To foster more private sector participation in the drive towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa, the Sterling One Foundation has announced African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) as its strategic partner in hosting the third edition of the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS) to be held from July 25 -26, 2024 in Lagos, Nigeria.
The event will focus on identifying strategies to mitigate risks in the continent’s investment opportunities to boost impact investment flows, drive policy-influencing conversations, and foster effective partnerships for sustainable growth.
Private sector involvement in driving social impact has hitherto been touted as a key component for achieving the SDGs, given the funding capacities of the sector to drive scale and the opportunity to champion responsible consumption through policies, production processes, output, and specific projects.
Having Afreximbank, the continent’s leading multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra – and extra – African trade will help drive conversations in the development financing space.
“ASIS brings together leaders from across sectors to share learnings, ideas, and plans for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. Trade is a fundamental piece of this development process, and there are few organizations in Africa with the insights to drive increased productivity for the continent like Afreximbank,” explained Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO of the Sterling One Foundation.
Mr. Eric Monchu Intong, Regional Chief Operating Officer, Anglophone West Africa at Afreximbank highlighted that the Bank’s collaboration with Sterling One Foundation in hosting the Summit is part of the long-standing and strategic relationship with Sterling Bank Nigeria as it presents an opportunity to support participating organizations. This will be achieved through knowledge sharing on Afreximbank’s mandate, programmes and facilities through which innovative financing solutions are deployed in a bid to increase Africa’s share of global trade.
“We are excited about this partnership as it gives us an opportunity to strengthen alliances for our shared destiny, prosperity and the economic emancipation of our continent under the African Union Agenda 2063 – the Africa we want. We are particularly pleased with its multisectoral approach as we understand that one organisation or one sector alone cannot drive the level of sustainable growth the continent requires,” he added.
Mr. Intong added that Afreximbank has been at the forefront of driving key economic development initiatives across Africa, the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) that attracted deals and transactions valued at US$43.8 billion in 2023, African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), a 500-bed quaternary hospital under construction in Abuja, Nigeria to specialize on haematology, oncology, cardiology and general medicine including a nursing and medical school. The AMCE will also be rolled out in 5 other African countries to turn the continent into a medical tourism hub. Other initiatives include, the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, the Afreximbank Africa Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme and the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre, among others.
The Africa Social Impact Summit, now in its third year, will be held at the Eko Convention Center in Lagos. It features diverse panel discussions covering climate action, healthcare, education, youth development, and green financing. The two-day event will also feature a pre-event Investors’ Roundtable in partnership with the Lagos State Government and a Deal Room for impact-focused SME entrepreneurs deploying scalable solutions across Africa. Information about the Summit can be found at www.theimpactsummit.org.
