Ben Phiri to speak at Japanese-African Business Forum in Tokyo

Former President Peter Mutharika’s special aide,  Ben Phiri continues to receive high level invitations from across the globe to speak at various business and development fora across the globe in his capacity as Executive Chairman at Beata Holdings.

This week,  Phiri will be in Tokyo, Japan, where business leaders from across Africa will bang heads and build lasting partnerships at this year’s Japanese African-Forum.

The Business Forum, which is slated to start on July 26, 2017, will attract business leaders from Africa in countries such as Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Togo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Angola and Madagascar.

According to the programme Nyasa Times has seen,  Phiri will be the first to open the floor after Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry delivers his keynote address.

Phiri confirmed he had been invited to attend “this very important gathering of business captains”.

“Indeed, it’s true I have been invited as one of the key speakers invited at the Japanese-African Forum,” he in a brief telephone interview with Nyasa Times.

He said that the Business Forum will attract Japanese business gurus and investors as well those from the African Continent to discuss various business opportunities that exist in Africa and Japan and how best to cultivate relationships and networking.

“In my address, I will focus on how best our continent can utilize the resources we have to make our people first class citizens under the theme “Translating African Challenges into Business opportunities: A case Study of Malawi,” explained Phiri, who is also an Evangelist.

Among other key issues, Phiri said he would also dwell much on his philosophy of urging countries to employ home-grown solutions in spurring development.

Since leaving State House in 2015,  Phiri has been the champion of creating a robust private sector in all economic activities and policies.

He has also been championing for broader economic empowerment of youth and women.

Phiri recently established Beata Trust under Beata Holdings Limited, which among other things provides bursary funds to needy students at both secondary and tertiary level.

In June 2017, Phiri was in Helsinki, Finland, where he urged the private sector on the continent to be the driver of Sustainable Development Goals. This was during the Nordic Summit whose theme was “AFRICA INNOVATES 2017”

Phiri, who is also Malawi’s governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Director of Field Operations, presented to the Nordic Summit a paper entitled “SDGs & Private Sector: Mutual Benefits for Development – Challenges and Opportunities.”

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