Workshop 5: “Place of the Private Sector in the construction of new sovereignties (energy, food, digital, etc.) in Africa”
Context
The development of globalization has accentuated the phenomena of interdependence in recent decades. The internationalization of value chains has led to a greater complementarity of economic actors and a reduction in the levels of strategic autonomy of central actors such as States. Thus, state sovereignty, which internally translates into the ability to govern effectively and entirely the activities of individuals present on its territory, is challenged externally by various upheavals that call into question its theoretical dimension, its relationship to resilience and the principle of horizontality in international relations. African countries have experienced different destinies since the wave of independence in the 1960s. The latest international shocks The latest international shocks (the subprime crisis, the Coronavirus, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict) have, however, shown the fragility of the continent due to an economic structure that is extraverted and still dominated by the logic of rent. Strategic sectors such as food and energy have largely shown their vulnerability, causing inflation and attrition in overall economic activity. On another note, digital technology poses many challenges for African states. The building of cyber capabilities increases the risk of strategic dependence while INTERPOL estimates, at the same time, the losses related to cybercrime in Africa at 4.12 billion dollars in 2021. Faced with these many challenges, African states are called upon to build new sovereignty in these strategic sectors. If the centrality of the State requires a framework role, the place of the private sector must be redefined in this perspective. Its weakness weighs on the creation of value and jobs and on the difficulties of consolidating intra-continental trade. This raises the question of the reform of national economic structures, the place of the African private sector in critical areas and its specific contribution in the so-called regalian areas. It seems necessary to conduct an inclusive reflection on these challenges so that their security, economic, political and social implications are better understood by the national and regional actors concerned.
Objectives
This workshop aims to determine the place of the private sector in the emergence of new sovereignties and its contribution to the sustainability of the latter
Issues to be addressed
- What are the factors of vulnerability of the private sector in Africa to international tensions and crises? How can the private sector lessen the effect? How can the private sector spearhead the construction of new sovereignties?
- What could be its role in making them sustainable? To what extent can the private sector drive and support food sovereignty on the continent? What about energy sovereignty? How to optimize the endogenization of the economic potential of digital technology in Africa?
- What could be the contours of digital sovereignty in Africa? What role should African integration play in strengthening a private sector
focused on building new sovereignties in Africa?
Speakers
-
Bachir Ismaël OUEDRAOGOSpeaker
-
Candide BAMEZON-LEGUEDESpeaker
-
Eveline Fatou TALLSpeakerChair of the board of CGF Bourse and CGF Gestion
Eveline TALL founded her company E.&Partners in February 2017, specialized in Strategic and Financial Consultancy. She is also a board member of several companies (banks, specialized in financial markets et in human capital development). Eveline TALL started her career in Citibank Sénégal where she worked for 18 years. She then joined the Ecobank Group where she ended her career as Deputy CEO in charge of 30 bank affiliates in Africa. Eveline TALL holds a Bachelor in English Littérature, a Master in International Commerce and Marketing and a Master in Arbitrage.
-
Franck KIESpeaker
-
Kabiné KOMARAModeratorInternational Consultant, Former Prime Minister, Conakry, Republic of Guinea
Kabiné Komara is Guinean.
International Banker, he commits on humanist, environmental, development projects.
His international studies between Africa, France and United States has helped him to embrace high-level management responsibilities in various sectors (bank and mining).and in many countries.
Acknowledged among the 100 personalities that contribute to the progress of the African continent, M. Komara was a Prime Minister. Between 2008 and 2010, he saved Guinea from damaging upheavals which gave him high recognition in his country and at the level of international community.
Throughout his 4-year term as High Commissioner of OMVS “Senegal River Basin Development Organization”, M. Komara has put this structure as the world leading River Basin Organization 2 years in a row.
He is currently an international consultant in finance, strategy and hydrodiplomacy. He is member of boards of reputable organizations such as the Global Fairness Initiative (GFI), the Brazzaville Foundation for peace and conservation, the International Action Council and the Initiative for the future of Great Rivers (IAGR).
Among other distinctions, M. Komara was honored as ‘Commander of the National Order of the Lion’, one of Senegal highest distinction by President Macky SALL in 2017 and he is also a prize-winner of the Oscar for African Managers Leadership in 2014 in France. -
Mor Talla KANESpeaker
