The Investment Forum

An investment Forum on the theme:

"African common market: Investment opportunity", will be staged 22-30 April alongside the Pan-African Trade Fair

CONTEXT

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) plans to stage an Investment Forum alongside the 8th Pan-African Trade Fair to be held from 22 to 24 April 2002, in Cairo, Egypt.

That paramount event is a key platform for industrial
promotion and a good example of South-South and North-South co-operation.

By facilitating contacts among the participants, the Forum will also help them share views and experiences, identify the requirements and the possibilities offered by their potential partners, to establish business relations through a sustained inter-company co-operation.

Hence, the organising of that forum is a response to one of OAU's basic objectives with a view to setting up an African common market: the sustained promotion of investments among OAU member states.

The targeted objectives are as follows:

-Promote the development of S.M.E (small and
medium-sized enterprises);
-Boost technical and financial partnership among
the African industrialists and those in the
industrialised countries;
-Facilitate the transfer of technology to in Africa;
-Develop African industries' production and exports
capacities;
-Secure new markets for African-made products;
-Contribute to the training of African businessmen
and economic operators in a bid to turn them into
genuine managers;
-Promote regional, inter-regional and international
co-operation through an exchange of views,
techniques and experiences.

IMPLEMENTATION

OAU is staging the Investment Forum with the support of UNIDO and CDE

That Forum, whose aim is to bring together promoters
of African projects and foreign investors, is an
exceptional opportunity to give a fresh impetus to the private sector.

Industrial investment projects and the business proposals are identified and selected according to criteria set up by UNIDO and CDE.

These projects will focus on a variety of sectors
including food processing industry, tourism, transports, mining etc...

On line registration forms are available at UNIDO and
CDE's web sites.

The target goals -

a) For UNIDO, are:

-Back the promotion of investment projects;
-Boost the use of project analysis and evaluation
software;
-Popularise the use of its promotion networks.

b) For CDE :

-Financially support the European companies willing
to participate in the forum;
-Finance feasibility studies or any other technical
assistance needed within the framework of that
forum;
-Assist in the selection of projects.

PARTNERS

Participants in the Forum will include sub-regional
economic integration partners ( ECOWAS, COMESA, SADC,
CEEMAC etc), UNCTAD, AMAPI, the African Business Roundtable and some development financing
institutions (ADB, AFREXIMBANK, ECOWAS Fund, BADEA, PTA Bank for Trade and Development, MIGA etc...

These financial institutions will, during an
investment study day, put forth the necessary
information related to financing and investment support, credit lines and the conditions for intervention.

It calls for three levels of action :

The Administrative

It will consist in requesting and implementing
administrative resources likely to facilitate the smooth-running of the forum, such as entry and exit formalities into and from the Egyptian territory, the safety of participants, the protocol.

These actions come within the exclusive purview of the host country.

Logistics

It will consist in delivering the different services
related to the organisation of forum site, the supply
of office stationery and computer hardware, publicity and the design of badges.

Technical

It will consist in putting in place, before and during the forum, a general headquarters whose responsibility will be the management of the meeting of entrepreneurs taking part in the forum.

The operational co-ordination of the three levels of
action will be carried out by a consultant, in close
collaboration with the OAU, UNIDO, CDE and the commercial representation in Egypt.