ZIBS China-Africa Center is officially launched! In the future, ZIBS will further enhance the China-Africa cooperation in various academic and business fields.
Participants of this event included the Tanzanian Ambassador to China, Hon. Mbelwa Kairuki; Dean of ZIBS, President of FIRST and Chairman of ZAFT, BEN Shenglin; ZIBS Assistant Dean, SHEN Li; ZAFT Secretary-General and Assistant Dean of FIRST, LIU Yi; business representatives and industry experts from Reanda International, Ant Group International and Zhejiang-Africa Service Center, as well as representatives from universities, organizations and institutes of African countries such as South Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya. The establishment of ZIBS China-Africa Center was also officially announced during the event, which was hosted by Ubunama Obinna, a student from iMBA program.
During the event, BEN Shenglin and Benjamin Dogani, Managing Director of ZIBS China-Africa Center, inaugurated the Center and took a photo together.
During the discussion session, the participants communicated with great enthusiasm on promoting friendly exchanges between China and Africa and furthering collaboration in the future.
Professor Morris Mthombeni, Dean of the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria, Professor Humphrey Moshi, Chair of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Dr. Siphamandla Zondi, Director of the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg and Co-Director of the Institute of Global African Affairs, and Professor Ronney Ncwadi, Dean of the Nelson Mandela University Business School in South Africa, all expressed their high expectations for the expansion of ZIBS ecosystem and that the Center would bring new inspirations to African economic and innovative development and bring about more deeper-level exchanges among universities.
Calvain Nangue, the Strategic Advisor of Smart Africa, presented a strategic outlook for Africa independent digital economy market and the positioning of Smart Africa, expressing the sincere hopes for future collaboration. Irene Kiwia, Co-founder and Chief Government Relations Officer of Adanian Labs, on behalf of five African countries, proposed visions for cooperation with ZIBS in building the future and in innovation and technology. Dr. Palesa Sekhejane, Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa, said she would continue advancing China-Africa cooperation on the government and business levels.
Later, experts from various industries in China congratulated the establishment of ZIBS China-Africa Center and proposed directions for future cooperation. HUANG Jinhui, Chairman of of the Board of Directors at Reanda International and Chief Partner of Reanda Accounting Firm, described the strategic importance of working with Africa in his experience and his future planning. LI Zhixian, Director of International Business at Ant Group, elaborated on Alipay with details on Ant Group’s payment services, financial services and digitalization progress, and proposed a vision for the comprehensive development of the Group’s technology services in Africa with reference to the development of big data in China. XIE Qi, Director of Zhejiang-Africa Service Center, spoke highly of and gave his congratulations on this event.
In addition, ZIBS Professor WEN Wu delivered a keynote speech on the role of CBDC in promoting China-Africa trade. Focusing on China-Africa trade, he analyzed in detail Zhejiang's major imports from and exports to Africa, electronic payment and digital RMB, as well as the challenges facing BRICS countries in digital economy & trade.
BEN Shenglin concluded the event and thanked the participants for their presence and sharing. ZIBS and Adanian Labs, a well-known African venture capital, then signed a memorandum of cooperation, with an eye for more chances to work together in future.
Finally, LIU Yi, summarized that the China-Africa friendship had a long history, and with this event and the establishment of ZIBS China-Africa Center, the ties between ZIBS ecosystem and African countries would become stronger. As part of the ZIBS ecosystem, the Center will hold more diverse China-Africa dialogues and explore more productive China-Africa collaborations, contributing to academic and business cooperation between China and African countries in education, operations, investment, finance and other areas and furthering China-Africa free trade.
