Join us as British Ambassadors and High Commissioners in the West Africa Region share insights on geopolitical and economic perspectives as well as a general overview on sectors of potential interest to UK companies.
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Registration for this event is now closed. Meetings slides and recordings for select events are available to Members.
Registration for this event is now closed. Meetings slides and recordings for select events are available to Members. Event recordings require an access code.
HE Ms Catherine Brooker, British Ambassador to Cote D'Ivoire
HE Mr David Belgrove OBE, British High Commissioner to Gambia
HE Mr David McIlroy, British Ambassador to Guinea
HE Ms Harriet Thompson, British High Commissioner to Ghana
HE Ms Lisa Chesney MBE, British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone
HE Mr Neil Bradley, British Ambassador to Liberia
HE Ms Juliette John, British Ambassador to Senegal
HE Ms Catherine British Inglehearn MBE, Ambassador to Niger
We are delighted to be hosting our annual “Meet the Ambassadors” series. Join us as British Ambassadors and High Commissioners in the West Africa Region share some insights on their respective countries’ geopolitical and economic perspectives as well as general overview on sectors of potential interest to UK companies.
West Africa was hard hit by the Covid pandemic with impact on the region’s economic performance. Whilst Nigeria accounts for around two-thirds of the region’s GDP, a number of countries are still classified as fragile.
After experiencing GDP growth of 3.4% and 3.6% in 2018 and 2019 respectively, Covid-19’s impact reduced West Africa’s GDP to 1.5 percent in 2020. According to the AfDB regional overview, Covid-19 highlighted the importance of accelerating the region’s structural transformation for a transition to middle and high-income status.
Most of the countries in the region are looking at economic diversification and the region offers many opportunities for UK companies in a range of sectors including infrastructure, education, agriculture/agritech, energy transition, fintech/financial services and renewable energy. There is also commitment to addressing the climate emergency but many countries lack the financial resources and will be looking for climate finance support.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the most comprehensive continental agreement to date, has great potential to result in greater regional value chain integration. The introduction of this free trade agreement should develop regional value chains and accelerate productive transformation.
