The Chief Executive Officer of the Attijariwafa Bank Group addressed the closing ceremony of the Africa Development Forum on 15 March 2019. Summary.
“It is now my honor to officially close this 6th edition of the International Africa Development Forum, under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which God is assisting.
From the outset, I would like to thank you for the high content of the debates, and the wealth of meetings held in the framework of the B to B that augur significant achievements in terms of intra-African trade and investment. The energy, the voluntarism and the daring were at the rendezvous, and leave us confident and determined for the future.
– Thus, you were 2,000 economic operators from 34 countries, came to Casablanca to seize business opportunities in new markets to explore. The number of B to B appointments exceeded all our expectations. Thus, last night at 19H, more than 1,845 B to B were held, and we should approach the 5,000 meetings at the end of this day, not to mention the dozens of informal meetings that took place on the sidelines of the Forum. The main sectors affected by B to B are agro-food (42%), public works and construction (26%), trading and distribution (18%), and to a lesser extent, energy (8%) and food. transport and logistics sector (5%).
– The Investment Market, where 8 sister countries came to present their national development plans and flagship investment projects, was strongly solicited and opened up new perspectives.
– Finally, the themes addressed by our Forum – integration is West Africa, digital entrepreneurship & youth, women entrepreneurship – were embodied by exemplary success stories that show the way, and demonstrate the capabilities of innovation, fighting spirit, resilience, our continent.
In this regard, allow me to share with you a brief summary of the flagship recommendations from these panels.
– The Panel on Accelerating Regional Integration has highlighted the need to further develop infrastructure on the African continent, including the connectivity infrastructure that is an essential lever for integration, as well as the “soft infrastructures” Which can also contribute effectively to the acceleration of integration for SMEs.
– The “Stand up for African Women Entrepreneurs” Panel highlighted innovative initiatives and financing mechanisms underway to support women entrepreneurs, as well as the need to accelerate deployment and communication around these levers in favor of female entrepreneurship.
– Lastly, the Digital Panel as a lever for growth in Africa and the contribution of young African start-ups has also produced a rich set of recommendations in two directions:
• Increased government support to create regional champions, through the introduction of flexible and evolving regulations, the relaxation of business creation conditions by lowering the minimum threshold for starting capital, or facilitating the mobility of people;
• Better synergy with the private sector in an inclusive approach. In particular, it was pointed out that a startup needs not funding, but a well-stocked order book and the confidence of a large company to order its solution and deploy it.
The richness of all these recommendations unquestionably demonstrates our collective ability to take charge of our African destinies, and to be together, true actors of change.
Thus, the agreement signed yesterday by the Attijariwafa bank group with the African Development Bank and the Women’s Patronage Associations is fully in line with this framework, and demonstrates our commitment to offer women business customers and clients, consulting solutions, support and financing. Similarly, the signing of a cooperation protocol with Kenya Commercial Bank, Kenya’s largest bank, will allow us to offer our economic operators in all our countries presence, access to the Kenyan market and all markets covered by KCB in East Africa.
Allow me to express our thanks again for your presence and your intense mobilization, as well as my renewed conviction in our common capacity to act, to anticipate, to realize the full potential, carried by the enthusiasm of our youth to undertake without complexes, and the vision of public decision-makers to attract private investment.
I express the wish that each of us, once back home, communicate to our partners customers or suppliers the enthusiasm observed during this Forum, and encourage them to engage even more in the way of the south-south integration. To do this, the Africa Development Club, which already has more than 3,000 members, is at your disposal to extend the dialogue beyond the Forum, further strengthen our business relations, and seize together new growth opportunities.
I would also like to thank our panellists who, through their concrete testimonies, have demonstrated the imperative of greater economic integration of our continent, entrepreneurship and innovation. The recommendations resulting from their debates will enrich the Proceedings of the Africa Development International Forum, aimed at business communities and public decision-makers.
Our thanks also go to our dedicated Forum Organizing Teams for their unwavering commitment to the success of the event.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As the Attijariwafa bank group and thanks to the support of our reference shareholder the pan-African private equity fund Al Mada, we are fully committed to the development of our continent and determined to further increase our efforts in terms of the banking populations, support SMEs, SMEs and large companies in the realization of their projects.
Be assured of the full mobilization of our 19,000 employees in our 26 countries of presence, to accompany you in your efforts and to meet together the challenges of growth and South-South integration.
I give you an appointment next year and thank you for your attention. “
