Accra, Oct. 20, GNA – The seventh edition of African Business Leaders Forum (ABLF), which seeks to examine challenges facing leadership and development in Africa, and to proffer solutions to move the continent forward, had been launched in Accra on Wednesday.

The event scheduled to take place in Accra from November 10-12 this year, would be attended by public and private sector leaders to brainstorm on finding the right leadership approaches to help transform the continent's fortunes.

In addition, it would provide learning opportunities for panelists, including past and present African Heads of State and Government, Ministers of State, top-notch business executives, entrepreneurs and chief executive officers from Africa and beyond as well as feature over 60 high level speakers to share their experiences on leadership and development in Africa.

The forum would be on the theme: “Enhancing Africa’s Business Opportunities Through Effective Public and Private Partnerships”.

Madam Jeannete Ndhlovu, South African High Commissioner to Ghana, assisted by Mr Desmond Boateng, Director of Finance and Administration, Ministry of Communications, and Mr Edward Ashong-Lartey, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, jointly launched the event.

Mrs Edith Dankwa, Executive Director of Business and Financial Times, a newspaper, organiser of the forum, said this year’s event would replicate the Youth Session dubbed “101 Young African Leaders Summit”, in a bid to continue empowering the youth to take up the mantle of leadership.

“It will also feature an international exhibition as well as a golf day that seeks to provide a relaxed atmosphere for business networking,” Mrs Dankwa announced.

She observed that even though great strides had been made in the past decades, some opportunities still abound on the continent yet to be explored.

Mrs Dankwa called for more work and policy-sharpening for greater achievement and said “But we recognise that turning these opportunities into concrete actions that deliver prosperity and wealth will require visionary and effective leadership in both the public and private sectors, that is Africa’s most demanding challenge of this era,” she added.

Mr Kyle Whitehill, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, sponsors of the forum, observed that Africa had the greatest opportunities in terms of natural resources and needed the right leadership to harness those potentials.

He said the power of effective leadership was when a leader made the right decision at the crucial time and added that the right conditions existed on the African continent for business to flourish.

Dr Kofi Amoah, Patron of ABLF, called on Africans to develop ideas to improve businesses and said the emergence of globalisation required strengthening of local economic activities for development.