June 06, (THEWILL) – Stakeholders in the creative, cultural, knowledge and digital industries across the world gathered in Kigali, Rwanda to attend a three-day Africa Month Summit organised by the Africa Soft Power Project (ASP).
The event, which featured impactful conversations centred around the theme, ‘Africa and The Global Community: The New Face of Collaboration,’ took place between May 26 and 28, 2022.
There were discussions on sports, music, fashion, financing/digital infrastructure, tourism, trade and payments, with the discussants highlighting how to leverage Africa’s digital, creative and knowledge economies to benefit the continent, the global Diasporan community and beyond.
While declaring the summit open, the Founder and Creative Director of the Africa Soft Power Project, Nkiru Balonwu, expressed her excitement about the massive support received from discussants, partners and sponsors from within the continent and in the diaspora.
She said, “What we are witnessing today is the evidence of what we can achieve for the continent, when we come together. Leveraging the power of collaboration, we are determined to build structures, talents and institutions that are long-lasting and survive us.
“Across music, sports, fashion, art, innovation and digital capabilities, The Africa Soft Power Project is committed to enabling progress for Africa and Africans. We are leveraging soft power to create respected African thought-leaders, unite the global black community and ultimately chart a sustainable course around how we can propel ourselves and the continent forward.”
In his Keynote address, the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), H.E. Wamkele Mene, said the recovery tool at Africa’s disposal in the post- is the post-COVID-19 era was the AfCTA.
“We expect that the recovery we want to see, whether in the service industry, trade in goods or digital trade, will be driven by trade on the African continent. We are committed to ensuring that we implement aggressively the AfCFTA, towards significantly reducing the barriers to trade and intra-Africa investment and ultimately, contributing to Africa’s overall GDP,” Mene said.
Speaking on the role of collaboration in advancing Africa’s payment ecosystem, especially for Nigeria’s creative, knowledge and technology industries, Jumoke Jagun-Dokunmu, Regional Director, Eastern Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC), said that there was a need for valuable collaboration between financial institutions and the creative, knowledge and digital industries.
“Banks and financial institutions will only finance projects in which they have full understanding. If they don’t understand it, they will not finance it. It is important therefore, that financial institutions make a deliberate effort to understand the different phases of creative and digital engagements alongside the value that will be derived from such investments,” she said.
Partners for this year’s summit, include: RDF; Afreximbank, Macif Group; Facebook; Africa Prosperity Network; FCMVA; Zeferino; Artsplit; CANEX; Kwahu Summit; Korapay; Latimer Energy; Fenchurch Group; TASCK; and BellaNaija,
The President of the Basketball Africa Africa League, Amadou Gallo Fall; Two-time NBA All-Star, Luol Ajou Deng; Founder, Gina Din Group (GDG), Gina Din-Kariuki; Former Deputy Mayor of London and QC, Matrix Chambers, Matthew Ryder; Rapper, Founder & CEO TASCK, Jude ‘M.I’ Abaga and Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, Ngaire Blankenberg were among those in attendance at the summit.
Others include the CEO, NBA Africa, Victor Williams; CEO, Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), Mike Ogbalu III and Regional Director, East Africa, IFC, Jumoke Jagun-Dokunmu.
