7th edition of Single Window Conference & Exhibition holds this year, in Cameroon

The unmissable meeting of all stakeholders for external trade, transports and logistics industries in Africa–Single Window Conference & Exhibition–will be hosted in Yaounde this year, with a focus on unlocking e-commerce potential and optimising the international supply chain of landlocked countries.

The African Alliance for e-Commerce (AAEC) and Cameroon’s Single Window For Foreign Trade (GUCE) have joined forces to host this 7th edition of the Single Window Conference & Exhibition (SWC). The event will happen from Tuesday, September 17th to Thursday, 19th at the Yaounde Conference Center, a first for Cameroon’s capital.

Under the patronage of the Republic of Cameroon’s President, HE Paul Biya, and leadership of the AAEC and the GUCE, the event will mainly tackle topics like intra-African trade initiatives and challenges, trade facilitation instruments for landlocked countries or disruptive logistics and innovative startups.

Representatives from more than twenty African countries will participate in the conference, alongside development partners and international organisations involved in trade facilitation such as the World Bank, African Union Commission, African Development Bank, World Trade Organisation, the World Customs Organisation, UNCTAD, and ECOWAS.

As Isidore Bayiha, AAEC president and chairman of the GUCE noted, “Integrating innovation into the supply chain must be a priority for us as trade-leading stakeholders. We can no longer wait. Digital technologies are a top priority to make Single Windows powerful tools at the service of our states, to contribute to the competitiveness of African economies and help intra-African trade take off.”

The three-day event will be marked by the participation of prestigious local & international speakers from the UN, the World Bank, the African Union Commission, ECCAS, ECOWAS, JUMIA, or ALIBABA, who will discuss the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), opportunities for single windows and e-commerce, major challenges of intra-African trade and how to boost it.

Second day’s activities will be focused on trade facilitation, opportunities, challenges of single windows implementation and initiatives to enhance the supply chain, specifically for landlocked countries in CEMAC.

The latest member countries’ innovations will also be reviewed, with the participation of numerous African single-window CEO’s (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, & Tunisia), as well as the hinterland countries port logistics with the Autonomous Port of Douala and the Autonomous Port of Kribi.

On the third day, the event will give a glimpse into the future of logistics on the continent. During a special event, four of the “Disruptive Logistics Challenge” startup winners will pitch their projects in front of the distinguished audiences.

Tech talk about the e-force (the single form of foreign trade procedures) will follow up and how Cameroon is leading the way with different stakeholders of the field like SABC, CNCC, BOLLORE AFRICA LOGISTICS and UCAM. The last session of the day will focus on the future trends of single windows technologies. Big data, blockchain, AI representatives and researchers from UNESCAP, the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, Abdoulahi Faouzi from AAEC will cover it all with the help of the UNCEFACT.

To close off the entire event, all recommendations gathered during the three days will be summarised and lectured on September 19th.

If you’re interested in participating, you can subscribe online.

Featured Image Credit: BusinessDay Ghana

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