The three co-chairs of the meeting, Niall FitzGerald, Chairman, Reuters; Graham Mackay, Chief Executive, SABMiller; and Lazarus Zim, Chief Executive, Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, recently made a “call to arms” in a letter sent to participants to the Summit.
They called for “a strong signal to the G-8 Summit in July – supporting African aspirations and the Commission for Africa recommendations”. In the letter the three co-chairs also state: “Clearly, business has a strong interest in the flow of targeted aid and investment on the scale proposed, as well as a shared responsibility to help build African capacity to use this funding effectively and transparently. We call on you as leaders of Africa’s top companies and multinationals active in Africa,” the letter goes on, “to join us in Cape Town and engage, as active partners, in ensuring that this unprecedented ‘tipping point’ is not missed.”
Over the course of the three-day meeting, more than 660 participants from 42 countries will gather in Cape Town. About 80% of participants are leaders from the African continent. Slightly more than half are business leaders, drawn principally from the Forum's members – 1,000 of the foremost companies from around the world and across economic sectors. Other major categories of participants from around the globe include approximately:
- 193 business leaders
- 68 public figures and regional leaders – including five heads of state and government and 25 ministers
- 33 media and opinion leaders
- 10 heads of non-governmental organizations and labour leaders
- 31 academics
- 28 of 42 countries represented at the Summit are African.
