Davos, Switzerland – 13 January 2025 – As world leaders and business executives prepare to converge on Davos, Africa Collective is proud to unveil further details of its comprehensive programme for Davos 2025, happening from January 20 to 24. With the theme “Leading in 2025: From Regional Consolidation to Driving the Global Africa Agenda,” the initiative is set to elevate Africa’s presence on the global stage through a series of impactful sessions and networking opportunities.
Leading Speakers Announced
The programme will feature 50 expert speakers, including prominent leaders from the public and private sectors. Notable speakers include H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat; Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of Afreximbank; Lutz Hegemann, President of Global Health and Swiss Country Affairs at Novartis; Sim Tshabalala, CEO of Standard Bank Group; Iain Williamson, Group CEO of Old Mutual; Kola Aina, Founding Partner of Ventures Platform; H.E. Enoch Godongwana, Minister of Finance of the Republic of South Africa; Sanda Ojiambo, CEO of United Nations Global Compact; H.E. Amani Abou-Zeid, Energy & Digitalisation African Union Assistant Secretary-General; and H.E. Helene Budliger Artieda, Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) as State Secretary Commissioner for Infrastructure, among many others.
Diverse and Engaging Sessions
The weeklong Africa-focused programme will include a variety of sessions designed to foster collaboration and dialogue. Key events include a media reception that explores how international corporates and the media collaborate to shape the Global African narrative year-round and a Digital Network Africa Davos x Africa Collective Startup & Investor lunch focusing on the topic ‘Navigating investment opportunities on the African continent in times of global uncertainty’. The thematic sessions will cover critical topics such as:
- “Industrialisation as a Catalyst for Africa’s Economic Strategy: Enhancing Self-Sufficiency and Global Competitiveness” (Thematic Panel co-created with Afreximbank)
- “A Continent on the Move: Paving the Way for Infrastructure Investment as a Catalyst for Economic Growth” (Thematic Panel co-created with Standard Bank)
- “Building Toward Localisation: Driving Africa’s Innovative Capacity Through Partnership” (Thematic Panel co-created with Novartis)
Additionally, exclusive sessions from the Afreximbank Hub will offer deep dives into vital leadership, trade and investment topics on the continent.
Africa Collective Hub: A Premier Venue
All programming will occur at the Africa Collective Hub, a weeklong presence within the centrally located Hard Rock Hotel Davos. The Hub features several key spaces designed for effective networking and collaboration:
- Africa Collective Networking Area: Positioned in the lobby of the Hard Rock Hotel, this permanent and convenient space provides a setting for executives and businesses interested in African topics to meet informally and network.
- Africa Collective Partner Lounge: A dedicated area for Africa Collective partners to meet in a comfortable and exclusive environment.
- Glass Pavilion: A modern, open venue for hosting key sessions and events, fostering an atmosphere of transparency and engagement.
- The Chapel: An iconic and distinctive space where the high-level closing panel and luncheon will be held, providing a memorable backdrop for critical discussions.
These thoughtfully designed spaces are tailored for productive engagements, ensuring a high-impact experience throughout the Davos week.
Building on the momentum of four successful presence in Davos since 2020, Africa Collective, along with Afreximbank and, the AfCFTA Secretariat, are set to deliver an expanded and more impactful series of pan-African-led activities at Davos 2025, enhancing Africa’s strategic engagement on the global stage.
For more information and updates on Africa Collective’s initiatives, please visit https://africacollective.com/davos2025/.
About Africa Collective
Africa Collective is an information, exchange and collaboration platform for Africa. Its network, events and publications are focused on advancing the African continent globally. Through its network, events, and publications, Africa Collective champions the continent’s interests and opportunities on the global stage. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has proudly supported the initiative as Patronage Partner from the beginning, while Africa Unlimited is the Management Partner. Together with key partners—including Afreximbank, Novartis, Standard Bank, Old Mutual, Ventures Platform Fund, ViaService, and INOKS Capital amongst others. Africa Collective combines forces, resources and existing initiatives to amplify Africa’s voice and advance its position on the global stage.
Africa Collective was formed during a high-level business roundtable on Africa in Davos, Switzerland, at the time of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in January 2020. Based on the impactful discussions between pan-African and global leaders held on the occasion, Africa Collective was formally launched together with the AfCFTA Secretariat as a patronage partner and in the presence of H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, at an inaugural luncheon held on 19 January 2023.
The platform is an all-year, pan-African initiative by and for private & public sector players on the continent. Besides its yearly flagship representation in Davos since 2020, the platform has a strong presence at critical events in Africa and beyond, including the Africa CEO Forum, AfCFTA Business Forum “Biashara Afrika” and AfCFTA Intra-African Trade Fair.
For more information, visit: www.africacollective.com and LinkedIn Page
About the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat
The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area, bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The overall mandate of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion. The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, the African Union’s long-term development strategy for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse.
The AfCFTA Secretariat coordinates and facilitates the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement among African states. It also engages stakeholders to promote the AfCFTA and undertakes trade and investment promotion activities to enhance intra-African trade, among other duties.
For more information, visit: www.au-afcfta.org
About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com
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Web: www.africaunltd.com
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