UAE-Africa economic ties strengthened after GBF 2021 forum
Economic ties between the UAE and Africa have been strengthened following the thought-provoking sessions at the Global Business Forum (GBF) Africa that explored the factors that are expected to boost Africa’s economic growth and development in the post-Covid era and beyond.
At the high-level forum, human capital, infrastructure, logistics, entrepreneurship and the digital economy were among the key topics discussed during the high-level forum, which was organised by Dubai Chamber in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai.
Highlighting the fundamental role of education, Fred Swaniker, founder of the African Leadership Academy and the African Leadership Network, shared his thoughts in a session titled The Future Workforce, which explored the role of developing human capital as an essential foundation for growth.
“The role of governments in shaping employment must include several reforms, including developing infrastructure and making optimal use of human resources while facilitating access to technology such as the Internet, accelerating and reducing the cost of learning. Human beings are the real wealth of the African continent, which possesses young human capital and which needs to refine their skills and competencies,” he said.
Bringing together innovative minds from both regions was the session Bridging African and Emirati Entrepreneurs, which focused on helping African entrepreneurs develop and grow their businesses and discussed the ways to enhance the incubation environment for budding businesses.
Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, Chief Executive Officer, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Nigeria, said: ”Through our robust network that is active in all 54 African countries, we are keen to empower entrepreneurs across our continent through our programmes, research, communities, advocacy, and convenings. We have been supporting over 10,000 African entrepreneurs over the past years. We believe that the new generation in Africa has an unlocked potential to thrive and grow.”
Dr Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Chief Innovation Officer, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, Ethiopia, said: “UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa is on a mission to support the African entrepreneurs. We have partnered with different parties to continue investing in the youth. It is our responsibilities to invest in their potential, talent, energy and enthusiasm and create the opportunity for them to help them achieve their business goals and hence contributing to the economy of Africa.”
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Mona Ataya, Chief Executive Officer, Mumzworld, UAE, commented: “We are working in 20 countries across the Middle East region, and we will continue to support entrepreneurs to follow their passion for growing their businesses. We believe that the UAE has one of the best environments to support startups, and the African business society can benefit from the Emirati experiment. We have witnessed that the government of the UAE is always supporting the business community in the country, and we hope our partners in Africa can benefit from it.”
In the session titled Connecting the Markets of Tomorrow, the panel which included the Minister of Industry and Trade of Mozambique, discussed the role of logistics and infrastructure to underpin Africa’s economic resurgence.
“We expect economic growth of 2.9% this year, as the government is focusing on sectors such as energy, infrastructure and tourism in its economic plan for the next five years. We value immensely the role of logistic and shipping services to enhance the trade flow in the country and supporting our regional trade,” said H.E. Carlos Alberto Fortes Mesquita, Minister of Industry and Trade, Mozambique.
“UPS is operating in 220 in countries and contributing 2% of the global GDP. We are excited about the opportunities that we are witnessing in Africa. The SMEs in Africa are looking for the means to sell their products around the world, especially in the countries like Rwanda and Ghana that have adapted the open market mechanisms and liberalised their cross border systems. We have started delivering goods using drones, as we believe that bringing advanced technologies to the African market is essential to boost trade flow,” said Laura Lane, Chief Corporate Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Officer, UPS USA.
“For the past years, DP World has been operating in Africa. We believe that Mozambique has rich natural resources that enable the country to build an excellent regional trade flow. Over the past four years, we have been investing $90 Million in Maputo. We are committed to continuing to invest $120 Million to expand Maputo’s port and increase its capacity, enabling Mozambique to be the trade gateway to the Sub-Saharan Africa region,” said Abdulla Bin Damithan, UAE Region CEO and Managing Director, DP World.
