The African Development Bank have participated in the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban, South Africa, which ran from 3 - 5 May
The delegation was led by Jennifer Blanke, Vice-President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, and comprised Pierre Guislain, Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, and Amadou Hott, Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth.
This year’s forum, which focused on the theme “Achieving inclusive growth through responsive and responsible leadership”, explored ways in which Africa can leverage on its technological revolution to achieve inclusive economic growth.
Key events in which the Bank’s delegation participated in include the Africa Investor (Ai) CEO Infrastructure Project Developers Summit, held this year in association with Africa50. The summit is an annual CEO gathering of Africa’s top project developers, co-developers, infrastructure investors and policy makers to promote the industry, forge partnerships and advance critical projects.
The Bank’s delegation participated in panel sessions at the Initiative for Global Development (IGD) Frontier 100 Forum which focused on agribusiness, skills development for job creation and industrialisation-sessions very aligned with the Bank’s High 5s.
Pierre Guislain delivered a keynote address on the role of the private sector in driving inclusive growth in Africa.
In addition, the delegation participated in events on strengthening the G20 partnership with Africa. The delegation also used the forum to engage different stakeholders, particularly the private sector and financial institutions, to explore opportunities for co-financing and syndication, given the huge financing needs of the High 5s.
Co-chaired by Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam; Siyabonga Gama, CEO of Transnet; Frederic Lemoine, Chairman of Wendel; Rich Lesser, Global CEO of BCG; Ulrich Spiesshofer, ABB President & CEO, the World Economic Forum on Africa taking place in Durban comes one year after the 2016 edition held in Kigali, Rwanda, for which the Bank’s President, Akinwumi Adesina, was a Co-Chair.
