The Africa CEO Forum: Harnessing Africa’s Superpower – The Private Sector – To Unlock Economic Potential
Shumirai Chimombe
The Africa CEO Forum 2025 was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from 12 to 13 May. It brought together some 3000 public and private sector decision-makers, including Heads of State, for two days of discussions regarding doing business on the continent, and to highlight the increasingly crucial role of the private sector in the economic and social development of the continent. Founded by Jeune Afrique Media Group and co-sponsored by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Africa CEO Forum is the leading platform for leaders of the largest continental and and multinational companies, investors, Heads of State and Government, Ministers and representatives of financial institutions.
Since its launch in 2012, the Africa CEO Forum has evolved from an annual event to a permanent platform through which African decision-makers can continue to connect with each other, as well as with international investors and institutions operating on the continent. It provides year-round support to Africa’s business leaders through an array of in-person and digital events, reports, and expert insights.
Africa In a Transactional World – A New Deal
The theme for this year’s gathering was “Can a New Deal Between State and Private Sector Deliver the Continent a Winning Hand?” In its introductory video shown at the opening ceremony, the Africa CEO Forum said that in a world in which protectionism is a defining reality of global trade, where debt has reached new heights and global capital flows have dried up, addressing some of the continent’s key priorities will become ever more challenging. These priorities include agricultural self-sufficiency, financial innovation, digital acceleration, and industrial capacity. “But Africa has a superpower with the agility and the resources to address these priorities – the private sector. To deploy this superpower we need to fundamentally reset relations between the state and private sector. This is why we are calling for a new deal.”
A new deal was anchored by the Africa CEO Forum on three pillars:
- To ensure that governance and accountability are core efforts to encourage bold policy making
- To co-create smart industrial policies which will strengthen African industries and promote her exports
- To ensure that the obstacles to intra-African trade are removed once and for all – accelerating the AfCFTA
A Pact To Create An Enabling Investment Environment
The Managing Director of the IFC, Makhtar Diop welcomed the delegates during the opening ceremony. He indicated that their presence embodied Africa on the move – an Africa that acts. “We live in a rapidly changing world – a world shaken by uncertainties. But it is precisely in these moments of turbulence that we must aim higher, think bigger, act faster. It starts with the obvious – transform our natural resources. Our critical minerals, strategic in a digital and decarbonised economy, must become a lever for local value creation. Our second wealth – transform our human capital. Creating decent and sustainable employment opportunities must be the heart of all our policies. To succeed in these two major transformations, a key player exists, which is the private sector.”
He went on to say that the private sector is the one that invests, innovates and hires. But for it to fully play its role, it needs a suitable environment – a predictable and attractive business climate, integrated regional value chains, and an effective ongoing public-private dialogue. “Asia has proven it, Africa can do it and will do it. To succeed however, we need solid foundations: modern infrastructure, coherent public policies, a stable investment climate and the ability to mobilise national savings and foreign capital.”
Mr Diop concluded by saying that the theme for this year’s Africa CEO Forum was clear – a new pact between governments and the private sector. A pact that will enable dialogue at the continental level between public and private sectors; that will enable robust value chains which will allow the integration of Africa’s economies; one that will generate much needed value and wealth, driving job creation and improving people’s wellbeing. It’s a pact built on commitment, transparency and a focus on results. “You can count on us, the World Bank group and our partners to help you in this effort.”
The Road to Economic, Political and Commercial Integration – The Future of The AfCFTA
President Cyril Ramaphosa together with his counterparts, H.E. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and H.E. Paul Kagame of Rwanda, participated in the Presidential panel discussion that explored better coordinated efforts to spearhead Africa’s development. One of the key discussion points was the issue of accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a pool of economic power for the continent.
