Recently, the devastation of COVID-19, social unrest, and political uncertainty have dominated the headlines coming out of Africa. They do not tell the whole story. There is a positive narrative being woven that gets easily ignored because it is not sensational.
It is about the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which officially started operating on January 1st, 2021.
By all accounts, it could transform be life changing for many Africans. There is enormous pressure to ensure that the benefits of AfCFTA flow equitably to diminish the continent’s inequality gap that holds the key to resolving many of its perennial troubles.
The theme for the 2021 Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit to be held from 8-9 November 2021 on Johannesburg, South Africa is One Africa, One Voice.
The current headline sponsors include Abbott, Absa and Old Mutual.
“The theme reflects what is needed from us as Africans to make a success of the AfCFTA, as well as work together towards Africa’s economic recovery,” says Tiekie Barnard, founder and CEO of both Shift Impact Africa, the organisers of the event, and the Shared Value Africa Initiative, the regional global Shared Value partner.
This year marks 10 years since the now-famous Creating Shared Value article was first published in the Harvard Business Review. The concept was created and developed by Professors Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, both renowned academics and economists from the Harvard Business School.
Read also: Leveraging technology, value addition seen giving local manufacturers advantage in AfCFTA
The 2021 Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit will be opened by Sanda Ojiambo, former head of Sustainable Business and Social Impact at Safaricom Plc. in Kenya, a former Shared Value Steering Committee member, and the first African to lead the United Nations Global Compact.
She will be joined by Maria Cristina Papetti, head of Global Sustainability, Infrastructure and Networks at the Enel Group. Enel is the second-biggest energy provider globally, addressing the challenges of providing a decentralised energy solution for Africa.
Also on board will be Amy Jadesimi, chief executive officer of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL). She will be speaking to matters arising on working in a male dominated industry, gender equality in the workplace and how empowering women in Africa can be a game changer.
One of the highlights of the event will be a live link, at the end of Day 1, to connect to the start of the global Shared Value Leadership Summit in the United States, in celebration of 10 years of the Shared Value movement across the world.
The Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit will also close off with an insightful address by Mark Kramer. He will be sharing his views on the important part Shared Value has to play in the economic recovery of Africa.
For the duration of this year’s gathering, building on the record-breaking success of the summit hosted in 2020, a collective of business leaders and influencers, as well as entrepreneurs, will be sharing the virtual stage to address key topics on Africa’s transformation and what it will take to achieve this.
The Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit is organised by Shift Impact Africa, in association with the Shared Value Africa Initiative SVAI).
SVAI is a pan-African organisation with the mandate to advocate for the adoption of the Shared Value Business Management on the African continent. Its objective is to cultivate a Shared Value ecosystem and facilitate collaborative private sector relationships that, as a collective, will bring about change at scale.
Shift Impact Africa, the organisers of the Summit, is a Shared Value advisory, training and consulting firm that assists organisations with developing and implementing a Shared Value strategy that works for them. SIA assists clients with identifying social challenges relevant to the business, and helping to implement the Shared Value Business Management strategy focused on sustainability, social and environmental impact.
