A little South Africa and a little Italy can go a long way
More than 100 top executives, economists, ministers and industry experts are set to meet later this year at the "South Africa-Italy Summit" to discuss how trade, investments and partnerships can be boosted between the two countries and continents.
© Mattia D'Antonio – 123RF.com
The high-level invite-only Summit will be held from 1-2 October in Cape Town, and promises to build a community of leaders from South Africa and Italy to reinforce the strategic relationship between the two countries. Discussions and networking opportunities will focus on how the two countries can bring mutual benefits to their respective economies, providing a platform for companies entering and expanding into both Africa and Europe. The Summit follows the successful inauguration of the event last year.
The 2015 Summit will promote the debate among business and political leaders about key issues such as the role of the agribusiness value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. The importance of collaborative models with SMEs and entrepreneurship for growth, the role of urban development vis-à-vis the adoption of smart technologies, and the challenge of innovation in the financial and banking system.
"Sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa remain high on the investment agenda of European countries such as Italy," says Managing Partner of The European House - Ambrosetti, Valerio De Molli. "This high-level Summit for leading business and political figures from Africa and Italy aims to provide South African and Italian leaders with innovative ideas to shape their business and development strategies. In fact a large emphasis is on promoting small and medium enterprises through matching competencies and technologies between the two countries."
The Sub-Saharan region has experienced GDP growth of more than 6% on average over the past decade, with household final consumption expected to increase fourfold from 2000 by 2020. "If you look at Sub-Saharan Africa, it is booming and is rapidly expanding its consumer markets," adds Ambassador of South Africa to Italy, Nomatemba Tambo. "There are huge investment opportunities for collaboration between Italian and South African companies in the fields of manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, agribusiness and transport."
The South Africa-Italy Summit initiative is promoted by The European House - Ambrosetti together with the South African partner Grown Consulting. The European House - Ambrosetti is among the most esteemed management consultancy firms worldwide and has been named best private Think Tank in Italy and 4th in Europe in the University of Institutions.
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