AfCFTA: Experts brainstorm to deepen private sector engagement, wealth creation


The Private Sector Federation in partnership with Africa Private Sector Summit (APSS) will on 23rd - 25th March 2023, host the second edition of the Golden Business Forum (GBF) and APSS Series at Kigali Convention Centre, Kigali, Rwanda.

The 2nd edition of this series which is organized under the theme “CREATING AFRICAN WEALTH UNDER THE AfCFTA, is to chart a path on promoting continental wealth in tandem with the AfCFTA policies and to see to a successful implementation of the agreement.

This was disclosed in a press release made available to newsmen, where the Chief Executive Officer of Private Sector Federation, Stephen Ruzibiza and his counterpart Wendell Addy, Chairperson, Africa Private Sector Summit, APSS along other organizers unfolded lists of participants with high-level representation from the African Business sector and the International Organizations to reflect on measures to promote the benefits of the AfCFTA among the private sector; suitable trade policies and regulations to make the AfCFTA work for the African business community; and steps to increase intra-African trade.

Ruzibiza pointed out that the 2nd edition of this conference is to explore ways to boost the participation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and young entrepreneurs in the new single market to facilitate growth and enhance job and wealth creation.

According to him, "considering the expectations of the business community in Rwanda and in Africa, the “Golden Business Forum” was initiated with the aim to bring solutions to structural economic and business challenges facing our continent and forge a bright future for business growth.

"Among the areas to covered during this event, includes manufacturing, agriculture, service, governance and exhibition as well as Business to Business side events.

He continued, "this three-day event is expected to attract the participation of key decision makers and opinion leaders from government, the corporate world, civil society organizations, media, professional bodies, academia, business practitioners, innovators and startups from different countries.

“This will be a great opportunity to look at issues that hinder free movement of goods and services within the Continent. We intend to come up with a concrete action plan on how to resolve these bottlenecks in order to promote trade and investment under AfCFTA”, he affirmed.

In his responses, the Chairperson of Africa Private Sector Summit, Wendell Addy believes that the upcoming event is another imperative platform in bringing together key stakeholders to digest on important areas that have direct positive on African economies.

“We are so excited to partner with the Private Sector Federation to convene this event. I’m quite optimistic that it will definitely yield positive outcomes that will impact the growth of our economies and enhance wellbeing of Africans”

"GBF as commonly known, will provide a favorable platform and voice to investors for a structured and responsive dialogue between senior business executives, policy makers and other stakeholders, share experiences, thoughts, knowledge, unique ideas and other useful information to enhance skills, capabilities, and technologies amongst the business communities around the World.

"The inaugural forum in 2019 was held in Kigali capital, Rwanda and brought together local principal investors, business and public leaders shaping Africa’s business development agenda as well as potential investors from Asia, USA, Africa and Europe.

"The African Union has actually been putting in place different initiatives beyond CFTA, all of which are aimed at allowing people to do business freely across the continent. These includes the Protocol on the Free Movement of People which has also been signed, and the ratification process is underway, which once in effect, Africans will no longer require visas to travel within Africa.
In addition, the forum will further provide an opportunity to discuss the Private Sector Bill of Rights (PSBoR) and the Africa Education Trust Fund (AETF) as well as renew strategies to connect SMEs to the right markets on the continent", Addy said.