- to recognise excellent among brands, individuals
Top business owners, policy makers and small and medium scale industrialists, will on 3rd of August converged on Abuja for the 2018 edition of African Business Summit. The summit which was designed to be a networking and knowledge sharing platform, will also witnessed this year’s edition of the Development in Africa Merit Awards (DAMA) as well as Business Showcase and Exhibition, among other highlights. The Summit is brainchild of Delta Business School Limited in partnership with many top flight corporate bodies and media organisations.
Speaking at a press briefing organised to intimate the public with what to expect at the event, a director of Delta Business School, who is also one of the arrowheads of the summit, Mr. Onyechukwu Akpotohwo, said the continental event was designed to showcase the best of African businesses and reward excellence performances of some business organisations and individuals. He pointed out that the organisers are passionate about the growth and opportunities in Africa despite its numerous daunting challenges.
According to him, the summit is an annual conglomeration of African countries doing business, adding that it was designed to create a forum for business owners to relate, connect and celebrate their achievements and successes.
“While we recognise the opportunities around us, we also believe that Africans need to act in concert towards a commonly defined objective by ensuring the emergence of a focused and committed leadership that will be transformational, rather than transactional.
“Africa can make tremendous progress if they collectively focus on building viable and growth oriented economies, managing their productive sectors and investing hugely on education. It is against this background that the African Business Summit 2018 is hinged on”, he said.
Speaking on what participants should look forward to, Akpotohwo, said the gathering was conceived to build for and serve sustainability communications, sourcing, partnership among business practitioners, along with key government officials, civil society and associates.
“Participants will learn how to create a brand of purpose that delivers positive impacts and profits. And of course, participating companies will learn how global organisations are using technology and frame work to source quality business driven data to drive her CSR agenda and strategy,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, the convener of the African Brand Congress (ABC), Desmond Esorougwu, who is also a partner on the summit, said DAMA awards was set up to recognize true continental sustainable exemplars, including government, companies, brands and individuals that have been innovative and creative in pursuing sustainable growth and development imperatives.
Speaking on criteria and categories for the award, Esorougwu stated that the Award Technical Committee also known as the Organising Committee has put up criteria to ensure transparency and professionalism in selection, pointing out that the awards are free and based on merits.
“The committee takes on annual survey to determine which business appeal most to African consumers. Questionnaires were randomly circulated within the African states to obtain representations across section of the respondents. Meanwhile, the questionnaires were interpreted in different languages with respect to corporate bodies,” he said.
