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<p>The swearing-in ceremony for the newly re-elected President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina has been concluded in Abidjan Cote div’oire. Chamberlain Peterside, CEO of Xcellon Capital Advisors joins CNBC Africa to examine Nigeria’s economic prospects and the role of development banks in building resilient economies on the continent.</p>


#AfDBAM2020: The role of development banks in building resilient African economies

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<p>Following the re-election of Dr Akinwumi Adesina as the President of the African Development Bank, he has emphasised that his second administration will build on the strong foundations of success in the past five years. Ambassador Harold Doley, First-ever United States Representative to the AfDB joins CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor to discuss what Adesina’s re-election means for AFDB’s future.</p>


#AfDBAM2020: Ambassador Harold Doley on what Adesina’s re-election means for AfDB’s future

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<p>Following his re-election with a hundred per cent votes Akinwumi Adesina will now serve as President of the African Development Bank for another five years. Amadou Hott, a Governor of the African Development Bank Representing Senegal joins CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor to discuss what next five years in office will mean for Africa&#8217;s development.</p>


#AfDBAM2020: What Adesina’s re-election means for the next phase of Africa’s development

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<p>One of the expected outcomes of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is to integrate African economies and therefore create a regional economic bloc of about $3.4 trillion. Moono Mupotola, Director for Regional Integration at the African Development Bank joins CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor to discuss how Africa can integrate its markets to take full advantage of the AfCFTA in post-COVID-19.</p>


#AfDBAM2020: AfDB on how to best integrate African markets post-COVID-19

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<p>The African Development Bank says for African countries to prepare for a post-COVID–19 world and greatly increase their resilience, governments should address structural bottlenecks that make the continent more vulnerable to future shocks. Kevin Urama, the AfDB’s Senior Director for African Development Institute joins CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor to discuss how African economies can come out better post-Covid-19.</p>


#AfDBAM2020: AfDB’s Kevin Urama on how Africa can emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis

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<p>The African Development Bank through its Industrialization Strategy for Africa looks to double the continent’s Industrial GDP over the next decade. To achieve this goal, the AfDB defined six flagship programs under the industrialization strategy. Solomon Quaynor, the AFDB’s Vice President for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization joins me to discuss some wins from the strategy so far and how Africa can rethink its industrialization targets post-COVID-19.</p>


#AfDBAM2020: How Africa can rethink industrialisation after COVID-19


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="540" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1571595826001_6109105526001_6109104149001-vs.jpg" alt="African Development Bank President denies allegations of ill-governance" class="wp-image-350957" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1571595826001_6109105526001_6109104149001-vs.jpg 960w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1571595826001_6109105526001_6109104149001-vs-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1571595826001_6109105526001_6109104149001-vs-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1571595826001_6109105526001_6109104149001-vs-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1571595826001_6109105526001_6109104149001-vs-696x392.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1571595826001_6109105526001_6109104149001-vs-747x420.jpg 747w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption>African Development Bank President denies allegations of ill-governance</figcaption></figure>



<p>A speech by Akinwumi Adesina as he stood for a second term as President of the African Development Bank:</p>



<p>&#8220;As we meet today, the world has changed. A global COVID-19 health pandemic has upended all plans including travels. Health and safety have become primary for all decision making. That’s why the Governors of the Bank took the extraordinary decision to hold the Annual Meetings virtually for the first time in the history of the Bank.</p>



<p>Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. I applaud the Governors of the Bank for your wisdom, sensitivity and leadership.</p>



<p>The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading fast and causing much havoc and untold hardships. Lives lost too many. Jobs lost unimaginable. Economic losses too deep and vast to fathom.</p>



<p>Our collective humanity has never been so challenged so tested, so vulnerable. Yet our interdependency, our need for pulling together, uniting and staying focused together,has never been more important.</p>



<p>For in unity we build strength. Strength to overcome, even the most challenging of obstacles.</p>



<p>Pulling together has always been the strength of the African Development Bank.</p>



<p>We pulled together right here in Abidjan, where you the shareholders approved the largest capital increase in the history of the Bank &#8211; raising the capital of the Bank by $115 billion.</p>



<p>We pulled together, yet again, in Pretoria, South Africa, and gave the African Development Fund 35% increase in financing &#8211; financing so crucial to low income countries and fragile states.</p>



<p>Fragility is transient, resilience is enduring.</p>



<p>Today as you look at Côte d’Ivoire, you would not remember it also was a fragile state. Yet, today, based on visionary leadership, sound macroeconomic policies and people centered policies, it has changed dramatically.</p>



<p>Today, like beauty from ashes, the country ranked among the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world, before the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>



<p>With the pandemic, Africa has lost over a decade of gains of economic growth. Africa’s recovery will be long and difficult. Now we must help Africa to build back, boldly, but smartly, paying greater attention to quality growth: health, climate and the environment.</p>



<p>Yet even in these challenging times, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank pulled together to support Africa. The Bank launched a $10 billion COVID-19 Response Facility to support African countries. We launched a $3 billion social bond on the global market &#8211; the largest US dollar denominated social bond ever in world history.</p>



