City 89.5 in Tarkwa and Wale FM 106.9 in Walewale, Azay Fm 89.1 in Takoradi
Tune in to broadcasts online: asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
Live streaming on facebook.com/asaase99.5. Also on YouTube: AsaaseXtra.
Join the conversation. Call: 020 000 9951 or 059 415 7777. Or WhatsApp: 020 000 0995.
#Asaase321
#TheVoiceofOurLand
#WeAreHere
#WeLoveOurLand
#SafeMotorway4All