About us

The ECAM Council was born with the primary objective of promoting constructive dialogue, new partnerships and strong cooperation between Europe, Africa and the MENA region.

Philanthropy and business are cut from the same cloth. Both require innovative thinking, insight, drive and the creative mindset to disrupt conventional thought and get things done. The European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East embodies the notion that philanthropy can be integrated into business and governance to make the world a better place.
Kamel Ghribi
I have always considered myself as a son of Africa. While my heart lies in the Middle East my soul dwells in Africa. My ties to this great continent span over thirty-five years and throughout these years I have had the pleasure of working with many African governments and institutions over the course of my career. Equally, I consider myself as an accidental son of Europe; in particular, I have a deep connection to Italy, a nation that can be considered in many ways as the gateway to Africa.

2020 will forever be known as the year the world changed. The year that the global population truly understood how vulnerable and fragile it is. Yet it also taught us something else. It taught resilience and the importance of cooperation and collaboration among nations. COVID-19 respected no border, no individual and no nation.

However, perhaps the most important lesson that the pandemic has taught us is the critical importance of investing in primary and secondary healthcare systems. Public health spending is largely viewed as a cost, not only by governments but also individual citizens. The ECAM Council aims to raise awareness in both the private and public sector of the fact that healthcare is perhaps the wisest and most important investment that can be made by either individuals or governments. A healthy population means a healthy economy. For example, underfunding in health prevention measures is a huge burden on the economy both in terms of the immediate impact (premature death, chronic illness, etc) and on the future economy as the costs for treating non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes are extremely high.
The ECAM Council vision sees a world where the fundamental pillars of society such as healthcare and education are viewed as economic investments not burdens. When nations spend on healthcare and education they invest in the health of their citizens and healthy citizens result in higher performing students and healthy working adults.

We hope to use our platform to create alliances where we are all kin to each other, a true league of nations that knows no borders but is open to all and refuses no one. What better place to begin our second session than in Rome – a city with historically strong and positive ties to the MENA region, and consequently, the perfect conduit country to Africa.

I have always believed that the business world has a duty to help strengthen national institutions through strategic investments in sectors that provide support and services to the general population. All of my business investments have sought to make at least a small contribution towards a better world, and I have sought to promote greater cooperation and dialogue by recognising the importance of building of bridges. The first edition of the ECAM Council Forum was born from a deep desire to continue this work.

ABOUT ECAM COUNCIL

Concrete solutions
for healthcare issues

The European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East (ECAM Council) is a private, non-profit and non-partisan association, founded on the direct initiative of Kamel Ghribi (President of GKSD Investment Holding) and Paolo Rotelli (President of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University). The purpose of the ECAM Council is to promote and develop relations between the countries of Europe, Africa and the MENA region, with Italy playing a leading role.

Mission driven, with a strong focus on long-term investments and partnerships in health services, infrastructure, education, research and training, the ECAM Council promotes authoritative and intellectual exchanges across borders, cultures and languages. The focus of our forums is to pursue constructive analysis and examination of the complex challenges facing the Middle East and Africa today, while also promoting a deeper understanding of the cultural and historical legacies that influence how business relations are developed among nations.

The ECAM Council believes that access to affordable healthcare and education is a human and moral imperative. Therefore, we support education programmes and healthcare models where governments, private investment and charitable foundations can join forces to form a framework of incentives that create robust and innovative healthcare systems.

Kamel Ghribi with Dr. Unity Dow, Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Republic of Botswana

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Angelino Alfano President, Policlinico San Donato; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italy; Vice President of Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato Mr. Kamel Ghribi and Paolo Rotelli President of San Raffaele Hospital (IRCCS) & San Raffaele University were honoured to lead the Botswanan Health Minister Dr. Alfred Madigele and his group of delegates on a guided tour of GSD’s San Donato Polyclinic and Research Hospital in Milan

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Vice President of Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato Mr. Kamel Ghribi with the Botswanan Health Minister Dr. Alfred Madigele

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Kamel Ghribi, Chairman of GK Investment Holding Group, Chairman of GSD Healthcare Middle East and Vice President of Gruppo San Donato in discussion with Dr Hala Zayed, Minister of Health and Population, Egypt.

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Kamel Ghribi; Hon. Dr. Hala Zaid , Minister of Health and Population, Republic of Egypt and Ms. Susan Silbermann

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Paolo Rotelli President of San Raffaele Hospital (IRCCS) & San Raffaele University; Kamel Ghribi; Dr. Eugène AKA Aouélé Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Republic of Ivory Coast

ABOUT ECAM COUNCIL SUMMIT

Building the future
together through healthcare

The ECAM Council was born with the primary objective of promoting constructive dialogue, new partnerships and strong cooperation between Europe, Africa and the MENA region. It aims to contribute to the improvement of international relations among countries through a high-level annual Summit in Rome where top government officials gather to discuss a range of vital issues that will lead to common strategies and best practices being shared. Special focus is given to healthcare in all of its facets and players from the private sector in Europe, Africa and the MENA region come together to find ways to fund the most interesting investment projects advanced during discussions.

The Forum is promoted by Gruppo San Donato (GSD) and GKSD Investment Holding in collaboration with The European House – Ambrosetti.

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vision

VISION

Promoting cultural understanding and acceptance

The ECAM Council seeks to make its contribution to a better world by working through governments, institutions and business and will target forums to specific areas such as investment in healthcare, education and training.

Our events will act as a conduit that offers philanthropic, governmental and business support to selected projects committed to developing the foundation’s core values of access to healthcare and education. ECAM promotes cultural understanding and acceptance in the form of real-life exchanges and knowledge sharing of best practices.

Our network includes the most influential experts and leaders across many fields and by working together, we can achieve change and a more stable and prosperous future in Africa and the MENA Region.

mission

MISSION

Healthcare and education investments in a regionalised world

Our mission is to share concepts, opinions, and facts so that we can work together to improve and revolutionise sectors of critical importance such as healthcare, education and training.

As a non-partisan not-profit council, we guarantee transparency in our approach to all of our projects. Just as the world is becoming less global and more regional; so institutional pillars such as education, training and healthcare will also become more regionalised.

mission