AFIF 2009 concludes in Amsterdam

Closing the proceedings, Idit Miller, VP and MD of EMRC, expressed her thanks to the sponsors who made AFIF 2009 a resounding success: “Without our sponsors, it would be very difficult to organise such a complete programme. The ITC has been instrumental in facilitating all the business to business meetings. We also thank ABN AMRO for hosting the forum, as well as our partners FMO, BiD Network, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), MARG Group from India, Heineken and Clifford Chance. We could not have hoped for a better mix of corporates, financial institutions, lawyers, and entrepreneurs to help us bring about this forum and build partnerships for African entrepreneurs.”

Monday's proceedings were dedicated to a series of plenary sessions covering a range of topics on African investment, including boosting African economies through entrepreneurship, the role of commercial banks in the development of private initiatives, and the role of International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

The day was rounded off during the gala evening at the hotel Krasnapolsky, during which Derek Kwesiga, founder and CEO of Derekorp in Uganda, received the EMRC-AfDB Project Incubator Award. Kwesiga, who runs a young venture in the fruit processing business, promised to put his US$15,000 prize to good use in his company and the community at large.

Work resumed on Tuesday morning, with delegates taking part in a series of six workshops and discussion panels on crucial matters affecting the African investment climate. These include infrastructure projects, strengthening human skills, improving access to energy, promoting rural entrepreneurs, boosting regional integration through trade, and supporting micro, small and medium enterprises.

AFIF09 also, as in previous years, provided networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and potential investors in Africa, with business-to-business meetings taking place during the forum.

During the closing ceremony Miller and Henry Bagiire, Minister for Agriculture of Uganda, jointly announced the next EMRC AgriBusiness Forum in Kampala, Uganda in October 2010. Inviting his audience to come to Uganda next year, Minister Bagiire said “Uganda is the ideal host for an event of this kind, for the promotion of businesses and the expansion of opportunities in the agribusiness field in Africa. EMRC is a network of entrepreneurs, financiers and officials. AgriBusiness 2010 will focus on food security and global business opportunities - and the development of agribusiness is one of the Ugandan government's top priorities - we thank EMRC for this opportunity.”