Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 14 , 2016 —39
CEO visionary A
S leaders from the business world gear up for the AFRICA CEO FORUM slated for 21-22 March 2016, Amir Ben Yahmed; founder of Africa’s most recognized annual business and economic meeting, is worried about Africa’s future. His major concerns include the fall of commodities prices and slump of foreign direct investments. And these issues, he expects, will hog the limelight of the high-level meeting in the wake of the continent’s uncertain environment: “Africa is currently facing conflicting trends. Multinationals are disappointed at an African middle class not yet fully delivering on its potential”. Yahmed explains. On the other side of his worries are promising trends. Like the fact that Africa has witnessed continued growth for the past 15 years with the emergence of a strong private sector or the phenomenon of repatriates coming back from the western world loaded with skills, money and ambitions.
Uncertain environment Yahmed notes: “Africa is now officially on the growth agenda of almost all multinationals. It’s hard to say which of these trends will offset the others, but one thing is sure Africa’s near future is very uncertain”. “And as a company what should you do in such an uncertain environment? Play it safe or play it bold? We argue for the latest. The 2016 ACF will strive to answer these questions and provide CEOs with the tools to navigate through uncertain times”. As one of the most important dates in business calendar, the AFRICA CEO FORUM attracts over 500 CEOs and more than 800 influential top government officials, business leaders and experts from both Africa and around the world. The meeting enables
Amir Ben Yahmed Founder, AFRICA CEO FORUM participants, such as bankers, investors, financial market specialists, heads of global institutions as well as other international figures, to meet face-to-face in a friendly atmosphere where they can exchange views and ideas designed to benefit Africa’s economic future. AFRICA CEO FORUM, a Groupe Jeune Afrique event made its debut in 2012 in Geneva, and has since become a major business convergence earning reputation as “the foremost international meeting for African CEOs, bankers and investors”. The Abidjan-based African Development Bank and Rainbow Unlimited, a Swiss economic promotions company has partnered the event since inception. Previous editions of forum were held in Geneva, Switzerland. In bringing home the event, the organizers chose Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital. “It was our objective from the very beginning to create the best event dedicated to African private sector”, Yahmed says of the forum. “ We observed through our publications, especially Jeune Afrique’s TOP 500 African companies ranking, the extent to which African CEOs from different countries were not connected and didn’t know each other. They needed a place to gather and network. A place to exchange best-practices and to learn from each other. A place where African CEOs would promote economic integration and intra-regional investments all together. There was also a need for dialogue between public and private decision makers. No such platform existed before. Because we were
BIO BRIEFS Amir Ben Yahmed: Birth place and Date: Paris, France in 1971 Education: INSEESC PARIS Career: Gruntal and Co. (1993) Jeune Afrique (1995) Africa CEO Forum 2012. C M Y K
responding to those growing needs in Africa’s business spheres, the success was immediate. And we are just getting started; we are growing and improving year after year ”. With more than 1300 companies represented since the first edition, The AFRICA CEO FORUM has now established itself as the unparalleled international event dedicated to promoting African private sector. As such, the event brings together an increasing number of top African and international CEOs and investors. Yahmed attributes the result of the forum’s growth and success to statistics of the 2015 edition: 821 participants (incl. 500 CEOs) attended. 63 countries were represented, including 43 African countries. The event comprised 50 sponsors and partners,
•Amir Ben Yahmed
18 panels and more than 100 l a n g u a g e w e e k l y n e w s top-level speakers (including magazine co-founded by his famous American economist father Bechir Ben Yahmed and Jeremy Rifkin). 13 Ministers of a group of Tunisian like-minds Economy, Finance or Industry in 1960. Thereafter, Yahmed from all over Africa also took took the position of Group part in the event. Just as Amir Development Director, Ben Yahmed is basking in the initiating business oriented success achieved, he is quick publications such as Jeune to point out some of the issues Afrique’s business section, and and challenges faced in two special annuals Top 500 organizing the forum. African Companies and Top These he says include: 200 African Banks. In 2007, “Bringing together Yahmed was made ViceAnglophone, Francophone and President, Group Jeune Portuguese speaking African Afrique where his remit was to propel the top CEOs, as we company ’s 3have done so p r o n g e d far, is a real tour development de force. The policy on challenge is to Internationalization, find a way to Diversification address their a n d challenges and Digitization. strategic Taking a much priorities in bolder step in innovative and 2012, Amir Ben new ways every Y a h m e d year. But that’s convened the also the main AFRICA CEO Key Performance AFRICA CEO F O R U M , Index for the where he FORUM is a place forum which pushed African makes it where CEOs can CEOs to be successful: We accountable to engage with new aim to bring a l l CEOs from concepts and ideas stakeholders. neighbouring that will help them Since the countries launch of the together that develop their forum, top were not businesses. government connected in the officials, past, even corporate though they have a lot in executives and top economists common. This allows them to have converged to help explore new synergies which expand the forum for African might not have been possible CEOs: “The resounding and before”. Amir Ben Yahmed is unanimous positive feedback a French media aristocrat. from CEOs and the media has Upon graduation from Institut been tremendous because we Des Hautes Etudes introduced something Econimiques EtC ommerciales different. (INSEEC) Paris, in 1993 he joined the New York based Business investment banking and networking brokerage firm Gruntal& Co before heading back to Something that they couldn’t get involved in family find at other forums, either media business because they were too sector (Groupe Jeune specific or too focused on the Afrique, publishers public sector. of The Africa Report Based on the success of the and a few other first forum, our participants influential have requested unanimously publications). In that the discussions initiated in 1995, he was this pan-African setting - which made Executive is particularly conducive to Publisher of business networking - be Paris based continued every year. This is Jeune Afrique, highlighted by the fact that 82% the French of our 2015 participants stated that they plan to attend the 2016 event. Now that the forum has gained so much success, countries are competing to host future editions. Since the start of the AFRICA CEO FORUM, Yahmed has been ableto attract high-level personalities aligned with its vision and programme. In spite of the measurable success achieved he notes that there hasn’t been much attendee from Nigeria: “It is certain that our doors are open to Nigerian CEOs, as long as they wish to attend the AFRICA CEO FORUM to share their experience and take part in developing Africa’s private sector.”