By Shruti Menon Seeboo
The global spotlight is squarely on Nairobi as the Fifth India-Africa Entrepreneurship and Investment Summit prepares to ignite on 17-18 July 2025. This isn’t just another conference; it’s the premier platform for fostering pivotal India-Africa collaborations, strategically connecting Africa’s £2.7 trillion frontier markets with India’s £3 trillion economy to boost investment, trade, and joint ventures. With a laser focus on key sectors including energy, agriculture, healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals, and education, this Summit is poised to redefine cross-continental prosperity. To truly grasp the ambition and intricate planning behind this landmark event, we sat down with the visionary at its helm, Baljinder Sharma, the Summit’s principal organiser. In this exclusive interview, Sharma offers critical insights into forging powerful new partnerships and charting a fresh course for shared growth.
- The overwhelming pre-registration response, purely through referrals, is remarkable. What does this organic enthusiasm tell you about the current, perhaps unmet, demand for direct India-Africa entrepreneurial and investment dialogue, beyond what traditional forums offer?
We are pleasantly surprised with the response. The six organised sectoral roundtables in Energy/AgriTech/HealthTech/EdTech/Critical Minerals/SmartInfra seems to have attracted the attention of many participants. Add to this Panels on AI, BPO, Sustainable Finance etc have bee out together looking at the bilateral needs of the two economies.
- The Summit aims for “unparalleled collaboration and innovation.” Beyond formal networking, what specific mechanisms or unique formats are you implementing to ensure that participants move beyond initial introductions to forge concrete, impactful joint ventures and B2B connections?
We have launched an App which will provide permanent connectivity for participants going forward. We also plan to have a sectoral review of progress within the group every two months. That should provide stickiness and binding glue which is expected to lead to concrete business.
- Given your previous work exploring the sociocultural nuances of Africa, how do you see the “human element” and cultural understanding playing a role in fostering truly sustainable and successful cross-border entrepreneurial partnerships between India and various African nations?
In business context ‘culture’ it is said eats ‘strategy’ for breakfast which means understanding cultures is far more important than strategy. Getting entrepreneurs meet in an informal, friendly way is perhaps the key differentiator of our gatherings. This allows greater understanding of each other’s cultural values. As you can imagine India is multicultural and so is Africa – at one level it helps because one can be culturally neutral but at another level it requires grappling with complex cultural specificities.
- While the Summit covers broad sectors, are there any specific emerging or overlooked areas (e.g., circular economy, creative industries, AI in agriculture) that you believe hold exceptional, yet underexplored, potential for India-Africa collaboration—and how will these be highlighted?
India is innovating at every level and leveraging technology including AI to solve developmental challenges- it is where India and Africa can best collaborate. Digital Public Infrastructure, for instance, which India has pioneered can transform sectors from Agriculture to Education to Health to Financial Inclusion.
- What is the most significant misconception or structural barrier that you hope this Summit, through its direct engagement model, will help dismantle in the minds of either Indian or African business leaders regarding cross-continental investment?
Our Summits are devoted to the New India – the India of the future whereas most B2B events across this corridor focus on traditional trade items.
- Looking beyond the immediate outcomes of deals and partnerships, what long-term, transformative impact do you envision this Summit having on the broader entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic development trajectories of both India and Africa over the next decade?
India has a huge diasporic presence in Africa – a strength no other country enjoys. Our ties go back three centuries when the Gujarati merchants landed on the ports of Lamu, Malindi, Kilwa, Mombasa and Zanzibar to conduct trade with Africa.
There is a lot of enthusiasm particularly because our Keynote Speaker a former Microsoft executive is also the Chair of Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship. So, we are uniquely positioned to be an important hub in that ecosystem connecting India and Africa.
- With delegates from 26 countries already confirmed, how do you manage the diversity of needs, regulatory environments, and market maturity across these nations to ensure the Summit provides relevant and actionable insights for all participants?
Diversity has its strengths. In many ways we are able to target large opportunities which are country agnostic. AgriTech and Education for instance is a universal need. We actively engage with policy makers, governments and local Services providers to acquire understanding of the local and regional landscape. We are doing our bit even as we encourage others groups and associations working along this corridor for greater collaboration- to the benefit of everyone.
