SWAKOPMUND will host the Africa Economic Leadership Council conference and expo from 28 to 30 May to promote domestic investment and unpack intra-African trade opportunities.
The conference will be held under the theme ‘Unpacking the AfCFTA and Access to Markets’, and will include a business summit.
According to the council’s co-founder and president, Namibian entrepreneur and tourism executive Heinrich Hafeni, high-powered delegates are expected, with president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretary general Wamkele Mene as guests of honour.
“We’re looking at having about 100 exhibitors and about 200 corporate, government and small businesses conference delegates,” Hafeni says.
Among the government ministers expected to attend are minister of international relations and trade Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, minister of industries, mines and energy Modestus Amutse, and minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform Inge Zaamwani.
Hafeni says the purpose of the conference is to promote domestic investment in Namibia as well as access to markets for Namibian goods.
“At the same time, we will be promoting intra-Africa trade. Discussions at the conference will mainly focus on unpacking the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement so people know what it’s all about.
“We need to unpack it, because 85% to 90% of Namibians do not know about it or how to leverage it,” he says.
Hafeni says the aim of the AfCFTA is to promote zero tariffs when trading in Africa.
The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
Mene recently told a conference in Lome, Togo, that intra-African trade could reach US$230 billion by 2027 if businesses actively drive the integration agenda alongside governments.
The Namibian government is a signatory to the AfCFTA agreement.
Hafeni says a number of activities are lined up to unpack the AfCFTA theme, including a visit to the Namibian Ports Authority, which is part of the corridor facilitating intra-Africa trade.
He says representatives from the banking sector will explain access to funding options for local entrepreneurs, while agriculture, fishing and the blue economy will also be represented.
“We have a presentation by the Benguela Current Commission and another by the Secondo Green Scheme. We will also be conducting a small and medium enterprise (SME) pitching competition to finance SMEs,” he says.
Hafeni urges Namibian SMEs who want to do business in other African countries to consider the AfCFTA for new markets.
He says the Africa Economic Leadership Council has lined up tour packages, including visiting sand dunes and quad biking for the benefit of conference delegates.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na
