New York Business Consultants LLC

The African Renaissance: Challenges and Opportunities on the African Continent

October 24, 2013, United Nations, NYBC 

By Madeline Tanamal, Malko Ebers

An exciting event on the perspectives on transformative governance and the African Agenda 2063 was held at the United Nations today. Our team attended this dialogue of the challenges and opportunities of ‘Africa’s Renaissance and Pan-Africanism’. As a company with partners in Africa we are excited to see these positive trends. Hosted by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), this regular dialogue is held in conjunction with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which collides with the 50^th anniversary of the African Union.

The purpose of the dialogue is to discuss the future outlook of Africa in 2063. According to Mr. Maged A. Abdelaziz, under secretary general of the UN and special advisor on Africa, the issues Africa faces now are governance, human rights, corruption, youth unemployment and infrastructure limitations. Mr. Abdelaziz hopes that through African Transformative Agenda, African commerce and prosperity will continue to grow and that the continent will become more self-reliant. Some African countries are still significantly dependent on foreign aid and true transformative change has to come from the African people themselves, from an empowered youth ‘Education has to be the bedrock of youth empowerment’. Besides all these structural constraints Africa has entered an area of true transformation and an African Renaissance. Better governance, growth, peace and security for Africa will continue to improve the livelihoods of its people.

The ambassador from the APRM, Ms. Fatuma Ndangiza Nyirakobwa gave an outline of what APRM has done over the years since its establishment, such as raising the bar of ethical standards to achieve transformative justice, leadership and governance. She highlighted that the key issue APRM faces is the limited public awareness for its agenda.

Despite the challenges Africa faces, Mr Chernor Bah, the co-cordinator for youth engagement in A World At School said that Africa’s youth population has a lot of potential. Africa has the highest number of youth worldwide, 70% of the population is below 30 years old. Thus young people deserve and have to demand better education, health care and empowerment. Mr. Bah also demanded better leadership and more action by African governments on these matters.

Mr. Assefa Shifa identified African diaspora as another potential since their contribution to Africa transformation is great. This is consistent with the idea of Pan-Africanism, at which African migrants are encouraged to contribute to African’s growth. It can’t be that educated engineers are driving taxis in other countries while their talent and contribution is needed in Africa.

The panelists concluded that the key for a sustainable solution of Africa’s problems and to achieve prosperity is the inclusion of young people, women and minorities in the change process. On top of that, branding Africa, showing the beauty and potential of its people, culture, entrepreneurs and other opportunities will give many growth and business opportunities as it attracts partners and investors.

We advise the reader to spread the word about the African Renaissance, about what is happening on the continent, to visit Africa and to consider partnerships for growth. If we can help build a bridge to Africa then our team and partners in NY and Africa are glad to be of assistance.