My first Magazine EDUCARE MAGAZINE SPECIAL NOVEMBER EDITION 2019 | Page 10

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The Future Belongs To Africa
If we can harness this potential by aligning supply with demand,
markets with customers, and skills with jobs, and keep most of these
elements and links largely within Africa, then Africa will become an
unstoppable economic force, capable of feeding itself and the rest
of the world for good measure.
DR. AKINWUMI AYODEJI ADESINA
T
he future belongs
inexorably to the
continent of Africa. By
2050, it will have the same
population as China and
India do now. There will be burgeoning
consumer demand from a growing
middle class, a population of nearly 2
billion people, of which around 800
million young people will be looking for
meaningful and sustainable
employment.
If we can harness this potential by
aligning supply with demand, markets
with customers, and skills with jobs, and
Educare November 2019
keep most of these elements and links
largely within Africa, then Africa will
become an unstoppable economic
force, capable of feeding itself and the
rest of the world for good measure.
That is the future scope for Africans to
shape in their own interests and for
their own economic ambitions.
But first we must light up and power
Africa. We must turn on the lights,
power and activate the continent. Very
little business, education, healthcare or
entertainment can be done without
some form of power. Some 645 million
people do not have access to electricity
at all. Power is at the top of everyone's
To Do list, and African politicians are
often made aware of the truth that
power and electricity make for
prosperous, settled and peaceful
societies. They realise that if they want
to stay in power then they must give
power.
Agriculture contributes about 16%
of the GDP of Africa and employs up
to 60% of the population, but it lags far
behind other sectors and other
countries. Itattracts little investment,
but it holds the key to accelerated
growth, diversification and job creation
Educare November 2019