Following the official launch of the 7th edition of the West African Business Development Forum "AFRICALLIA" on May 20, 2022, the Embassy of Burkina Faso in Paris organized a presentation session of the above named forum in France. It was on June 9 at the headquarters of the Embassy, located at 159, boulevard Haussmann.
At the outset, Jean Claude Bakiono, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Burkina Faso in France, first asked for a minute of silence in memory of all the victims of terrorism in Burkina Faso before discussing the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which moreover made "AFRICALLIA" 2020 a missed opportunity: "having suffered like all the countries in the world the terrible effects of Covid-19, Burkina Faso regains its economic boost, thanks to the efforts of all its partners and the many institutional, regulatory and legislative reforms that have been undertaken by the government to make the business climate even more attractive,” he said.
AFRICALLIA during the official launch
in Ouagadougou.
Oumar Yugo, president of the AFRICALLIA forum, did not fail to recall the course of this business forum which has become an unmissable event in West Africa and that "after more than a decade of organization, it must be recognized that AFRICALLIA has become one of the most important international economic events in the West African sub-region, thanks to the quality, professionalism of its organization and the positive spin-offs for participating companies”. And pursued by inviting participants to take part massively in this business forum that is AFRICALLIA in order to show their solidarity with the resilient people of Burkina Faso in their fight against terrorism. In his speech, the AFRICALLIA permanet secretary Félix Sanon, for his part, highlighted all the opportunities offered by this multisectoral meeting and why it should be counted among the participants.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the West African Business Development Forum "AFRICALLIA" organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso (CCI-BF) had not been able to take place for some time. Created in 2010, the 7th edition of the business forum in question is now scheduled to take place from October 19 to 21, 2022 at the Ouaga 2000 International Conference Center. On the occasion, at least some 300 business leaders from fifteen countries from Africa and the rest of the world are expected in the capital of Burkina Faso.
According to Oumar Yugo, Chairman of the AFRICALLIA Steering Committee: "The objective of our consular institution through this initiative is to offer SMEs/SMIs in our economic area real opportunities to meet and build relationships. business with each other and with other companies in the rest of the world".
Given the context that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated, the major innovation of the 7th edition of this business forum will consist of the organization of virtual B2B meetings for business leaders who have not been able to carry out moving from Ouagadougou. The same is true of the initiative which consists in encouraging the participation of young people and women entrepreneurs from Burkina Faso, fifty women and fifty young entrepreneurs from the thirteen (13) regions and who will benefit from support with a view to their participation. at the forum. AFRICLLIA is open to all countries in the world. It should be noted that for this edition, a focus will be made on the People's Republic of China, Russia, Turkey and on the African diasporas.
As the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso points out: “AFRICALLIA is a multi-sector forum for business development; it is held every two years in Burkina Faso since the 1st edition in 2010. It differs from traditional trade fairs because it is a unique platform for individual and personalized business meetings between companies from ECOWAS and the rest of the world. ECOWAS is a common external tariff and soon a common currency. It is the second most populated region of Africa after Southern Africa. AFRICALLIA to meet its vocation as a traveling business forum in the West African sub-region relocated for the first time in 2019 to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictive measures that followed, the forum could not be held in 2020. AFRICALLIA allows leaders and business leaders to tour Africa of the West in 48 hours in one place to seek technological, commercial or financial alliances".
At the end of the official opening ceremony of the forum on October 20, a high-level panel will be held on "International tools for financing private projects and major structuring projects of WAEMU".
While waiting for this great event to take place across West Africa and the rest of the world, registration is in progress on the forum website at www.africallia.com. At the rate of 260,000 CFA francs for West African companies and 800 Euros for companies from other countries. For women of any age and young people up to 35 years old, a special rate of 200,000 CFA francs is applied.
By Albert Mory and E. G. with the special collaboration of the Press Service of the Embassy of Burkina Faso in Paris, France
