Ahmedabad, India, 24 May 2017 (ACBF) – The Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) – Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie has told journalists covering the 52nd Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India that rather than seeing Africa’s industrialization as a threat or a source of competition, the world should consider it as a huge opportunity for shared growth and prosperity, as well as a means for keeping Africa’s youth in Africa.
Prof. Nnadozie said that before Africa, China’s economic transformation raised similar eyebrows and that China’s unique contribution to the world’s economic growth and progress has been unparalleled over the past 20 years.
The Head of Africa’s leading capacity development institution added that it is now widely established that Africa will, by far, be the “youngest continent” by 2050. Industrialization, leading to the creation of decent jobs, will provide the only option to retain its youth home and contribute to the creation of global wealth.
According to him, effectively dealing with the problem of youth migration from Africa, requires tackling the root causes of this phenomenon, especially youth unemployment and inequality. Through the ‘High Fives’ strategy which focuses on energy, food security, industrialization, regional integration and the improvement of livelihoods, the African Development Bank is attacking this problem head-on. But the Bank requires the support of all its members. It's time for the Bank's non-regional members to strongly support the recapitalization of the African Development Bank to enable it to continue promote prosperity across Africa and the world.
The ACBF, which has been championing the cause for increased capacity for Africa’s industrialization, as one big window for the continent’s sustainable development, is attending the AFDB meeting as a strategic partner of the Bank. Both institutions have been partnering on joint projects to produce evidence-based knowledge products to support policy formulation and uptake in Africa’s development management from country to regional levels.
The Ahmedabad meeting which focuses on “Transforming Agriculture for Wealth Creation in Africa” is also an opportunity for African leaders and their partners to rethink the low level prioritization being given to capacity development in Africa’s agriculture. In fact, recent ACBF studies show that Africa needs 1.6 million agricultural scientists and researchers as well as 2.8 million water and sanitation engineers to be able to meet the first 10-year target of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
From the evidence gathered, ACBF believes a major shift of focus from the arts and humanities to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines – which should aptly contribute to transforming agriculture on the continent – would be a good place to start.
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For more information, please contact:
Abel Akara Ticha – Senior Communication Officer
The African Capacity Building Foundation
Harare, Zimbabwe
+263 7+263-4 304663, 304622, 332002, 332014; Ext. 279
Email: A.Ticha@acbf-pact.org
About the African Capacity Building Foundation
Established in 1991, ACBF builds human and institutional capacity for good governance and economic development in Africa. To date the Foundation has empowered people in governments, parliaments, civil society, private sector and higher education institutions in more than 45 countries and 6 regional economic communities. ACBF supports capacity development across Africa through mobilization and leveraging of resources for capacity development; grants, investments and fund management; knowledge services; promoting innovation in capacity development and capacity development advisory services. The establishment of ACBF was in response to the severity of Africa’s capacity needs, and the challenges of investing in indigenous human capital and institutions in Africa. ACBF interventions are premised on four principles: the centrality of capacity to the development process in Africa; the critical role of a partnership and demand-driven approach in tackling capacity challenges; African ownership and leadership in the capacity development process; and a systematic, sequenced and coordinated approach to the capacity development process that pays attention to capacity retention and utilization. For further information go to: www.acbf-pact.org
