Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 8:06 p.m.
Marrakech – The 3rd edition of the Qatar Africa Business Forum 2024 opened on Saturday morning in Marrakech, under the presidency, on the Moroccan side, of the Head of Government, Mr. Aziz Akhannouch, and on the Qatari side, of HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, President of “Years of Culture” who designated Morocco a cultural partner for this year 2024.
The Qatar Africa Business Forum 2024 is part of the Qatar-Morocco Cultural Year 2024 and demonstrates, once again, the depth of the strong and historical ties between the two brother peoples and the two Heads of State, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God help him, and His Highness Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani.
Some 350 eminent leaders from the private and public sectors gathered in Marrakech for this 3rd edition of the Qatar Africa Business Forum, during which they addressed strategic topics for the Continent.
Initiated under the theme “Investing in AI for tomorrow’s growth”, speakers at the Forum explored the transformative power of artificial intelligence.
Thus, the opening plenary session, which brought together senior leaders from the public and private sectors, was devoted to the challenges and opportunities for accelerating growth in Africa.
Indeed, the African continent is poised for transformative growth, expected to double its population by 2050 and potentially become a $29 trillion economy. But that only tells half the story. To achieve sustainable and inclusive growth, Africa, as well as emerging markets, will still face significant challenges.
In this sense, emphasis has been placed on collaborations aimed at leveraging technologies from the South that can support Africa’s journey to navigate its complex environment.
From climate resilience to digital transformation, capital allocation and defining economic governance systems capable of delivering results, the panel explored how Africa’s development can change not only the trajectory of the continent but potentially that of the whole world.
The era of cognitive cities was then discussed. As urbanization accelerates in Africa and is already a thriving reality in the Middle East, cognitive cities offer a global, cutting-edge solution to address the underlying challenges.
This panel focused on understanding how advanced technologies such as AI, big data and IoT can foster smart and adaptable urban ecosystems.
Highlighting successful initiatives and innovations from Africa and the Middle East, high-level speakers illustrated the transformative potential of cognitive technologies to shape the cities of tomorrow.
The day ended with a round table on the weight of Sport.
In a world often divided by political, economic and social challenges, global sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup provide rare opportunities to bring billions of people together across cultures and borders.
By examining case studies from recent events, this unique conversation attempted to define how sport can continue to unify nations and how to translate this potential into long-term regional and community benefits.
The case of Morocco, through its exploits during the World Cup in Qatar and its designation to organize, alongside Spain and Portugal, the 2030 World Cup illustrated these discussions.
With this event, the Qatar-Morocco Cultural Year 2024 continues to excel and demonstrate once again the unique potentials of the two countries in all areas of expertise and the unique collaboration between Morocco and Qatar, which paves the way for unprecedented opportunities and produces extraordinary results across all sectors.
