The UK government has pledged to deepen economic and trade ties with growing African economies ahead of Brexit, with a desire to overtake the US to become the G7's biggest investor in Africa by 2022.

So what does this mean in reality, and what opportunities might it have for UK businesses?

Dentons, in conjunction with the Centre for Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI), will be hosting the next session in our Economic Environment series of Horizon Brief events. There will be a panel discussion with the following key speakers:

• Rupert Boyd, Founder of African Alpha Investment Partners. Rupert spent 25 years in investment banking, including spells as head of emerging markets sales for Morgan Stanley and global head of investor coverage at Standard Bank. In 2012 he co-founded African Alpha Investment Partners and sits on the boards of a number of African-focused companies.
• Joel Kibazo, Founding Partner of JK Associates. Joel was previously MD-Africa at FTI Consulting, Director of External Relations & Communications at the African Development Bank, and Director of Communications & Public Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat. He began his career as a journalist, working for more than a decade at the FT, BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. He is a member of the board of the Royal Africa Society.
• Razia Khan, Chief Economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered. She also serves on the WEF’s Global Future Council on Migration and was named as one of the “100 Most Influential Africans” (she was born in Botswana) by New African magazine.
• Nick Westcott, Director of the Royal African Society.  Nick previously served as a senior official with the FCO and EU and is a former High Commissioner to Ghana and Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso. He also sits on the Editorial Board of ‘African Affairs’ and the Board of the African Centre for Economic Transformation (Accra) and a member of Chatham House.
• Ben Shepherd, consulting Fellow in the Africa programme at Chatham House. Ben is a leading specialist on African politics and conflict, policy formulation and applied analysis. He has a broad range of experience across West and Central Africa, with a particular focus on the DRC and wider Great Lakes region.

The discussion will be moderated by Andrew Hilton, director and joint founder of the CSFI. Dr Hilton is a former World Bank economist and editor-in-chief of the International Reports group in New York. He has a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA from New College, Oxford.