Unstoppable Africa Event: Press Conference on Business, Investment, and Progress

Unstoppable Africa: A New Narrative

• 🌍 The "Unstoppable Africa" event, part of the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), aims to shift the narrative from "doing business in Africa" to "doing business with Africa."
• 💡 It highlights Africa's growing voice in the global economy and presents an opportunity to address structural limitations in accessing finance for development, industrialization, and fair trade.
• 🚀 The initiative positions Africa as a source of solutions for global challenges like energy transitions, climate action, food security, and digital transformation.

GABI's Mission and Scope

• 🤝 Launched in 2022, GABI is convened by the United Nations and the African Union, with the UN Global Compact coordinating its activities.
• 🎯 Its four-fold mission includes convening global and African leaders, connecting private sector with investors, catalyzing collaboration, and delivering on the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the SDGs.
• 📈 The flagship "Unstoppable Africa" event has become a premier platform for African business, investment, and trade leaders to connect with the world, attracting over 8,000 participants, including heads of state and business leaders.

Key Themes and Participation

• 🌟 This year's event theme is "The Big Push: How Africa Shapes Markets," focusing on building African-led global trade, maximizing the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), strengthening digital innovation, positioning Africa as an investment hub, and supporting sports and creative sectors.
• 🎤 The press conference confirmed participation from several Heads of State, nearly 100 captains of industry, and creative/sports icons.
• 📢 Media is urged to amplify Africa's story of progress, innovation, resilience, and ambition, focusing on strides in renewable energy, digital innovation, AfCFTA implementation, and the creative industry.

Addressing Challenges and Promoting Stability

• ⚠️ While acknowledging conflicts and divisions, the event emphasizes the robustness of the private sector even in challenging environments.
• 💼 Private sector leaders seek peace, stability, and a predictable environment for investment and trade, recognizing the symbiotic relationship between economic growth and political stability.
• 🛠️ Job creation for youth is highlighted as a critical factor in preventing radicalization and fostering economic and political growth.

Investment and Development Focus

• 📊 Discussions will cover progress on past commitments and new announcements in areas like digital infrastructure, food security, health systems, and the creative industry.
• 🌐 The initiative stresses the importance of fair treatment of offshored business interests, advocating for businesses to respect high standards for workers' rights, transparency, and value addition, promoting "doing business with Africa" rather than "in Africa."
• 🌍 Recognizing Africa's diversity, the event will feature discussions in multiple languages and address regional specificities in trade, investment, and development.