<p>These actions reflect our ambition, our unshaken commitment and unyielding responsibility to support, stabilize and strengthen African economies.</p>



<p>As we stabilize nations, so also must we stabilize the Bank — our institution.</p>



<p>The past several months no doubt have been challenging for the Bank. Yet, we pulled together. I would like to sincerely thank you all, our esteemed Governors, under the excellent leadership and wisdom of the Chairperson, Minister Niale Kaba, for joining hands to steady the Bank.</p>



<p>I am proud of the African Development Bank and the strength of our governance systems.</p>



<p>I am proud of each and every shareholder of the Bank who challenged and made us all better.</p>



<p>Our experience has made us better and stronger. Our challenges, though difficult, have become our gain.</p>



<p>But it’s not been easy… I will reach out… I will engage…</p>



<p>We will HEAL…</p>



<p>Africa needs a strong and stable African Development Bank to support it through this pandemic and help its economies rebound for better, healthier lives and livelihoods for its people. And the African Development Bank needs you — our shareholders — as you always have been: united and strong. </p>



<p>Five years ago, right here in Abidjan, you elected me as President of the African Development Bank. It was such a great honor and a responsibility placed on my shoulders. I promised to work hard, to accelerate Africa’s development. My vision for the High5s was my bond — my oath of office, my compass!</p>



<p>Time has gone so fast. Fast also has been our impacts in those five years for Africa’s progress: 18 million people now have access to electricity. 141 million people have benefitted from improved agricultural technologies for food security. 15 million people have access to finance. 101 million people have access to improved transport. And 60 million people have gained access to water and sanitation.</p>



<p>I thank the Board of Directors and my extraordinary staff at the Bank for working so hard and for strongly supporting us to get this done.</p>



<p>But we will have no rest. The price of good work is more work. We have our work cut out for us —now more than ever — to help Africa rebound; and to get back on a stronger pathway of economic growth and resilience.</p>



<p>Today, I stand before you with gratefulness for your strong and collective support over the past five years.</p>



<p>We succeeded – together!</p>



<p>And together, we must also go forward, reaching for what lies before us to help fast track Africa’s development — building on our collective achievements, strengthening weaknesses and deepening our impacts.</p>



<p>At this Annual Meetings, I offer myself to you, our Governors, for your consideration for election for a second term, as President.</p>



<p>I do so, with humility.</p>



<p>I do so with a strong sense of duty and commitment and a call to serve Africa and our Bank, selflessly, to the very best of my God-given abilities. I do so with confidence in the power of our mission, the primacy of our vision — and the strength of our togetherness. </p>



<p>Together — we are stronger Together — we achieve more Together — we become resilient Together — we build a better Bank Together — we win for Africa Thank you very much</p>



<p>This speech was adapted for online, the Editor.</p>


PRST Adesina (1)

“Africa has lost a decade of growth” – Akinwumi Adesina on COVID-19

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<p>This week, the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank will be a key focus on the continent. The AfDB says Africa’s regional economic integration efforts aim to create larger, more attractive markets, link land-locked countries to international markets and support intra-African trade. So, how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected Africa’s development and regional integration agenda? Khaled Sherif, AfDB’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How COVID-19 is impacting Africa’s development & regional integration agenda

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<p>A three-member independent review panel led by former Irish President Mary Robinson says they are satisfied with the submissions of the internal probe carried out by the ethics committee of the African Development Bank, thus clearing the president of the bank, Akinwumi Adesina of all 16 allegations levelled against him by unidentified whistle-blowers in January this year, accusing him of unethical conduct and questionable appointments. Financial Derivatives CEO, Bismarck Rewane joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Independent panel clears AfDB’s Adesina of all allegations


<p>An independent review panel has exonerated Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank, of any ethical wrong doing. It clears the way for Adesina to stand for a second five-year term as president of the bank, at its annual meetings between August 25 and 27.</p>



<p>The panel was set up by the bureau of governors of the AfDB following a complaint by the United States. It included: former Irish president &nbsp;Mary Robinson; &nbsp;Hassan B Jallow, the chief justice of the supreme court of Gambia; and Leonard McCarthy, a former director of public prosecutions in South Africa.</p>



<p>The probe began in January when 16 allegations of ethical conduct were levelled by a group of whistle blowers. The allegations were reviewed first by the AfDB’s ethics committee and dismissed as frivolous and without merit. These findings were upheld by a meeting of the bank’s board of governors in May. &nbsp;</p>



<p>“It has considered the president’s submissions on their face value and find them consistent with his innocence,” the three-person panel said in a statement.</p>



<p>When Adesina was elected, in 2015, he was seen as a breath of fresh air in development finance in the continent. He had studied in the United States, the same university that produced astronaut Neil Armstrong, and slogged his way up through development work in Africa and a stint as the agriculture minister of Nigeria – the country of his birth. &nbsp;He promised action and spoke passionately about Africa</p>



