Market Days is a three-day annual event that brings together project sponsors, financiers, governments and other key stakeholders to advance deals toward close

CASABLANCA, Morocco, November 14, 2024/APO Group/ — 

A group of top African investors made a stop in Casablanca, Morocco, on Tuesday, November 12 to mobilise Moroccan investors and business leaders a few weeks ahead of the Africa Investment Forum’s Market Days event.

The Africa Investment Forum, an initiative of the African Development Bank Group and eight other founding partners, is a platform that advances projects to bankability, raises capital, and accelerates transactions to financial close.

Organised by Africa50 (http://apo-opa.co/3O8LVij), a pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager, and the African Development Bank Group, the roadshow provided a preview of Market Days  to local investors, and  enjoined  them to actively participate in the transformation of the continent through sustainable investments.

Market Days is a three-day annual event that brings together project sponsors, financiers, governments and other key stakeholders to advance deals toward close. The 2024 Market Days will be held from December 4-6 in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.

Morocco: a Regional Hub for Investment in Africa

The Africa Investment Forum continues to advance critical projects towards bankable stages, channeling capital towards sectors aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals

In his opening remarks, Abdelkrim Achir, Deputy Director of the Treasury and External Finance at Morocco’s Ministry of the Economy and Finance, said, “the organization of the Africa Investment Forum in Morocco for the second year running is recognition of the significant efforts made to promote investment under the impetus of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, and of the Kingdom’s positioning as a regional hub for investment and growth.”

Ms. Yacine Fal, Special Representative of the President of the African Development Bank Group for the Africa Investment Forum was present. She said, “this pre-forum event in Casablanca reinforces our commitment to connecting African projects with capital. By engaging local investors upfront, we are laying the foundations for transformative partnerships that will fuel Africa’s long-term development goals. The Africa Investment Forum continues to advance critical projects towards bankable stages, channeling capital towards sectors aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the African Development Bank’s High 5s, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.”

Ms. Zurina Saban, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Africa50 also attended the event. She said, “The more than$100 billion infrastructure financing gap on the continent can only be closed through a concerted effort from both domestic and international investors, and the Market Days platform is strategic for bringing together the right people and connecting  them to high-impact projects to accelerate the continent’s growth.  As Africa50 works alongside our AIF partners, we are committed to leveraging the collective power of local knowledge, extended networks, and our project development and project finance expertise to shape Africa’s future – creating lasting impact for generations to come.”

Innovations for Scaling Up Investments

The 2024 Market Days, under the theme: “Leveraging Innovative Partnerships for Scale,” will bring together more than 2,000 participants from over 50 countries. The event will focus on advancing high-potential African projects towards financial close through strategic partnerships that drive Africa’s economic transformation.

Among the highlights of the 2024 edition of the Africa Investment Forum the recent automation of its project and investment tracking mechanism. This is expected to optimise the investment process, enhance project supervision, and strengthen the efficiency of connections between capital and projects on the continent.

The founding partners of the African Investment Forum are the African Development Bank, Africa50, Africa Finance Corporation, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), which joined earlier in 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

CMAG’s mission is to foster deeper relationships between Africa and global markets, and thereby enable the creation of resilient and diversified critical minerals supply chains

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 14, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Global leaders in the critical minerals industry have today launched the Critical Minerals Africa Group (CMAG) (www.CMAGAfrica.com) to foster deeper relationships between Africa and global markets, empower companies operating in Africa’s critical minerals space, and thereby unlock Africa’s full critical minerals potential.

Sub-Saharan Africa is believed to be home to approximately 30% of the volume of proven critical minerals reserves globally. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that, as markets around the world place an ever-greater emphasis on green technology, demand for nickel will double, demand for cobalt will triple, and demand for lithium will rise tenfold. If harnessed properly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that increased commodity revenues alone could increase Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP by 12% or more by 2050.

CMAG has been launched to empower these stakeholders with the tools, knowledge, and relationships they need in order to succeed

Despite Africa’s central role in the global critical minerals industry, African policymakers, business leaders, and citizens struggle to influence vital discussions around policy and supply chains. Global businesses keen to seize the opportunities presented by Africa’s critical minerals also face high barriers to entry owing to a lack of relationships on the continent and limited local knowledge. CMAG’s mission is to foster deeper relationships between Africa and global markets, and thereby enable the creation of resilient and diversified critical minerals supply chains that benefit the communities in which they are extracted, as well as to accelerate economic development through the capture of value-adding activities.

