Africa, though often a challenging business environment, holds vast market potential. With a young and growing population, rapidly urbanizing cities and rich natural resources, it presents unique opportunities. These factors create ideal conditions for scaling up local industries and expanding domestic manufacturing. Africa’s promise lies in leveraging these assets to fuel sustainable economic growth.

On October 29, the Africa #FTLIVESummit saved the best Panel for last with unshakeable energy, insights, and a lineup of powerhouse speakers. Industry leaders like Moh Damush (Group CEO @ Telecel), Mo Ibrahim (Founder and Chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, co-founder and co-Chairman of the Africa-Europe Foundation), Max McCabe (Chief Operating Officer of the Education Outcomes Fund), Odile Renaud-Basso (President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), Nieros Soerensen (Partner & Chief Operating Officer of the Verod Capital Management), and Andrew Hill (Senior Business Writer of the Financial Times) took the stage, diving into Africa’s boundless potential to grow local businesses and unlock long-term economic success. With a youthful population, abundant resources, and rapidly evolving markets, Africa’s business landscape is ripe for innovation and expansion. Day 1 has already sparked engaging debates and fresh ideas, setting the stage for what’s bound to be a dynamic and transformative summit.

When asked about a thing that would take people to fully realize Africa’s economy, Nieros answered that there are multiple things that speak from the perspective of a private capital investor, who runs private entry capitals on the content. According to her, there are three things from their point of view being unlocking local currency funding – as it is seen that essentially the private sector is the engine of growth on the continent of Africa. Moreover, regionalization is important and that would be largely unlocked by the export markets using Africa, to also harmonize labour laws. So, it’s used to identify the needs specific to a region or a country. Lastly is the government which could promote environmental sustainability, create special economic zones, and establish industrial sites among other factors.

Funding sustainable development

Jack Stephens who is a private Investor in mainly East Africa, asked about the DFIs wanting to take more. Now it is seen that the DFIs are willing to take on more commercial risk than private investors to support businesses that can have a positive development impact. Some of the major DFIs are the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), as well as several European DFIs such as the European Investment Bank, the CDC, DEG, FMO, Porparco, Swedfund, Norfund, and several others. 

Education’s importance

In order to build an everlasting impact on the continent, we also need to care about capacity building. This starts with Education, as it is known that education takes time, one of the panelists answered that the demonstration of education is important instead of just saying that’s important in itself. How can what’s needed for Africa’s potential economy be delivered through education? Ibrahim went on to emphasize that technical schools are needed in Africa and to stop “building all these universities, that have no jobs” he says.  “The challenge would be educating these young people but then what jobs are they going to get if they don’t come out with the right skills”, Soerensen said. So brand new industries in sectors are vital for Africa’s economic growth that will create massive jobs. Also, because of the challenging macro environment,  it is seen that import substitution from building materials, clothing, education, health care etc is one of the important factors in unlocking Africa’s potential. 

To sum up, the #FTLIVESummit’s Unlocking Africa’s Potential: Building Thriving Local Businesses has emphasized how important it is to support homegrown industries in order to promote sustainable growth throughout the continent. Africa can pave the way for economic resilience and self-reliance by making investments in local company development, improving infrastructure, and creating an atmosphere that encourages entrepreneurship. The lessons learned from the #FTLIVESummit demonstrate that developing prosperous domestic companies involves more than just advancing the economy; it also entails generating opportunities that improve communities, reduce dependence on international markets, and eventually unleash the continent’s full potential for future generations.  

Chief Editor: Marian Gloria Gyamfi, Ghana

Please contact us at seminar@rightforeducation.org/ marian@rightforeducation.org , if you want to get involved.