'Believe in Africa, invest in Africa, take a long view on Africa...' were the sentiments overwhelmingly expressed on the stage of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) last week when it played host to the influential Consumer Goods Forum 60th Global Summit, 15-17 June 2016.
It was the first time in Africa for this august retail and branded goods body, which saw the CEOs of global retailers and brands strut the stage talking up investment in Africa.
In a nutshell: yes, Africa has problems with political leadership, conflict and corruption, but when you see the innovation and investment in technology, start-ups, smart cities, power, infrastructure, education, farming, retail, and, indeed, every sector on the continent, there is no doubt that this is the place to live and work.
Even deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa dropped by in a low-key entrance, to listen to speeches on investment and food security, before taking to the stage to talk about "Africa rising".
Keynote speaker, Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, which is investing $17 billion in Africa, was extremely bullish and encouraged retailers and manufacturers to take a long view of the continent.
"Small improvements in Africa are yielding exponential results," Kent said. "Technology will help transform society, especially education... Africa has thousands of flourishing entrepreneurs."
*Read all the Bizcommunity.com team's coverage of the Summit at #CGFsummit.
Invest in Africa!
Louise Marsland
Africa Editor: Bizcommunity.comComment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your African marketing and media news and event invitations to africanews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-africa@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news".
