The importance of innovation has been further emphasised by the COVID-19 crisis that exposed the fragility of interconnected economies, leading to calls for increased “resilience” in the recovery phase. Innovative thinking is increasingly promoted to address some of the grand challenges of the 21st century: providing food, water, and energy to the continent’s soaring population (by 2030, one in five people will be African), while staying within the limits of an intricately linked system that is undergoing (climate) change. Africa Works! 2022 is designed to promote and facilitate international trade between Africa and the Netherlands, facilitate foreign direct investment in Africa, and provide a platform to expand or establish business operations in Africa.
Africa Works! 2022 once again featured world-class speakers, high-quality workshops and interesting country-focus sessions, investment pitches, and networking.
Within the overarching theme “Innovation for Resilient Growth”, Africa Works! 2022 – together with knowledge partner TNO – focused on innovative solutions for sustainable economic recovery including challenges linked to food, water, and energy in Africa. The main questions that were addressed included – what can be done to support Africa in taking ‘the great jump forward’? And what role can the private sector – Dutch and African – play in this?
Africa Works! aimed to: