Hamid Ayodeji
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), through its Sub regional Office for West Africa, has announced its invitation to sector champions in various industries of the economy to be a part of a Regional Business Forum structured around high-level meetings, consultations with Business Champions, the youth and women in the West African business ecosystems.
The three-day Forum would be held in Lagos, Nigeria using both physical and virtual hybrid format.
The Regional Business Forum, UNECA said, will be held in collaboration with strategic partners from across the continent by connecting women and youths, business leaders, the private sector, and SMEs.
“The West Africa Business Forum is the first edition in a series of stakeholders’ engagements by the Economic Commission for Africa with top business leaders, and sector champions in Africa. The theme of the forum is “Empowering Women and Youths to Spur Africa’s Transformation Agenda,” it stated
The Director of the Sub-Regional office for West Africa of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Ngone Diop, expressed the wishes of her office to engage sector leaders across critical sectors of the economy within the West Africa Region, to translate ideas into actions around specific interventions that are designed to build capacities, and empower the Youths and Women in the region.
She said the process is aimed at developing a regional framework and an ecosystem, which is geared towards harnessing the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement as an anchor, to unlock the potentials of youths, and Women in Africa, as well as foster business championship to its maximum abilities for women and youths from across the continent.
According to her the forum would also stimulate regional engagements and strategic private sector partnerships to support experienced and non-experienced women and youth entrepreneurs.
“In order to achieve the expected results, the Forum will adopt a targeted yet broad approach, looking at strategies for post COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery, emerging development and investment opportunities in areas around the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, key business sectors such as agri-business infrastructure development and the social sectors of health and education.
“Specific objectives of the forum includes providing a platform that would be used to share business opportunities among women and youths across the region and in Africa at large, while showing case success stories of women and youths’ businesses for cross learning and impact.
“To identify business champions who are committed to support the growth of women and youths and link them for effective mentorship and dedicated support and define an agreed action plan for follow-up and tailored support to women and youths’ businesses, following a pilot approach.
“The expected results from this meeting are business leaders identified as dedicated champions for women and youth entrepreneurs, accepting to support, mentor them to grow their businesses and or engage in the business sector; and plan along with a pilot approach agreed upon and will be refined following the forum to implement such championship initiative,” Diop added.
