The European Business Council for Africa (EBCAM) is founded on the conviction that traditional development assistance alone is no longer sufficient to address today’s global challenges. EBCAM firmly believes that the private sector plays a crucial role in fostering sustainable economic growth in African countries. For this reason, it actively promotes trade and investment between Europe and Africa, supporting a shift from a donor–recipient paradigm to a partnership of equal economic actors, where African countries are recognised as drivers of their own development.

Through its member associations, EBCAM assists and advises European companies that are already operating in Africa or seeking to do so. EBCAM represents the interests of its member associations vis-à-vis the institutions of the European Union, EU delegations in Africa, Embassies of African countries in Brussels, the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Secretariat), and other like-minded organisations. It also ensures close coordination with key European business support organisations, including BusinessEurope, Eurochambres, and CEA-PME.

Bringing together major European private sector associations active in development, business, trade, and investment with Africa, EBCAM closely monitors EU development, industrial, and trade policies, as well as broader international economic dynamics. Thanks to reciprocal cooperation agreements, this monitoring extends beyond Brussels to Washington and across the African continent.

EBCAM has played a significant role in shaping Euro-African economic relations, including contributing to the preparation of the Barcelona Process (1995) and the Cotonou Agreement (2000). In 2025, EBCAM published an opinion paper on the EU Global Gateway Investment Package and advocated for the establishment of a Euro-African free trade area aligned with the AfCFTA, with the objective of strengthening private sector growth and industrial development on both continents.

EBCAM has been advocating for several years a more dynamic engagement of the European Commission in support of private sector investment. The launch by the Commission of the new “Global Gateway Early-Stage Investment” mechanism, in the form of a first call for proposals for project preparation, is a positive expression of interest of the Commission for actions on the lines EBCAM has been proposing. 

Through its positions, contributions and regular exchanges with European institutions, EBCAM has consistently emphasised the importance of operational instruments enabling a more concrete and earlier involvement of the European private sector in the implementation of Global Gateway, notably through calls for projects and mechanisms dedicated to project preparation. 

As an active member of the EU-AU Business Fora, EBCAM actively contributed to the drafting of the Joint Business Declarations reflecting the Euro-African private sector’s perspectives on growth. These declarations were presented at the AU-EU Business Forum in Brussels, Belgium, in 2022 and in Luanda, Angola, on 24–25 November 2025.

EBCAM also has an Observer Status in the EU Commission Expert Group on Enhanced Coordination of External Financial Tools, concerning the discussion around how to enhance EU companies' competitiveness and de-risking investments abroad.

Last but not least, thanks to its Observer Status in international arenas - notably in UNIDO and UNCTAD- EBCAM monitors international competition in African markets and advocates for improved business environments across the continent. Its work includes addressing issues related to unfair competition from third countries, regulatory barriers, and tax-related challenges, with the aim of fostering transparent, competitive, and sustainable economic ecosystems.