5TH US – AFRICA INVESTMENT FORUM & POLICY DIALOGUE 2020 (VIRTUAL)

THEME: US Africa Relations – A necessary Realignment

The African Leadership Magazine is pleased to invite you to the 5th US – Africa Investment Forum & Policy Dialogue 2020, a virtual meeting taking place this September.

Africa is no doubt still the last trade frontier in today’s world. 

Pre-COVID, the World Economic Forum identified that at least half of the world’s fastest-growing economies have been in Africa since 2000; and by 2030, Africa will be home to 1.7 billion people, whose combined consumer and business spending will total $6.7 trillion. Furthermore, it is expected that 43% of Africans will belong to the middle or upper classes, up from 39.6% in 2013, implying considerably higher demand for goods and services. By 2030, household consumption alone is expected to reach $2.5 trillion, up from $1.1 trillion in 2015, according to available statistics. 

In a post-COVID world, however, Africa is still expected to represent exciting opportunities for global businesses seeking markets for expansion in the race for recovery. And as some experts have predicted, global growth will be 4%, as pent-up demand and new vaccines power recovery from the 2020 global GDP slump. Global geopolitical arrangements also may have been considerably altered. Hence, a post-COVID world offers opportunities for nations to reset relations in a way that there are much more mutually beneficial outcomes and long-term impacts for parties.

A post-COVID Africa would need its partners more than ever before as it braces itself for what some expect to be arduous recovery from the battery of the coronavirus pandemic. Africa would deeply count on United States (US) Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo’s statement when he said that “no country will rival what the US is doing” in terms of supporting the fight against Covid-19 in Africa. But pundits have argued that the US hasn’t engaged adequately and correctly on the continent of Africa, creating room for other interests gaining a stronger foothold, despite the US have been a preferred traditional partner. Does the post-COVID world offer the opportunity for a necessary realignment in US Africa relations?

African Leadership Magazine is, therefore, putting together the 5TH US Africa Investment Forum & Policy Dialogue 2020 to bring together Policymakers, private sector leaders, Industry Titans, civil society leaders, and all stakeholders in US-Africa matters during this 2-day forum to contribute to shaping a new future for our common good.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FORUM

1. Keynotes, Plenary and Breakout session
2. Industry Roundtables and Thematic Paper Presentations
3. Policymakers Roundtable Session: a high-level platform designed to engage the US/African policymakers in discussions on Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Defence and security co-operations; AGOA and other Economic Development avenues; and deepening people-to-people relationships.
4. Race Relations Roundtable dialogue session
5. The 10th African Business Leadership Awards and presentations to ‘Top 25 US companies doing business in Africa’. In recognition of their contributions to communities’ development and COVID-19 response.
6. Unveiling of the Top 100 African American Leaders 2020 List.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

• Policymakers, Senior Government Officials and Diplomats
• Heads of Government, Agencies, and institutions
• Major Industry Titans and private sector leaders
• Think-tanks and International Development Institutions
• Academics, Civil society leaders and 
• All US-Africa relations stakeholders

PARTNERS