New Africa Business Development Forum 2021

18 November 2021. From 10:00 To 11:30 | Conference | English | Online

PEXELS / Tom Fisk

The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) follows years of negotiations and preparations and, more recently, months of delays due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Despite these obstacles, the AfCFTA became a reality on 1 January 2021, with the aim to become a driver for economic integration and development across the continent. The agreement, which was signed by 54 African countries, seeks to double intra-African trade by 2035 and envisions to create one of the world’s biggest free-trade areas, opening up a market of more than 1.2 billion people, with a combined GDP of more than $3 trillion. Yet some concerns have been also raised by African economies based on the fear that the agreement may serve a few countries and corporations in Africa at the expense of small economies and MSMEs and the limited production and productivity capacities of the smaller states.

With a special focus on the socio-economic situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this new edition of the New Africa Business Development Forum aims at providing a platform for business and economic cooperation between policymakers, industry leaders, academia, future investors, and relevant stakeholders. Through debate with the prime movers of infrastructure sector across various spheres, this year’s edition seeks to explore new potential areas in trade cooperation, assess the prospects and challenges of developing more integrated regional value chains across the continent and with Europe through the Mediterranean, and discuss the opportunities for financial assistance and access to green and sustainable finance for key infrastructure players.

This event is organised within the framework of the MedaWeek Barcelona 2021. The Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders is a conference dedicated to promoting the Mediterranean region worldwide and a platform for the promotion of the Mediterranean economic integration, organized annually since 2007 by the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and the Industry (ASCAME) and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation, with the collaboration of prominent Euro-Mediterranean organizations as the IEMed. Senén Florensa, Executive President of the IEMed will be taking part in its official opening on 17th November, and Roger Albinyana, Managing Director of the IEMed, will be attending the opening of the forums foreseen on the 18th November.