Launch of South-South in Action: CADFund – 11 September 2020

September 9, 2020
  • When: 11 September 2020, 8:30-9:45 am NY time
  • To join this event, please click here.

Side Event: 2020 UN Day for South-South Cooperation: Launch of South-South in Action Report:

CADFund: Promoting the Sustainable Development of Africa through South-South Investment

Background

Africa is a continent of hope and development, and its development is the shared wish of people around the world. With China being the world’s largest developing country and Africa the home to the greatest number of developing countries, the two parties need each other for development, prosperity and stability. Investment in Africa is an important component of China-Africa cooperation. At present, more than 3,700 Chinese enterprises have taken root in Africa.

The China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) is one of the important initiatives of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In the 13 years since its establishment, the CADFund has been committed to serving China-Africa cooperation with a market-oriented approach, giving full play to its financial advantages and guiding role as a platform. It has introduced Chinese enterprises as well as Chinese capital, technologies, production capacity and management experience to Africa and vigorously helped Africa to improve its own development capacity, increase tax revenues and expand exports. In this process, the CADFund has worked to strengthen cooperation with African governments and multilateral organizations and other development partners to respond to Africa’s needs and opportunities. In September 2018, the CADFund and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) signed a memorandum of understanding in which the two organizations committed to jointly promoting cooperation in poverty reduction, capacity development, joint research and project incubation in Africa.

As a follow up to this, UNOSSC and CADFund  have jointly developed a South-South in Action report titled “China-Africa Development Fund: Promoting the Sustainable Development of Africa through South-South Investment”, which gives an overview of CADFund’s mission at advancing sustainable development and boosting industrialization in Africa through South-South investment. The publication demonstrates the concrete activities and the socio-economic impacts through different case studies.

UNOSSC and CADFund will launch this important publication along the side-lines of UN Day for South-South cooperation.  The event will bring together project experts to share CADFund’s good practices and initiatives on South-South investment in Africa.

Agenda

Moderator:
  • Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang, Deputy Director of Programmes and Operations, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
1- Opening Remarks
  • Mr. Jorge Chediek, Director of UNOSSC and Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation
  • Mr.Song Lei, Chairman of the China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund)
2- Launch of South-South in Action “China-Africa Development Fund: Promoting the Sustainable Development of Africa through South-South Investment” 3- Sharing of CADFund’s initiative in Africa Facilitator:
  • Ms. Shams Banihani, Knowledge and Research Specialist, UNOSSC
Sharing of CADFund’s initiative in Africa
  • Mr. Jia Shaoqian, President of Hisense Group, South Africa
 Story from the Field
  • Ms. Khadija Torbay Lartey, Asogli Power Ghana Limited
Special commentators
  • Regional perspectives: Mr. Francois Ekoko, Regional Coordinator for Africa, UNOSSC
  • Research Perspectives: Mr. Hany Besada, Senior Programme Advisor and Researcher, UNOSSC
4- Q&A 5- Summary and Closing Remarks
  • Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang, Deputy Director of Programmes and Operations, UNOSSC