The Africa-France public-private foundation, which aims to promote economic relations between France and the African continent, is organizing the Rencontres Africa 2016 in Paris on September 22 and 23, 2016.
Since its creation in February 2015, the AfricaFrance foundation has flourished with the creation of think tanks on jobs, a training program for executives with high potential and the promotion of young leaders.
So many activities which will be completed in September by the first edition of the “Africa Meetings” 2016, whose foundation announces, in a press release on Thursday, May 26, the organization on September 22 and 23, 2016 within the walls of the Economic, Social Council and environmental (Cese) in Paris.
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800 companies expected
“More than 800 leading companies, financiers and political decision-makers will be present”, announce the organizers, at the forefront of which are the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Development, and of Economy, Industry and Digital.
On the web page of the meeting, the president of the African Development Bank ADB, Akinwemi Adesina, the Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, the British Sudanese philanthropist Mo Ibrahim, Bassem Loukil, CEO of the family group, are announced. Tunisian eponymous, Angolan billionaire Isabel Dos Santos, Alain Blaise Batongué, the executive secretary of the Inter-employer Group of Cameroon, or the Nigerian financier Tony Elumelu and the Minister of Economy and Finance of Senegal Amadou Ba…
The first guard of French economic promotion abroad will also be involved: the French Development Agency, the Public Investment Bank, Business France, the French Council of Investors in Africa, the National Committee of Trade Advisers outside of France…
On the menu of debates and meetings, a list of themes that already emerged in 2013 and 2014 and remains on the agenda of economic relations: insurance, digital, agro-industry, transport, sustainable cities, media and culture.
In the firing line, the Africa-France summit which will take place a few months later, in January 2017 in Bamako.
Slowing the losses of French positions
The AfricaFrance foundation was set up to strengthen economic relations between Africa and France. It follows on from the Zinsou-Védrine report in 2013 which presented “15 proposals for a new economic dynamic between Africa and France”, which noted that “between 2000 and 2011, France’s market share south of the Sahara declined from 10.1% to 4.7%, even if the value of French exports doubled over the same period ”.
Among the fifteen general proposals in the document was the creation of a Franco-African public-private foundation “catalyst for the renewal of the economic relationship between France and Africa”.
This is the role assumed by AfricaFrance, which is chaired by the Franco-Beninese financier Lionel Zinsou.
Young Africa
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