The Executive Committee of the Pan-African Business Forum (PABF) has announced two key appointments to its senior leadership structure.

This follows a Special Annual General Board Meeting (SAGM) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, where a unanimous decision was taken to adopt the recommendation of the Chairman of the PABF Board, Dr Ladislas Prosper Agbesi.

As a result, Noureddine Ayed has been appointed Senior Vice President – Head of Energy, while Claude Ibalanky has been confirmed as Senior Vice President – Head of Corporate Governance, Africa – Millennium Development Goals, Agenda 2063.

The Pan-African Business Forum is a private sector-driven initiative conceived by Africans to accelerate the socio-economic transformation of the continent. It seeks to achieve this through a series of carefully designed programmes and projects initiated both locally and in collaboration with development partners abroad.

The Forum’s work focuses on lobbying for an improved business climate—one that benefits both investors and host nations. This includes mobilising funding for projects that promote development and ensuring these initiatives are implemented for optimal social and economic impact.

Guided by a vision of fostering an African renaissance at national and regional levels, the PABF is committed to enhancing the quality of political and economic governance across the continent. Its work aims to attract international investment and tourism that tangibly improves the livelihoods of local communities. Though pan-African in membership and outlook, the Forum operates at national, regional, and global levels.

To realise its mission, the PABF pursues two primary streams of activity: policy advocacy and the promotion and establishment of an African Investment Fund.

This Fund will mobilise capital from both public and private sectors within Africa, as well as from international partners. Stakeholders will include progressive African governments (as shareholders), foreign donor governments and institutions, African diasporans—including African-Americans—and other like-minded organisations committed to accelerating Africa’s economic advancement.

The African Investment Fund will support both government and civil society initiatives by providing access to essential public goods such as electricity, water, roads, transport systems, agricultural infrastructure, railways, and ports.

These interventions are designed to foster economic growth, employment generation, and the eradication of poverty. The Fund will maintain a careful balance between economic profitability and social impact, and will be administered in accordance with international financial best practices.

To qualify for funding, a country must meet key democratic and governance benchmarks. These include the existence of a democratically elected government, an independent judiciary, adherence to the rule of law, a free and active press, and a broadly conducive environment for investment.

An 11-member Board of Trustees, comprising both Africans and non-Africans aligned with the Forum’s pan-African vision, will manage the Fund.

All funded projects must demonstrate economic viability and positive social returns. Any unutilised funds will be strategically invested in high-yield commercial ventures or financial instruments to preserve and grow the Fund’s capital base.