Jospong chairman urges African-led partnership at Africa Forward Summit

Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies, delivered a call for partnership, declaring that "Africa does not need sympathy. Africa needs partnership built on shared interest, mutual respect and a common vision." He spoke at the opening of the Africa Forward Summit on Monday, May 11, at the University of Nairobi in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Agyepong rejected the mindset that forces Africans to access capital markets only under restrictive conditions.

The two-day summit (11-12 May 2026), co-hosted by Kenya's President William Ruto and France's President Emmanuel Macron, marked the first Africa-France summit co-chaired with an English-speaking African nation. The theme was "To Build Together," and included seven thematic pillars. Dr. Agyepong revealed that the Jospong Group has grown into a conglomerate with 82 independent subsidiaries across nine business clusters, active in 29 countries, employing 10,000 direct staff and creating more than 250,000 indirect jobs. He noted that the world generates 2.1 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, set to reach 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050. Sub-Saharan Africa alone produces over 174 million tonnes a year, yet less than 4% is properly managed or recycled - compared to Europe's 48% recycling rate.

Dr. Agyepong urged investors to rethink how they assess risk. He called on development partners to remodel their financial architecture to support African-led solutions. He specifically invited collaboration alongside the African Development Bank, BPI, AFD Group, the International Finance Corporation, European development finance institutions, European EXIM and European ECA. He urged young African entrepreneurs to become founders and