Cape Town to host AFIF2015 conference

© blueximages – 123RF.com

The theme on this year's conference, organised in collaboration with the European Investment Bank (EIB), is 'Access to Finance & Entrepreneurship'.

A first for EMRC's annual international financial gathering, AFIF2015 will bring together different regions of the world with a common drive to fulfil sub-Sahara Africa's potential. This year's partnership with EIB, which is the largest multilateral borrower and lender by volume providing finance and expertise, will ensure a north and south perspective to the discussions and policy evaluations.

"In line with the EU's Agenda for Change, in the coming years the bank will have a renewed focus on private sector development (70% of its annual activity in sub-Saharan Africa), recognised as a key driver of sustainable growth," says Patrick Walsh, European Investment Bank's director of the ACP Lending Department.

Keynote speaker

Confirmed keynote speaker Lord Boateng, formerly Chief Secretary of the UK and Britain's High Commissioner to SA, views the upcoming forum as a significant event. "The AFIF2015 conference provides an exciting opportunity for policy makers, academics, and practitioners, to come together to explore best practice and chart the way forward, in this critical year in which sustainable development takes centre stage. I look forward to joining in the discussions."

With an expected 300 people from all over the world, the three days will see policy makers, financiers, bankers and private sector entrepreneurs discuss and find practical business solutions. AFIF is a pragmatic and business oriented experience, which rewards participants with substantial business contacts, especially those who have come prepared and identified their key needs. AFIF regroups three key target groups: entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and investors interested in investing directly in banks or projects.

"AFIF is addressed to all those from north and south that never stopped believing in the potential of Africa and truly see it as a continent of countless opportunities, of challenges, of fearless entrepreneurs where many good things can happen," explains Ines Bastos, EMRC senior project manager.