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Fifth Africa Prosperity Dialogues launched in Accra
The fifth edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) 2027 has been officially launched in Accra, with a renewed call for a borderless Africa that promotes free movement, seamless payments and increased trade.
The event is scheduled to take place from January 27 to 29, 2027, at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra.
It will be held under the theme, “The Borderless Africa We Want: Move Freely. Pay Seamlessly. Trade More.”
Founder and Executive Chairman of the Africa Prosperity Network, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, announced the details at a press conference in Accra.
He explained that the event is being moved from the Accra International Conference Centre, which hosted previous editions, because the facility is currently closed for refurbishment.
Otchere-Darko noted that the Kempinski Hotel had been selected because it was already familiar to the organisers and frequently accommodated visiting dignitaries attending the dialogues.
However, he acknowledged that the change in venue would significantly reduce the number of participants because the hotel has a capacity of about 1,000 people.
He recalled that the previous edition attracted about 6,400 participants from 94 countries over three days.
Due to the limited capacity, he indicated that participants for the 2027 edition would go through a pre-registration and vetting process before their attendance is confirmed.
Official registration for the event is expected to begin on September 7, 2026.
Unlike previous editions, he disclosed that participants would also be required to pay a registration fee, partly to support the organisation of the event and manage the limited number of spaces available.
Speaking on the theme, Otchere-Darko stressed the need for African countries to move beyond discussions on continental integration and take practical steps towards achieving a borderless Africa.
He noted that African leaders had signed several agreements aimed at promoting integration, including the Abuja Treaty and the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.
According to him, the AU Free Movement Protocol, adopted in 2018, was intended to allow Africans to travel across the continent without visas.
However, he expressed concern that the protocol had not yet come into force because only a few African countries had completed the process of ratification.
He explained that at least 15 African Union member states must ratify the protocol before it can take effect.
“As we speak, only four countries have ratified that protocol, and Ghana is not part of it,” he stated.
Otchere-Darko identified Rwanda, Niger, Mali and São Tomé and Príncipe as the countries that have ratified the protocol.
He expressed hope that Ghana would ratify the protocol, particularly when President John Dramani Mahama assumes the chairmanship of the African Union next year.
“We are hoping that with our President becoming Chairman of the African Union from next year, it will give him the impetus to lead by ratification,” he said.
He added that Ghana’s ratification could encourage other African countries, particularly those in West Africa, to follow suit.
Otchere-Darko argued that concerns about security should not be used as an excuse to prevent visa-free travel across Africa.
He noted that ECOWAS countries already operate a free movement system and stressed that legitimate travellers and businesses should not be unnecessarily restricted because of fears about criminal activities.
He used his personal experience to highlight the difficulties Africans face when travelling across the continent.
According to him, although he holds both Ghanaian and British passports, his British passport gives him easier access to several African countries than his Ghanaian passport once he travels outside West Africa.
“It is shameful that my British passport takes me further and quicker across Africa than my Ghanaian ECOWAS passport once I leave West Africa,” he stated.
Beyond free movement, Otchere-Darko said the APD 2027 would also focus on promoting seamless payment systems across the continent.
He called for mobile money interoperability across African countries to make it easier for individuals and businesses to buy and sell goods across borders.
He explained that while mobile money has made payments and business transactions easier within Ghana, Africans are still unable to easily use their mobile money wallets to make payments in other African countries.
According to him, creating a continent-wide mobile money interoperability system would boost intra-African trade, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
He said it would allow consumers to purchase goods from businesses in other African countries using their local currencies and mobile money wallets.
This, he added, would also create opportunities for the transport, logistics and other sectors needed to move goods across the continent.
Otchere-Darko said the organisers and their partners had already held discussions with telecommunications operators, central banks and other stakeholders on achieving cross-border mobile money interoperability.
He expressed optimism that Africa could achieve continent-wide mobile money interoperability by 2027.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues bring together political leaders, business executives, policymakers, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to discuss practical solutions towards Africa’s economic integration and prosperity.
The 2027 edition is expected to focus on turning the idea of a borderless Africa into practical opportunities for Africans to travel freely, make seamless payments and trade more across the continent.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The 30th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards has celebrated three decades of recognising excellence and contributions to journalism and national development, while highlighting the media’s role in Ghana’s democracy.
