Africa Needs Industrialization to Lead its Development Transformation – Alan Kyerematen

Company News of Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Source: GNA

2019-02-13

Mr. Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry, said that Africa should pursue industrialization as a strategic agenda of transformation to promote the economic development of Africa and Africa. his population.

He added that Africa must therefore badociate its industrialization program with the training and capacity building of the population, by strengthening its infrastructure to contribute to the realization of this program.

Mr Kyerematen said that it was therefore necessary to identify the roles of governments and the private sector in transforming the continent's development.

He added that governments should also deliberately try to form strategic partnerships with Germany in order to contribute to the transformation agenda.

Mr Kyeremanten was speaking as a panelist at the Third German-African Business Summit (GABS), which is currently being held in Accra.

GABS should create an overview of current developments, long-term trends as well as specific opportunities and risks in individual markets.

He said Africa needed to make a strategic decision on its development, as most developed countries first made it clear where they wanted to go.

"Now, I think if we want to transform Africa, we want to determine the kind of skills needed for this transformation, and on the clarity of what is required, I will want to vote for industrialization," said Mr Kyerematen. .

"Because once we decide that Africa's path to transformation is industrialization, the skills development agenda will be tied to that context."

He said that in Ghana, the government had identified the auto industry as one of the strategic pillars of growth and was therefore working on skills development in this sector, which informs the institutions of the economy. teaching the content and quality of skills required.

Mr Kyerematen said that Africa could do the same by identifying and agreeing on priority areas, then examining the role of government in terms of skills development and the role of the private sector, so that both can work together to to advance this program.

He also supported other speakers on the need for Africa to adopt digitization, technology and innovation, essential tools belonging to countries like Germany and France. from other countries to take advantage of its development.

Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister of Enterprise Development, said that Africa should also provide training in the field of technical and vocational education by redefining the curriculum to allow students from primary to tertiary to acquire these skills. to work effectively.

Mr. Valentin Ela Maye, Deputy Minister of Finance, Economy and Planning of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, said that Africa must borrow the tools of developed countries to find its many potential for transformation. economic.

Ms. Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz, Global General Manager of Public Services at SAP SE, advised Africa to keep up with education and digitization as essential tools for the transformation.

Gerd Muller, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, said his government would make a significant contribution to promoting business partnerships between Germany and African partner countries.

"We have therefore created a billion-euro investment fund to mitigate risks for German companies investing in Africa and help African small and medium-sized businesses grow."

All panellists agreed that Africa needed to add value to its raw materials in order to become an exporter of refined materials while giving critical attention to the private sector.

The initiative of the German companies in sub-Saharan Africa (SAFRI) hosts the GABS, which involves more than 500 German and African people and companies.

The summit would also be an opportunity to maintain existing business contacts and to make contacts with new partners.