Stakeholders from across the East African Community (EAC) region and Europe gathered online today to mark the beginning of the MARKUP – EAC Invest event.
The four-day virtual meeting from 1-4 March, 2021 is bringing together key policy makers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, business support organisations, investors, financial institutions and public stakeholders to identify key investment priorities in East Africa in the aftermath of COVID 19.
Jointly organized with the EAC Secretariat and Sankalp Africa Summit 2021, the event is financed by the European Union through the MARKUP programme.
The MARKUP-EAC Invest event meeting is expected to drive networking for investment opportunities to boost trade and to discuss concrete solutions to attract investment, improve value addition and increase exports of horticulture and traditional commodities from the EAC.
Among the key items on the agenda to be addressed are the investment priorities in East Africa’s agri-business sector to respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic and with a focus on the world post-COVID 19, as well as the EAC as an investment destination region as a whole.
Workshops tailored to meet the needs of national investment promotion agencies, financial institutions and businesses and meetings with potential investors will be held. The Finance Gateway – launched on March 1 – will serve as a one-stop-shop to help SMEs in East Africa access information to identify and connect with capital providers in the region
The EAC Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko said the MARKUP EAC Invest event is of paramount importance to the community since it underpins region’s investment initiatives to ensure improvements in the investment climate in addition to providing a framework for promoting the region as a single investment destination.
Hailing MARKUP support for business continuation Amb. Mfumukeko said, “We are also proud of their creativity and innovation in leveraging digital technology and the leveraging on networking as we witness today through their collaboration with Sankalp.”
Speaking at the online event, Ms. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre said, “We continue our efforts to make it easier for MSMES to access investment, finance and working capital. The MARKUP EAC Invest event will help ITC deepen its support with the East African community by promoting trade and investment with particular attention to regional strategies. It will help all stakeholders obtain a clearer understanding of how the pandemic has affected businesses in the EAC and help chart a path forward.”