Marking the milestone, Philip Osei Bonsu of the Multimedia Group emerged as the GJA/P.A.V. Ansah Journalist of the Year.
The Ghanaian Times’ Benedicta Gyimah Foley won the Best Feature Reporting, Print category, alongside other journalists recognised across various media platforms.
Other winners included Nathaniel Attoh, Best in Sports Reporting; and Godwin Asediba of Media General, Best in TV Documentary; Doreen Ampofo of GBC, Best in Radio Documentary; and freelance journalist Nii Adjei Mensahfio, Best in Online Documentary.
Daniel Kwabena Mantey was adjudged Best in TV Feature, while Clinton Yeboah of Luv FM won Best in Radio Feature, with Gilbert Azeem Tiroog of GNA taking Best in Online Features.
For news reporting, Mohammed Fugu of the Daily Graphic won Best in Print News Reporting, Nabil Ahmed Rufai, a freelance journalist, Best in TV News Reporting; Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman of EIB Network, Best in Radio News Reporting; and Timothy Ngnenbe of the Daily Graphic, Best in Online News.
The ceremony, held in Accra last Saturday on the theme, “Celebrating Excellence, Advancing Media Freedom and Combating Hate Speech in the Digital Age”, was attended by President John Dramani Mahama as the special guest of honour.
Also in attendance were the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, among others.
In his address, President Mahama announced a GH₵10 million allocation in the 2027 national budget as seed capital for the reactivated Media Development Fund to support journalists’ welfare, professional development, investigative reporting and safety training, with additional corporate contributions expected.
Mr Mahama, also urged media practitioners to uphold professionalism and accuracy by avoiding sensationalism, unsubstantiated allegations and the deliberate pursuit of scandals, while promptly correcting inaccurate reports and apologising when necessary to maintain public trust and professional standards.
On journalists’ safety, he assured that the government would continue to act against attacks on them.
By Stephanie Birikorang
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Today, I focus on the theme of Ghanaian/African migrants in Finland and economic empowerment, a move away from the topic of personalities or groups and their accomplishments within the Ghanaian community in Finland that I have been writing on.
In recent times, African migrant associations and Finnish institutions are organising meetings or forums and help people seeking employment to meet employers or build professional networks to achieve economic empowerment.
Such forums are usually open to their members and anyone of African descent.to get into the Finnish job market.
Competences
Researchers and experts say entrepreneurship or self-employment has great potential to offer a route for migrants, including highly-educated ones, to participate in and contribute to the local economy.
Competences, including knowledge and knowhow, opportunities, and social capital such as family support, language, etc., are necessary to boost the entrepreneurship endeavour.
Competence in the official Finnish or Swedish languages is undoubtedly a key quality to improve employment prospects, especially for migrants since the overall unemployment among migrants could be higher than in the mainstream Finnish population.
There could also be particular privileges which may be the provision of the right information for potential entrepreneurs or job seekers.
Barriers and stress factors
Although language has a huge potential to contribute positively to entrepreneurship possibilities, studies have shown that some of the major stress factors are language problems, finances or economic capital among African migrants.
Other barriers or challenges may be how to grow the business venture or its sustainability.
Thus, migrant communities can generally be highly vulnerable to language barrier, lack of information, the nature of the work of migrants in professions where working from home is not possible.
Migrant associations, social networks, and information
By their activities, migrant associations are doing much to educate and create awareness as well as enhance economic empowerment through migrants’ entrepreneurship or self-employment and enhance opportunities.
Such associations and institutions become networks that create an important social capital as well as outlets for sharing and gaining information or knowledge. Also, it will all be for societal good if such activities are able to help reduce stress and anxiety in the migrants’ entrepreneurship endeavours.
As I keep pointing out, Finland is committed to the integration of migrants into the Finnish society. A number of research studies from surveys and other in-depth enquiries have shown a trend of increasing efforts to integrate African and other migrants into the Finnish society.
Public agencies, migrant associations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Finland have been publishing information to help educate people, which is also good for their wellbeing.
Generally, migrant associations formally create awareness among their members and other migrants usually in collaboration with some Finnish institutions, and are thus an important tool for several migrants to be positively active and to get their interests and claims heard.
As I wrote previously, the role of migrant associations acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
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