Professor Benedict Oramah of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Ms. Chinelo Anohu of the Africa Investment Forum, and H.E Wamkele Mene of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Dean Garfield, Vice President, Public Policy at Netflix will all participate as panelists at a virtual session titled ‘The New Face of African Collaboration’.


Slated for tomorrow Tuesday February 23, 2021 at 6pm, the session hosted by The Africa Soft Power Project brings these leading voices together to discuss the evolution of infrastructure development on the continent and the transformative possibilities that this age of connectivity holds for Africa’s creative industries and knowledge economy.

With the emergence of the first woman and first African leader of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), African global standing has risen particularly at a time when the AfCFTA offers significant transformative opportunities for the continent’s economic growth.

The session which will be moderated by Ben Yedder, Group Publisher & Managing Director, IC Publications, provides a veritable platform to explore the evolution of infrastructure development on the continent (including digital), whilst contextualising the strategic value of expanded trade opportunities to economic advancement and cultural integration in Africa.

The discussion will also explore how legacy reputation issues have hindered Africa’s investment opportunities on the world stage, and how this is now being remedied through soft power plays, as well as physical and digital infrastructure investment.

Yedder, who will lead the fireside and moderate the keynote conversation, will ask the guests to focus on the creative and knowledge sectors while examining how investors can take advantage of the inherent potentials to make Africa more appealing on the global stage.