African billionaires, presidents and business leaders have met in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to plot strategies to solve the continent’s multifarious development challenges.

The event, the 2017 Business for Africa forum, had as theme “Directing Investments to Inclusive Growth”. It attracted Heads of State and Government, including host President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt, who in his welcome address stressed the need for more cooperation among Africa countries.

He noted that “the Forum aims at providing a platform for heads of state and government as well as private sector and business leaders in Africa and the world in order to discuss a wide range of business and development issues in the continent and to engage with some of Africa’s most important economic partners and stakeholders.”

President Al Sisi said that focussing on success stories while drawing lessons from the past at Africa 2017 Forum “will help us design solutions to spur investment, and to accelerate job creation and more inclusive growth. The Forum will also provide a good opportunity for all participants to share their best practices in order to mutually benefit from the diverse experiences and backgrounds that Africa enjoys.”

“Our successes, as African countries, are closely interconnected. In Egypt, We are committed to playing an active role in helping strengthen regional ties and in building greater economic integration across the continent,” the Egyptian leader further said.

Among the most important business leaders who spoke at the event were Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, Nigerian banker Tony Elumelu, and Nigerian cement tycoon Abdulsamad Rabiu.

Now in its second year, the 2017 Business for Africa forum is a platform for business owners to nurture new partnerships and meet investors. The forum will provide business owners with an opportunity to engage with African political leaders and policy makers on new ideas to improve business environment across the continent. There will also be a series of events for entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses to investors from within and outside Africa. More than 1,500 delegates from more than 40 countries attended the event held from Thursday to Saturday, December 7 to 9.

The event was organised by Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Regional Investment Agency (RIA). “The intra-regional trade is a valuable component of the economic growth strategy of Africa and Egypt,” said the Egypt’s minister of Investments, Sahar Nasr, in a press statement.

•Partly based on a Forbes report.