The second edition of the EU- Africa SME Summit was held on October 21-22 in Rome, Dakar and online. The summit, organized by INSME members CONFAPI and European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME and INSME, aimed at deepening the links between the world of SMEs in Europe and Africa. The Summit involved fifty African states and the participation of the President of Senegal Macky Sall, Italian and African ministers and institutions, including Togo, Nigeria, Djibouti, South Africa, Kenya as well as the heads of the continental Africa free trade area (AFCFTA). Furthermore, the Italian-African SME Alliance was born and the Africa IP SME Helpdesk, managed by EU-Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and DG INTRA of the European Commission, was launched, building a new bridge for entrepreneurs between the two continents.
As SMEs are the backbone of many economies in both Africa and Europe, the conference brought European and African entrepreneurs into play, encourage them to cooperate and co-invest, build alliances, joint ventures and partnerships through appropriate support and monitoring structures and mechanisms to verify the effectiveness and impact of their initiatives. The event focused on entrepreneurship, professional training, and investments as keys for a strong African Mittelstand and a good basis for shared value business, which truly will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. Sergio Arzeni, President of the International Network for SMEs INSME
Mr. Francesco Rocca, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos – Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece and European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship
Ms. Tiekie Barnard, Founder & CEO of Shared Value Africa Initiative SVAI
Mr. Kebour Ghenna Desta, Executive Director of Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry PACCI
Moderator: Mrs. Esther Awoniyi, CNBC Africa
