Recapping Africa Collective’s Davos 2025 Programme & Key Takeaways  

One month ago, Africa Collective, in partnership with Afreximbank as its Host Partner and the AfCFTA Secretariat as its Patronage Partner, convened an expanded series of Africa-focused events on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (January 20–24, 2025). Under the theme “Leading in 2025: From Regional Consolidation to Driving the Global Africa Agenda,” the programme amplified Africa’s role in shaping global economic conversations, notably during a historic moment during an African country’s (South Africa) G20 presidency. With over 50 expert speakers, 10 dynamic sessions, and 500 influential attendees—including CEOs, policymakers, and business leaders—the Africa Collective Hub in Davos – including the Africa Collective Networking Area, Africa Collective Partner Lounge, the Glass Pavilion, and The Chapel; – was a strategic location for discussions on Africa’s economic future and opportunities.  Now, a month later, we reflect on the key moments and insights that emerged from this high-impact gathering. 

Africa Collective Davos 2025 Programme Recap 

Jan 20- Day 1 

The weeklong program commenced with an inaugural Media Reception titled ‘Leveraging International Platforms to Shape Africa’s Global Narrative,’ where participants exchanged on reshaping Africa’s global narrative. The subsequent Partner Reception, an exclusive networking event for our Africa Collective Partners, set the tone for meaningful collaborations throughout the week. 

Jan 21- Day 2  

The second day of the Africa Collective Davos 2025 Programme kicked off with an Industrialisation Panel co-created by Afreximbank, which unpacked how industrialisation can drive Africa’s economic strategy and enhance self-sufficiency and competitiveness on a global scale.  

The panel was followed by the inaugural Digital Network Africa Davos x Africa Collective – Startup & Investor Lunch. Held under the theme: “Navigating investment opportunities on the African continent in times of global uncertainty.  

A G20/B20 roundtable discussion followed the lunch. This exclusive roundtable discussion brought together senior multi-sectoral leaders to explore actionable strategies for Africa’s progress in the context of South Africa’s leadership position in the G20. 

Jan 22- Day 3 

The third day of the Davos programme commenced with a Standard Bank Group thematic panel  under the title “African Infrastructure Opportunity: A Continent on the Move.” The panel explored Africa’s growing infrastructure opportunities, focusing on investment strategies and public-private partnerships.  

The afternoon health thematic panel, co-created with Novartis, titled “Building toward local innovation: Driving Africa’s innovative capacity in healthcare through partnership” examined projects and initiatives that are changing the healthcare ecosystem on the continent and how an enabling environment can be fostered for their successful implementation. The Afreximbank x Africa Collective Networking Cocktail Night wrapped up the third day, bringing together a vibrant mix of visionaries, changemakers, and champions of Africa’s remarkable business story. The night was filled with inspiring conversations and new connections, eye-catching African art and a soulful performance by Basel-based Ghanaian artist Reez.  

Jan 23 – Day 4 

The week concluded with the customary Africa Collective Davos Closing and Outlook Lunch. The high-level lunch brought together 60 distinguished African and global business executives and political leaders inside the iconic Chapel at the Africa Collective Hub to explore actionable ideas for driving sustainable growth and investment across the continent.  

Top 10  Insights across 10 Sessions  

Across the diverse industries represented in the program, the following outcomes stood out from the conversations held throughout the week: 

• South Africa’s G20 leadership is a unique chance to advance Africa’s collective interests. South Africa’s presidency, coupled with the African Union’s (AU) permanent seat in the G20, is a key opportunity for the continent to shape global economic and geopolitical discussions in 2025.  

• Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are essential for addressing Africa’s estimated $3.4 trillion infrastructure gap. These partnerships also build skills, enhance capacity, and deliver projects. 

• To build resilient healthcare systems, initiatives must be owned locally to ensure they reflect the lived experience of local populations. Strong healthcare systems are a basis for healthy communities and workforces – global stakeholders can play a supporting role in ensuring access to medicines and healthcare services.  

• Companies and investors need to consider the specificities of regional blocs. Harmonised rules under the AfCFTA agreement will increase the ease of doing business, facilitating investment into the continent.  

• While they exist, no region is without challenges. Instead, we can focus on bankable opportunities, which include green technology, processing critical minerals and manufacturing, amongst many others. 

• The Private Sector has an opportunity to help with drafting and shaping policies and needs to engage governments. It can also help fill the gaps in institutional capacity in the public sector through long-term investment in human capital and by working closely with the private sector.  

• Established companies have a significant role in getting the startup ecosystem to work, such as providing institutional knowledge and capital. 

• There is an opportunity for different sectors to benefit from the infrastructure being built around other industries and sectors (For example, the agricultural sector can benefit from the roads that service mining industries or along industrial corridors.) 

• The continent, which boasts a young, tech-savvy democratic, has an opportunity to build AI and tech into its industrialisation journey to fast-track its economic growth. 

These discussions were shaped by the following Africa Collective corporate partners, Afreximbank (Host Partner), Lead Partners Novartis and Standard Bank Group, as well as Supporting partners: Old Mutual, Ventures Platform Fund, INOKS Capital S.A. and ViaService SA.  

Representatives from Africa Collective Media Partners, notably SEMAFOR Africa, CNBC Africa, and African Business, moderated different agenda sessions. 

Building on the momentum of five successful presence in Davos since 2020, Africa Collective will continue to highlight business opportunities on the continent and be present at key business and economic events on the African continent as it continues to grow its network and promote actionable exchanges and collaboration on African opportunities. 

About Africa Collective    

Africa Collective is an information, exchange and collaboration platform for Africa. Its network, events and publications are focused on advancing the African continent globally. Through its network, events, and publications, Africa Collective champions the continent’s interests and opportunities on the global stage. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has proudly supported the initiative as Patronage Partner from the beginning, while Africa Unlimited is the Management Partner. Together with key partners—including Afreximbank, Novartis, Standard Bank, Old Mutual, Ventures Platform Fund, ViaService, and INOKS Capital amongst others. Africa Collective combines forces, resources and existing initiatives to amplify Africa’s voice and advance its position on the global stage.   

Africa Collective was formed during a high-level business roundtable on Africa in Davos, Switzerland, at the time of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in January 2020. Based on the impactful discussions between pan-African and global leaders held on the occasion, Africa Collective was formally launched together with the AfCFTA Secretariat as a patronage partner and in the presence of H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, at an inaugural luncheon held on 19 January 2023.    

The platform is an all-year, pan-African initiative by and for private & public sector players on the continent. Besides its yearly flagship representation in Davos since 2020, the platform has a strong presence at critical events in Africa and beyond, including the Africa CEO Forum, AfCFTA Business Forum “Biashara Afrika” and AfCFTA Intra-African Trade Fair.     

For more information, visit: www.africacollective.com and LinkedIn Page    

About the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat    

The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area, bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The overall mandate of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion. The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, the African Union’s long-term development strategy for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse.    

The AfCFTA Secretariat coordinates and facilitates the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement among African states.  It also engages stakeholders to promote the AfCFTA and undertakes trade and investment promotion activities to enhance intra-African trade, among other duties.    

For more information, visit: www.au-afcfta.org    

About Afreximbank    

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA.    

Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.    

For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com    

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