Africa Leapfrogging Through Innovation: Third Investing In Africa Forum Coming To Dakar On September 25

DAKAR, September 20, 2017--The third edition of the Investing in Africa Forum (IAF) – a global platform for multilateral cooperation and promoting opportunities to increase China’s investments in Africa – will be held in Dakar, Senegal, from September 25 to 27, 2017.

More than 400 participants will attend this high-level forum co-hosted by the Government of Senegal, the Chinese Ministry of Finance, the China Development Bank, and the World Bank Group. Macky Sall, the President of Senegal, will open the event. The event will include significant participation from Chinese and African companies seeking to expand partnerships for new investments. The theme of this year’s forum is Africa Leapfrogging Through Innovation.

IAF 2017 will seek to catalyze a new generation of private investment opportunities driven by innovation and technological adoption that will be critical to unlocking Africa’s potential for accelerated and inclusive growth and leverage the ability of many countries to leapfrog into the future.

Six main topics will be discussed, including: (i) energy; (ii) agriculture and agribusiness; (iii) information and communication technologies (ICT); (iv) education; (v) finance; and (vi) governance and sustainability. IAF 2017 will also mark the official debut of the “Investing in Africa Think Tank Alliance” (IATTA), a platform to synergize the intellectual capabilities of research centers and the capital strengths. On September 25, a report on Africa’s leapfrogging through innovation, jointly prepared by the World Bank and the China Development Bank, will also be launched. On the same day IFC will sign an agreement with the China-Africa Development Fund following the opening plenary session.

Established in 2015 through a China Development Bank initiative, the first two editions of the IAF, held respectively in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and in Guangzhou (China) advocated for stronger partnerships to address key topics including accelerating manufacturing and industrialization, expanding agriculture and agribusiness, and improving infrastructure, regional connectivity and trade logistics.

WHAT: Third Investing in Africa Forum
WHERE: Centre International des Conférences Abdou Diouf (CICAD), Dakar, Senegal

WHO: Public and Private sectors from Africa and China; International and Continental

Institutions; Development Partners; Think Thanks

WHEN: September 25 – 27, 2017
FOLLOW LIVESTREAMS OF IAF 2017 KEY DISCUSSIONS AT: