On the initiative of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), various stakeholders from the German private sector met for a roundtable with Ahunna Eziakonwa, Deputy Administrator and Regional Director for Africa of UNDP, at the premises of the German Africa Foundation on 27 September 2022. The other delegation included Jide Okeke, Regional Programme Director at the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA) in Addis Ababa and Mintwab Zelelew Tafesse, who also works in the UNDP Africa Office in New York. The exchange focused on how investments can promote entrepreneurship and innovation for sustainable development in Africa.

At the beginning of the discussion, Ahunna Eziakonwa presented UNDP’s new Strategy for Africa 2022-2025, which consists of six approaches: Poverty and Inequality, Gender Equality, Energy, Environment, Resilience and Governance. The discussion that followed focused on the role of trade and investment in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation for sustainable development in Africa, which included the transfer of knowledge and professional skills related to key technologies and innovation. In addition, the representatives of the German private sector present were able to share their experiences, challenges and aspirations regarding cooperation and investment on the African continent, as well as put forward ideas that were discussed to improve these.

The roundtable showed that the interest of the German business community in Africa, both from the public and private sector side, has grown as well as the desire to increase the footprint of German companies in Africa. Ahunna Eziakonwa made it clear that UNDP is ready to play the role of facilitator to promote co-creative solutions and partnerships between German and African business.