ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) hosted its first virtual business opportunities seminar (BOS) of 2021 on 6 and 7 April.
The
BOS seminars offer a one-stop shop for companies, civil contractors,
manufacturers, consultants, and suppliers from the Bank Group’s regional
and non-regional members seeking to provide goods and services to
projects or to the Bank.
Held virtually as a result of the
ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, delegates were informed about the Bank’s
strategy for supporting economic growth, its priority areas, rules and
procedures for project and corporate procurement, and ongoing public and
private sector operations.
During the sessions staff discussed
the sectors that offer opportunities for partners and suppliers: climate
change; infrastructure, cities and urban development; industries and
trade; finance and SMEs; agriculture; health, human capital, youth, and
skills development.
“The Bank’s 2021 Business Opportunities
Seminar was an impressive learning experience and an open door to
interact virtually with different experts and gain insights into best
practices and directions for conducting effective business approaches
within the Bank,” said David Andrés Rojas Mejía, Senior Business
Development Specialist at Catalonia Trade and Investment Promotion
Agency.
Private sector partners contributed richly to the
discussion, sharing their experience around partnering and contracting
with the Bank. They included Kwame Boate, country director of
TechnoServe Inc., (Ghana) and Cletus Kayenwee of the Rural Enterprises
Program at the Ghanaian Ministry of Trade, who shared their experience
contracting with the Bank on Ghana’s “One District One Factory” Enable
Youth Program. The program aims to build the entrepreneurial capacity of
graduate youth. Participants also heard from Abdelillah Zenjari, Deputy
General Director of TEKCIM. He shared his experience partnering and
obtaining a loan of €45 million to build a cement factory with a
capacity of 1.4 million tons in the region of d’El Jadida in Morocco.
Over
the years, the seminars have hosted approximately 2,500 delegates from
55 countries, with an average of 75% of delegates from non-regional
member countries and 90% from the private sector.
For the Bank,
the seminars increase interest in Bank-financed projects and enhance
competition, thereby promoting higher-quality offers that deliver
optimal value for money for its regional member countries.
“The
sessions have also helped me to understand how to find opportunities for
my firm by being better able to navigate your procurement framework and
processes,” said Dede Watkin, Business Development Manager at Beale
&Co, a participant.
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