Frankfurt, 27-28 May: Feedback on the Africa Europe Week

On 27 and 28 May, IPEMED participated in the Africa Europe Week. The first edition of this event took place at the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce, in Germany.

Four persons from IPEMED’s team, or recommended by the Institute, were among the participants:

• Jaloul Ayed, former Tunisian Minister of Finance, participated in the first discussion panel, called “EU-Africa relations after the European elections”;
• Jean-Louis Guigou, President of IPEMED, talked at the beginning of the afternoon in order to promote the Verticale foundation, and to highlight the necessity of a regionalised Africa - Mediterranean - Europe space;
• Eric Diamantis, Vice-President of IPEMED, gave a presentation on the legal aspect of settling a business in Africa;
• Jean-Marie Paintendre, International Advisor at IPEMED, took part in the first panel of the second day, regarding the risks and opportunities of financial growth in Africa. On this occasion, he talked about the recent study regarding SMEs financing and investment security.

The 27 May was dedicated to the challenges of settling a business in Africa, a continent full of opportunities. Following the European elections, Mr Guigou also talked about the necessity to create an integrated space between Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe, in a context of regionalisation. Two panel discussions were also organised on renewables and health funding.

The 28 May was dedicated to financial development in Africa. In the morning, the participants presented the challenges of this development, the perspectives, the risks and the opportunities, whereas in the afternoon, a video conference was held with Lagos.

These two days of exchanges ended with a reception at Frankfurt’s city hall, where Dr Uwe Lauber (MAN Energy Solutions SE, Augsburg) was awarded the first Africa Europe Award.