Business
India-Africa Summit: $3.2 Trillion Opportunity to Spark Collaboration & Growth
The fourth edition of the India-Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit is set to take place on July 18-19 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Balaclava, organized by the India Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Forum (IAEF).
The event aimed to foster collaboration, stimulate economic growth, and promote sustainable development.
According to Baljinder Sharma, founder of IAEF, the summit will offer interactive sessions, networking opportunities, roundtable discussions, and expert workshops on the latest developments and opportunities in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in both India and Africa.
“This event is a platform for investors and business leaders to establish connections and valuable partnerships,” Sharma explained.
“Despite the historic, commercial, and cultural ties between India and Africa, the entrepreneurial ecosystems between the two regions are not yet fully connected.
Strengthening this connection is representing a huge opportunity to leverage the creative capacity of entrepreneurs from both regions to work together to solve common pressing problems and accelerate commerce and investment.”
Sharma emphasized that IAEF’s mission is to bridge this gap. “The 54 African states have a combined gross domestic product of over $3.2 trillion, almost equivalent to India’s,” he noted.
“The continent’s economic growth is estimated to be 3.2% in 2023, which also features six of the world’s most dynamic economies.”
On the other hand, Sharma pointed out that India has 57,000 startups valued at $450 billion, making it the third-largest entrepreneurial ecosystem globally.
“Additionally, over 650 African startups received a total of $5.2 billion in funding in 2022, a 1700% increase since 2015, valuing combined startups at around $50 billion,” he added.
Sharma explained that this gap represents an unprecedented opportunity for Indian and African entrepreneurs to collaborate in their co-creation and co-founding activities, providing bilateral knowledge sharing, funding, and market opportunities to their early-stage businesses, thereby strengthening existing efforts to increase trade and development between the two economies.
“A collaboration between startups and large entrepreneurial companies can increase the scope and impact of innovation, according to an Accenture Africa study, correlating increasingly with higher economic performance at both company and economy levels,” Sharma emphasized.
By leveraging the power of ecosystems and open innovation, African economies can accelerate progress, releasing abundance for all in Africa.
The three objectives of the India Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Forum are:
- To establish bridges between Indian and African entrepreneurs.
- To organize meetings and discussion groups to encourage entrepreneurs from both continents to explore mutual interest opportunities.
- To aid in creating joint ventures and commercial partnerships for access to capital and markets.
Source: Defi Media
