April 2025
Dear Members and Friends,
Following a busy April, including our recent engagements in Calgary, we're set to welcome dozens of African country representatives in Gatineau, Québec this week, ahead of the Africa CEO Forum in Côte d'Ivoire's dynamic commercial hub, Abidjan.
Members' Luncheon - May 1, 12:00 to 14:00: Ottawa Capital Region
This week's forum will take place on May 1st - comprising our annual luncheon at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau to which all members are welcome.
Our upcoming and recent events which will be presented include - but are not limited to - Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe. Read More
Canada Program at the Africa CEO Forum, May 11-14: Abidjan
The Africa CEO Forum is the continent’s largest annual event dedicated to the private sector, bringing together over 2,000 business leaders, investors, policymakers, and influential figures from around the world in Côte d’Ivoire this year.
Thanks to our Major Sponsors, in addition to the Africa CEO Forum, The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business is delighted to partner in the delivery of the Official Canadian Reception and concurrent program - to which all members are warmly invited.
The Canada Program includes a welcome reception for the Canadian delegation on May 11th, bringing together the business community and other guests at the Official Residence of the Canadian Ambassador in Côte d'Ivoire. The program runs through to May 14th and will also include a networking breakfast, B2Bs, a business panel and informal networking opportunities.
Learn more about participation here and contact us directly for further details, including the program of complementary engagements for our member companies attending, in addition to a special code for discounted registration to attend the Africa CEO Forum: ceoforum@canadaafrica.ca.
Paula Caldwell St-Onge, Chair of the Board (centre) with H.E. Bafetigue Ouattara (left), the Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire to Canada and the Embassy's new Economic Counsellor Denio Bi Bolou (right) during a preparatory meeting last week.(left).
As with all Chamber events (including recent events pictured above) we are delighted to assist members on the ground in Abidjan attending the Africa CEO Forum. Thank you, as always, to our sponsors, who’ve enabled the Chamber’s participation and member support for the Canada program during this leading gathering that is "dedicated to highlighting the driving role of the private sector in the development of the continent".
As always, we are delighted to profile the work of members and partners on the continent, ahead of upcoming Chamber events throughout Canada and across several African countries.
Members' Briefings: Accelerating Canada's Private Sector Growth Story with African Markets - April 15-16, Calgary
For members and guests in Calgary, the President provided updates on the latest work at the Chamber during a series of meetings, which included opportunities for members to explore maximizing the use of corporate member benefits. Read More
Our upcoming and recent events include - but are not limited to - Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.
We were also pleased to table further details for our conferences in Lusaka and Windhoek, among our upcoming planned programs, in addition to others in the planning phase - as shared with members - for numerous markets. Read More
Above (Left): Mr. Patrick Mbambo, founder of Mbambo Construction, which serves Calgary, Okotoks, High River, Vulcan and Southern Alberta. (Centre): Companies from Calgary and Edmonton were among those who addressed the most recent Canada-Africa Business Conference in Harare (Right): Honourary Consul of Côte d'Ivoire to Alberta, Mr. Kazir Coulibaly is currently leading the Côte d’Ivoire – Alberta Business Forum, taking place from July 2-4, 2025, in Calgary. Email alberta@canadaafrica.ca for more info.
Save the Dates! Africa Accelerating 2025: September 8-9 (Canada) & 25-26 (South Africa)
We are delighted to announce Goodmans LLP as a Major Sponsor and host of this year's Africa Accelerating program in Toronto, under the leadership of Randy McAuley, a partner in the business law group at Goodmans and a board director at the Chamber.
During a momentous year where Canada leads the G7 and South Africa heads the G20, as the first African country to do so, we look forward to welcoming leaders accelerating Canada-Africa trade and investment from among all members and guests. Read More
Above (left): Randy McAuley, Partner at Goodmans LLP, our major sponsor and host of the Africa Accelerating 2025 program in Canada. (Right): Last year's Africa Accelerating Day 2 program at Goodmans LLP welcomed CEOs, Ministerial leadership and entrepreneurs.
With key proceedings of this year's Africa Accelerating program in South Africa, the Chamber was delighted to engage with Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela last week, on the occasion of Professor Moshabela's visit to Canada. Discussions on the role of university research for accelerating trade and investment will be part of upcoming conference deliberations in line with the Chamber's 'information-sharing' mandate.
Left: University of Cape Town Alumni and Friends, including several Chamber members. Right: Samantha Mandigora (centre), a Senior Advisor at the Chamber and Regional Director of UCT Canada, joined by Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela (left) and Professor Quinton Johnson, Executive Director of UCT's International Academic Programmes Office (IAPO (right)
MEMBER AND PARTNER ENGAGEMENTS
Mighty Canada Growth & Opportunity Summit: April 29, 2025: Toronto
The Chamber will address and participate in the Mighty Canada Growth & Opportunity Summit, featuring - among others - board director KC Goundiam, whose firm, B2BeeMatch, has generously provided discounted registration rates for Chamber members: Read More.
Members who wish to attend may email haba-maria@canadaafrica.ca for your dedicated registration link.
Supporting Members attending SIAL: April 29 - May 1, 2025: Toronto
The Chamber will be participating at SIAL this year and on-hand to support members. SIAL serves to "ignite innovation within the agri-food industry, empowering companies in this sector to gain deeper insights into market dynamics and global food trends".
Among the incoming delegations, we are pleased to share details of companies from Madagascar. Click here for more. Members may email agri@canadaafrica.ca to request meetings.
