Africa Collective

Reflecting on our Digital Network Africa Davos x Africa Collective 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 & 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵, held under the theme "Navigating Investment Opportunities on the African Continent in Times of Global Uncertainty."🌐 ▶️Watch the video below to witness the energy of this dynamic inaugural session of the Africa Collective Davos programme! 📊Participants included representatives of African Startups + scaleups, Venture Funds, PE Funds, Family Offices, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Global and pan-African DFIs, Banks, Multilateral Finance Institutions, Asset Management Companies and Foundations. Here’s a quick recap of some key takeaways from the session—insights that continue to shape conversations around investment and innovation in the startup ecosystem in Africa. 🚀 ✅Some of the investment opportunities for 2025 highlighted in the session, particularly in African innovation, included renewable energy, digital trade and service exports under the operationalizing of the AfCFTA and AI. ✅One of the key insights on AI, in particular, was that companies need to have an AI strategy or an AI-enabled product strategy. ✅Incumbents and established companies have a significant role in getting the startup ecosystem to work, such as providing institutional knowledge and capital. ✅Investors may need to take on more short-term risk for long-term profitability. ✅There was also a call to re-imagine Africa entering business and investment conversations from a position of strength, equal partnership and having something to offer and bring to the table.💪 The Startup Lunch featured pitches by Timothy Nuy, Co-Founder and Co-Ceo, FIN; William McCarren, Co-Founder, FARO; and Morgan Lépinoy, Managing Director & Global Head of Trade Facilitation, VIATRANS. Kola A., Founding Partner, Ventures Platform Fund (Our supporting partners), gave an insightful Setting-the-Scene presentation. Haytham ElMaayergi, Executive Vice President – Global Trade Bank, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (our Host Partner), delivered an insightful presentation. 🤝 Some of the speakers included Wale Ayeni, Managing Partner, Helios Digital Ventures; @Zurieda Atkinson, Chief Operating Officer, Old Mutual (Our supporting partners); and Nabil Marc ABDUL-MASSIH, CEO, INOKS Capital S.A. (our supporting partners). Yinka Adegoke, Africa Editor at Semafor (our Media Partner), moderated this energetic session. 🎤 Video credit: Toba Oduwaiye and David Bonine #AfricaCollectiveDavos2025

Africa Collective and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) convened a robust panel discussion on industrialisation at Davos on the margins of the World Economic Forum. We're pleased to share these insights on the role of Special economic zones (SEZ)—from this conversation featured in the February issue of African Business Magazine. A big thank you to African Business Magazine for their media partnership and to Omar BENYEDDER, Editor-in-Chief of Africa Business, for steering a dynamic panel discussion at Davos and compiling this report.🙌 Here are some takeaways from the senior leaders on the panel: ✅SEZs are crucial for industrialisation – They are a critical tool in overcoming some of the challenges in industrialisation, providing a controlled environment within which critical infrastructure can be concentrated to support industrial activity - Denys Denya, senior executive vice president of Afreximbank. ✅Sustainable growth and value retention – SEZs drive job creation and ensure long-term economic benefits for Africa - Bhavin Vyas, ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms. ✅industrialisation must be value-driven – Africa's growth should be rooted in quality, standards, and advanced technology like AI and robotics. - H.E. Amani Abou-Zeid, former AU Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy & Digitalisation. ✅Rethinking resource utilisation – the Lobito Corridor will transform the region’s approach to resource utilisation. In places such as the DRC, the pit-to-port model inherited from colonial times is no longer viable. - H.E. Louis Watum Kabamba, Minister of Industry & Development of SMEs, DRC The article is available in the February issue of African Business. An online version is available here: 🔗https://lnkd.in/etR2QmmB #AfricaCollectiveDavos2025 #Industrialisation #SEZs #Trade #Afreximbank #Davos2025

Old Mutual (OM) Bank is preparing to soft launch its digital-first bank to a select group of clients in the second quarter of 2025. This will be followed by a broader public rollout in the fourth quarter. 🌐 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dZdWuEEu

Standard Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group recently signed a landmark financial agreement to enhance funding for small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and expand trade across Africa.🤝 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dKWvhxPA

