The Africa Roundtable: April 2023

The last The Africa Roundtable was presented by GPI in cooperation with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in Nairobi, the economic and technological hub of East Africa.

As the side event to the annual Ibrahim Governance Weekend (IGW), this Roundtable addressed the perspectives deriving from the geopolitical shifts we encounter around the world. The need to decouple and diversify sheds a different light on Africa and marks a turning point in Europe-Africa economic relations. Under the credo “Roadmap to Africa”, we aimed to identify the opportunities to deepen trade and investment relations as well as leveraging private and institutional funding. Crises offer a license to act and to speed up developments leading to concrete plans for implementation.

The Africa Roundtable is an exclusive circle which enables high-level participants from different sectors to engage in frank and open conversation. We encourage an intensive exchange and aim for mutual understanding, leading to reliable action recommendations. Networking opportunities during the IGW, to which all Roundtable participants are accredited, and the production of White Papers complement the Roundtable.

The format is supported by several partners: the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and the Federation of German Industries. Our research partner McKinsey will provide the basis for fruitful discussions.

Follow up and recommendations for action >>

A selection of speakers:

• Elhadj As Sy, Chair of the Board, Kofi Annan Foundation
• Monika Beck, Member of the Management Board, KfW DEG
• Mark Malloch Brown, President, Open Society Foundations
• Amadou Diallo, CEO MENA Region, DHL Global Forwarding
• Koen Doens, Director-General International Partnerships, EU Commission
• Dr Benedikt Franke, CEO, Munich Security Conference
• Dr Ingrid Hamm, CEO Global Perspectives Initiative
• Amadou Hott, Special Envoy of the President, African Development Bank
• Dr Mo Ibrahim, Entrepreneur & Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
• Dr Jörg Kukies, State Secretary & G7/G20-Sherpa, German Federal Chancellery
• Dr Anja Langenbucher, Director for Europe, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Dr Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa
• Wolfgang Niedermark, Member of the Executive Board, Federation of German Industries
• Birgit Pickel, Director-General for Africa, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development