HBD VC, Mota Engil, CST, Pestana and BISTP Sponsor S�o Tom� and Pr�ncipe�s Online Investment Forum with University of Oxford Venture, BusinessBinder.com, in November 2015

Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, November 23, 2015 –(PR.com)– Government agencies, policy makers and private sector participants in São Tomé and Príncipe will be interacting online with prospective investors to the country during the São Tomé and Príncipe Investment Forum taking place online on BusinessBinder.com from November 25-26 2015. The online event is free to attend and registration is on www.businessbinder.com.

BusinessBinder.com, a venture of University of Oxford’s Isis Startup Incubator, provides a platform to connect potential investors with key players in various opportunity rich economies in Africa and São Tomé and Príncipe has been selected as the premier destination for the portal.

The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe lie in the Gulf of Guinea on the west central coast of Africa. The country is blessed with substantial reserves of hydrocarbons, fertile vegetation and lush sandy beaches making it both a haven for investment and an exotic travel destination. Neighbouring countries include Cameroun, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Angola.

The São Tomé and Príncipe Investment Forum is a 2 day online exhibition featuring virtual exhibition booths, a networking lounge and countless interactive possibilities between all participants. Potential investors can interact with exhibitors via chat, voice calls and video calls and all exhibition booths provide videos, brochures and are manned by senior officials poised to answer all enquiries. Chat features in booths and in the networking lounge are enabled for real time multilingual messaging hence language barriers have been eliminated and visitors and exhibitors alike can communicate and understand easily in their respective languages.

The São Tomé and Príncipe Investment Forum will be accessible on www.businessbinder.com via mobile, tablet and PC. The beauty of an online investment forum is that geographic barriers have been eliminated and potential investors are not constrained to travel on certain dates to forge relationships with government agencies and private companies and can make necessary connections beforehand and later organise physical trips when convenient. The online forum also enables a more robust representation from players in São Tomé and Príncipe compared to a physical event held in the country or abroad.

The São Tomé and Príncipe Investment Forum which is jointly organised by BusinessBinder.com and Associacao Empresarial de São Tomé e Príncipe (AESTP) – the Business Association of São Tomé and Príncipe – will focus on partnership opportunities in various sectors of São Tomé and Príncipe’s economy including Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Tourism, Telecommunications, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Fisheries, Trade and more.

The Platinum sponsor of the forum is HBD Venture Capital, an investment company founded by Mark Shuttleworth, the first African in space and the founder of the Ubuntu operating system. HBD is one of the largest foreign investors in São Tomé and Príncipe and will be exhibiting alongside their hotel investments – Omali Lodge and Bom Bom Island Resort Príncipe. Gold sponsors include CST, the telecommunications company of São Tomé and Príncipe; Mota Engil, the largest Portuguese construction company with subsidiaries across Africa; and Pestana Group, the largest Portuguese tourism and leisure group. Silver sponsor is Banco Internacional de São Tomé e Príncipe (BISTP), one of the leading banks in the country.

Exhibitors from São Tomé and Príncipe’s Public Sector will include the National Petroleum Agency (ANP-STP), the Ministry of Economy and International Cooperation and the Directorate of Tourism and Hotels amongst others.

Nuno Madeira Rodrigues, President of São Tomé and Príncipe’s Business Association (AESTP) believes the online forum will be a great vehicle to showcase the potential of the country. “These are exciting times for São Tomé and Príncipe. Plans are underway to construct a deep-sea trans-shipment port due to São Tomé and Príncipe’s unique positioning in West Central Africa and the country is poised to be one of the most important hubs for intra-African trade in the next few years with at least one million tonnes passing through the port by 2019.”

Mr Rodrigues goes on to say “Apart from the geostrategic position of São Tomé and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea – the richest part of the continent, the country also benefits from political stability, an enviable growth rate and an emerging middle class. The government is also modernising the airport as a regional hub and creating a fiscal and legal infrastructure that would make São Tomé and Príncipe the preferred destination for foreign companies to domicile their African headquarters.”

“Without a shadow of a doubt, São Tomé and Príncipe is one of the most beautiful places on this earth, it is the definition of paradise,” says Adaeze Udo Ekwueme, Co-founder of BusinessBinder.com. “Apart from the obvious which is investing in Oil and Gas, potential investors should explore opportunities in Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism as the country is blessed with fertile soil, abundant sea life and uniquely unspoilt exotic beaches. We chose São Tomé and Príncipe as the first destination to launch BusinessBinder.com and we will be covering investment opportunities across Sub-Saharan Africa when the full website launches in 2016.”

The São Tomé and Príncipe Investment Forum will give investors all they need to know to be successful in São Tomé and Príncipe. Visitors can gain complimentary access to the online forum when registering online at www.businessbinder.com.

Event dates: 25-26 November 2015
Location: Online/www.businessbinder.com
Website: www.businessbinder.com

For more information, please contact
Adaeze Udo Ekwueme, Co-founder, BusinessBinder.com
Email: stp@businessbinder.com