H.E. Ramaphosa reiterated the importance of pan-African trade through the AfCFTA, and emphasised that it is a fundamentally transformative mechanism that was adopted by the leaders of the continent. “They saw wisdom in scaling the fortunes of Africa and moving us beyond just talking about politics and the unity of the continent, and wanting to put in place the real building blocks of what will support that unity and the progress on our continent. And that was about the economic growth of the continent through engendering trade – and that’s why the AfCFTA was adopted. So it is an engine of growth and through it we’d like the private sector to embrace it, to participate in it because it gives the African continent an opportunity to integrate, and it gives business people the opportunity to see the 1.4 billion people market on our continent and a GDP adding up to $3.4 trillion.”
He said that the AfCFTA would enable the private sector to work with the public sector to embark on meaningful projects such as infrastructure. For trade to have meaning and to happen on the continent, infrastructure projects must be embarked upon; roads must be built; airlines must work properly as must the ports and rail network. “So what I’m saying is we would like the private sector to follow in tandem with the public sector to embrace the AfCFTA and be active participants. What the public sector will do is to de-risk a number of these projects – particularly when it comes to infrastructure projects – through the sovereign financial systems in each country.”
His Excellency included other benefits such as institutional capacity improvement, bolstering the skills base and opening up trading beyond just the regions but to the whole continent. “And this is precisely what we are going to be advocating at the G20 Leaders Summit when it comes to things like critical minerals. We want an accord that will enable all of us to manage our critical minerals properly. And we can only do so when the public and the private sector work together. The African Continental Free Trade Area is going to be the pathfinder, the road opener that will enable the movement of goods and of people. And it’s going to open the floodgates for economic activity on our continent.”
Some Voices From The Forum
Eleni Giokos – CNN correspondent and presenter of Connecting Africa on CNN International:
“Africa is in a transactional world; we are seeing confrontation on all fronts with global powers…trade wars. And you are hearing the world ‘leverage’ quite a lot. Here’s my take: the leverage is in this room; it is on the African continent. It has everything – rare earths platinum, gold, oil, gas, a young demographic that is skillful, resourceful and resilient, creative talent. The spheres of influence are clearly changing; the world order is being rejigged as we speak. And when the dust settles what is the new deal that the continent will sign? It is vital that every person in this room takes action and the governments assist you, the private sector, to create a magical future for the continent.”
Christel Heydemann, CEO, Orange – a French multinational telecommunications corporation
“If you want to attract investment, predictability is probably the key driver. There’s really three things that can help us to continue to unleash the potential of Africa. Number one is developing talents, and we are investing in developing talents in every country where we operate. Because this is for us the key to being able to grow. The second is infrastructure because access to energy and access to digital infrastructure is key for the continent’s development. And the third for us of course is that we want to grow on the continent .We want Africa to be a tech hub because that’s going to help attract other investors.”
Ethiopis Tafara, Vice President for Africa, IFC
“In the years I’ve been working within the World Bank Group, what I’ve noted is that there’s no shortage of private capital and there’s no shortage of investors interested in investing in countries. Frequently the issue is finding projects that are bankable, where you’ve got the calibration of the allocation of benefits and risks between the private sector and the public sector. I think we need to increasingly start talking to governments about what they want to finance with public money, what they want to finance with private money. Then we can help those projects financed with private money get to bankability by getting this calibration of benefits and risks right. I think because of the shortage of Official Development Assistance (ODA) we need to focus on placing public money in initiatives and reforms that will enable and mobilise private capital – which is scarce so it needs to be carefully applied to open up the floodgates for more private capital to come in.”
Hon. Nassénéba Touré, Minister of Women, Family and Children, Côte d’Ivoire
“I see an awareness of African responsibility in a world of turmoil. Today, we want to take our destiny into our own hands through industrialisation; through the exploitation of our primary resources; through mining, the wealth of our subsoil, agriculture, food sovereignty. These are subjects that have been addressed here. And I think the signals are green. Because if the leaders conjugate the same verb and go in the same direction, it is obvious that Africa will move forward.”
For more information, and to watch videos of the 2025 event, go to the Africa CEO Forum website at https://www.theafricaceoforum.com/forum-2025/en/ or follow them on their social media pages – Facebook, LinkedIn and X
Sources: The Africa CEO Forum | International Finance Corporation (IFC) | South African Presidency | AfCFTA | SABC News
