FII Institute Conference Begins with a Focus on Africa and Women’s Leadership

RIYADH Saudi Arabia, October 29, 2024: The Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute began its annual conference in Riyadh today, with more than 600 leaders, chief executives and key influencers from the fields of finance, technology, energy, entertainment among others. The conference with participation of 8 000 leaders and innovators included such prior events as Africa investment, pre-summit and Women’s economic emergence, pre-summit: challenges and opportunities for the future.

Investing in Africa’s Future

The pre-summit called; “Investing in Africa” revealed the enormous potential for the continent when investors and leaders of African countries sat down to deliberate on the various areas of investments to venture into. His excellency Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Jaddan started the summit and emphasized on cooperation. Prominent businessmen such as Tony Elumelu and Adebayo Ogunlesi stressed the importance of investment in the elimination of the developmental challenges and the sustainable development of the African countries’ economy.

On a special note, panelists discussed the healthcare sector with a focus on digital health to enable over 400 million Africans to access healthcare. The pre-summit main agenda identified healthcare investment as important in achieving better results and coping with future shocks. Another important session focused on food security where representatives of large agricultural companies shared new approaches for the improvement of the situation and decrease of food insecurity in Africa.

Women’s Leadership in the Global Economy

The HERiizon Summit, a first-time event at FII this year, highlighted women’s impact on change. H.R.H Ambassador Reema Bandar Al Saud discussed the need to develop cross industrial training for women at workplace. Other notable leaders including Cecilia Attias and Jenny Johnson spoke on how women can be given more prominence at the board and Ruth Porat explored the increasing importance of women in finance and technology.

HSBC’s Noel Quinn said the distinct voices women can contribute to the corporate world is needed for a diverse and inclusive leadership to foster a better future. This summit acknowledged the role of women in areas including policy, investment and technology as a force for positive change across the world economy.