Ghana to welcome African business and political leaders at Kwahu Summit in October

The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) has announced the inception of its flagship dialogue series – Kwahu Summit on Africa’s Prosperity.

The Kwahu Summit is a strategic platform where the movers and shakers of Africa’s economy will elevate the objectives of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) from ambition action.

The maiden edition is slated for 28 and 29 October 2022 at the Rock City Hotel, Kwahu, and will be opened by President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Speaking at the media announcement on Tuesday (24 May), Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information congratulated the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) for putting together the event.

He praised the organizers for coming together to create such an important platform that will stimulate conversations on Africa.

He said “if you pay attention to the thought leadership conversation that is currently going on, you will find that there are some parts of the world where more time is spent talking, discussing and stimulating conversations about what is possible and what can be achieved. If we stretch our minds a bit more what this platform will do is to challenge all of Africa and all of us to strive to do some more together and leverage the kind of opportunities and resources around to do more.

He added, “We [government] think that it is a very important conversation that you are stimulating on this platform and we celebrate you for this.”

Oppong Nkrumah said, “…the AfCFTA has been established, the secretariat is in Ghana but it will take a deliberate act that seeks to engineer or stimulate trade relationships, the building of networks among ourselves to really turn the tide of our international trade from outside the continent into the African continent and to trade between ourselves. And what you are doing is actually creating the platform and bringing together the people to achieve this…”

At least 16 heads of state from all eight regional blocs of the continent will be among the 500 high profile personalities, including business leaders, financiers, investment brokers and thought leaders who will attend the summit.

The summit is being organised in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Presidency of the Republic of Ghana and the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), with sponsorship from other key continental organizations and businesses.

Under the theme “AfCFTA: From Ambition to Action; Delivering Prosperity Through Continental Trade”, the Kwahu Summit on Africa’s Prosperity is a one-of-a-kind event where African leaders from varied backgrounds will gather each year to accelerate the implementation of the agreed interventions within the AfCFTA trade bloc, and shape the Africa Agenda for Action.

It will bring into focus the continent’s critical challenges and industrialization priorities and advance the commercial and infrastructural initiatives to achieve the vision of an ‘Africa Beyond Aid.’

At the Kwahu Summit, participants will formulate practical, actionable initiatives to enhance trade in Africa and create prosperity for Africans.

The summit will amplify public-private partnership, and foster collaboration among African states and businesses to develop intra-African trade.

It will agree on deliberate and sustainable measures to grow Africa into a manufacturing powerhouse, and create an effective platform for businesses and political leaders to build a prosperous Africa.

The Kwahu Summit seeks to assist AfCFTA to deliver on Its 2030 deadline to be fully operational in Africa. It will move the intentions of Africa’s Heads of State – often expressed in policies on trade and commerce – Into action, and provide avenues for Africa’s leading businessmen and politicians to work together to implement the African Union’s (Ws) decisions.

The summit will discuss how African governments can mitigate threats to trade and commerce, assess existing economic opportunities and build partnerships between governments and business leaders to unlock them in order to improve upon the living conditions of the people of Africa.

The executive director and coordinator of the summit, Dr Eugene Owusu said, “we are delighted to confirm the staging of the Kwahu Summit on Africa’s Prosperity, which we have been working on for some time now.”

“APN is persuaded that no one will develop Africa if Africans do not take up the challenge and initiate practical steps towards that. It requires synergies in the economic and trade policies of the countries of Africa; it demands that African countries, together, confront the challenges posed by the confluence of geography and global politics.”

He added, “APN will facilitate those dialogues among the leaders of the continent, to identify and exploit the opportunities that emerge, as the global play unfolds”.

About the Africa Prosperity Network (APN)
APN is a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Ghana in 2022 as the vehicle to run the Kwahu Summit for Africa’s Prosperity.

It is a private entity, committed to creating platforms for partnerships between political and business leaders, civil society, academia and traditional authorities in Africa.

The aim is to drive the rapid development of the continent through dialogues and consensus building on issues of trade, commerce and strengthening of African economies.