The conference was first hosted in Kigali, Rwanda, while the second and third editions were virtual, the fourth held in Zambia last year, with the fifth scheduled for June 14 and 15, 2023, in Accra.

The conference is an annual inaugural gathering of African company owners and executives, Managing Directors (MDs) and public sector leaders, among others.

The 2023 edition will be held under the theme: “Making Africa Work for Africans: Collaborations and Partnerships”.

Hybrid conference

The two-day hybrid of in-person and virtual conference aims to inspire and support leadership development among African leaders, promote intra-Africa trade and collaboration, and boost productivity and production of goods and services on the continent.

This year’s event will be hosted by Catherine Engmann, a Leading chartered governance professional and certified coach; Doris Ahiati, a chartered banker and CEO of Crescendo Consult; Samuel Ayim, a Ghanaian lawyer, banker and CEO of the Centre for Transformational Leadership; Dr Modupe S. Taylor-Pearce, scholar and practitioner of leadership and organisational management, and Dr Yaw Perbi, Global CEO of the HuD Group and Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative.

Commenting on the need for a learning conference for African leaders, the CEO of BCA Leadership, Dr Taylor-Pearce, said now was the moment for African leaders to unify and fight for the greater welfare of the African continent.

Africa’s case

“For far too long, Africans have waited for someone else to come and fix our continent.

We have waited for the British, the French, the Germans, the Americans, or the Canadians, and lately for the Chinese.

None of these groups are ever going to love our continent the way that we love our continent.

African problems will be solved by African leaders collaborating with each other to devise solutions; the solutions to African problems are already in Africa,” he said.

“It is a conference for civil service leaders and elected officials; for small business owners and corporate leaders, and for community leaders and NGO leaders because all of us share one thing: we are all people whose decisions impact the lives of others.

“As leaders, our primary job is to make optimal decisions, and those decisions result in outcomes that are experienced by ourselves, our communities, our companies, and our countries.

The quality of those decisions made today and this year will determine the future of Africa in the next five to 10 years,” he added.