Africa Prosperity Network (APN), organisers of the ‘Kwahu Summit’, showed up in Washington, DC to promote the much-awaited Kwahu Summit, which brings Africa’s political and business leaders together to work on the all-important single market project for the continent.
Organisers of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, dubbed: ‘the Kwahu Summit’, interacted with invited African leaders at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, which took place at the Walter Washington Convention Center from Tuesday, 13th to Thursday, 15th December, 2022.
The maiden edition of the annual ‘Kwahu Summit’ takes place in Ghana from Thursday, 26th to Saturday 28 January, 2023. It is being organised by APN and its partners, which include the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, the Presidency of the Republic of Ghana (the host nation of AfCFTA), the United Nations Development Programme (Africa), the Africa Prosperity Fund, the Ghana Investments Promotion Centre (GIPC), and the Africa-America Institute.
“It was an important platform for us, having all of the leaders in one space, with a little over a month to the Kwahu Summit. It was important to reaffirm their commitment to the Africa Prosperity Dialogues. They are looking forward to this unique opportunity to have our business champions brainstorming with our heads of state and other decision-makers on how to prioritise the single market project for our 1.3 billion people,” said Yofi Grant, the CEO of GIPC and a member of the organising team.
For Dr. Nkiru Balonwu, Director of APN: “It was also significant for us to secure the strong interest of the African-American business leadership as well. As President Akufo-Addo told the gathering of global African business leaders in Washington, Africa’s prosperity must deliberately involve the direct commitments and contributions from the African diaspora”.
Officials of APN who participated in the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit successfully made contact with all 49 African heads of state and governments who participated in the summit in the US, essentially to promote the ‘Kwahu Summit’, and to firm up invitations extended to the heads of state ahead of the summit.
As part of the promotional efforts by APN, its officials also participated in the Africa Soft Power (ASP) conference, organised alongside the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit.
ASP is focused on harnessing the continent’s creative, cultural and knowledge industries to propel itself forward while championing the inclusion of African & diasporan voices in global discourse.
Ultimately, ASP seeks to showcase the continent and what its unique perspective can bring to the modern global economy at large.
The ASP conference, held at the conference room of the National Geographic in Washington, DC, brought together African business leaders in the US and across the African continent.
APN’s message was presented in the strongest terms, urging participants to plan their participating forthwith.
The Kwahu Summit will be a platform where African leaders from diverse areas of national endeavour will gather each year to expedite the implementation of the agreed initiatives within the AfCFTA, and shape the Africa Agenda for Action.
The summit will bring into practical focus the continent’s critical challenges and industrialisation priorities, and advance aggressively the commercial and infrastructural interventions to achieve the vision of an Africa Beyond Aid.
Global geopolitical issues in recent times have, yet again, exposed Africa’s over-reliance on the global supply chain, on natural resources export, and the imperative for Africa to seriously consider how to cushion herself against future economic shocks.
The combined effects of COVID-19, the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia in 2020, and the recent Ukraine-Russia war have seen the fall in commodity prices and the temporary breakdown of the global supply chain.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues will focus on developing a transnational stewardship of a common platform while also acknowledging the realities of instituting a common trade initiative.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues, which will be part of the summit, will provide a dedicated platform for business and political leaders to think, plan and work together with greater urgency for the success of building the world’s largest single market of 1.3 billion people by fast-tracking the implementation of the all-important Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.
Hannah Awuku, the Executive Secretary of APN, explained: “The two-part summit will feature the Intra-Africa Trade Forum, a retreat for business executives and associations, senior public figures, thought leaders and technocrats, on 26th and 27th January, culminating in high level discussions between Heads of State and business leaders on Saturday, 28th January, 2023.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be joined by many of his colleagues from across the 8 regional blocs of Africa, including Presidents of Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, Rwanda, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Mozambique and Angola for the summit. The great industrialists, economists, bankers, and other business gurus in Africa will also be there.
