Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1182680
7.11.19 6 NEWS THE Mediterranean Week of Econom- ic Leaders (MedaWeek Barcelona 2019) will host a new edition of the New Af- rica Business Development Forum (NABDF), which will highlight the im- portance of regional collaboration to set Africa's route towards a new phase of economic growth and development. It will also present some of the poten- tial investment and trade opportunities offered by the African continent. e 16th edition of the 'New Afri- ca Business Development Forum - NABDF' will take place on 20 Novem- ber in the framework of the leading economic event in the Mediterranean, MedaWeek Barcelona, organised by ASCAME (Association of the Medi- terranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry), the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the IEMed (European In- stitute of the Mediterranean) and the Union of African Chambers of Com- merce, to boost economic cooperation and trade between the Mediterranean, Europe and Africa. is edition will tackle the new areas of cooperation, trade and investment that arise for businesses in the three regions and will also try to promote a new phase of economic development in Africa. Entrepreneurs, experts and govern- mental and institutional representatives will meet in Barcelona to confront the challenges facing African economies in the sectors of agriculture, energy, logis- tics, technology and tourism. A forum in which various successful business models, innovative develop- ment solutions and best practices of companies from all over the continent will be presented. e Maghreb will also play a key role as main actor of influence between Af- rica, the Mediterranean and Europe. Africa needs to create 20 million jobs every year, multiply the number of edu- cational centers and improve its infra- structure to respond to its high popu- lation growth, which will reach 2,000 million by 2050. Employability and in- creased investments will be two of the main topics discussed in the first of the NABDF sessions. However, although the African con- tinent still requires multiple improve- ments in infrastructure, education and digitalisation, it shows a great potential in terms of energy that is currently be- ing underused. e Mediterranean and Africa togeth- er concentrate 60% of the world's solar potential. Some of the countries, espe- cially those that are part of the global solar belt, accumulate around 3,000 hours of light yearly. e green revolution and renewable energies are one of the main pillars for development that will be discussed in the second session. Countless are the business and invest- ment opportunities that Africa offers to the world. However, for the continent to follow a peaceful and sustained development over time, territorial integration and peace become essential. e challenge now lies in the implementation of an African common market: a free trade zone that promotes exchanges. As a united entity, Africa becomes the world's largest exporter of oil, gold, cop- per and cobalt. And this is just one of the multiple opportunities that would result from a greater economic open- ness, helping in turn to mitigate the problems of emigration, terrorism, pov- erty and underdevelopment. MedaWeek Barcelona 2019 is organ- ised by ASCAME, the Barcelona Cham- ber of Commerce, the Union for the Mediterranean (UpM), the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Consorci de la Zona Franca. A platform for business cooperation that aspires to achieve a healthier, clean- er and more equal Mediterranean, that breaks old approaches and builds new relationships between the two shores of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean opens up to the investment opportunities of the African continent ÆTERNITY, the next-generation, open-source blockchain for building decentralised applications, tshi week announced a partnership with Micro- soft Innovation Center (MIC) to sup- port the growth of blockchain technol- ogy in Malta. rough this partnership, æterni- ty's investment arm, AE Ventures, and Microsoft will host regular blockchain events in Malta to promote the coun- try's positioning as a friendly juris- diction for blockchain businesses to launch and incorporate. "After all the hype there has been about blockchain in recent years, now is the time to demystify all the doubts there could still be about this technol- ogy. We are very proud to have æter- nity on board as our second Microsoft Innovation Center partners," said Mary Downing, Manager of Microsoft Inno- vation Center. "Having æternity promote and nur- ture blockchain startups from the Microsoft Innovation Center will not only bring a more flexible development of new technology but will also be an opportunity to promote blockchain as a tangible technology that brings real value." e first event hosted by Microsoft Innovation Center and AE Ventures is a weeklong intensive training pro- gramme for blockchain startups. æternity Starfleet, a global accelera- tor programme, reviewed more than 100 blockchain startups from around the world and invited 15 to participate in the programme, which began last Monday. is training programme provides high-quality instruction, content, lec- tures and workshops led by industry experts, and is specially designed to give early-stage blockchain startups the practical knowledge to succeed in busi- ness and product development. e programme also provides a deep- dive into the æternity blockchain, in- cluding its features and programming language. Following the Starfleet global accel- eration program, 10 startups will be selected for an additional five weeks of mentorship. is will culminate with a Demo Day at which selected teams will win an in- vestment offer of up to $100,000 USD in AE tokens and an additional six months of mentorship and acceleration. ese startups will gain access to a vast worldwide network of ambassa- dors, experts, developers, mentors, investors, and events in the æternity community. AE Ventures, Microsoft to host accelerator programme in Malta