By Jean-Pierre A.
On the first day of the Africa-France Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, 11 May, President Emmanuel Macron announced investments that include €14 billion in private and public funds from French entities, and €9 billion from African investors, in a bid to renew Paris’s relations with the continent and revive economic partnerships.
The summit, co-hosted by Kenya’s President William Ruto and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, is the first to be held in an Anglophone country, as France hopes to boost its cooperation with Africa, which has been strained by its fading influence in some West African countries, specifically in the Sahel region.
The second day will be dedicated to heads of state and government to discuss peace and security, among other issues.
France has been forging new partnerships with countries that are neither traditional allies nor former colonies. Kenya is one such country; about 100 French companies operate in the East African nation. Nigeria and South Africa are now among France’s leading business partners in Africa.
The announced investments will focus on energy transition, digital technology and AI, the maritime economy, and agriculture.
According to Macron, the investments are expected to create 250,000 direct jobs in France and Africa.
“We are not simply here to come and invest on the African continent alongside you – we need the great African business leaders to come and invest in France,” President Macron was quoted as saying at the Nairobi Convention Centre.
Some observers say Macron seeks to promote Europe as a more reliable trading partner than China amid increasing competition among the world’s leading economic powers.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Investment Authority CEO, John Mwendwa, told French investors to build their businesses on the continent and increase the value of local raw materials.
“If your strategy is simply to extract and exit, then Africa is not the continent for you. Come to build value and strengthen supply chains,” Mwendwa said in Nairobi at the summit dubbed Africa Forward Business Forum.
Among the notable business leaders attending the Africa Forward Summit are Nigeria’s industrialist Aliko Dangote, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné, and James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank Kenya, one of the leading financial institutions in East and Central Africa.
Key themes on the summit agenda include energy transition, green industrialisation, reform of the international financial architecture, the blue economy, sustainable agriculture, AI and digital technologies, resilient health systems, peace, and security.
At the end of the summit later today, the Nairobi Declaration will be released.