Webinar: Harnessing Africa's Digital Revolution: Opportunities for Canadian Tech Companies - May 6, 2025
With many Canadian companies looking to explore for new markets, the TCS office in Johannesburg will be hosting a webinar for Canadian companies to learn more about the tech business opportunities in Africa. In addition to Trade Commissioners from South Africa, Trade Commissioners from Nigeria and Senegal will also give an overview of their markets. This webinar will also provide information on joining the Canadian delegation to Africa Tech Festival. Read More and Register
Invest in Ethiopia 2025: May 12-13, 2025 - Skylight Hotel: Addis Ababa
The Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Ottawa has very kindly advised The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business that the Ethiopian Investment Commission and the Ministry of Finance are jointly organizing a High Level Business Forum which will be held next month.
Read More or email us for more information on participating: ethiopia@canadaafrica.ca
Zambia’s 59th International Trade Fair, July 2-8 2025, Ndola
Under the theme: “Enhancing Business Resilience through Innovation and Trade”, the Zambian High Commission has generously extended an invitation to members of the Chamber interested in attending the 59th International Trade Fair. Read More
Investment Opportunities: The Zambian High Commission is sharing investment opportunities. Click here to view the latest for the Lusaka Mass Transit Railway. Email zambia@canadaafrica.ca for more information. There also opportunities available for a Green Hydrogen based Synthetic Fertiliser Project, a Biomass Green Methanol Project and 1000MW Storage Project.
From September 29-30, 2025 we are delighted to be in Zambia for the 4th Canada-Africa Business Conference, Sponsored by Hatch at the InterContinental Lusaka. Read More
RECENT EVENTS
Diversification of Trade: Canada’s Tipping Point - Ottawa
The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business was delighted to participate in this dynamic program of the Africa Trade Desk on April 2, bringing together trade agencies, private sector leaders, and international trade experts to discuss real-world strategies for diversifying Canadian trade. View media coverage of the event here
Above: Susan Namulindwa addresses delegates (left) while Chamber members and friends (right) were among those who moderated and addressed sessions during the day-long program.
Africa Strategy Breakfast: The Role of the Private Sector - Toronto
The Government of Canada launched Canada's Africa Strategy: A Partnership for Shared Prosperity and Security on March 7. On the occasion of the launch, a number of stakeholders - among them Chamber members - were invited by the Government of Canada to join a briefing on the strategy. Read More
Over 600 attendees (above) joined our Africa Mining Breakfast and MineAfrica's 23rd Annual Investing in African Mining Seminar
The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business 26th Annual African Mining Breakfast & MineAfrica’s 23rd Annual Investing in African Mining seminar presented by Hatch featured 56 speakers and 620 attendees throughout the morning on March 4th at the Sheraton Hotel.
The breakfast featured addresses from numerous leaders, including:
- The Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s Minister of International Development
- The Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Republic of Ghana
- Abdul Rahman Amoadu, Managing Director - Africa and Canada, Newmont
- Paul Lefebvre, Mayor, City of Greater Sudbury
- Joe Lombard, Vice-Chair, Hatch
- Paula Caldwell St-Onge, Chair, The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business
MineAfrica's spotlight sessions also featured country overviews by African Mining Ministers, project updates by mining CEOs and presentations on current trends in African mining by expert advisers. MineAfrica also had 11 exhibitors (and 85 delegates) in the PDAC Trade Show. View the full program here and read the 2025 Report.
Recap: 2025 Investing in African Mining Indaba Programming: Cape Town, February 2-6, 2025
Chamber President, Garreth Bloor once again addressed attendees at the Canadian High Commissioner's VIP Reception, underscoring Canada-Africa collaboration through private sector growth, at an event which kicked off Team Canada's participation at the 2025 Mining Indaba.
We were pleased to support members with participation at a number of high-level networking and information-sharing events, in addition to bilaterals and Chamber leadership meetings that mapped out upcoming programs on the African continent. Read More
Above: Past Mining Indaba Canada Receptions with members, including Elephant Trade-Services DRC (Gabriel Tshitende), B2Gold (Neil Reeder), MineAfrica Inc (Wayne Floreani) and B2BeeMatch (KC Goundiam).
Maximize your corporate member benefits!
If you would like to request a meeting to discuss maximizing your participation and member benefits, please don’t hesitate to contact us: members@canadaafrica.ca. Thank you to all who’ve engaged thus far, at recent meetings online and in-person, across Canada and on the African continent.
Our latest President’s Report, covers our 2024 event programming, recognizing the outcomes, successes and dozens of key people and companies who made it possible. Download the Report.
Thank you to our generous high-level sponsoring supporters: Chamber Headline Sponsor, Elephant Trade-Services DRC, alongside Major Sponsors including 6ix, APO Group, B2Gold, Bramex, Boreal College, Bishworld, Cypher Environmental, EKMM, Hatch, EY, Lambano Full Services, Goodmans LLP, MineAfrica Inc., Nexim Healthcare Consultants Inc and SDF Financial.
Best wishes from all of us!
Garreth Bloor (President), Ateau Zola (Vice President, Natural Resources), Susan Namulindwa (Vice President, Canada), Jacques NdoutouMvé (Vice President, Africa)
Sebastian Spio-Garbrah (Past Chair & AfCFTA Free Trade Unit, Accra), Toye Abioye (Business Development and Partnerships) and Karen Woolcock (Senior Associate: In-Bound Delegations/KY Concierge); Haba-Maria Konaré (Office of the President)
About Us
President, Operations, Membeship, Vice Presidents and Associates (queries@canadaafrica.ca)
Board of Directors (board@canadaafrica.ca)
Council of Senior Advisors (council@canadaafrica.ca)
Think Tank Perspectives and Free Trade Unit (thinktank@canadaafrica.ca / freetrade@canadaafrica.ca)
For more information, please contact:
The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business Head Office
55 Bloor Street West, RTO Manulife Building, PO Box 19553
Toronto, Ontario M4W 3T9 Tel: 647-667-1223 Email:members@canadaafrica.ca