After several conferences and seminars focused on solving the problems within the African publishing and book trade industry, it was concluded that "the need for networking as a means of information-sharing became paramount. It was necessary to set up an umbrella body which would be a network of publishers in Africa". In 1992, delegates from 9 countries founded the African Publishers Network at a conference in Harare, Zimbabwe. It relocated from Zimbabwe to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire with a research and documentation centre located in Harare, Zimbabwe. However, due to the political situation in Côte d'Ivoire, APNET's headquarters is now in Accra, Ghana.