The major activities of the ABR are founded on dialogue, research and communication. ABR programmes are focused on continuous and effective dialogue, which provides opportunities and fora for business leaders to meet regularly amongst themselves, and with public sector officials building partnership for investment opportunities and consensus on policy reforms. These include, but are not limited to the following:
Trade and Investment Missions
The ABR organizes and sponsors, in collaboration with its partner’s trade and investment missions abroad and hosts serial trade missions in countries of Africa.
Economic Summits
The ABR organizes business Summits on regional and continental levels, which focuses on improvement of business and investment environment and offers members business networking opportunities. It also facilitates members’ attendance at various business fora.
Research
The research activities provide support for the various ABR programmes with reliable data. Primary focus is on policy issues as they affect national economies (competitiveness) regional integration, (especially intra- African trade and investment), market access, and private sector development, financial, business and other economic indices. Deliberate effort is made to avoid duplication of efforts and utilize available data through collaboration with particular institutions.
ABEX
Business Information and Communication to bridge the information gap, facilitate business decisions, and enhance intra-African trade and investment, the ABR manages an electronic database (ABEX) on financial and business statistics, economic reviews, trade and investment opportunities on all countries in Africa. The ABEX project was funded by the UNDP-UNOPS.
Policy Commission
The ABR has groupings of its members from the various countries/regions focusing on business issues as they affect trade and investment in the continent. These groups prepare business positions on issues of policy for submission to appropriate authorities.
Advocacy Functions
The ABR carries out its advocacy activities through membership of and affiliation with regional/continental institutions- ADB, AU, ECOWAS etc (observer status). At the United Nations, ABR was granted ‘Special Consultative Status’ by the UN Economic and Social Council – UN- ECOSOC. The ABR President was invited by the President of the U.N General Assembly to address the 60th Session of the General Assembly inNew York, on behalf of the entire private sector, serving as the “voice of the private sector”
At the national level the ABR consults with its members and coordinates with other private sector associations to address policy constraint and other concerns of the business community and to convey to their governments the views articulated by the ABR at the regional and continental level, thus providing additional ‘continental persuasion’ for change.
General Meetings
The ABR organizes regional chapters and continental General Meetings for its members, during which, special educational and informative presentations by renowned specialists that are of significant value to members, are held.
Training and Development
The ABR facilitates access to training and manpower development opportunities for its membership through various affiliates/funding bodies.
Publications
ABR publishes occasion papers for economic summits, periodicals and through the Firm of Africa Investor facilitates the production of the African Investor Magazine. The Magazine is an authoritative voice on investment issues in Africa, and has wide circulation.