With South Africa hosting the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit this year, Africa Collective attended the launch of the Business 20 (B20) – the official G20 dialogue forum for domestic and international business communities. The event took place on 24–25 February in Cape Town, marking the first time the B20 has been hosted on the African continent.🙌🌍   👉Building on our G20/B20 discussions in Davos last month, Africa Collective’s presence at the B20 launch reinforces our commitment to having a presence at key business and economic events across the African continent and beyond. 👉G20 members include the world’s major economies, representing 85% of global GDP, over 75% of international trade, and about two-thirds of the world population. African G20 members include South Africa and the African Union as one of two regional bodies besides the European Union.   👉The B20, established in 2010, is one of the most influential G20 engagement groups, bringing together business leaders from member countries and beyond. Each year, it provides a platform for companies and business organisations to influence global economic and trade policy as well as to foster new business-to-business relationships around the globe.🌐   👉The main objective of the launch event was to inform the South African business community about the B20 South Africa year and to call for collective action to mobilise the business community to actively participate in the process, yearly program, and task forces. 🌍👥 👉During the sessions, South Africa also invited the pan-African business community to join the discussions to develop a stronger pan-African business narrative jointly.  🌍💪 Key insights from the discussions included: ✅Recognition of a challenging year ahead amid multiple geopolitical crises ✅The private sector’s critical role in shaping policy, given its long-term perspective ✅The necessity for collective action and will to continue developing the global architecture ✅South Africa’s 2025 G20 presidency, the last global South Presidency of the G20 for many years, serves as a pivotal opportunity to consolidate the emerging market perspective, position Africa’s business potential on the international stage, and emphasise its global comparative advantage as a business destination. Congratulations to South Africa for hosting an impactful opening event! 👏🇿🇦 📸 Image credit: B20 South Africa Secretariat

Exactly a month ago today, we wrapped our Africa Collectives Davos 2025 programme on the margins of the World Economic Forum. 🌍 We are excited to share on-camera insights from some of the esteemed speakers from the Africa Collective Davos 2025 programme on why convening the Africa-focused annual Davos Programme on the margins of the World Economic Forum is essential. 🎥 They also share their thoughts on key African business and investment opportunities that were topical at Davos 2025 and remain significant to the continent's agenda beyond Davos. 📝  To our interviewees: thank you for your support and engagement and for sharing your insights on camera with us: H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat , Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Dr. Lutz Hegemann, President of Global Health and Swiss Country Affairs, Novartis, Luvuyo Masinda, CEO of Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank Group, Thierry Déau, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Meridiam, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA. Once again, a big thank you to our Host Partner, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), our Patronage Partner, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and our Lead Partners for co-creating the thought-provoking content for this year's Davos programme and ongoing invaluable collaboration as we continue to amplify the importance of African Business topics on global platforms.🤝 Thanks to Toba Oduwaiye and David Bonine for your stellar production and editing work. 🎥👏 Thanks again to everyone who attended—your insights, energy, and engagement made Davos 2025 unforgettable! We can't wait to build on this momentum and see you again for even bigger conversations next year! 🚀 🔥 #RoadtoDavos2026✨

Reflecting one month after we kicked off our Africa Collective Davos 2025 programme, we're revisiting key moments and insights from this impactful gathering. The Africa Collective Davos 2025 programme, held in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, showcased Africa's growing role in shaping global economic conversations as well as thought-provoking discussions on industrialisation, infrastructure, the future of healthcare on the continent, investment trends and opportunities, amongst many topics. Now, we look back at the key takeaways from our dynamic programme—insights that will continue shaping Africa’s business agenda beyond Davos. Here's the recap and key takeaways from this powerful week! https://lnkd.in/dYkvuS-Y #AfricaCollectiveDavos2025 #AfricainDavos Image Credit: Chinwe E.

Iain Williamson, CEO of Old Mutual, shared why the 2025 WEF stood out as one of the best in years, highlighting the spirit of collaboration and meaningful engagement with international counterparts.🌐🤝 Thank you, Iain, for also commending the work of the Africa Collective in Davos this year. 🙌 We deeply appreciate Old Mutual’s longstanding and continued partnership in driving impactful Africa-focused business conversations!💪🌍 Watch the full interview conducted by Palesa Mofokeng for CNBC Africa (one of our media partners) here: https://lnkd.in/d_UG6Fqf #WEF2025 #AfricaCollectiveDavos2025 #AfricainDavos

🎥Looking back at an inspiring and forward-focused Africa Collective Davos 2025 Closing & Outlook Lunch🍽️ Our Closing & Outlook Lunch brought together 60 distinguished African and global business executives and political leaders inside the iconic Chapel at the Africa Collective Hub, Hard Rock Hotel Davos, to explore actionable ideas for driving sustainable growth and investment across the continent.🌱 The discussions reinforced Africa’s readiness to embrace innovation, foster partnerships, and drive transformative change across sectors. This highlight reel captures the energy and spirit of collaboration that wrapped up our Davos 2025 weeklong programme.🌍🚀 #AfricaCollectiveDavos2025

Last week Africa Collective in collaboration with Digital Network Africa hosted DNA x Africa Collective - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 & 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵. 🚀 With the theme; Navigating investment opportunities on the African continent in times of global uncertainty. Thank you for the expert input from, Zurieda Atkinson, COO of Old Mutual for her wisdom on the open opportunities in the African market. Check out Africa Collective for more! #digitalnetworkafrica #davos2025 #africacollective #africanstartups