By Ibrahim Mohammed
The upcoming 28 edition of World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF Africa) ‘‘will focus on inclusive growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with a view to finding ways to achieve sustainable growth in countries with high levels of inequality, corruption and unemployment,’’ organizers of the event said at a pre-WEF Africa press conference on Monday, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Speaking at the conference WEF Africa head Elsie Kanza, according to CREAMER MEDIA emphasised that 4IR needed to be embedded in humanity.
In this vein, a meeting to be held in Cape Town, South Africa from September 4 to 6, would explore how this could be implemented on the continent.
WEF Africa will convene 1, 100 leaders drawn from government (10 heads of state), business and civil society organisations.
Discussions on new partnerships to create sustainable employment for Africa’s large and growing workforce will get top priority at the upcoming event.
It is scheduled to focus on improving the funding and regulatory environment for start-ups; identifying opportunities for green growth such as the circular economy; increasing commerce for rapid business growth; and leveraging the new Africa Continent Free Trade Agreement to drive regional integration.
The 28 edition of WEF Africa will also see the launch of several new initiatives including the Africa e-commerce Agenda, a partnership between governments, the international trade community and the development community to create three million jobs by 2025.
Newsdiaryonline recalls that in recent times Africa has taken three significant steps on its journey to a stronger economic future. On May 30, 2019, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), became effective followings its launch by the African Union launch (AU) on March 21, 2018, in Kigali, capital of Rwanda.
Nigeria Africa’s largest economy in July this year signed the AfCFTA after overcoming initial concerns that membership would harm domestic manufacturers,
This landmark agreement aims to create a single market expected to generate a combined GDP of more than $3.4 trillion and benefit over 1 billion people.
Earlier in April, the South African government announced the launch of a new Affiliate Centre of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), to act as a focal point for dialogue and co-operation on the challenges and opportunities presented by advanced technologies, which are merging our physical, digital and biological worlds.
The World Economic Forum has just launched the Africa Growth Platform, an initiative aimed at helping startup enterprises grow and compete internationally. With early-stage entrepreneurial activity 13% higher than the global average, Africa is well placed to get startups off the ground, but it also has a higher-than-average failure rate due to insufficient support and infrastructure.
The Africa Growth Platform will bring together governments, investors and businesses to help startups thrive and become sustainable.
Experts agree that ‘‘these are important steps forward. Because despite recent economic growth, Africa remains subject to lingering challenges–including inequality, relatively poor agricultural productivity and significant youth unemployment.’’
The continent according to experts is also ‘‘about to witness a population explosion of 2.4 billion people by 2050.’’ Job creation is essential, and the 4IR – underpinned by forward-looking trade agreements and support systems for entrepreneurs – has the potential to supply much of that demand.
