Highlights of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2014

The World Economic Forum on Africa was held in Abuja, Nigeria and was centered on three pillars: Accelerating Society’s Transformation; Deepening Investment Partnerships; and Redesigning Growth Models.

In addition to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of Nigeria and representatives from his government, other leaders who participated included: Mohamed Larbi Ould Khelifa, President, People’s National Assembly, Algeria; Thomas Yayi Boni, President of Benin; Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China; Daniel Kablan Duncan, Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire; John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana; Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya; Kolo Christophe Laurent Roger, Prime Minister of Madagascar; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Jakaya M. Kikwete, President of Tanzania; and Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo.

In addition to the two-day official program, a number of meetings were held in parallel in Abuja during the course of the week. Shape Africa, the annual meeting of Africa’s Global Shapers community, was held on 5-6 May, bringing together young, engaged people from across Africa to share ideas on how they can improve life in their home cities and countries. The Grow Africa Investment Forum on 7 May which aimed to build on recent successes in unlocking over $7 billion of investment for African smallholder farmers.

The Co-Chairs of the meeting were: Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Company, USA; Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer, HEINEKEN, Netherlands; Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Group, Nigeria; Bineta Diop, Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, African Union, and President, Femmes Africa Solidarité, Switzerland; Jabu A. Mabuza, Chairman, Telkom Group, South Africa; Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, India; and John Rice, Vice-Chairman, GE, Hong Kong SAR.