The UK-African Investment Summit to be in London on 23-24 April 2024, will bring together Heads of State and Government from 24 African countries with British and African business leaders.
The summit will among others strengthen UK-African partnerships to create jobs and growth, supporting British and African talent in sectors such as finance and technology, and promote women entrepreneurs.
The Summit will build on the results of the UK-African Investment Summit 2020 and virtual UK-African Investment Conferences in 2021 and 2022. The UK-African Investment Summit 2020 marked an important milestone in our partnerships with African countries and announced over £6.5bn of deals, plus a further £8.9bn of investment commitments.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “This summit will ensure we are able to harness the potential of our relationships across Africa and grow our economies together, making them stronger, resilient, and innovative.”
“The UK’s trade and investment relations with countries right across the African continent are delivering significant mutual economic benefits to all of us.’’ Said Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, James Cleverly
The UK-African Investment Summit will bring together political and business leaders from the UK and 24 African countries, as well as representatives of international and regional organisations.
According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UK is the largest holder of foreign assets in Africa (2020 figures).
UK-AIS 2024 will use the UK’s unique position as a global financial hub, leading investor in the continent and convening power to secure mutually-beneficial major investments into African countries, facilitate two-way trade and investment, and support policies and reforms that boost long-term prospects for investment.
The 2020 Summit provided a platform for substantial commercial activity: securing over £6.5bn of deals on the day (with additional major deals advanced and concluded in the weeks immediately following the Summit), plus a further £8.9bn of investment commitments secured around the event in a range of sectors.
This included deals involving well-known British firms such as Matalan, who announced a £25million investment in Egypt to launch 11 new shopping outlets, and Diageo who announced £167million investment into Kenya and East Africa breweries.
British Investment Partnerships (BIP) offer will help countries in Africa get the investment they need to grow their economies. Through these partnerships, expertise in finance and growth will help deliver transparent and responsible investment with a focus on green, reliable infrastructure.
In 2021 BIP provided access to infrastructure for 8.8m people, supported over 11 million jobs and made investments of £2.3bn, of which 75% were in Africa.
