Ministerial delegations from no less than 14 African countries have descended on Perth this week to celebrate the 20th edition of the Africa Downunder Conference.
Africa Downunder, being held from Wednesday August 31 to Friday September 2 at the Pan Pacific Perth, is the centre piece of what is a full week celebration of African-Australian ties, both in terms of investment and social exchanges.
Event convenor and Paydirt Media Executive Chairman Bill Repard looked forward to welcoming the extraordinary level of representation from across the African continent in person this year, as Africa Downunder returns to full strength after two years of being delivered in a hybrid format due to travel restrictions.
“After 20 successful years, Africa Downunder has evolved into the preeminent meeting for Australia exploration and mining companies investing in projects in Africa and delegations from those countries seeking to facilitate that investment,” Mr Repard said.
“Africa Downunder has tracked the significant contribution of the Australian resources sector in the development of lesser-known African countries through their investment in both ambitious mineral projects as well as the betterment of the communities that surround them.
“We also welcome the many exhibition and event sponsors that have continued to make the event possible and our partners in Government, both in Western Australia and the Commonwealth, that recognise the important role an event of this type plays and support it with their presence.”
Core themes of Africa Downunder have evolved over the journey to reflect the resources sector, with it being no surprise this year’s program has heavy representation from companies developing projects in the battery and technology metals sector as well as from the jurisdictions within Africa prospective for them.
This year’s event will hear from more than 60 presenters across the three days, welcome more than a 1,000 delegates and feature more than 70 exhibitors.
