From left to right: Matthias Naab, Director of the UNDP Africa Regional Service Center; Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa; Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Ethiopia (left), at the 2023 African Economic Conference in Addis Ababa.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 17, 2023 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/-African countries must demonstrate stronger political will to advance industrialization, including by adopting new policies to promote improving productivity and harnessing the potential of a growing young population, delegates attending the 2023 African Economic Conference heard.
This three-day conference opened on Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, under the theme “The imperatives of sustainable industrial development in Africa”.
Organized by the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Program, this year’s conference, the 18th edition, brought together experts, the private sector, researchers and young people to discuss the challenges and prospects of industrialization in Africa.
In her welcome speech, Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde highlighted the importance of industrialization as a key driver of inclusive economic growth.
“The need to change the narrative on Africa’s industrialization towards inclusive and sustainable industrial development has become more imperative; African countries must build a robust industrial sector capable of withstanding external shocks,” she told participants.
President Sahle-Work emphasized that industrial policies should focus on supporting national industrial development and promoting improved productivity and competitiveness, stressing that Covid-19 had taught hard lessons about the vulnerability of global production and value chains to various shocks.
Africa is home to some of the world‘s fastest growing economies and has attractive human capital, dominated by a young population compared to aging populations in other regions, and is therefore seen as the future frontier labor market. . Despite this, the pace of industrialization and economic transformation in Africa remains slow compared to other regions.
UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Claver Gatete, called on the conference to explore policies and institutional capacities needed for sustainable industrialization, inclusive development and structural transformation . “This will help us rebuild and emerge stronger from the crises,” he said, adding that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is also crucial.
Mr. Gatete highlighted the ECA’s commitment to supporting countries and regional economic communities in developing national and regional implementation strategies to help them mainstream the AfCFTA agreement into their national priorities and to identify areas in which they have a competitive advantage.
Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank, urged African countries to think differently and implement transformative policies that accelerate local production capacity and encourage consumption of locally made products.
“Africans must think African, produce African and consume African to encourage local industrial development in Africa,” he said.
Mr. Urama proposed several approaches to accelerate industrialization and structural transformation in Africa. These include the implementation of a strategic industrial policy that encourages local production and consumption, as well as the development of national and regional value chains.
“Policies such as local content and franchising could yield easy-to-achieve results,” Mr. Urama said. He added that Africa also has the natural resources to lead the electric vehicle technological revolution.
He highlighted the role of the African Development Bank Group, in collaboration with its partners, in supporting the process of industrialization and economic transformation of Africa through its “High 5” priority, “industrialize the ‘Africa’.
Matthias Naab, Director of the Africa Regional Service Center of the United Nations Development Program, urged the promotion of mutually beneficial public-private partnerships engaged in manufacturing in Africa.
Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde (left) in discussion with Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank, Kevin Urama, during ECA 2023. Center, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission of the United Nations for Africa (ECA), Claver Gatete.
He also welcomed the growing consideration of youth in development policies. “The inclusion of young African researchers at this conference demonstrates our commitment to harnessing their intellectual power; young people are the industrialists of today and tomorrow, and we want to ensure that they play a leading role in identifying the paths forward,” he said.
In a videoconference speech, Ms. Fatou Haidara, Deputy Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), cited African youth, the dynamism of small and medium-sized enterprises, the potential of renewable energies and the abundance of natural resources as potential factors of success for the continent.
“Local production capacity, inclusive access to global financial markets, sustainable value chains and climate action are necessary preconditions for a prosperous Africa,” said Ms. Haidara, highlighting UNIDO’s commitment to help countries develop their capacity, analysis and evidence-based policy advice.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) for the African Development Bank.
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Source : African Media Agency (AMA)