Theme: “AfCFTA’s Role in post COVID-19 Recovery, Resilience & Structural Transformation’’
What: AfCFTA Business Forum 2020

When: 04 December 2020
Time: 1300hrs East Africa Time, 1000hrs GMT
Where: Virtual Platform, ZOOM Webinars. & anchored from the AfCFTA Studio

Registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4z3oxvMbSMuUKrWzyZFnkA

Who: Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the African Union Commission(AUC) with the support of the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Government of South Africa, AfroChampions, Afreximbank, the MTN Group, the African Business Council, the One Campaign and media partner IC Publications.

Objective:

To host a powerful high level virtual AfCFTA Business Forum to motivate and focus stakeholders towards the AfCFTA and next January’s imminent start of trading. With the Heads of State and private sector CEOs, this forum will build momentum by positioning the AfCFTA as essential to Africa’s recovery from COVID-19. It will encourage stakeholders to identify their roles in the success of the AfCFTA.
The forum serves as a motivator for all stakeholders to double efforts and maintain momentum towards the AfCFTA’s successful start of trading in January.

Programme & Participants:

Speakers and panelists will include African heads of state, captains of industry, women in business and youth entrepreneurs. The programme will be anchored in a state-of-the art studio and will comprise of invigorating debates and engaging content. The forum forms part of the programme of this year’s African Union Heads of State and Government 13th Extraordinary Summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which will take place on Saturday 5th November 2020. Heads of State and Business Leaders are coming together at the African Union Commission’s AfCFTA Business Forum 2020 to deliberate on what the AfCFTA Start of Trading 1st January 2021 means for all.

Background:

On Friday 4 December, 2020 African Heads of State will meet private sector leaders, young entrepreneurs and other key stakeholders at The AfCFTA Business Forum 2020, the African Union’s premier multi-stakeholder platform to discuss intra-Africa trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area. This will be the third edition of the Forum which started in Kigali, Rwanda at the 11th AU Extraordinary Summit on the AfCFTA. The second forum was held in Niamey, Niger on the eve of the 12th AU Extraordinary Summit where operationalization of the AfCFTA was formally announced and several trade implementation instruments were launched.

This year’s Forum with the theme: AfCFTA’s Role in post COVID-19 Recovery, Resilience & Structural Transformation, will be held virtually and will focus on the imminent AfCFTA start of trading. It will explore how businesses can ready themselves for success in Africa’s Free Trade Area. This open event will host a series of high level speakers who will articulate and illustrate the free-trade agreement’s importance in mitigating the economic damage of the pandemic and the essential role it has to play in rebuilding the continent. The forum serves as a motivator for all stakeholders to double efforts and maintain momentum towards the AfCFTA’s successful start of trading in January.

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For further information, please contact Dr. Oswald Chinyamakobvu - Technical Advisor -Trade and Industry - Email: ChinyamakobvuO@africa-union.org

Media inquiries:
Patient Atcho, Department of Trade and Industry – Tel: + 251 929335250 - Email: atchop@africa-union.org
Esther Azaa Tankou, Head of Information - Directorate of Information and Communication, AUC Tel. +251 911361185, E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org or esthertankou@yahoo.com