News

The 13th Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF), was held in Apia, Samoa, on 23 – 24 October 2024. The Forum addressed the CHOGM Theme ‘One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth.’ CBF 2024 was co-hosted by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and the Government of Samoa, in partnership with the Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Samoa Business Hub.

Over two days, over 500 business leaders from more than 40 Countries and Territories, representing all five regions of the Commonwealth attended the Business Forum.

The Prime Minister of Samoa, The Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, host of CHOGM and Co-Chair of CBF 2024, and Lord Marland, Chairman of CWEIC and Co-Chair of CBF 2024, opened the proceedings by setting Samoa’s aspirations for the two days.

“I implore you to work together to achieve our shared goal and vision as a Commonwealth family to improve the lives of our citizens through successful and resilient intra-Commonwealth trade and investment opportunities once again.”

The Forum’s programme was built around five core themes, all interlinked, and all valuable, each discussed in 2 Roundtables and a Plenary Session. The themes balanced the critical conversations for Small Islands States, while taking into account the broader Commonwealth priorities. The five themes of CBF 2024 were; Access to Finance, Reducing Barriers to Trade, Tech and Innovation, Transforming the Workforce, and Sustainability and Resilience

CWEIC was delighted to have strong Commonwealth government representation on the programme, including:

• The Hon Gaston Browne, Prime Minister, Antigua & Barbuda
• The Hon Philip Davis KC MP, Prime Minister, The Bahamas
• HE Nana Addo Dankwa-Akufo Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana
• The Hon Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa
• His Excellency Julius Maada Wonie Bio, President of Sierra Leone
• HE Hussain Mohamed Latheef, Vice President of the Republic of Maldives
• HE Mohammed Ishaq, Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan
• The Hon Lionel Rouwen Aingimea MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of the Republic of Nauru
• The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom
• Hon. Mulambo Haimbe, S.C, M.P, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Zambia
• The Hon Lautimuia Afoa Vaai , Minister of Finance, Government of Samoa
• HE Ms Rose Kayi Mivedor, Minister for Trade, Craft and Local Consumption, Government of Togo
• The Hon Vilami Latu, Minister of Trade and Economic Development, Kingdom of Tonga
• HE Mr. Md. Touhid Hossain, Hon’ble Foreign Advisor (Foreign Minister) of the Interim Government of Bangladesh
• The Hon Lenora Qeregeretabu, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Fiji

• Henk Brouwer Rogers, Founder, Blue Planet Alliance
• Lauren Dreyer, Vice President, Starlink
• The Hon Dr Joseph Garcia CMG MP, Deputy Chief Minister, Gibraltar
• Roy Lagolago, Head of Secretariat, PACER Plus Implementation Unit & Labour Mobility Secretariat
• The Hon Julianna O’Connor-Connolly JP, MP, Premier of the Cayman Islands
• Dino Otranto, CEO, Fortescue Metals
• Jennifer Pryce, CEO, Calvert Impact
• Mark T Robinson, Group CEO, BSP Financial Group Ltd
• Dr M. Sanjayan, CEO, Conservation International
• Paul Schroder, Chief Executive, AustralianSuper
• Dr Damie Sinanan, Executive Director, Caribbean Export Development Agency

A link to the programme can be found here. Session recordings for the Plenary Sessions can be found here: Opening Ceremony, Access to Finance and the Scalability of Finance, Reducing Barriers to Trade, Tech and Innovation, Transforming the Workforce, The Blue Economy; Sustainability and Resilience, and Closing Plenary.

The program included extensive one-to-one networking and business matching, which CWEIC views as crucial for the forum’s success alongside high-quality discussions. Bilateral meetings between government officials and businesses, as well as between governments, fostered business connections and the exchange of best practices across the Commonwealth, paving the way for potential partnerships. Over 100 meetings were booked by CBF participants using the networking system, leading to new connections and relationships anticipated to drive greater collaborations in the future.

On the opening day of the Commonwealth Business Forum, delegates enjoyed a Fiafia Reception, celebrating Samoan culture and providing additional opportunities for networking. At the conclusion of the Forum, CWEIC delighted to support the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) with an engagement between Commonwealth leaders and Heads of Government with His Majesty King Charles III in Samoa.

Our thanks to the Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Samoa Business Hub as our partners in delivering CBF 2024, and to the Commonwealth business community for traveling to Samoa and their level of engagement in the lead up to the Forum. Finally, we thank the CBF 2024 sponsors without whom delivering Commonwealth Business Forums would not be possible.

• Anchor Partner: BSP Financial Group Ltd.
• Supporters: Federal Pacific Group, Swire Shipping and Tower
• Contributors: Cameroon Investment Promotion Agency and Trade and Investment Queensland