The business networking night on Tuesday May 17th, 2016 brought together business executives from over 20 countries around the world. The gathering, at the prestigious 9th floor XNode premises downtown Shanghai, was one out of many events organized by the African Chamber of Commerce in China (AFCHAM), to match investors with opportunities in African countries. The organization of the event was led by Next Step, a PR company based in Shanghai and an AFCHAM partner.
Present and chairing the event was the Chairman of AFCHAM, D. Nkwetato who lauded the efforts, sacrifice and commitment AFCHAM board members had put into the successful organization of the event. He announced the strategic partnership AFCHAM was building with government institutions as well as private entities to ensure win-win business deals for companies, groups and individuals with interests in Africa. In that same light, he introduced the Nigerian Regional Investment and Trade Office, represented at the event by Mr. J. E Memuduaghan, deputy Trade Commissioner, sitting in for Mr. A. A. Agboluaje, Senior Trade Commissioner. In another partnership highlight, the CEO of Bridge Afrique Magazine, Mr. Kolawole O. Michael was introduced as the main media partner of AFCHAM, a partnership that will benefit the business magazine as well as platinum and corporate AFCHAM members.
Introduced by the director of business operations at AFCHAM, Mr. Jilles Djon, the CEO of Bain Entreprises Bjarki, representing the aviation industry and one of the keynote speakers for the evening made an important revelation during his speech. He revealed that his company was investing a lot in drone technology use in Africa in the years ahead to bring development to enclave areas as well as tap resources from areas until now unreachable due to the lack of good roads. He drew a big applause as he handed over the mic after reiterating the focus of his group of companies on Africa.
SEE MORE PICTURES FROM THE EVENT HERE
In over 60 high profile attendees, most of them CEOs, Directors and Managers, almost every business sector was represented. Participants were wowed each time they swapped business cards. Discussions were intense. Many people ran out of business cards and resorted to saving contact information on their cellphones. There was free flow of fine wine Amarula from South Africa, served by elegantly dressed African beauties to keep discussions smooth. One sentence was heard uncountable times among participants; “You should organize this more often.” Thanks to professional photographer Colins hired for the night, over 1000 pictures were taken to capture precious moments for souvenirs and showcasing on various social media channels.
Die-hard African business fans like me only left the place around 11pm when the host turned off the lights. It was a successful networking evening and the message was well understood. All roads lead to Africa now. If you aren’t doing business with Africa, you aren’t doing business. Looking forward to the next AFCHAM event!
For more pictures, visit our event page