Denis BOHOUSSOU, Director General of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), officially launched the 5th edition of the OAPI Brand Awards . This major event will take place from October 8 to 10 under the evocative theme: "The brand, a lever for business performance."
The launch press conference, held in Libreville, Gabon, was a great success with national and international media. Alongside Managing Director Denis BOHOUSSOU, the following were present, among others:
- Advisor to the Minister of Industry and Local Transformation
- Vice-President of the Gabonese Business Confederation
- The Director General of the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture, Industry, Mines and Crafts of Gabon
This strong mobilization demonstrates the importance given to this event by Gabonese economic and institutional actors.
For the Director General of OAPI, the choice of the theme "The brand, a lever for business performance" stems directly from the lessons learned from the audits conducted by OAPI in partnership with the French National Institute of Industrial Property during previous editions. These audits revealed a clear observation: while companies are increasingly protecting their brands, they do not always exploit them to their full extent as strategic growth assets. However, a well-valued brand can represent an element of the business assets whose value sometimes exceeds the company's physical assets.
He noted that in the context of globalization and with the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), protecting and exploiting a brand is not a luxury but an absolute necessity for the competitiveness and expansion of African businesses.
He therefore invited all companies from Member States, particularly those present in Gabon, to seize this unique opportunity to apply for this completely free competition.
It should be remembered that OAPI, the organization responsible for the protection and promotion of intellectual property in 17 African states, represents a dynamic market of more than 200 million consumers. These countries have considerable development potential with a particularly dynamic entrepreneurship where thousands of businesses are born each year.
