Profile Summary
Thomas Svanikier is the founder of a number of companies including Svani Group, where he is executive chairman. He also serves as a non-executive director for several other companies. He acts as a consultant and advocate for international companies who wish to invest and operate in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. He founded Svani Limited in 1990 as an automobile retailing company based in Accra, Ghana, supplying vehicles to Ghana and neighbouring countries. Since then, it has expanded and diversified into the Svani Group with subsidiaries and capital investments in transportation, energy, finance, and real estate. Mr. Svanikier is also co-founder and chairman of Africa Capital Ltd, the largest shareholder of Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd and Fidelity Asia Bank, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – as well as chairman of the advisory board of Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd. He is a founding member and former non-executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana. He was honored with the highest award of the land (The Order of the Volta) by the Government of Ghana in 2023, recognizing his role and contribution to society.
Profile Summary
Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is a globally recognized biodiversity scientist, academic leader, and former President of the Republic of Mauritius. She served as the 6th and first female President of Mauritius (2015–2018). Prior to the presidency, she was the Managing Director of CIDP Research and Innovation as well as Professor of Organic Chemistry with an endowed chair at the University of Mauritius. Professor Gurib-Fakim’s scientific career spans decades of pioneering research in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. She has authored and co-edited over 30 books and numerous scientific publications. She was elevated to the Order of the Commander of the Star and Key by the Government of Mauritius in 2008 and admitted to the Order of the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the Government of France in 2010. She holds six honorary doctorates including from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Sorbonne Université), Paris, France in 2013.
Theme: Innovative and Sustainable Financing in Post-COVID Africa: Effective Strategies for Resource Mobilization
Overview
With both domestic and external financing drying up in the aftermath of COVID-19, there is a need for fresh ideas and new strategies for financing sustainable development in Africa in the post-pandemic era – just like other regions of the world.
Date: March 2, 2022
Theme: Inclusive Digital Transformation for Economic Resilience in Africa: A Call to Action
Overview
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented, exogenous shock to the global economy, with major repercussions on production, consumption, and exchange activities.
Date: January 19-20, 2022
Theme: Resource Mobilization and Sub-National Fiscal Autonomy: A Development Finance Perspective.
Overview
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 sub-targets form the core of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations. The SDGs balance the economic, social, and ecological dimensions of sustainable development, in addition to aligning the twin goals of fighting poverty and achieving sustainable development.
Date: November 23, 2021
Theme: Accelerating Decarbonization of Africa’s Energy System: A Blue Economy Perspective
Overview
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) aims to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.” Improving access to affordable and clean energy for all, while reducing GHG emissions and the carbon footprint of the energy sector, remains on the front burner of the global energy transition debate.
Theme: Harnessing PPPs to Optimize Public Service Delivery Post-Crisis: A Multi-Jurisdictional Perspective
Overview
Crises often trigger reinvention. John F. Kennedy once famously said, “When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.”
Theme: The Clean Energy Transition and the COVID Economy: Navigating the SDGs
Overview
The case for the transition towards sustainable energy systems has never been stronger. Global economic rebalancing, environmental concerns, and improvements in energy efficiency due to technological innovations – all combined – continue to drive the gradual decarbonization of the global fuel mix.
Theme: COVID-19, International Private Capital, and Infrastructure-Led Recovery
Overview
Join our panel of experts as they discuss the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for international private capital and infrastructure-led recovery in the African context.
Theme: A Joe Biden Presidency: Implications for US-Africa Trade and Investment Ties
Overview
Join our panel of experts as they discuss the implications of the Biden Presidency for US-Africa trade and investment ties.