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| UBA CHAIRMAN ELEMELU WITH SOME UBA BOARD MEMBERS |
Leading African businessman and philanthropist Tony
O. Elumelu; Akin Adesina, President of the African Development Bank; Graca
Machel, former first lady of Mozambique and widow of Nelson Mandela; Phillipe
le Houerou, CEO of the International Finance Corporation and Tarek Sultan Al
Esso, CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board Agility have been slated
to co-chair the 26th World Economic Forum on Africa that will be
held from 11th-13th May, 2016 for the first time ever in Kigali, Rwanda.
This year’s event themed “Connecting Africa’s Resources
through Digital Transformation” will witness regional and global
leaders in business, government and civil society convene in the
East African country to discuss digital economy, key global and regional
challenges, and agree on strategic actions to deliver shared
prosperity across the continent.
The president of the African Development bank Akin Adesina
is an Agricultural economist and immediate past president of the African
Association of Agricultural Economists. He will be on the chair alongside a
fellow Nigerian, Tony Elumelu, founder of the
Tony Elumelu Foundation and the Chairman of pan-African
investment conglomerates, Heirs Holdings, Transcorp Nigeria and the
multinational United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc. Elumelu is a
longstanding stakeholder in WEF, having participated at a high level for
several years at the fora in Davos, Switzerland and within
Africa.
At an interview on CNBC aired last Friday, Mr. Elumelu
unveiled his plans for his role as chairman of WEF Africa In Kigali stating
that he will draw from his wealth of experience as a serial investor
and renowned businessman with stakes in major sectors of Africa’s economic
landscape to speak on harnessing the continent’s potential for digital
transformation.
“Africa is bursting at the seams
with homegrown solutions and digital resources that can
power its transformation”, says Mr. Elumelu. “We need to critically
examine these solutions and galvanize support for immediate implementation. I
am happy that WEF Africa provides a perfect opportunity for business
leaders like myself to do this.”
The co chairs will sit on several panels at the forum
discussing issues ranging from Energy to transportation as they affect the
African economies.
Also attending the WEF Africa this year are 14 Heads of states
from across the African continent
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