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After a bumpy start to the decade, African economies have stabilized since 2023 and shown resilience and adaptability in the face of an unpredictable global environment, according to President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
President Akufo-Addo highlighted that Ghana’s economy “has rebounded, with an average GDP of 3.2% for the first nine months of 2023, compared to 2.9% within the same period in 2022.”
He added that, with the exchange rate becoming increasingly more stable, and interest rates softening, it is safe and right to say that “we have, indeed, turned the corner and can look forward to attaining a more resilient, transformed economy.”
Across the African continent, he said, average growth “estimated at 3.8% in 2022, stabilised at 4.1% in 2023, and is forecasted to reach 4.3% in 2024.”
On Tuesday, January 16, 2023, President Akufo-Addo addressed heads of state and the global business community at the Timbuktoo: Unleashing Africa’s Startup Revolution event, which was held in Davos, Switzerland, on the fringes of the World Economic Forum.
He was also quick to point out that the youthful demographics of the continent offer enormous potential for future development and innovation, which helps to explain why investors and entrepreneurs are gravitating toward it.
He was pleased to say that “most countries on the continent are certainly moving in the right direction,” even though he acknowledged the numerous obstacles that must be overcome in order to realize the potential of the continent.
“Indeed, for many African leaders, our foremost challenge now, and over the short term, is to ensure that we put in place the right structures to enable young Africans create innovative and compelling businesses that can contribute significantly to job creation and sustainable economic growth,” he said.
With such focus on job creation, primarily due to Africa’s 1.3 billion people, which is expected to double up to 2.5 billion by 2050, President Akufo-Addo added that, “Africa has the youngest population in the world, according to the U.N., with some sixty percent of the population under the age of twenty-five.”
According to President Akufo-Addo, a number of underserved industries and low market penetration have combined to create the continent’s exciting growth potential, which is already drawing investors and entrepreneurs.
Despite outperforming its South American counterparts, he claimed that Sub-Saharan Africa alone will require about US$574 billion yearly until 2030 to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to the devastating effects of COVID-19.
However, he was hopeful that, “with initiatives like Timbuktoo, all of us, governments, the private sector and international partners, must ensure the pan-African startup ecosystem is supported with the right legal frameworks, systems and deal pipelines for us to realise not only a demographic dividend, but also create a platform for funding ground-breaking solutions to some of the most critical problems plaguing the Continent.”
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
