September 8-10 in Toronto & Hamilton, Canada
The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business is pleased to conclude Africa Accelerating 2025 which took place in two of Canada's major cities, ahead of major upcoming events on the African continent.
Thanks to the headline sponsorship of Elephant Trade-Services DRC, we welcomed hundreds of attendees including leading CEOs, Ministers and innovative thinkers advancing deeper commercial ties between Canada and African markets. In a landmark year with Canada chairing the G7 and South Africa leading the G20 as the first African country to do so, we were delighted to welcoming leaders who are accelerating trade and investment between Canada and Africa - alongside all our members and guests, following the participation of Prime Minister Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka of the Democratic Republic of Congo last year, which set the tone for this year's program.
View Photos - Full Live-stream Recordings to Follow Soon
All members and sponsors are warmly invited to travel onward to Zambia, for our program from September 29 to 30 in Lusaka CBD and Lilayi.
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10:00 |
Member Bilaterals and B2B Meetings |
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17:15 - 19:30
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Opening Reception for Africa Accelerating 2025 High-Level Remarks: Paula Caldwell St-Onge (Retired Ambassador) Chair of the Board of Directors, The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business Andrew (Drew) Smith, Director General, Pan-African Affairs and Trade Champion |
September 9, 2025 - Toronto
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8:00 |
Arrival & Registration |
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8:45
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Opening Ceremony, including invited official Ministerial addresses from the Governments of Canada and African VIP Leaders Official Welcome: Randy McAuley, Partner at Goodmans LLP G7 and G20 addresses by Canada and the Republic of South Africa Consul General Thandile Babalwa Sunduza, South African Consulate in Toronto. Hon. Maropene Ramokgopa, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Republic of South Africa Patience Abah, Director General, Bayelsa Investment Promotion Agency, Federal Republic of Nigeria |
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9:30 |
Keynote Address: Delivering the Africa Strategy - the implications for businesses through the role of the private sector - featuring B2Gold Corp |
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10:00
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Session 1: Meet the Leaders in Canada-Africa Trade and Investment Henry Lukenge, & President CEO, Nexim Healthcare Consultants In Conversation: 'Canada in the world we have, not the world we had: The Case for Canada-Africa Trade and Investment today' - Kumaran Nadesan, Co-Founder and Deputy Chairman of 369 Global Cross Border Insights Real impact through reliable financial infrastructure and smart technology, - Mark O Sullivan, CEO of IPT Africa. |
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11:00 |
Tea/Coffee Break |
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11:30
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Session 2 - Panel: Sustainable Growth Initiatives In conversation with university leaders focused accelerating job creation and entrepreneurship - across the African continent and in Canada. Prof. Yolande Chan Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University Prof. Carola Weil, Dean of Continuing Studies, McGill University; Dianne Dusaidi, Lead, Entrepreneurship, Transitions at the Mastercard Foundation, leading the Foundation's Fund for Alumni Start-ups in Transition (FAST) Program). Liz Thomas, Assistant Vice-President at Aon; Alumna of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at McGill University Desautels BCom, Class of 2021 and former Canada-Africa Chamber intern with the McGill Mastercard Foundation Transitions Project Closing: Toye Abioye, Business Developments and Partnerships, The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business |
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12:35 |
Luncheon - Leadership Remarks by Victoria Tshitende |
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13:15
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Session 3 - Panel : Canada’s Africa Strategy: The Role of Chamber Members and Supporting Institutions Following the launch of the Africa Strategy, key players will share their response to the call for deeper engagement with the continent, since the launch in March this year. Susan Namulindwa, Executive Director, Africa Trade Desk Wendy Harris, President & CEO, Catalyste+ Steve Tipman, Executive Director, Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) Canada |
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14:00
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Session 4: African Events Program Ontario's Private Sector Program of Action for Canadian Trade & Investment with Fawzia Sheikh, Senior International Market Consultant -- India, GCC & Africa, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation & Trade Panel: The Canada-Africa Business Conference Series: Ongoing Opportunities Ahead of our program in South Africa and the Canada-Africa Business Conference in Zambia we assess key successes and insights from past programs - including most recently in Zimbabwe and Kenya - to best prepare members for the upcoming trade missions in September and beyond. Including: Sean Clancy, Principal at SalesRockIT, Jacques NdoutouMvé, Founder and CEO, EL Consulting |
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14:35
14:50
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Session 5: Nigeria Trade and Investment Presentation: Patience Abah, Director General, Bayelsa Investment Promotion Agency, Nigeria - Access Partnership Opportunities With a view to a 2026 program in Lagos, we are delighted to welcome this year's delegation, in partnership with the Canadian High Commission in Nigeria. Remarks: Jubril Arogundade, Executive Director, CIG Motors Group Session Moderator: Carlos Rojas-Arbulú, Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of Canada in Nigeria Participants: |
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15:30 |
Break |
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15:45
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Think Tank Roundtable On the occasion of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) we will be reflecting on cinematic works that have changed narratives on trade and investment in African markets - including those acclaimed at TIFF, during screenings in which we've participated with industry leaders. Ahaji Adedayo Thomas, Chairman of the Foundation for Economic Initiative and Development Dr. Nii Addy, Associate Professor at McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies (SCS) |
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16:45 |
End of Program |
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08:30 |
Breakfast, National Club & 09:15 Departure to the City of Hamilton |
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10:30 10:50 11:40 12:20 13:00 13:45 |
Official Welcome at Hamilton City Hall Port Tour of Parrish & Heimbecker Lunch: African Investing in Hamilton - Case Studies for Success: Trident Engineering Institute & Nexim Healthcare Closing Remarks & Thanks – Return to Toronto Arrival: National Club and conclusion of the Day 3 program |
Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka (left) and the Honourable Ahmed Hussen (right), Canada's Minister of International Development, speaking at Africa Accelerating 2024.
Decision-makers from the business community, representing various markets across the African continent and North America, came together for three dynamic days last year to accelerate trade and investment.
Read our executive summaries from each day and view photos as well as session recordings from 2024.
Day 1: Featuring messages from Prime Ministers on both sides of the Atlantic, the participation of Members of Parliament, and the application of best practices from the continent to major projects in Canada. The Government of Canada also contributed to the global affairs panel, while private sector speakers shared their insights on current investment and trade trends. Read more, view photos, and watch the recordings.
Day 2: Including the investment session in the DRC with Minister Louis Watum, market-driven solutions for the health, environment, and education sectors, as well as the outcomes and opportunities from the 3rd Canada-Africa Business Conference held last month in Zimbabwe. Read more, see the photos, and access the recordings.
Day 3: Featuring the opening keynote from EY, the African Union bilateral panel, an overview of the first African G20 presidency, as well as presentations on how Nigerian clean technology is addressing environmental sustainability challenges through market-based solutions, among many other presentations and interviews covering dozens of markets. Read more, see the photos, and access the recordings.
