- Keynote speeches and panel events explored the untapped potential of Africa in global trade
- NBA Hall of Famer, global humanitarian, investor, and entrepreneur Dikembe Mutombo, featured as a special guest
DP World hosted on 16 March the Africa Forum at its Flow Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Convening thought leaders, industry experts and over 60 DP World customers and partners from across Africa, the event explored the immense opportunities for increased trade and further development on the continent.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World’s Group Chairman and CEO, delivered the keynote speech and Nenad Pacek, the Founder of Global Success Advisors, provided an outlook on economic growth in Africa. Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO & Managing Director of DP World UAE and Jafza, spoke about how Dubai is building bridges between Africa and the world.
In addition, a panel chaired by Eithne Treanor discussed how integrated logistics is the catalyst for more efficient supply chains in Africa. The following panellists joined her.:
- Carlos Borges, Secretary of State for Civil Aviation, Maritime and Port Affairs for Angola
- Suhail Al Banna, CEO & Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, DP World
- Aboubacar Beye, Director-General, Port Autonome de Dakar
- Phumzile Langeni, Chairman, Imperial Logistics Limited
- Osorio Lucas, CEO, Maputo Port Development Company
The focus then shifted to a discussion between Hatem Sabry, Chief Financial Officer at the Egyptian-based trucking marketplace, Trella, and Melanie Noronha, Senior Manager, Policy and Insights at The Economist Impact.
DP World is making significant investments to deliver on this potential by improving trade infrastructure across Africa. The Africa Forum underlined how this infrastructure can unlock the vast opportunities for expanding trade on the continent.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World, said, “Through its immense natural resources, cultural diversity, and the energy of its youth, Africa has many competitive advantages. I firmly believe that all these strengths combined with the power of trade will accelerate the continent’s development in the years to come.”
“While some of the key building blocks are already in place, what is needed — to realise the full benefit of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and to meet the needs of Africa — is more investment in development of quality trade and logistics infrastructure. That will drive economic growth and create jobs.”
Suhail Al Banna, CEO and Managing Director of DP World Middle East and Africa, said, “Today, I had the privilege of participating in the panel discussion on ports in the heart of Africa at the Africa Forum. As a leading provider of smart logistics solutions and operator of 10 ports and terminals on the continent, our focus is to continue unlocking economic potential in African countries. We aim to establish new partnerships that will expand trade relations to move goods with ease, thus transforming global trade and creating more efficient supply chains in Africa.”
The Africa Forum closed with a Q&A session with NBA Hall of Famer, global humanitarian, investor, and entrepreneur, Dikembe Mutombo. He shared with guests his exciting and inspiring journey. Having retired as one of basketball’s greatest ever defensive players, he now dedicates much of his time to humanitarianism, working to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo, and entrepreneurship, producing coffee from sustainable farms in Africa.