A three day Global African Business Titans conference started on Sunday in Johannesburg where African business executives and company directors would discuss ways to help revive the continent’s economy.
The conference has been convened by Black Business Executive Circle (BBEC), which is affiliated to Mafube Enterprise, together with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) office.
The gathering titled: ”Towards the creation of a Global African Economic Community”, will be held until Tuesday at the Sandton Convention Centre.
”The conference will explore how Nepad can serve as a catalyst to help business from diaspora to trade and investment within a borderless global African economic community”, said Mafube Enterprise marketing manager Anna Ngwenya.
”The aim of the conference is to bring debate about Nepad beyond the shores of the continent, and engaging Africans abroad to become champions of its principles and advocates for its implementation.”
She said to accomplish this, the conference would look at Nepad through a pragmatic, triple bottom line focused, private sector prism and to have businesses from the continent and outside of it explore how it should be utilised to facilitate increased trade and investment within a borderless global African economic community.
Registered delegates and speakers who have committed to attend included international, African and local businessmen.
They are Armgold SA chairman Patrice Motsepe, Minister and Economic Advisor to President Wade of Senegal, Cherif Salif Sy, Senior Editor of Black Enterprise Magazine(USA) Matthew Scott, Nepad Secretariat in Kenya Peter Ondeng and chairman of Eskom Reuel Khoza.
Ngwenya said it would be the first time the continent’s captains of industry had came together to discuss the continent’s economy.
The BBEC consists of senior black business executives who come together to discuss, to share experiences and to explore business opportunities. They have visited a number of African countries to investigate potential investment.
They comprise chief executive officers, executive chairpersons, managing directors and those in senior general management positions in parastatals, multinationals and major South African or African corporations.
The BBEC is also a member of the Black Business Council and its chairman is businessman, Peter Vundla. – Sapa