By Stanley Senya, GNA
Accra, June 05, GNA — Ishmael Yamson & Associates has launched a Foundation at the 12th edition of its Business Roundtable (BRT) for 2026.
The launch positioned the Foundation as a dedicated vehicle for generational strategy, leadership development, and the preparation of young African talent for the demands of a rapidly changing global economy.
The event was the theme: “Unlocking the Next Quarter Century: Harnessing Africa’s Digital Infrastructure, Trade & Integration, Energy & Industry, Governance, and Societal Development for Global Relevance.”
A statement issued in Accra said the BRT 2026 convened more than 400 in-person participants, including government officials, captains of industry and development partners, policy leaders, financiers, innovators, members of academia, civil society, and a global television and digital audience.
Mr Ishmael Yamson Jnr, the CEO of Ishmael Yamson & Associates, said BRT 2026 represented a decisive shift in the purpose and scale of the platform.
He described the Roundtable not merely as a forum for dialogue, but as a strategic convening for corporate leaders prepared to shape Africa’s next quarter-century through execution, enterprise, and continental collaboration.
“The Foundation is our dedicated vehicle for generational strategy and execution. Through structured incubation and rigorous strategic training, it will equip the brilliant young minds who will scale our agritech solutions, write our sovereign AI algorithms, and govern our cross-border institutions. These are the ecosystem builders of tomorrow,” Mr Yamson said.
He said as part of its first steps, the Foundation sponsored the attendance of 100 young delegates at BRT 2026, underscoring its commitment to widening access to high-level leadership platforms.
He said it also created pathways for emerging African professionals to engage directly with decision-makers.
Mr Yamson noted that Africa’s demographic future demands urgent private-sector leadership in talent development.
He called on business leaders to move beyond short-term corporate survival and assume responsibility for building the ethical, highly skilled leadership base required to manage Africa’s future enterprises, institutions, and cross-border partnerships.
He challenged African-owned businesses to become the primary financiers of the continent’s future.
He called for indigenously owned enterprises to follow that example by investing in the people, systems, and institutions that will secure Africa’s long-term competitiveness.
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister for Finance, commended Ishmael Yamson & Associates for twelve years of consistency and intellectual leadership.
He said Africa stood at a defining historical crossroads and must use the next quarter-century to convert potential into production, value addition, competitiveness, and shared prosperity.
“The next quarter of a century presents Africa with perhaps its greatest opportunity since political independence,” Dr Forson said.
“The defining question before this generation is whether Africa will finally become a production and value-addition force within the world economy,” he added.
The Minister stressed that Africa must no longer remain a passive consumer in the digital age.
He called for a continental digital strategy that supports regional data centres, affordable broadband expansion, cross-border digital payment systems, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence readiness, and digital skills for millions of young Africans.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo
Reporter: Stanley Senya