President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, has been announced as the guest of honour and chair of the 6th International Africa Development Forum (FIAD) Africa’s leading investment promotion and intra-African trade event – taking place in Casablanca on 14 and 15 March, it has been confirmed.
The Forum, held under the patronage of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and
organised by Attijariwafa Bank Group, through its Africa Development Club arm, is expected to bring together more than 1500 business leaders and decision makers from over 20 African and partner countries – making it one of the largest gatherings of key economic and political players on the continent.
Accompanying the Sierra Leonean leader will be his Minister of Finance Jacob Jusu Saffa and Peter Bayuku Konteh, the Minister of Trade and Industry. Also in the delegation is Lexmond Koroma – the Chief Executive Officer of the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA).
Increasingly seen as an emergent investment market with diverse opportunities in key growth sectors, President Bio and the delegation will also present to the Forum, Sierra Leone’s National Development Plan, and take part in the investment marketplace.
The investment marketplace, a key component of the Forum, popularly known by its French acronym FIAD, (Forum International Afrique développement), will also host Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Morocco and Rwanda.
FIAD’s aim is to provide a platform for doing business as well as opportunities to discuss issues related to Africa’s economic development by highlighting major development and investment projects underpinning Africa’s economic growth and potential. This 6th Edition is being held under the theme: “When East Meets West”and will take place at the Hyatt Hotel in Morocco’s commercial city of Casablanca.
The International Africa Development Forum is an initiative which was
developed in 2010, and is driven by one of the largest Pan-African investment funds in Africa – Al Mada, a shareholder of Attijariwafa Bank.
Since its creation, the Forum has brought together more than 7500 operators from 36 countries and has more than 17000 B-to-B meetings generated.
It is considered one of Africa’s major platforms that reflects the continent’s commitment to its economic and political dynamics through solidarity and belief in Africa’s own strengths.