The Banking Executive Magazine - July 2023 Issue

Summits and Valleys TRANSORM AFRICA SUMMIT The Transform Africa Summit is Africa’s leading annual forum bring- ing together global and regional leaders from government, business and international organizations to collaborate on new ways of shaping, accelerating and sustaining Africa’s on-going digital revolution. In 2023, the Transform Africa Summit was held 26-28 April in Zimbabwe. Building trusted connectivity be- tween Africa and Europe was a main theme raised at the summit. The Eu- ropean Union launched the Global Gateway, a new strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in dig- ital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems in Africa. The Global Gateway Strategy is an op- portunity for Africa and Europe to strengthen their digital partnerships. Digital inclusion was an important theme addressed in Transform Africa Summit. The summit offered to stake- holders the opportunity to under- stand the regional disparities and identify priority areas which align with their strategic visions and to adopt a multi-dimensional approach to deal with different digital develop- mental needs. WORLD GREEN ECONOMY SUMMIT Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the World Green Economy Summit was organ- ised by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and World Green Economy Organization in coopera- tion with WETEX. The World Green Economy Summit, aims to propel ac- tion to deliver a sustainable future. It was held on the 28th and 29th of September 2022 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). Convened in the lead-up to the Con- ference of Parties COP27 in Egypt and COP28, the World Green Econ- omy Summit is a platform to build consensus around the potential of technologies, policies and youth as engines of a green economy transfor- mation. It also supports the United Arab Emirates (UAE) efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustain- able Development Goals 2030 (SDGs), the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean en- ergy sources by 2050. The summit focused on developing investment partnerships in green projects and fi- nancing. It promoted investment and employment opportunities provided by the green economy. The summit addressed the issue of regulation and its role in driving a dramatic shift in how businesses think about sustainability. New rules will increasingly require companies to disclose their impact on the envi- ronment and the financial risks they face from climate change. Growing concern about the implications of biodiversity loss and the economic value of ecosystem services means that governments and businesses alike will increasingly return to think- ing about the environment more broadly, rather than just focusing on carbon emissions. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 44 ISSUE 175 JULY 2023