The Netherlands-African Business Council (NABC) has said that it would focus this time around on Francophone countries in Africa during its Francophone Africa Business (FAB) forum, in a statement.

According to the release, the forum will focus on water, energy, transport and logistics sectors.

The event which will take off November, 1, 2017, in Amsterdam has a line-up of prominent business moguls who would steer the affairs of the day.

Speakers include Mr. Samba Bathily, cofounder and CFO of Akon lighting Africa, and NABC’s Marina Diboma.

NABC is a leading organization for trade and investment facilitation for Africa whose purpose is to inform, inspire, connect and catalyze businesses with Africa’s opportunities. It is also aimed at empowering businesses to make confident decisions about when, where and how to do business in Africa.

Founded in 1946 in the Netherlands, the NABC today leads a network of over 350 engaged and diverse members and has access to a community of over 20,000 African and European businesses, institutes, government entities and others interested in doing business in Africa.

Below is the full statement:

Focus on Francophone Africa during NABC’s FAB Forum

NABC puts a spotlight on Francophone Africa, during the Francophone Africa Business (FAB) Forum in Amsterdam on November 1st. Dutch and European companies get the chance to meet over 100 African entrepreneurs and government officials and to get informed about the region.

The FAB Forum focuses on the sectors water, energy and transport & logistics. In cooperation with the local chambers of commerce in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, over 100 entrepreneurs and officials from the three countries will come to the Netherlands for a week. During this week they will visit companies and the daylong FAB Forum on November 1.

Increasing importance of Africa

Africa, and specifically Francophone West-Arica, is growing in importance for The Netherlands. After all most migration from Africa, an important topic in Dutch politics, passes through the Sahel region.

The new Dutch government, which will be presented on October 26, has indicated that it wants to ‘take away the root causes of migration.’ “Economic development in West-Africa is extremely important, both for the region as for Europe,” said Ms. Marina Diboma, deputy Managing-Director of NABC.

Role of the Dutch Government

The FAB Forum is being organized with support of the Dutch embassy in Mali, that is also responsible for Burkina Faso and Niger. Also the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO) play an important role during the event. RVO and Foreign Affairs organise a workshop, while the Director for Sustainable Economic Development of the Foreign Affairs ministry, Mr. Hans Doctor, will give a keynote speech.

Inspiring speakers

The FAB Forum will be opened by a number of inspiring speakers. First up is Mr. Samba Bathily, cofounder and CFO of Akon lighting Africa, that was founded in cooperation with pop star Akon. Akon Ligthing Africa operates in 14 countries and is active in the solar energy sector. Also the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), is a partner of FAB Forum. Investment officer Juliette Rose will speak about financing.

NABC’s Marina Diboma: “For the first time, NABC is giving such an important stage to Francohpne Africa. We hope a lot of companies from The Netherlands and neighboring countries will attend.”