France has redefined trade relations with Africa with a focus on dedicated and committed generation of young African entrepreneurs and business leaders. 

In that regard, the 'New Africa-France Summit', taking place in Montpellier, is attracting over 300 young business leaders across the African continent to interlink with their French counterparts. 

Ghanaian business leader and CEO of Oasis Capital - a growth and venture capital fund - Mathew Boadu Adjei - told Joy Business the timing of the summit is instructive of the need for French-Africa business partnership in a post-pandemic era. 

“We are two different economies. So a summit like this exposes me, as a Ghanaian business leader and Africa for that matter, to the available opportunities for investments back home," he stated. 

There are currently more than 70 French companies established in the country in a large range of sectors. They are into agriculture, banking, insurance, construction, logistics, oil and gas, hotel and restaurants.

The well-known French companies in Ghana are Société Générale, Total, Technip, Pernod Ricard, Alstom, Bolloré, CMA-CGM, Air Liquide, and L’Oréal. Others like Golden Exotics (La Compagnie Fruitière) or GREL are large employers in the country.

The activity of French companies in Ghana has contributed to creating around 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

An intriguing format of the New Africa-France Summit is the non-inclusion of Africa's political elite. All significant proposals discussed and ironed out by representatives will be pushed to a special plenary session between the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and representatives of African young people.

The New Africa-France Summit will focus on six topics; citizen engagement and democracy, doing business and innovating, higher education, research and innovation; culture, heritage, and cooperation; cultural and creative industries; and sports and employment in Africa.

B2B (Business-to-Business) sessions will take place ahead of the Africa-France Summit on Thursday, October 7. It includes the largest gathering of entrepreneurs in Europe.