The African Development Bank, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) jointly organized the first "Africa Business Day" on enabling Southern African busineses to expand into Sub-Saharan Africa.
Titled "Business Strategy for expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa - Challenges and opportunities for Southern African companies", the day-long event focused on assisting medium- and large-scale Southern African companies to expand beyond their domestic markets.
"The Bank considers this Forum an important milestone in our efforts to strengthen engagement with the private sector in order to tap the many opportunities Africa has to offer. The day also marks another step in our partnership with prominent national and regional institutions," said Josephine Ngure, the Bank's Deputy Director General for Southern Africa Regional Office.
"Under President Adesina, the Bank launched its High 5 agenda to accelerate the implementation of our Ten Year Strategy 2013-2022. Recognizing the needs far outweigh available resources, the High 5s emphasize the importance of domestic resource mobilization, crowding-in of investment, partnerships and leveraging. Our discussions at the Africa Business Day and during future similar events will be seeking to contribute to the High 5s by creating an opportunity for fruitful, win-win partnerships here in South Africa and across the whole of Africa."
The event provided a forum for multinational South African companies and experts to share experiences and local knowledge with medium- and large- scale South African enterprises contemplating opportunities in the rest of Africa. It also presented networking opportunities and offered insight into available products and offerings from the JSE, the IDC and the Bank.
"As Africa's premier exchange, we provide companies with access to capital as well as a platform to connect our many stakeholders to access growth. Our partnership with the African Development Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation to bring together like-minded stakeholders for expansion on the continent speaks to these partnerships for growth," said Donna Nemer, Director Capital Markets, Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
"The Industrial Development Corporation is at the forefront of industrial development that unlocks critical and globally competitive industries to support and stimulate economic growth in South Africa and also unlock regional development and integration in the rest of Africa," said Lizeka Matshekga, Divisional Executive, Agro, Infrastructure and New Industries.
The event was attended by key players from the continent's banking and finance sectors, international development and finance institutions, representatives of key economic sectors, Chambers of Commerce, South African multinationals, medium- and large-scale companies that are contemplating expanding to the rest of Africa.
