For the first time since its creation in 2015, The African Chamber of Commerce (AFCHAM) celebrated Africa Day with a Gala Dinner with African Taste. The 3-hour event took place on Friday May 25th in Fairmont Peace Hotel at The Bund, downtown Shanghai and brought together over 120 high profile guests including Diplomats from African countries in Shanghai, 6 renown chambers of commerce in Shanghai, senior management staff from top companies, representatives of state level economic zones in China, media professionals, friends and well wishers of AFCHAM.
It was exactly 7 o’clock pm Beijing time when the MC Sam Onanda announced the opening of the gala night. After introducing the program, the hall was filled with applause as the first African dance group, Kubatana emerged from the dressing room and made their way to the stage. The group, made up of four acrobatic traditional African dancers thrilled the guests with their well-choreographed dance steps and rhythmic drumbeats while hundreds of photo shots were taken. They served a true taste of Africa.
The next item on the agenda was the welcome address by the Chairperson of the African Chamber of Commerce D. Nkwetato Tamonkia. The speech lasted for 10 minutes. He explained the significance of Africa Day, dwelled on AFCHAM’s achievements, invited more companies and organizations to “get on board the AFCHAM boat” and thanked all who had made it to the gala night before inviting everyone to rise to a symbolic toast marking the celebration of Africa Day under the theme “Celebrating Africa Rising, Rise with us!”. You can download a copy of the Chairperson’s speech at this link. Click here.Africa Day speech
Then the chefs at Fairmont Peace Hotel served Smoked Tomato Soup, Focaccia Bread as appetizer. The main course was Oven Baked Argentinean Tenderloin, Herbs Potato Mousseline and Seasonal Vegetables. The main course was followed by dessert, Peace Hotel Cheese Cake and Berries Coulis. Alongside fine South African wine the guests savored the food while listening to classic African music from veteran African musicians like Manu Dibango.
Other African dance groups took to the stage before other presentations were made. Ismail Sidqui presented Morocco as an AFCHAM recommended travel destination. The AMANI project, initiated by AFCHAM was also presented. It is a project that will facilitate the importation of fresh farm produce as well as other raw materials from Africa to China for local consumption.
Yingke Global received a certificate of recognition for their tremendous support to AFCHAM. The Chairperson of AFCHAM handed over the certificate on stage to Miss Vietnam who was one of the guests of honor at the gala. She in turn handed the certificate to Dr. Marco Pearman Parish, the president of Yingke Global, one of the largest law firms in Asia’s Pacific. Mr. Pearman is the CEO of Corporation China and the Global CEO of EQI Bank. The award ceremony was one of the most photographed highlights of the evening.
The Director of Operations at AFCHAM, Mr. Jilles Djon took to the stage and presented the philanthropy arm of AFCHAM in which several projects especially in the education sector have been carried out in African localities like Somaliland in East Africa. He appealed to people to contribute towards the building of schools in Africa. “One way of contributing was to buy African paintings” available at the gala. A famous Togolese painter Fiefonou Atsou Bernard Akouete made the paintings. They will be on display in Shanghai in the months ahead for art lovers.
In his closing remarks, Chairman D. Nkwetato thanked everyone who had made it to the gala night. He lauded efforts made by Chamber staff to make sure the event was a success. He gave special thanks to Chamber staff like Miss. Khaoula Houssini, Project Manager, Ismail Sidqui, Business Developer, the hotel staff and all who had worked for the successful organization of the event.
It was 10 o’clock when the curtain fell. People were tipsy. Some were itching to party some more. Voices were loud. There was mingling. Many exchanged business cards and posed for photo shoots. Hotel staff hurriedly cleaned up the tables as people picked up their belongings and called for cabs to take them home on a rainy Friday night that brought a true feeling of Africa to the heart of Shanghai.
