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For
Africa to attain its desired goal in real growth and development, prominent
African leaders and top entrepreneurs across the continent have decided to work
effectively together towards integrating their economies to enable free trade
among its members.
Specifically,
the Vice-President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Former
President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of South
Africa, Thabo Mbeki, and the President of the Dangote Group, who are
co-chair of the AfricanChampion Club urged top entrepreneurs in the continent
to focus on job creation for their teeming unemployed youths as a way to ensure
economic prosperity and poverty reduction in the continent.
Speaking
at the launch of AfroChampions Initiative recently, Mbeki emphasized greater
integration of African economies for real development and the Vice-President of
Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osibajo urged the private sector in the continent to
take the lead in reshaping Government policies and strategies in the continent.
Osinbajo congratulated the initiators of the Africa champions initiative on
their visionary action and pledged that the administration was behind them.
"We
think that it is the private sector that would do what is required to bring the
urgency and the sense of mission to all the plans in the AU. We will like to
see greater synergy and collaboration in the Africa champions while all the
organs of the AU get involved in economic integration issues". He further
said the continent: “still have one of the lowest trade integration levels
under 20 per cent while Asia is at 40 per cent and European integration is very
much further ahead at about 60 per cent. The fact remains that other regions
play as a bloc but Africa is still largely splintered into several economies
and the ease of doing business across the region remains a significant
challenge".
He
said that in the past few years it had become obvious to many African countries
that both the momentum and common sense were in favour of the private sector
leading the economies of the continent.
Dangote
on his part, said the Afrochampions initiative is for African businesses to
cater to African needs to accelerate development in the continent and create
more jobs to tackle unemployment of youths in the continent. He acknowledged
that it is the first time that leaders from Africa's multinational companies
will meet, not to discuss their sector and ad-hoc investment opportunities, but
to exchange views on Africa's transformation and on what contributions they may
have.
Noting
that Africa’s young population and a growing labour force are valuable
assets in an aging world, he said: “Africa's current population of 1.2 billion
(16 percent of the world’s population) is expected to grow to 3.8 billion by
2100 - accounting for 49 percent of the world population. By 2034, the
working-age population is expected to hit 1.1 billion, larger than that of
either China or India.”
Dangote
promised to work with his colleagues to make the club a unique platform on
which "We as African business leaders, can overcome our differences and
speak with one voice, to foster reforms facilitating trade between our states
with investments in strategic projects and synergies between our
countries."
"We
do have to change the dynamics in a way that is more favourable to Africa and
Africans because as Africa's biggest multinationals, we owe a duty towards our
communities, towards the next generation of young men and women who now want to
become Pan-African entrepreneurs".
Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed appreciation and commendation for the
initiative and added that while the initiative had put the private and public
sectors together it needed to integrate the financial institutions. He mentioned
the Lagos Plan of Action, the Abuja treaty, NEPAD as initiatives which had not
achieved their purposes before going under. “We should not allow this one to
sleep; we should continue to fan the flame of Afrochampions initiative and may
God help Africa,” the former President said.
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