First Africa Finance & Investment Forum held in South Africa

The first Africa Finance & Investment Forum, with the theme “Access to Finance and Enterpreneurship," recently was held in Cape Town, South Africa.

The three-day forum focused on financial solutions to aid growth in Africa's businesses, and also afforded attendees the opportunity to network with representatives from various business sectors, including agriculture, health, infrastructure, water and energy.

During the forum, the Public-Private Dialogue on Impact Investment in Africa, developed by officials of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Union Commission (AUC), was launched. The forum was organized by members of international nonprofit agency EMRC, which was formed with the goal of promoting sustainable economic development throughout the continent of Africa.

Over 200 finance and investment officials from all corners of Africa attended the forum, along with government and other community leaders.

Eric Kacou, founder and managing director of Entrepreneurial Solution Partners, presented a pre-forum training session, "Entrepreneurship: Presenting a Business Plan."

The forum's AFIF 2015 Entrepreneurship Award was sponsored by the Rabobank Foundation. Lazaro Mwakipesile of Tanzania, managing director of the Raphael Group, won the $5,000 prize and also was honored for his service with the EMRC team to help develop a one-year communication strategy.

Another award, the Pfizer Health Entrepreneurship Award, was given to Markus Labuschagne from Altis Biologics, based in South Africa.