Organisers
The COMESA Investment Forum is organised by IC Events on behalf of the Egyptian Ministry of Investment, in collaboration with COMESA RIA, under the auspice of H.E. President Mohamed Hosny Mubarak – The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
COMESA
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern African States (COMESA) is Africa’s largest economic community, with a market size estimated at over 500 million consumers by 2015. With its strategic location and economic and geographic diversity, it offers exceptional, unparalled opportunities for international investors. COMESA’s vision: To be “a fully integrated, internationally competitive regional economic community with high standards of living for all its people ready to merge into an African Economic Community.”
COMESA’s mission:
To “endeavour to achieve sustainable economic and social progress in all Member States through increased co-operation and integration in all fields of development particularly in trade, customs and monetary affairs, transport, communication and information, technology, industry and energy, gender, agriculture, environment and natural resources”.
COMESA’s Member States include: Burundi, Comoros, D.R. Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Comesa Regional Investment Agency (RIA)
Comesa RIA seeks to optimize investment and trade opportunities in the region through developing and establishing synergies, networks, alliances, and co-operation with other Regional Economic Communities, co-operating partners and international institutions so as to achieve high investment levels that lead to rapid and sustainable economic growth and development. The mission of the RIA is to transform COMESA into an internationally competitive investment area, which allows free movement of capital, labour, goods and services across the borders of Member States and thereby facilitate sustainable growth of private domestic and foreign investments in the region.
Ministry of Investment, Egypt
Since July 2004, reform efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Investment have resulted in significant improvements in Egypt’s perceived investment climate. Investors have responded positively to the more business-friendly environment, seizing the numerous commercial opportunities available, with close to half the companies operating under the umbrella of the governing investment law(s) having been established during the past four years. The vote of confidence by the international community is also evident in the third declaration in four years of Egypt as one of the top-10 global reformers, and the top regional reformer in the “Doing Business 2009” report. Egypt is also the first Arab and African country to join the Investment Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a Participant, the lead FDI recipient country in Africa, and ranked second among the Arab countries in the UNCTAD 2007 'World Investment Report'.
GAFI
The General Authority for Investment is the principal governmental authority concerned with regulating and facilitating investment in Egypt. Through its Research and Market Intelligence, Promotion and Facilitation and Investor Aftercare bodies, GAFI further developed its scope from a traditional regulatory framework into a proactive investment promotion strategy. GAFI represents Egypt’s sole "One Stop Shop" for investment, easing the way for investors worldwide to take advantage of the country’s emerging market and diverse economic sectors. With this objective, GAFI’s communicational campaigns aim to promote Egypt’s favorable investment climate worldwide.
IC Events
Together with its dedicated team of specialists and extensive network of contacts, IC Events tailors innovative forums, roundtables and workshops responding to the most pressing issues in Africa and the Middle East. IC Events’ activities are 100% results-driven, bringing together the main stakeholders and partners involved in the topics tackled to achieve concrete action plans. IC Events represents a platform to inform, engage, explore and develop.
IC Publications
IC publications has over 50 years experience in publishing magazines, newsletters , country supplements, industry reports and market intelligence on Africa and the Middle East. Long-lasting partnerships form the foundations of IC Publications—trust, integrity and independence have been and remain the company’s fundamental principles. With over 1,000,000 readers in more than 100 countries, the company’s publications are the region’s undisputed market leaders. IC Publication’s distribution network and reach are unrivalled, in terms of scope, numbers and quality.