The annual gathering of the ALN African Leadership Network in partnership with the OCP took place for the first time in Morocco in the city of Marrakech. The gathering under the theme “Borders: Define, Defend, Defy” was held between November 3 and 7, bringing together more than 400 participants, including investors, entrepreneurs, academics, experts, public sector leaders or artists… In addition, 150 leading companies from Africa were chosen to participate in this event.
The choice of Morocco for organization: a strategic choice
The choice of Morocco to host this annual gathering was not made at random, the strategic geographical position of the kingdom as a bridge between the sub-Saharan continent and the countries around the Mediterranean was one of the factors of choice, moreover, the Morocco has a very developed network of young leaders in the entrepreneurial field, which reinforced the decision to organize the meeting in Marrakech.
ALN and the Entrepreneurial Objectives
Cameroonian Acha Leke, co-founder of the ALN network, talks about it.
The ALN “African Leadership Network” represents 1,500 influential leaders in Africa across 40 African countries. These representatives come from the private sector, government, and civil society, their mission is to support leadership, maintain business relationships, foster entrepreneurship and encourage investment. and intra-African trade. The goals are also to create relationships between African leaders, constructive cooperative and partnership relationships between young leaders, all to encourage entrepreneurship and business in Africa and thus accelerate development in African countries.
In partnership with the OCP, the ALN which is an associative organization, brought together this year 2015 in Marrakech, between November 3 and 7, senior leaders from 40 countries including 80% from Africa and 20% outside Africa. , fields such as technology, finance, media and PR, the public sector, consulting, accounting, energy, were represented.
“Borders: Define, Defend, Challenge” was the theme chosen for this gathering. In order to determine all the points that have an impact on entrepreneurship, the participants explored the geographic, political, economic and social boundaries, education and governance on the continent. Young leaders were also able to learn about the different constraints they will face when one is a young African entrepreneur.
The different sessions tackled on the general theme: “Borders: Define, Defend, Challenge”
The first session was entitled “Crossing borders without fear”. Its objective was to underline the difficulties encountered by many citizens of the world, with regard to crossing the borders which separate countries. Another session focused on “Africa’s Interest in the World Market”, to demonstrate that Africans can define their own interests in the world market, rather than the other way around.
Hakeem Belo-Osagie (Etisalat Nigeria), Hind Kadiri (OCP) and Fabrice Nze-Bekale (Equatorial Mining Company) also addressed and discussed topics such as gender, pan-African trade, and internationalization. Discussions then focused on the capacities of African entrepreneurs to develop their businesses with more rational and more prosperous means.
The first evening also gave place to trophies to 11 African companies which have each succeeded in their respective fields. A round table organized by l’OCP, the world leader in phosphates, concerned small African farmers.
The Center for African Studies at Harvard University held a session on entrepreneurship in Africa, emphasizing the importance of a humanistic approach to business success. The global management company, McKinsey & Company, organized a panel on centered leadership.
Summary of discussions and meetings
All the sessions that could have been discussed during this gathering provided essential information, which will enable leaders, businessmen and analysts to better understand the constraints of the market in Africa.
The session entitled: “Challenging conventional boundaries” was able to broaden the reflection and the conversation even further. On this occasion, three panelists explained how they personally broke the boundaries.
Read on: http://www.agrimaroc.ma/locp-invite-lafrique-a-marrakech/
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