The Diplomat
Six young leaders from the African business sector traveled to Spain last week as part of the first edition of the Africa Visitors Program, a project organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Carolina Foundation, entrepreneurs and senior officials from Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.
The invited participants, with whom this Africa Visitors Program was inaugurated, “stand out for holding leading positions in the economic and business sectors of their respective countries, which receive priority treatment in the III Africa Plan and in the Africa 2023 Focus,” the Ministry informed in a press release.
The strategic document Foco Africa 2023 sets as its objective the partnership with the African continent to boost trade and business presence and Spanish investment in Africa. “The visitors program also responds to Spain’s commitment to encourage and support the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of youth in Africa,” Foreign Affairs added.
The participants in this first edition held meetings with Spanish businessmen and authorities linked to the economic and commercial fields. Specifically, the six young African leaders were able to visit the facilities of some of the main companies in our country – ACS, Airbus, Bbva, Iberdrola, Inditex – and exchanged experiences with their managers. They also had the opportunity to meet with officials from the CEOE, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Exporters Club, the Official Credit Institute and the Foreign Trade Institute.
During the meeting with the CEOE, the African representatives presented the business opportunities in the different sectors of activity in their respective countries, with special attention to infrastructure, energy, Fintech and agriculture, among others. They also addressed future avenues of business collaboration through which the presence of Spanish companies on the continent could be increased in terms of investment and analyzed the latest economic trends in Africa, such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), value chains or economic diversification.
The young people who participated in the Program and who had an entrepreneurial profile also took advantage of their stay in Spain to meet with Spanish businessmen interested in their activities. The program was rounded off with a visit to the city of Toledo, where they held an institutional meeting in the city hall.