CMAG will also work with industry and governments to help remove barriers to market entry across Sub-Saharan Africa, create more enabling business environments, promote sustainable growth and localisation of benefits, and support the creation of green value chains on the continent. CMAG will act as a bridge between the private and public sectors while enabling greater interconnectivity with Western markets.

The CMAG team, which includes global leaders in the critical minerals industry with a track record of delivering results and tangibly influencing policy, will add value by offering members access to funding and networking opportunities, advocating for CMAG members in discussions with governments, regulators, and other stakeholders, as well as providing messaging and branding support to help members position themselves as global industry thought leaders.

Veronica Bolton Smith, CEO at CMAG, says, “I am delighted to be part of a world-class team determined to foster deeper relationships between Africa and global markets and put Africa at the heart of international discussions surrounding critical minerals and associated supply chains.”

“There is a huge opportunity for African businesses and governments to become global leaders in an industry which is of ever-increasing significance to the world economy, something that would be to the benefit of communities across the continent. There is an equally large opportunity for international firms to ramp up their exposure to African markets and capitalise on the enormous growth potential Africa offers. CMAG has been launched to empower these stakeholders with the tools, knowledge, and relationships they need in order to succeed.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Critical Minerals Africa Group (CMAG).

New Infobip research reveals generational shopping preferences ahead of Black Friday

CASABLANCA, Morocco, November 13, 2024/APO Group/ — 

New research from global communication platform Infobip (www.Infobip.com) highlights how different generations want to communicate with businesses and brands ahead of Black Friday. When at least 86% of all generations expect targeted and relevant communications, according to Infobip’s research, retailers need a personalized approach for each generation of shoppers.

Black Friday is the start of the Christmas shopping season. Millions of consumers search for deals online, providing retailers with a growing opportunity to increase sales and strengthen brand presence. Even a 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by more than 25%, according to management consultancy Bain & Company.

However, brands must get customer communications right to enhance loyalty and grow sales

However, creating an appropriate omnichannel strategy to communicate with consumers across four generations can be challenging. Get it wrong and brands may lose sales or even loyal customers. Infobip’s Generational Messaging Trends Report reveals the communication preferences of each generation:

• Baby boomers: are less accepting of repetitive content where, 40% want more varied communications versus 8% of Gen Z, but favor chat apps more than Gen X (68% compared to 57%) 
• Generation X: 73% of Gen X prefer to receive product and service updates compared with just 55% of Gen Z
• Millennials: younger generations are more open to new communication channels, where 60% of millennials are happy to make purchases through chatbots
• Generation Z: 83% expect a brand to understand them as individuals, and 65% want a two-way dialogue with the brands they buy from

Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer at Infobip, said: “Our research shows that most shoppers, no matter their age, want brands to engage with them like with a friend through conversational channels and say it will increase their loyalty. However, brands must get customer communications right to enhance loyalty and grow sales. That’s why Infobip has analyzed what each generation prefers and published a new report and a playbook to help retailers and ecommerce firms make the most of the shopping season.”

Read the report: https://apo-opa.co/3CnAvod

Recent award wins include:

• Infobip named a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) 2024 for the second year running (June 2024)
• Infobip named to Fast Company’s Annual List of the World’s Most Innovative Companies (March 2024)
• Infobip ranked as number one Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider, in the inaugural MetriRank CPaaS Report from Metrigy (Dec 2023)
• Omdia Ranks Infobip as Leader for the second year running in its CPaaS Universe Report (Nov 2023)
• Infobip named a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) 2023 (Sept 2023)
• Infobip named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) 2023 Vendor Assessment (May 2023)
• Infobip named a leader in the CPaaS Leaderboard, Juniper Research (March 2024)
• Infobip named a leader in the CCaaS Leaderboard, Juniper Research (Dec 2023)
• Infobip named a leader in the Juniper Customer Data Platform Leaderboard Report (July 2023)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Infobip.