‘Africa enters era of economic growth’

where discussions and presentations centred on the new opportunities that the global crisis brought to the continent, previously regarded as the darkest part of the world.

While Europe and the rest of the Western world were besieged with socio-economic challenges, Africa was making strides in terms of improving its economies and the lives of its one billion people.
“In a perverse way, the slowdown in the economies in the rest of the world has been positive for Africa, which is still growing and has a commercial opportunity for investment,” said one panelist.

His sentiments were shared by many others who felt that despite the global meltdown which had caused many economies to shrink, Africa was on the rise.
Attention was now moving from traditional markets such as Europe and Asia, to Africa.
In recent years, returns on investment in Africa had been higher than anywhere else in the world, mostly due to high commodity prices.

Such countries as Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya were identified as the hottest countries on Africa’s investment heat map.
The continent was challenged to maximise on the available opportunities to eradicate poverty, create jobs and build infrastructure to ensure sustainable development.

Statistics showed that Africa hosted seven of the world’s fastest growing economies and at an average 6 percent annual growth, the continent was one of the fastest growing in the world.

Zimbabwe was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Minister Tapiwa Mashakada, his permanent secretary Desire Sibanda, other Government officials and business leaders.
Guided by its theme, “Shaping Africa’s Transformation”, the forum established that the continent had entered a new era of growth and other possibilities that countries transform economies in a big way.

World Economic Forum head of Africa Ms Elsie Kanza said the continent had entered a new era.
“With Africa’s “lion economies” growing faster than the East Asia’s tigers for over a decade, companies and countries around the globe now link their growth aspirations to the promise of Africa’s emerging opportunities,” she said.
Africa’s growth story stemmed from an ongoing resource boom, greater macro-economic and political stability, improving business conditions and rising domestic demand.

“Domestic reforms paired with global economic shifts positioned Africa on the brink of a major transformation. It is now in the hands of the region’s leaders to shape this transformation and translate growth into shared opportunities for present and future generations.
“Attaining Africa’s aspirations in a new global context will require bold and actionable ideas, as well as strong leadership on regional, national and industry levels,” said Ms Kanza.

The growth needed to be inclusive of the youths, women and rural communities who made up at least 70 percent of the continent’s population.
To maintain the growth momentum, the continent needed to diversify economies instead of largely depending on commodities, which were often exposed to volatile price movements.

Furthermore, it was critical to capacitate the youths and micro and small businesses, long identified as the engine for growth.
Political stability and innovative leadership would also carry the day for Africa.
In his closing remarks, South Africa’s Finance Minister Pravin Gordon said growth on the continent needed to focus on improving the lives of all Africans.
“It should not be a situation where a few will cream off the benefits but everyone should benefit from the transformation,” he said.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said as much last Thursday as he challenged progress to include the young and vulnerable people who were presently largely unemployed.
The summit brought together 700 delegates from government, business, civil society, the arts and media to deliberate on the new developments on the continent and chart the way forward.

Next year’s forum would be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Zimbabwean representatives said they intended to lobby for the prime event to be hosted in Zimbabwe over the next few years.
The inaugural summit was hosted by Zimbabwe.