The Executive Chairman of the KGL Group and former Board Chair of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Alex Apau Dadey, delivered a resounding opening address at the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium 2025, held in partnership with the Africa Peer Review Mechanism at the iconic home of global enterprise NASDAQ, New York.
Mr. Dadey shared the stage with notable leaders, including H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of Namibia; Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane, Prime Minister of Lesotho; H.E. Mohamed AbdulEnien, Deputy Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament; and Mr. Ralph Mupita, CEO and President of MTN Group. Together, they aimed to share best practices, build meaningful partnerships, and explore pathways for digital transformation and innovation across the continent.
In his keynote, Mr. Dadey posed a bold challenge: “The challenge before us is not whether change is possible, but how quickly and inclusively we can harness it. The answer, I believe, lies in the strength of partnerships genuine, strategic Public-Private Partnerships that unite the innovation, capital, and execution capacity of the private sector with the legitimacy, reach, and enabling authority of governments.”
Drawing on a distinguished career spanning over three decades across continents and sectors, Mr. Dadey reflected on his journey through the UK and over 25 countries. His experiences, including his tenure as the former GIPC Board Chair, have shaped his vision. At its core, his lifelong passion is rooted in multilateral collaboration, diaspora socio-economic inclusion, and leveraging technology to advance business and society.
He underscored the vital role of the private sector, reaffirming a principle he has long advocated: “I have always maintained that governments do not create wealth the private sector does. Governments alone cannot drive transformation, but sadly, private enterprises that do are often treated as afterthoughts in national strategies, relegated to the rear when they should be at the center of policy deliberations and implementation.”
Mr. Dadey highlighted that the most successful PPPs in Africa occur when private sector profit motives align with government revenue generation and public development goals. Citing the KGL Group’s ethos, he emphasized that “Wealth created through PPPs should make a lasting impact in the communities in which it operates. The private sector should not limit PPPs to commercial collaboration but also act as responsible corporate citizens by addressing critical social gaps left by governments.” This philosophy led to the establishment of the KGL Foundation, the Group’s CSR arm.
In a thought-provoking moment, Mr. Dadey asked, “If multinational corporations can generate wealth in Africa and repatriate it to their home countries, why can’t African countries do the reverse?” He asserted that Africa’s true path to global scale lies in mastering its own markets, building resilient business models, and creating relevant innovations. The continent must purposefully create African Global Giants: “These champions are not just wealthy individuals; they are economic role models who inspire the next generation of business leaders. They anchor supply chains, invest in local R&D, and provide the patient capital that foreign direct investment often lacks. We need an ecosystem where a start-up in Accra can realistically envision becoming a multi-billion-dollar entity that lists on NASDAQ.”
Mr. Dadey concluded with a stirring reminder that Africa’s future depends on how boldly it chooses to celebrate, rather than stifle, its own champions. “We cannot build economies of scale if we constantly cut down the tallest trees,” he declared, urging the continent to create and support its own Global Giants.
