Toliara is hosting a major economic event starting today, with impacts expected to drive the entire region toward development and prosperity.
A strategic week: The “Atsimo Andrefana Business Week” kicked off last Sunday with a “golden run” and will conclude with a show-biz spectacle next Sunday. A footrace was organized to emphasize that running is about moving forward and represents endurance in entrepreneurship and economic activities. Today, the “economic village” will open its doors at the Jardin de la Mer in Toliara, featuring exhibition stands from local economic operators. “The economic village is a space dedicated to exchanges, business opportunities, and highlighting the region’s economic actors,” says Corine Samarthe, one of the event organizers.
The venue will host “Speed recruiting,” a space dedicated to young graduates or non-graduates seeking their first or subsequent entry into the working world.
Two days will be devoted to conferences where seven major themes will be debated. “Toliara 2030: Making Atsimo Andrefana a destination of international excellence” opens the proceedings with panelists from the tourism, blue economy, and entrepreneurship sectors. The event will discuss the modernization of the agricultural and pastoral sectors, and professional groups, which are often viewed either as “facade unions” or as a true economic powerhouse.
Women leaders and young entrepreneurs, considered the new faces of the regional economy, will also be among the topics addressed. Finally, higher education, through the University of Toliara, will intervene on Friday, September 4, on the issue of “university-business synergy.”
“The Atsimo Andrefana Business Week event is in its second edition this year. What lessons were learned from the previous edition? What priorities were considered? That is what I expect from the event,” emphasizes Cynthia Velosoa, a final-year science student at the University of Toliara.
The theme “Investing in Atsimo Andrefana: what opportunities for the tourism and blue economy sectors?”, scheduled for tomorrow morning, is intended to partially answer this question. She points out that she expects practical answers that will truly advance the Atsimo Andrefana region. “Why are we still in the economic takeoff phase, why can’t we reach the acceleration and speed phase?” she asks.
Sensitive files, such as “Vara Mada,” which is investing nearly $1 billion with its new American owners, will surely be brought back to the table. This is a concrete example that dampens the enthusiasm of investors who want to come but encounter obstacles regarding the business climate and social atmosphere in the region.
Does tourism absorb the mass of job seekers that increases every year in Toliara and its surroundings? Is industry, other than mining, feasible? A cement plant, an agri-food processing plant? Many questions may find answers during the event. The week will end on Saturday evening with the “red carpet” of the Atsimo Andrefana Economic Awards, a ceremony marked by excellence, recognition, and ambition.
Captured & Published at: 2026-09-03 06:08:57 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/09/atsimo-andrefana-business-week-quid-des.html
