Africa CEO Forum 2025 Impels Africans to Become Masters of Their Own Destiny
The Africa CEO Forum took place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, from 12 to 13 May 2025. The theme for this 12th edition was “Africa in a Transactional World: Can a New Public-Private Pact provide a winning hand for the Continent?” Cyril Ramaphosa, Paul Kagame, Cheikh El GHAZOUANI were among the African heads of state present along with delegations from 70 countries across the world.
In his welcome keynote, Cote d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara underscore three fundamentals: 1) Enhance intra-Africa trade, 2) Foster Local Value Addition, and 3) Leverage the huge single African market to compete globally.
Setting the tone during a presidential panel, Kagame urged for greater sovereignty, stating: “We can’t keep depending on what others are saying or doing about us … What President Rump decided to do should only add to the many reminders too make Africa wake up!” Whether it sovereign credit rating, tariffs rules and trade agreements and , narratives on human rights and governance, Africa must push its own perspective.
In turn Ramaphosa called for peace and stability. He declared: “Because this is our continent. We are in charge of the future of this continent and we must build peace ourselves because we live on this continent and there we have a deep responsibility to ensure that peace does indeed prevail”
Referring to the conflict on the DRC-Rwanda border, he underlined the work undertaken by Africa under the Nairobi Process, Luanda Process and the AU Process to arrive at the current ceasefire and the withdrawal of SADC troops.
In line with the theme of this edition of the Forum, Mauritanian President Ghazouani emphasized the necessity for governments to promote public-private partnerships (PPP) to synergize the productive forces and move Africa forward. “We are convinced that the private sector cannot fully play this role if the state is not committed to necessary reforms to create an environment that will be more attractive for investment,” he added.
As in previous editions, the discussion thread about nurturing the next-generation of African champions remained high on the agenda. Africa has sufficient heft which needs to be properly channeled to see the emergence of global leaders in sectors such as agribusiness, digitalization, energy, infrastructure building, or mining.