Business Leaders Share Ideas on Solving Africa’s Biggest Social Challenges

Business leaders from across Africa will seek solutions to some of the continent’s most challenging social issues at the Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit in Kigali, Rwanda on 4 – 5 June 2020.

The Summit, which will draw leaders from some of Africa’s biggest companies as well as decision-makers from government and civil society, provides a platform for business to collaborate on social upliftment of the continent, as well as to share insights about the most effective ways for companies to solve social challenges as a core part of their business operations.

The decision to hold the 2020 Summit in Rwanda gives delegates an opportunity to learn from the economic and social developments in the country over the last two decades, with the summit’s content aligned with selected priority areas of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST1).

“The solution-seeking sessions enable attendees delegates to discuss specific regional challenges and collectively contribute and suggest possible solutions,” says Shared Value Africa Initiative CEO Tiekie Barnard. “This provides a significant opportunity for delegates to learn and form networks across the continent.”

In line with the Summit’s partnership with Africa Leadership University (ALU), these sessions will be facilitated by students and alumni of ALU School of Business MBA course, with ALU faculty members compiling reportage of these sessions. Undergraduate students will be ambassadors throughout the Summit, while African Leadership Group founder Fred Swaniker will also give a keynote address at the Summit.

The solution-seeking sessions allow some of the greatest minds in Africa to grapple with complex issues:

How does Africa connect across borders to make the continent the global tourist destination?

What is required to create food security in Africa?

Health Care: Outbreaks, pandemics and the future of Africa’s health

Expectations vs reality: tracking the societal benefit of the AfCFTA

How do we build Africa’s Shared Value ecosystems?

Exchanges in conversation: Entrepreneurship and Public-Private Partnerships

“The Shared Value business model, developed by Harvard Business School’s Prof Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, is practised by an increasing number of businesses across the world,” says Shared Value Africa Initiative Founder and CEO Tiekie Barnard. “This provides opportunities to build business initiatives around solving social problems at scale, contributing to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on the continent.”

The Summit has become a platform for Africa’s business thought leaders to exchange insights and share their experiences implementing the Shared Value business model in the diverse African context. The event connects speakers from industries ranging from telecommunications to healthcare, manufacturing and mining.

Discussions enable participants new to Shared Value thinking to learn how to embed shared value into core strategy of the business, and how to develop shared value opportunities to address social and environmental issues. 

As well as the solution-seeking sessions, the Summit will also feature African leaders sharing how their businesses create economic value and value for society, as well as presentations from various industry sectors.

Current Sponsor of the Summit include Abbott, KCB Group and Old Mutual Ltd.

The Summit, which took place 23-24 May 2019 in Nairobi, was attended by more than 350 business executives per day over two days, with more than 18 countries represented.

The Summit also aims to encourage business to contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on the continent. “As with previous years, the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be a theme throughout at the Summit as a guide to the business leaders to demonstrate how business can contribute to achieving the goals and to addressing e social challenges, a core part of their operations” says Barnard.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Shift Social Development.

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