African youth set to establish continental business plan

posted in: Africa

Photo: New Seasons Youth Program

PANA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia– The African Union (AU) headquarters will host a high-profile workshop to mobilise the private sector, governments, civil society, regional economic communities and pan-African stakeholders to ponder Africa as a company, it was announced here Wednesday.

The three-day workshop, opening 6 November, 2013, with the theme “A business plan for Africa: From vision to execution”, is being organised by Africa 2.0 in partnership with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Media Leaders Forum and Femmes Africa Solidarite.

Other partners are Performance Consulting Group, IC Publications, the Financial Times of London, the Pan African Chamber of Commerce, the UN Development Programme and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

According to organizers, the workshop will formulate a Business Plan that will serve as a compass for the future direction of the continent.

Speakers at the workshop will include Dr. Mo Ibrahim, founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation; former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano; former Cape Verdean president Pedro Pires; Nigeria’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the AfDB President, Donald Kaberuka.

Other listed speakers are Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Group; Jay Naidoo. Chair of the Partnership Council of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Moise Katumbi, Governor of Katanga province in DR Congo; Patrice Motsepe, founder of African Rainbow Minerals; Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Ms. Julie Gichuru, TV news anchor and Group Digital Business Manager of Royal Media Services; Maktar Diop, Africa Director of World Bank Group and Ms. Amrote Abdella, Director, Venture Capital & Start-ups, Microsoft Africa Initiatives Microsoft.

To ensure the adoption of the plan produced by the workshop, a sequel gathering, in partnership with the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, will be held as a side event during the AU summit in January 2014 with the aim of presenting it to African leaders.

The final report will be presented during the official closing of the AU’s 50th anniversary in May 2014.

“It is wonderful that young African men and women are coming forward to articulate the African vision and to set an agenda for the continent,” said Dr. Mo Ibrahim. “I know you will succeed where we failed – you are better educated than us, more informed, well-connected and better organised. The fact that Africa 2.0 is the result of… young Africans, future leaders, makes it even more meaningful.”

Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa 2.0 is a pan-African civil society organisation that consists of young and emerging leaders from Africa and the Diaspora.

They share a collective vision for Africa and a commitment to finding and implementing sustainable solutions that will in turn leapfrog the development of the continent.



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