Business News of Friday, 25 September 2015

Source: B&FT

AfDB President to be keynote speaker at Invest in Ghana

Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB President Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB President

The African Development Bank’s president, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, is the latest keynote speaker added to the prestigious line-up of speakers at this years’ Invest in Ghana, 2015. Mr. Adesina will join President John Mahama to welcome delegates from around the world to Accra, Ghana, on the 21st - 22nd of October 2015.

A true pan-African, during Mr. Adesina’s illustrious career as a development economist he has lived and worked in 15 African countries -- including 10 years in Francophone nations. Before being inaugurated as President of the African Development Bank, Mr. Adesina successfully led some of the most critical global efforts to support development of the agricultural sector. Through his efforts he was selected by Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nationsm, as one of the 17 leaders in the world to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals.

“As we open-up Africa with high quality regional infrastructure -- especially rail, transnational highways, information and communications, air and maritime transport -- the continent will witness a phenomenal boost in intra-Africa and global trade, and the entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses, large businesses, and millions of our young people will be unleashed,” states Mr. Adesina.

“The African Development Bank will work in new ways to address root-causes of economic fragility, support diversification of economies; strengthen institutions for transparency, accountability and good governance; and support countries to get more out of their own domestic resources.”

Mr. Adesina also served as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for the Federal Government of Nigeria; Vice President (policy and partnerships) of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) -- where he led several bold policy and innovative finance initiatives that leveraged over US$4billion in bank finance commitments toward Africa’s agriculture sector; and for ten years as the Associate Director for the Rockefeller Foundation.

Most recently as an influential member of the economic management team of Nigeria, Mr. Adesina also participated in implementing macroeconomic and fiscal policies for various sectors; including infrastructure, energy, education, and transportation.

Mr. Adesina joins Invest in Ghana, 2015, which is a must-attend Conference and Exhibition Summit focusing on doing business Ghana. With less than a month to go until the doors open to Invest in Ghana 2015 taking place in Accra, Ghana, there is still time to register for the event. Invest in Ghana 2015 is organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) in association with Homestrings Ltd. The event is expected to bring together over 300 local, regional and international business leaders and investors.