Event Report: FUTURE AFRICA FORUM 2024 - GLOBAL AFRICA GATEWAY

On the sidelines of the 2024 United Nations General Assembly meetings, Afreximbank and The Africa Center hosted the official launch of the Global Africa Gateway at the Aliko Dangote Hall in Harlem, New York on the evening of September 23rd. The high-level event marked the commencement of a multi-year partnership between the two institutions, and outlined both the specific initiatives planned under the agreement as well as broader visions for the role of Africa and its diaspora in the world. The evening brought together distinguished persons from government, academia, NGOs, and the private sector for an evening of substantive discussions and a celebration of the arts from across the African continent. Hosted expertly by Lisa-Marie Misztak of the BBC, the evening was opened by a welcome from Dr. Uzodinma Iweala (CEO, The Africa Center) and featured remarks by Ms. Jendayi Frazer (Former United States Ambassador to South Africa and Co-Chair of the Africa Center’s board of trustees), Mr. Aliko Dangote (Founder, Chairman, and CEO of the Dangote Group), Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa (Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission), Professor Benedict Oramah (President, Afreximbank), and a keynote address by His Excellency Ralph Gonsalves (Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadine).

The remarks were followed by an engaging panel discussion on Africa’s role in the world, and the celebrations were punctuated by a musical performance by Mystic Marley, a runway fashion showcase of African designers and food stations by celebrated chefs from across the continent. Also in attendance were, His Excellency Philip Davis (Prime Minister of the Bahamas), His Excellency Dickon Mitchell (Prime Minister of Grenada), His ExcellencyGary Conille (Prime Minister of Haiti), and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organization, among many other distinguished guests.

Global Africa Gateway

The official inauguration of the initiative was delivered by Jendayi Frazer, who introduced Global Africa Gateway (GAG) and highlighted the alignment on the diaspora-focused missions of both Afreximbank and The Africa Center as being central to its creation. As board co-chair, Ms. Frazer also used the opportunity to officially introduce and welcome Mrs. Kanayo Awani (Executive Vice President, Afreximbank) as the newest member of The Africa Center’s board of trustees–further signaling the intention of both institutions to engage closely on shared priorities. The GAG initiative aims to facilitate more intentional engagement between the continent and forge networks for greater prosperity in collaboration with what she describes as “global Africa”.

Jendayi Frazer, The Africa Center board of trustees co-chair delivers remarks

These sentiments were echoed by Mr. Aliko Dangote, who emphasized the importance of the role played by the diaspora in fully realizing the potential of a global Africa. He lauded the continued close involvement of diaspora stakeholders in both supporting development and growth objectives at home and expanding the continent’s influence internationally–citing the large African diaspora populations in places like Brazil, Haiti, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Expanding on the potential of more effective engagement with the diaspora, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa in her remarks noted the importance of initiatives such as Global Gateway Africa in serving as a bridge across geographies, generations, and aspirations to work together in meeting the continent’s objectives.

Photo 1: Mr. Aliko Dangote, Chairman & CEO, Dangote Group

Photo 2: From left to right: Ms. Jendayi Frazer, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Finally, Prof. Benedict Oramah ended this portion of the launch with a rousing call for Africa to take its destiny into its own hands. He urged that the path to reclaiming agency around the continent’s future requires the willingness and ability to harness and effectively utilize all the tools available to us, which includes the continent’s wide and thriving diaspora. A constituency among which he argues there are still continued calls for deeper, sustained engagement. Primarily on issues related to business and commerce, Mr. Oramah bemoaned a business environment and investment climate on the continent that remains largely inaccessible to potential diaspora investors, hampering potentially critical sources of growth. Global Gateway Africa serves as a small step in what must be a strong and continued commitment to building progress and prosperity for African people everywhere. An intimate performance by Mystic Marley and her band was followed by an address by His Excellency Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Staying on theme with the preceding remarks, His Excellency reinforced the economic and political potential of deeper diaspora engagement–particularly in the Caribbean, where diaspora groups have long existed and the desire for closer ties with the continent is strong.

“The link and the nexus between Africa and the diaspora is a great cause. We must pursue it and we must not be doubtful.” - H.E. Ralph Gonsalves

Integrating Global Africa in a polarized World

The remarks were followed by a panel discussion on forging a path forward for Africa to exist differently in the global community. The discussion was moderated by Lisa-Marie Misztak and featured The Africa Center’s Dr. Uzodinma Iweala, Mr. Yusuf Daya (African Union/AfCFTA Relations and Trade Policy), and Ms. Rosa Whitaker Duncan-Williams(President & CEO, The Whitaker Group). The discussion highlighted priorities that the panelists identified as being critical to fully realizing a Global Africa.

• An emphasis on strong, sustained cultural exchanges that will help bridge the gap between the continent and its 140 million-strong diaspora.
• The continent must be agile and innovative in its approach to establishing international relational dynamics. The existing multilateral infrastructure was not established with the interests of African countries as a primary consideration, and so the continent must work to establish continental networks and integrated domestic markets in order to have more direct influence over the manner and pace of their own development agendas.
• Africa must leverage its collective power to fight for fair consideration and dignity in the international arena. The continent and its diaspora make up 2 billion people across the world and must work to ensure that it is maximizing the extent to which all of its people are working towards a shared purpose. On issues such as energy security and conflict resolution, Africa must work to create its own poles of influence to ensure that it can effectively address pressing concerns without the need for external support.

Looking ahead

This event marked the beginning of this multi-year partnership and will utilize the momentum from this closely-watched launch to kickstart progress on its main objectives. The initiative will be executed in three parts:

(1) A research study, working in partnership with academic research institutions based on the continent to investigate emerging trends in the social, political, and economic characteristics of Africa’s large and diverse diaspora.

(2) a fully-funded internship program that supports graduate-level students from the diaspora in pursuing professional experiences in their fields of study with organizations working on the continent

(3) an online professional networking platform for business and public affairs-minded professionals aimed at connecting individuals from the global African diaspora with career and networking opportunities with firms on (and from) the continent.

The diaspora study will serve as the initiative’s first major output and will aim to offer comprehensive and insightful approaches to promoting more effective engagement between the U.S. government and the growing numbers of the population groups in the country that identify as part of the African diaspora. The first phase of the study is the completion of an extensive review of all the relevant policies and initiatives related to economic, social, or political engagement between institutional actors and the African diaspora over time. This comprehensive effort looked to clearly identify the issues that have been most consequential in shaping both the diaspora communities themselves as well as popular understanding of the dynamic between these groups and their countries of origin–insights that will then inform the design of the subsequent study. The full report is available here.