European Business Summit
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TRANSPARENCY REGISTER 268958411031-65
PRIVACY-POLICY | GENERAL TERMS OF SALES
09:15-09:20
2022 PROGRAMME
welcoming speecH
Arnaud Thysen
Director General, European Business Summits
09:20-09:45
opening remarks
Albert Muchanga
AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals
Tania Habimana
CNBC Africa Correspondent
09:45-10:20
Roundtable discussion: Investment Climate & Trade within EU-Africa relations
David Clarinval
Foreign Trade Acting Minister, Belgium
Anatole Collinet Makosso
Prime Minister, Republic of the Congo
Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor
Vice President, Private Sector, African Development Bank
Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento
Managing Director, UNIDO
Alan Kyerematen
Minister of Trade and Industry, Ghana
Soha Gendi
Assistant Foreign Minister for African Organizations, Egypt
Tania Habimana
CNBC Africa Correspondent
The business sector is ready to scale up and facilitate investment in critical areas, support productivity and competitiveness to create prosperity, if the right policy environment is in place. Moreover, manufacturing should be among the priority sectors for viable business initiatives and to create more and better jobs, especially for young people. The session, co-hosted by the Acting Minister of Foreign Trade of Belgium, will tackle current investment opportunities and priorities based on different best practices that will be shared by the diverse selection of panelists.
An improved climate for investment by both European and African investors will also contribute to progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
10:20-10:35
conversation: THE "GLOBAL GATEWAY", A NEW STRATEGY TO SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE WORLD
Cécile Billaux
Head of Unit, Micro-economic analysis, investment climate and private sector & employment, DG INTPA
Tania Habimana
CNBC Africa Correspondent
An essential part of the “Global Gateway” strategy unveiled in 2021 is the Africa-Europe Investment Package aiming to support Africa for a strong, inclusive, green and digital recovery and transformation..
Throughout this brief address, DG INTPA will present an overview of the main goals and challenges of Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package according to its five priority areas: accelerating the green transition, accelerating the digital transition, accelerating sustainable growth and decent job creation, strengthening health systems, and improving education and training. It therefore becomes a great starting point for this 2022 EU- Africa Business Summit edition.
This investment package will strengthen the relations between the two continents and expand the private sector for it to contribute to Africa’s growth and economic transformation.
10:35-11:00
coffee break
11:00-11:50
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, YOUTH and Women entrepreneurship
Amr Talaat
Minister for CIT, Egypt
George Asamani
Business Development Lead Africa, PMI
Karen Kaneza
Vice-President, ADEPT Platform
Dave Keating
Brussels Correspondent, France24
Digitalisation – the use of digital technologies, data, and interconnection to change existing activities or create new ones − is well underway in all five African regions.
Digitalisation allows us to rethink the ways we approach finance, healthcare, rural access, or access to public services, and education. Information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructures have developed steadily, and prospects for new projects remain robust. Yet, Internet connectivity in Africa remains a challenge, and there is an urgent need to accelerate digitalisation and create better digital infrastructure.
Moreover, the age of the Internet and e-commerce has created numerous business opportunities for women. This will contribute both to their economic empowerment and greater gender equality.
11:50-12:50
A Business Case for the Private Sector in the New EU Talent Partnerships
Johannes Luchner
Deputy-Director General, European Commission, DG HOME
Eden Alemayehu
INSPIRE Project Manager, ICMPD
Dawit Dame
Senior Advisor, Ministry of Labour and Skill, Ethiopia
Mante Makauskaite
Digital Explorers Project Lead (Co-founder of AfriKo)
Jennifer Tangney
Senior Project Manager, MPF (Migration Partnership Facility), ICMPD
The Talent Partnerships announced by the European Commission will see investment in skills for the benefit of the labour market in Europe and for the benefit of the labour market in partner countries, with more skilled workers being made available to both.
The private sector – as the user of such labour – is an essential voice in identifying the sectors, the skills, and the profiles of the candidates they seek. For the Talent Partnership to function they must therefore address the needs of employers – sectorally, technically and in terms of facilitating timely access to labour.
This session unpacks the private sector’s motivation to engage in the Talent Partnerships through an interactive multi-stakeholder forum.
Exclusive interview: unveiling the outcomes of the "african youth survey"
Ivor Ichikowitz
Chairman, Ichikowitz Foundation
Shada Islam
Brussels-based commentator and analyst
Originally launched in 2020, the African Youth Survey is a first-of-its kind, in-depth exploration of how young people, the demographic driving Africa’s becoming the fast growing population on earth, view themselves and the world around them. This year, conducted across 15 African countries – Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia – by the leading global polling firm, PSB Insights, who conducted more than 4,500 face-to-face interviews, the study has become an authoritative source for understanding the opinions of Africa’s rising generation. The 2022 report investigates the following issues: Afro-Optimism, Impact of COVID19, Environment, Democratic ambitions, Security and Stability, Employment and entrepreneurship, Connectivity and Media, Foreign Influence, Equality and Personal ambitions.
