Africa is alive with opportunities for the future but must exploit them by looking at how it can grow and take its place on the global stage.
This was the position of the prime minister of Rwanda, Edouard Ngirente, opening the Kigali Economic Forum to discuss Africa's role and place in the global economy on Monday.
The two-day forum convened several high-ranked officials, including secretary-general of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), Louise Mushikiwabo, and Jean-Hervé Lorenzi, the president and chairman of French think-tank, Le Cercle des économistes.
On the agenda are issues such as trade, youth employment, education, women empowerment, economic governance, climate change, technology, investment and finance.
African development will happen in a global context, presenting the continent with certain challenges.
"We are confronted, among other things, with harm and the persistent effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation in most countries, food insecurity in some corners of the world, and climate shocks that affect our populations and trade negatively,” Ngirente said.
Also mention deteriorating geopolitical relations, he said these crises have had a negative impact on the economies of African and have reduced, among other things, the GDP of countries on the continent.
As an example of the shocks to be contended with, the International Monetary Fund projected global growth at 3% in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024.
Considering that it’s been decreasing from 3.5% in 2022, the current downward trend is lower than global economic growth average of 3.8% over the last two decades.
On average, GDP figures in sub-Saharan Africa is projected at 3.3% in 2023, and 4.0% in 2024.
Ngirente added that macroeconomic fundamentals remain quite weak for the continent, citing costly financing, high inflation compared to the pre-Covid period, and high pressures on exchange rates.
