The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) has kicked off preparations for the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) and Africa Prosperity Champions Awards (APCA) with a high-profile Partners’ Cocktail held at the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra on November 29, 2024.
The gathering brought together sponsors, stakeholders, and policy leaders to solidify support for the upcoming Dialogues, which aim to address Africa’s pressing infrastructure needs.
Scheduled for January 30 to February 1, 2025, in Accra, APD 2025 will focus on the theme “Delivering Africa’s Single Market through Infrastructure: Invest. Integrate. Connect.” The Dialogues are expected to attract over 1,000 influential participants, including business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and heads of state, to discuss practical solutions for improving the continent’s infrastructure.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, Founder and Executive Chairman of APN, urged Africa’s public and private sectors to collaborate in achieving a seamless single market under the AfCFTA.
“Infrastructure is the backbone of trade. To create the world’s largest single market, we must collectively drive investments into transport, energy, and digital systems,” he said.
In a statement read on his behalf, AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene projected that a fully operational AfCFTA could generate a combined market value of $6.7 trillion by 2030 and $16.12 trillion by 2050.
However, he emphasised that without addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, these projections may remain unrealised.
Wamkele Mene called for public-private partnerships to develop transport corridors, energy systems, and digital networks critical to the AfCFTA’s success.
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Herbert Krapa, noted that energy infrastructure would play a pivotal role in Africa’s industrialisation and trade. He highlighted renewable energy, cross-border energy projects, and Africa’s gas reserves as opportunities for investment. “A unified African market will be powered by energy, and it is crucial to align discussions at APD 2025 with this goal,” Krapa said.
The Dialogues’ headline sponsors include BADEA, MTN, Planet One Group, Shelter Afrique, Devtraco Group, and Telecel Ghana. Telecel Ghana’s Chief Operating Officer, Muhammad Gadda, lauded APD 2025 as a platform for fostering partnerships that can drive Africa’s growth. Joseph Aidoo, Executive Director of Devtraco Group, described infrastructure as the “glue that transforms Africa’s fragmented markets into a unified economic powerhouse.”
The Africa Prosperity Champions Awards (APCA), a highlight of the Dialogues, will recognise Africans whose contributions have propelled the continent’s development. Nana Adwoa Hackman, APN’s Executive Director of Events, stated, “These awards honour exceptional leadership and innovation, aligning with Africa’s broader prosperity agenda.”
UN Resident Coordinator Charles Abani outlined five key priorities—sustainable financing, digital infrastructure, food security, job creation, and intra-African trade—urging stakeholders to prioritise these issues. Commonwealth Secretary General-elect Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey called for innovation and collaboration, declaring, “This is the moment to move from conversation to action, building Africa’s largest single market.”
About APD and APN
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues are APN’s flagship initiative, bringing together leaders from Africa’s public and private sectors to accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA. APN continues to champion solutions that bridge gaps in infrastructure, policy, and trade, promoting a unified and prosperous Africa.
As the continent’s leaders and stakeholders prepare for APD 2025, the Dialogues promise to be a transformative event, laying the foundation for Africa’s infrastructure revolution and the realisation of its single market dream.