17/09/2022
A business event this weekend you should not miss…
__Unstoppable Africa!
There’s a really exciting high level conference on Africa taking place in New York THIS Sunday and Monday [18-19 September]. I’ve actually traveled all the way here to attend!
I know it’s very late notice, my friends... but I’ve implored the event organizers to make sure that those of you who are in America [and can get to NYC] should be given entry, if you register online ASAP. [I put the link below, only register if you're able to attend in person].
I have also asked them to stream it LIVE online for the two days! The event is the Global Africa Business Initiative or “GABI” for short. You can check it out here: https://www.gabi.biz/
This event has been years in the making and thanks to the work of one of the most powerful women leaders in the world today [an African no less] -- Amina Mohammed, the Deputy SG of the UN -- and a group of business leaders [including yours truly], it’s finally happening!
Take a look at this agenda: https://www.gabi.biz/agenda Wow!
As entrepreneurs who follow the news, you should know that every September, leaders from every nation are invited to attend a very big meeting in New York City, of global scope. Hint: the main event is a plenary session where each leader is allowed to speak. [If you aren't aware of this, do your research and please post about it below].
What most people don’t know is that thousands of other people also converge in New York City at the same time. Many come in delegations with the leaders, whilst most come on their own.
__This busy week in September each year is an opportunity to meet other business people in one place, or to join events on every imaginable issue out there. I get literally hundreds of invitations to attend discussions or to speak.
I have been coming for decades, and I have a well-established routine around what I do, and who I see. I rarely stay more than a day or two.
The idea behind “GABI” was to establish a forum where Africa is THE primary focus. The speaker rostrum they put together is just amazing and I urge you to look at it carefully. To be honest, I've never seen a rostrum like this for one meeting! It is awesome.
You’ll see in the program that people like Aliko Dangote, Robert Smith [the wealthiest African American]; Sundar Pichai [of Google’s parent company]; Brad Smith [of Microsoft] are just a few business titans who will be there… talking about Africa! If you don't know who they are, you better Google them!
Melinda French-Gates, co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Darren Walker, head of the Ford Foundation, will be among those at GABI leading the philanthropy sector.
You’ll also see some of the biggest names in sport leadership such as Giovanni Infantino of FIFA, Adam Silver of the NBA, and Masai Ujiri of the Toronto Raptors…
For those of you who love music, even John Baptiste is coming. It goes on and on!
So why is GABI being launched this year, and getting so much attention? As entrepreneurs, all of you here on my platform already know the answer...
"Africa is now positioned to be the most important driver of global business with a $2.5 trillion market opportunity. Every sector of the continent’s economy from manufacturing to agriculture to services to finance is on a growth trajectory.
By 2050, one in every four people in the world will be African – offering up a massive consumer and business market..." [from the GABI intro]:
__This is the type of event you sleep on the pavement for guys, if you’re an entrepreneur or budding young leader.
Now at this point, I don't want any of you to jump on a plane please! As I said, the GABI event starting Sunday morning EDT will be streamed LIVE so I suggest that you get together with your friends from this platform, organize some food, and if you can, even set up giant screens to watch together and discuss. [If link isn't on the website yet, stay tuned till Sunday].
See you there!
Image credit: With thanks to photographer, Michael Poliza, for his photo at Duma Tau Camp in Linyati, Botswana. In his caption about this charging female elephant, he wrote:
Indeed!
