Redefining the African Narrative

Financial services have made tremendous progress in Africa, yet access to affordable credit remains a long way away for everyone from consumers to SMEs to governments. This panel seeks to ask the tough questions and understand why the cost of capital in Africa is still so high.

There have been several iterations of how to adapt the traditional PE fund for Africa's unique challenges. These include permanent capital vehicles, de novo funds and sovereign wealth funds. Are these iterations performing any better? What are the lessons for traditional PE from these experiments? What other iterations are LPs like DFIs willing to invest in next?

African nations are on the precipice of momentous changes in the healthcare landscape. Challenges in infectious disease still ravage major segments of the continent while chronic illnesses are emerging as the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The push for changes, however, has often led to the adoption of partial solutions while the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that the most difficult problems remain unresolved. In this session, we are convening an elite group of professionals, ranging from drug manufacturers, regulators, entrepreneurs, and astute investors to discuss the critical issue of pharmaceutical production on the continent. This session is meticulously designed for decision-makers and innovators seeking to capture tremendous opportunity and make a tangible impact in the healthcare sector. 

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