Furera Isma Jumare, Florence Chikezie, Ayanda More, and Ananth Natarajan Join the Lineup of Speakers for PMI’s Africa Conference

 

Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading association for project professionals, has announced its lineup of speakers to include Furera Isma Jumare, Director-General, Jigawa State Investment Promotion Agency; Florence Chikezie, Founder, ReDahlia & Entrepreneurs.ng, Eloy Young Entrepreneur Award; Ayanda More, Founder & CEO, Apara Global Africa; and Ananth Natarajan, CEO, Cybereum for its Africa Conference set to return to an in-person format for the first time since the pandemic.

Now in its seventh year, the 2022 edition is themed Sustainable Growth for Social Good: Connecting Ideas, People and Projects. The conference will bring over 400 delegates from across the continent to discuss how to optimise the delivery of Africa’s development and business transformation projects.

Conference delegates will meet and hear from some of the most influential people shaping Africa’s future. Among the growing list of confirmed speakers are Joseph Cahill, Chief Customer Officer, PMI; David Pilling, Africa Editor, Financial Times; Henry Coco-Bassey, Music NFT pioneer; Daneil Yu, Founder & CEO, Wasoko; Chikezie Nwosu, CEO, Waltersmith Petroman Oil; Ebo Richardson, Group Director, Transformation & Enterprise Programmes, Equity Group; and Simi Nwogugu, CEO, JA Africa.

This year’s agenda comprises a dynamic mix of lively panel discussions, keynote interviews, in-depth peer-to-peer conversations, inspiring talks, and plenty of networking opportunities. In addition, the Tony Elumelu Foundation will be hosting a ‘pop-up’ mentoring station. The event is open to senior business executives and those involved in the project economy keen to learn how changemakers and project professionals in Africa are seizing the region’s incredible growth opportunities.

This year’s event places an emphasis on the importance of women, youth and education in Africa’s sustainable growth trajectory and will cover a wide range of topics, from new ways of working in the Metaverse and pioneering NFT projects, to spotlights on Africa’s emerging music, film, and tech industries.

Speaking to the media at the briefing, George Asamani, Business Development Lead, Africa, PMI said, “The world has undergone some seismic shifts over the past two years and not one sector was left completely immune, including project management. The line-up of speakers reflects our view on how the profession will transform and how projects will be delivered across sectors that contribute majorly to the economy”.

“Necessity is the mother of all invention and now innovation. We are thrilled that the Africa Conference has grown in influence and is able to attract such an exceptional panel of speakers and at the same time drive the narrative around social good and sustainability forward. We look forward to sharing new learnings and perspectives with the PMI community as we look for ways to make ideas a reality.”

Taking place in partnership with the Financial Times, the PMI Africa Conference is one of the most highly anticipated gatherings of change leaders in project management, bringing rising leaders, lawmakers and businesses from across the continent under one roof for three days of lively discussion, community building and knowledge sharing.

The conference brings together captains of industry, government, and stakeholders from the project management sphere – project, programme, and portfolio managers with similar career goals to share best practices, earn professional development units (PDUs), meet like-minded professionals, learn and retain valuable skills and knowledge.