Dubai: Africa’s Largest Bank Brings High-Profile Investment Conference to Dubai

The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (DIFC Branch) has announced plans to host a one-day Africa Investors’ Conference (AIC) in Dubai in partnership with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the 4th Global Business Forum on Africa in November.

The highly-anticipated conference will bring together African corporate leaders and international investors and outline the huge potential for investment in Africa, with a focus on finding key opportunities for economic growth across various sectors and industries on the continent.

The event will connect international investors with some of Africa’s most successful companies.

With attendees from numerous African countries, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania, the conference format consists of one-on-one and group business meetings that allow attendees to network and discuss investment opportunities in Africa.

H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber, explained that the Global Business Forum on Africa offers extensive economic insights into the current and future prospects for investment in Africa, adding that the forum is an ideal setting to host the Africa Investors’ Conference.

“Dubai has become a strategic trade and investment hub for a growing number of African businesses that have benefitted by using the emirate to expand their footprint in this region.

At the same time, the appeal of African markets to GCC companies and investors has steadily increased, and evidence of this trend can be seen in the growing participation in the Global Business Forum on Africa in recent years,” H.E. Buamim explained.

A number of institutional investors will be attending the conference, alongside corporate leaders from a broad range of sectors, including financial services, industry, consumer, telecommunication and media, oil and gas, and power and infrastructure.

“The policy, infrastructure and opportunity landscape across Sub-Saharan Africa presents powerful growth and investment opportunities, and we have seen a significant and consistent increase in the number of Middle Eastern clients looking to break into the region,” says Rassem Zok, Chief Executive at The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited in Dubai.

“Standard Bank will continue to link international capital to African opportunity through its well-established presence in Dubai’s highly networked and globally connected capital and innovation hub.”

The Dubai Chamber is set to welcome five African heads of state, 12 ministers and more than 1,000 top-level government and corporate decision makers and industry experts for the 4th Global Business Forum on Africa, which will be held at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah on November 1st-2nd, 2017.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the two-day forum, held under the theme “Next Generation Africa”, will examine the current economic outlook for the continent, exploring its prospects for development, investment opportunities and partnerships with GCC countries.