Burundi’s President and African Union Chairperson Evariste Ndayishimiye urged global investors on Saturday to see Africa as a hub for innovation and investment, rather than simply a market for consumption.
“We invite you to not consider Africa as a consumption market, but one for innovation and investment,” Ndayishimiye told the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt.
He also proposed an African investment and implementation platform to track strategic projects, financing, responsibilities and results across the continent.
“So bring your capital to Africa, your technologies, your expertise, your markets, and your capabilities to build value chains,” he added.
Ndayishimiye said Alamein should become more than a forum for discussing Africa’s transformation, urging leaders to turn commitments into concrete projects.
“There should be new methods for funding and to have the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) become a real market,” he added. “Each project needs funding, and each funding should be translated into results on the ground, and each result should achieve integration in Africa.”
Signed in 2018, the AfCFTA was created to build a single continental market for goods and services and reduce barriers to trade between African countries. Trading under the agreement began on January 1, 2021.
The inaugural Alamein Africa Forum is being held in Egypt’s coastal city of New Alamein from October 2-4, bringing together around 1,500 government officials, business leaders, investors and representatives of financial institutions.
The forum is focused on trade, investment and economic cooperation, with an emphasis on turning Africa’s development ambitions into financed, concrete projects.
Source: Viory
