$10bn

Pledged in 2010 to vaccinate more than 8 million children

from 85 countries. It also marks the first time that the Young Global Leaders choose Africa as the host region for their annual summit.

Part 3: From ideas to action: 2011-2015

World Economic Forum on Africa – May 2011

The 21st World Economic Forum on Africa, held in Cape Town, sees a number of important milestones reached. The Grow Africa initiative is co-founded by the African Union Commission, the Nepad agency and the World Economic Forum as an African-owned, country-led, market-based and inclusive approach to accelerating investment in sustainable growth in African agriculture.

South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa and Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairperson of Nestlé and chairperson of the Water Resources Group, a public-private partnership supported by the forum and the International Finance Corporation, announce a Declaration of Partnership, recognising the critical role that water plays as a catalyst for economic growth and social development.

The meeting also saw the launch of the YGL Dangote Fellowship to support the participation of African YGLs at World Economic Forum events, as well as the first time sessions were web cast on the Forum’s public website.

World Economic Forum on Africa – May 2012

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the World Economic Forum, in partnership with the African Development Bank, the African Union Commission and Nepad, launch the Africa Strategic Infrastructure Initiative – a project aimed at supporting infrastructure development in Africa and accelerating the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.

World Economic Forum on Africa – May 2013

In parallel with the meeting in Cape Town, the Forum’s Global Shapers Community holds its first Shape Africa event, bringing together shapers from city hubs across Africa and further afield. Launched in 2011, the community expanded rapidly in Africa, establishing at least one hub in every country by 2013. Today, the number of hubs active in sub-Saharan Africa exceeds 80.

World Economic Forum on Africa – May 2014

The World Economic Forum on Africa is held in Abuja, Nigeria, under the theme “Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs”, marking the first time it is held in West Africa. At the meeting, the World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development launch an initiative to help developing countries speed up economic growth through private-sector financing by expanding the pool of foreign and domestic capital available for sectors including infrastructure, agriculture and energy. Also at the meeting, Nigerian business leaders join forces with the UN Special Envoy on Global Education Gordon Brown to launch a $20m Safe Schools Initiative aimed at creating safer learning environments in the country.

Sustainable Energy for Africa – January 2015

The African Energy Leaders Group (AELG), a multi stakeholder advocacy group that aims to address Africa’s power deficiency, is launched during the Forum’s annual meeting 2015 in Davos. The AELG’s first move is to create a working group of African leaders, including Tony Elumelu, Aliko Dangote, president of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka, Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan of Ivory Coast and President John Mahama of Ghana.

World Economic Forum on Africa – June 2015

The 25th World Economic Forum on Africa is held in Cape Town under the theme, “Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future”. Convening more than 1 250 participants from business, politics, civil society, academia and the media, the meeting is the largest ever held in Africa by the World Economic Forum, with the highest ever representation from the Forum’s Strategic Partner community, as well as the largest number of young and women participants.

The meeting will see a number of high-level initiatives gain further traction. This includes Grow Africa, which since its launch has unlocked more than $10bn in investment commitments across 12 countries, created 58 000 jobs and provided direct assistance to 8.6 million smallholder farmers. It also includes the Africa Strategic Infrastructure Initiative, where lessons learned are being deployed to help accelerate 23 cornerstone projects valued at $9.7bn in an international Central Corridor programme spanning Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The 2015 meeting will be the largest ever in terms of participants, indicating unprecedented levels of commitment for achieving Africa’s transformation through public-private co-operation.

World Economic Forum on Africa – May 2016

The World Economic Forum on Africa was held in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme “Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation”. Hosted by Rwanda, which is much celebrated for its own transformation, the event focused on the potential of the digital economy to help Africa capitalise on the demographic dividend of a burgeoning young population, which many see as its most valuable resource. Private and public stakeholders emphasised the pressing need to make Africa ready in terms of skills, infrastructure and capacity to make the most of the 4th industrial revolution.

The World Economic Forum is an international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private co-operation in the spirit of global citizenship. It engages with business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a not-forprofit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is independent, impartial and not tied to any interests. It co-operates closely with all leading international organisations.