Groupe Jeune Afrique, the African Development Bank and Rainbow Unlimited have announced that the fourth edition of the AFRICA CEO FORUM, the foremost international meeting for African CEOs, bankers and investors, will take place on March 21 and 22, 2016, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

“Following on from the third edition of the Forum, which broke all previous attendance records, Africa’s key decision-makers will next meet in the Ivorien economic capital,” the organisers said in a statement issued in Paris, France. They added: “With economic growth standing at around 10% per year since 2012, investment rates now climbing above 20% of GDP and exports constantly on the rise since 2009, Côte d’Ivoire is the driving force of regional integration within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). More than 800 people, including the CEOs of major African and international companies, investors and political decision-makers, will attend the event in Abidjan. Central to discussions during the forum will be the vital role played by the private sector in fostering growth across the continent.”

“For the forthcoming edition we have chosen a country and a region that is showing clear signs of robust economic development. The fact that the African Development Bank is based there - our partner since the first edition – was a further contributing factor,” founder and President of the AFRICA CEO FORUM, Amir Ben Yahmed, said in the statement.

First held in 2012 in Geneva, the AFRICA CEO FORUM has become one of the most important events in the African business calendar, enabling participants to exchange their views and opinions on the issues affecting the economic development of the continent’s companies, in a high-quality international setting that is ideal for conducting business meetings. The resoundingly successful 2015 edition was particularly helpful in identifying priority sites for bolstering and sustaining African growth in an unstable economic climate.

The statement explained that “in keeping with the aims of the AFRICA CEO FORUM, this new edition will enable participants to attend a number of conferences featuring top-level debates on how to foster conditions favourable to the strategic development of the continent’s leading businesses.” It added: “Alongside these discussions, the AFRICA CEO FORUM 2016 will also see the introduction of new Deal Rooms. This innovative meeting format, which has proved especially popular with participants, offers CEOs and investors the opportunity to identify new partners and share their experiences and good practices in their sector of activity.”

•Photo shows AFRICA CEO FORUM Founder and President, Amir Ben Yahmed.