AfDB President to attend African Business Roundtable on Ebola in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

AFDB’s Donald Kaberuka[/caption] The President of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, will attend the African Business Roundtable on Ebola in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on November 8, 2014 at the African Union Headquarters. The roundtable is jointly convened by the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to mobilize African business leaders on the Ebola Virus Disease and to mobilize their support in the fight against the epidemic. The meeting will be presided over by the Chairperson of the African Union, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and attended by Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Among the African business leaders expected at the conference are, Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Group; Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Chairperson, Econet Wireless; Patrice Motsepe, Chairman, Africa Rainbow Minerals Limited; and James Mwangi, CEO, Equity Bank Group. Leading development institutions and missions in Africa as well as representatives of African and non-African Governments are expected to attend the roundtable. Kaberuka will use the opportunity of the roundtable to appeal to African business leaders to join the African Development Bank, the AU, ECA and African Governments to provide resources to hasten the recovery of the continent from the Ebola epidemic. The Bank has been spearheading provision of financial support to the countries severely affected by the disease, namely, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea and so far, has committed US $223 million to the purpose.  The Bank’s estimates show that the current Ebola crisis would, in 2014, reduce GDP growth in Guinea by 2.4%, Liberia by 3.9% and Sierra Leone by 3.7%. In Sierra Leone, price inflation could reach 29.4%. The African Business Roundtable will therefore serve as a “sensitization” for action platform to mobilize African business leaders to continue investing in the countries. The involvement of the African business community is critical to creating jobs and preparing for the post-Ebola economic recovery.  ]]>