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About
‎The African Inclusive Economic Summit Consortium (AIES)

‎The African Inclusive Economic Summit Consortium (AIES) is a Pan-African platform dedicated to advancing economic empowerment, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, decent work, and sustainable livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities across Africa. It is also a platform that seeks to help change this reality by bringing together persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, governments, policymakers, businesses, financial institutions, investors, development partners, civil society organisations, technology leaders, employers, entrepreneurs, academia, and international partners.

‎The Summit is founded on the belief that persons with disabilities are not beneficiaries of economic development alone; they are entrepreneurs, employees, innovators, professionals, consumers, investors, leaders, and contributors to Africa’s economic growth.

‎Background

‎Across Africa, persons with disabilities continue to encounter barriers to employment, entrepreneurship, finance, education, and skills development. Young persons with disabilities in particular experience significant exclusion from employment, education, and training. UN data also highlights persistent gaps in labour-market participation and the over-representation of persons with disabilities in informal and vulnerable work.

‎Our Vision

‎Every African with disabilities has equal access to economic opportunities, decent work, entrepreneurship, financial services, technology, markets, investment, and social protection, enabling them to achieve greater economic independence and participate fully in society.

‎Our Mission

‎To create a Pan-African platform that connects disability leadership, government, business, finance, innovation, and development to develop practical partnerships, policies and investment opportunities that advance the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Our Focus

‎The Summit provides a space for dialogue, knowledge exchange, partnership-building, and practical action around:

  • ‎Inclusive employment and decent work
  • ‎Entrepreneurship and business development
  • ‎Access to finance and financial inclusion
  • ‎Skills development and vocational training
  • ‎Digital and technology inclusion
  • ‎Inclusive procurement and market access
  • ‎Social protection and economic security
  • Women and youth with disabilities
  • ‎Disability-inclusive investment and innovation
  • ‎Inclusive policies and legislation
  • ‎Cross-border partnerships and Africa–international collaboration
  • ‎Leadership and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities

‎These priorities reflect the broader international emphasis on economic empowerment, decent work, entrepreneurship, and the participation of persons with disabilities in shaping policies and systems that affect their lives.

Our Commitment

The African Inclusive Economic Summit is committed to the principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us.”

We believe that sustainable economic inclusion cannot be achieved without the leadership, lived experience, expertise, and participation of persons with disabilities themselves.

The Summit therefore seeks to amplify disability leadership, promote inclusive economic policies, showcase successful enterprises and innovations led by persons with disabilities, connect entrepreneurs to markets and finance, and encourage governments and businesses to build systems in which disability inclusion is embedded rather than treated as an afterthought.

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