12:30-14:00
Agriculture Business LEADERS Lunch (by invitation only)
Janusz Wojciechowski
EU Commissioner for Agriculture
Tania Habimana
CNBC Africa Correspondent
13:10-14:00
networking lunch
14:00-15:00
EU-Africa food security crisis time: towards a renewed partnership
Willi Schulz-Greve
Head of Unit, Global Issues, WTO & relations with ACP, DG AGRI
Jérémy Decerle
Member of the European Parliament, Member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Godfrey Bahiigwa
Director for Agriculture and Rural Development, African Union Commission
Daniel Azevedo
Director of Commodities, Trade and Technology, Copa Cogeca
Iliass El Fali
Advisor to OCP’s Chairman & CEO and former COO, OCP Group
Tania Habimana
CNBC Africa Correspondent
The current geopolitical context provides a momentum for business representatives and policy makers to reflect on the future of global food supply and food security.
Africa has plenty of opportunities to offer in terms of innovations and technologies that could benefit Europe. With the world’s population projected to increase to 10 billion by 2050, food production should remain high on the international agenda’s unquestionable concerns.
Moreover, strengthening partnerships and sharing best practices on sustainable agriculture is key to ensure the achievement of SDGs 2: zero hunger, 10: reduced inequalities and 11: building sustainable cities and communities in both continents, as well as the objectives of the Global Gateway strategy.
Food security is at the heart of the issues discussed at the annual EU-Africa Business Summit which is a leading platform where prominent business leaders with high-level policy makers and civil society experts.
15:00-16:00
DIVERSIFYING THE ENERGY SUPPLY for a resilient INTERNATIONAL ENERGY MARKET: focusing on the role of hydrogen
Luca Giansanti
SVP European Government Affairs, ENI
Alfonso Medinilla
Head of Climate Change and Green Energy Transition at the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM)
Hanane Mourchid
Executive Director Sustainability & Green Industrial Development, OCP Group
Ronald Kato
AfricaNews Correspondent
A strengthened cooperation over energy is of utmost importance in Africa-Europe relations not only to improve access to energy, but also to ensure valid education, healthcare, and social infrastructures. The diversification of energy supplies implies new approaches and paths of collaboration between policymakers and the private sector.
Rich in natural resources, the African continent is eager to become an advantageous market for hydro, wind, and solar renewable energy sources. Among those, hydrogen plays an essential role: building a hydrogen economy through the creation of an international market would benefit the international community and unlock business opportunities for energy intensive industries. Moreover, strengthening the energy market is one of the main objectives of the EU Global Gateway’s Investment Package for Africa, aiming at making the two continents equal partners.
Business representatives from different sectors will interact with policymakers to explore innovative ideas aiming at increasing the access to financial instruments, minimizing threats to the environment, but also to push for improved energy sector policies.
16:00-16:35
coffee break
16:35-17:35
CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION TO STRENGTHEN HEALTH SYSTEMS AND ENSURE THEIR RESILIENCE
María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos
Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the committee for the Relations with the Pan-African Government
Bernt Bieber
SVP Direct Export Sales, Siemens Healthineers
Dr. Mohamed El Sahili
Chief Visionary Officer, Medland Hospital
Mar Martinez
Programme Manager, Unit for Social Inclusion and Protection, Health and Demography, DG INTPA
Steve Murigi
Head of Programmes and Strategic Partnerships, Amref Health Africa UK
Florence Ranson
EU Correspondent and Founder of REDComms
The Covid-19 pandemic has outlined once again the necessity of investing in global healthcare and find innovative ways to support health systems both in the EU and Africa. Moreover, healthcare should be at the heart of the EU-Africa relations, with the aim of moving beyond the donor-recipient approach.
Not only vaccine deployment, but also establishing new partnerships with service providers on the ground and strengthening infrastructure and local production capacities will be crucial to build resilient health systems. The panel will also tackle the growing impact of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Financing healthcare in Africa and providing technical assistance requires a multistakeholder approach in order to ensure a common and sustainable strategy among Member States, the private sector, and academia, able to benefit the communities on the long term.
17:35-18:10
exclusive interview: Smart cities and urbanisation challenges, Building the cities of tomorrow
Patrick Child
Deputy Director-General, European Commission, DG ENV
Kamal Adjayi
Mayor of Golfe 3 Commune, Lomé, Togo
Ronald Kato
AfricaNews Correspondent
Traditional models of governance and management of cities cannot address the growing need for infrastructure development. Most cities are not adequately empowered in terms of political, administrative, and fiscal decentralization to address their infrastructure gaps and developmental challenges.
In the next 30 years, Africa’s population is projected to double to 2.5 billion people and its urban areas will be home to an additional 950 million people. Africa’s urban transition is an opportunity to create new social, economic, and environmental development models. In this panel the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s DG Environment will outline the environmental sustainability dimension of the urbanisation challenges, as being one of the priorities of the “Global Gateway” strategy.
Smart cities will also play a role in the urbanisation in Africa, two mayors, one from Johannesburg (South Africa) and Commune of Golfe3, Lomé (Togo) will outline the digital solutions that their cities have to offer.
City governments must move quickly to plan for growth and provide the basic services, infrastructure, and affordable housing required for their expanding population needs. Attracting and unlocking private-sector capital and innovation is fundamental to create the cities of tomorrow.
