The Brand Africa Forum is coming to Johannesburg at the end of this month. Hosted by the International Merketing Council, it is a day-long event which presents the opportunity for global leaders, thinkers, commentators and decision makers to meet and discuss the future of Africa.
The key themes for the discussions will be the growth, reputation and competitiveness of Africa in general. The world’s leaders and Africa’s most promising minds will meet to push the agenda for success and prosperity. Delegates from all sectors, including media, business and government, will discuss lessons learned and look to a better future for all African nations.
- Dr. Vijay Mahajan, Marketing Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Africa Rising
- Dr. Dambisa Moyo, global economist, author of Why The West Was Lost and a participant in the Bilderberg Conference.
- Tawana Nyambirai, progressive entrepreneur and chairman of Econet & TN Group (Zimbabwe)
- Hon. Hanna Tetteh, barrister and Minister of Trade and Industry (Ghana)
- David Haigh, economic commentator and CEO of Brand Finance, plc. (UK)
- Keith Dinnie, author of Nation Branding and City Branding
- Rakesh Wahi, vice chairman and co-founder of CNBC Africa
- Nigel Hollis, analyst and author of The Global Brand: How to create and develop lasting brand value in the world market
There are going to be four main panels at the forum which are going to focus on:
The role of business in moulding and expanding Africa’s economic future; Youth and their vision for the African continent; Governance and sustainability and how to enable policies that “foster growth and development”; and the significance of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China (People’s Republic of) and South Africa) and lessons for South Africa and the rest of the African continent.
Tumi Makgabo, South African broadcaster and CNN anchor, will chair the programme. Key questions the panels will concentrate on include:
- How can South Africa use its membership of BRICS to influence economic investment in Africa and growth greater than 7%?
- How can African enterprises develop internationally? Are African businesses expanding solely within the continent at the expense of more far-reaching development?
- What type of leadership is best for Africa? What type of leadership will foster an enabling environment, and propagate progressive growth and innovation in African nations?
The importance of forums like this is enormous. It presents not just an opportunity for the great thinkers of the continent to meet and brainstorm on issues which are affecting certain member states, but also gives a chance for delegates to share their experiences and the opportunities they face in their own countries. One of the main questions posed by Brand Africa is: Everybody coming to Africa has an agenda. What’s Africa’s agenda? As they say on their website, “Brand Africa™ is an African initiative for Africa, by Africans and supporters of Africa”.