The president of the African Development Bank has called on African countries to move away from subsistence economics and focus on industrialisation
Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa, AfDB President Donald Kaberuka said, “The African economy which largely depends on the exploitation of natural resources should move on to become a transformation economy.”
Kaberuka said Africa had not protected itself from the global economic crisis, despite boasting an average economic growth rate of about 6 per cent, and that the continent was not as resilient as it was in 2008 in resisting external shocks.
World Economic Forum on Africa co-chair Tidjane Thiam, who also works as group chief executive at UK firm Prudential, told delegates, “We are engaged in a dialogue with the public sector. There is a lot of capital available in the world. The challenge is how to organise a pipeline of bankable projects and the risks that go with it.”
AfDB head Kaberuka, who assumed office in 2005, remarked that the continent should improve the way it manages its natural resources in order to create more wealth, attract investment and generate employment.
Kaberuka noted that African states should also put more effort in taking advantage of the current salary increases taking place across Asia, as well as focusing on expanding its economic growth base to benefit poorer sections of society.