<p>“When I watch on TV Africans clinging to rickety boats trying to get to Europe that is not the Africa I want to see,” says Adesina at the launch of the Africa Investment Forum, in 2018, in Johannesburg. The AIF is his brainchild and raised billions in investment in Africa. </p>



<p>“I want a new Africa that people want to come to and not move out of.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>&nbsp;On Adesina’s watch the AfDB launched a $10 billion fund to help African nations fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In June and July, Standard and Poors and Fitch Ratings gave the AfDB &nbsp;a AAA rating with a stable outlook.</p>


PRST Adesina

Adesina cleared to stand for a second term at the AfDB as probe  exonerates him


<p>At one time or another, nations and individuals confront crisis points – moments of existential challenge that also open up new possibilities. African countries, at just such a crisis point as a result of the novel coronavirus, face three possible outcomes post-pandemic: play catch-up, stand still or fall even further behind the industrialized world1.</p>



<p>With this crisis comes an economic disruption of unprecedented proportion. To avoid falling further behind, Africans must narrow the scientific and technology gap and leverage our comparative advantages. It is time for Africa to adopt radical technological and policy innovations. The global economy is increasingly driven by science-based and patent-intensive systems. Through investments in molecular technology, AI and other technologies the 4th industrial Revolution is ushering in, they can overcome existing barriers to entry.</p>



<p>Catching Up</p>



<p>India offers an example of how to catch up. There, two key developments in the sixties and seventies sharply altered the country’s trajectory.</p>



<p>In 1965, following past famines crises, India imported 250 tons of high-yielding Mexican dwarf wheat seed varieties for wide-scale testing on farms. Early positive results led to the importation of a further 18,000 tons. Along with the use of irrigation and other innovations adopted by farmers, Indian agriculture was transformed.</p>



<p>Within five years, India produced enough grains to support its population and, even following a drought in 1979, had no need to import grain. Overall, the country’s wheat and rice production tripled between 1961 and 1980. Radical policy response to famine-induced crisis birthed the Green Revolution.</p>



<p>India’s pharmaceutical sector also experienced a crisis-inflection point in 1972, when the government passed the Patents Act, which enabled domestic firms to replicate drugs that had been patented by multinational corporations. Local companies have since dominated the global market through reverse-engineering leading to generic medicines that are far more affordable than patented ones. Radical policy response to crisis-induced shortage of medicines transformed Indian Pharma.</p>



<p>Falling Behind</p>



<p>Africa processes a very small proportion of its agricultural produce. We continue to export raw commodities like cocoa, timber and cotton that others process and re-sell to Africa at a much higher valuation. Our continent also has sufficient sunlight, wind and hydropower, technologies that can power Africa sustainably, and other regions besides.</p>



<p>Critically, Africa also has a median age of 19, far younger than that of any continent, a potential demographic dividend of young innovation-driven workers and a relatively small proportion of elderly workers. This human capital will foster Africa’s forging ahead.</p>



<p>If we fail to harness new technologies and leverage our strengths to create abundant high paying manufacturing and service jobs to compete within global supply chains, then we risk falling even farther behind on socioeconomic terms.</p>



<p>Forging ahead</p>



<p>To forge ahead, Africa will first have to return swiftly to economic growth. Beyond that, diversifying our economies will be critical, particularly for those countries that are dependent on one or two mineral resources or commodities. Above all, African companies must deepen capacities for competitive advantage to master new technologies in emerging sectors.</p>



<p>African innovators need a robust innovation framework and a better enabling environment to master the so-called industrial biology embedded in the 4th Industrial Revolution. For instance, firms in Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria and some other African countries have developed COVID-19 test kits but face a difficult path to commercialization.</p>



<p>China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is once more illustrative of a dynamic industrial policy. It is targeting ambitious increases in domestic firms’ share of the global medical supplies market. The government has provided cheap land for factories subsidized loans, helps them to secure a supply chain of raw materials, and to stimulate domestic demand by incentivizing hospitals and companies to use their products.</p>



<p>And there are powerful examples right here on the continent. South Africa successfully financed the production of The National Ventilator Project to address COVID-19, developing prototypes, securing component supply chains, and a manufacturing facility. The project owes its success in part to strong government support and broad coordination among economic and technological agencies. As with South Africa, the rest of the continent would benefit from strong innovation systems that are part of national budgeting and planning frameworks.</p>



<p>African businesses have a critical role to play, but so do African leaders, who must strike a delicate balance between state intervention and open markets. African governments are best placed to identify market failures and opportunities, and devise policies and regulations that benefit Africa’s private sector and its people.</p>



<p>Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, is the Senior Special Adviser on Industrialization to the President, AfDB, he is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering and Professorial Fellow, United Nations University.</p>


IMG_0029

OPINION: COVID-19 – will Africa catch up, stand still or fall further behind?

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<p>Earlier this month Tanzania attained lower-middle income status from low income, five years early. Since then, the African Development Bank Group has predicted the country will be registering the highest economic growth in the region for 2020, while some countries are projected to decline into recession due to the crisis. CNBC Africa spoke to Ivan Tarimo, Partner at Bankable Tanzania on the main attributions to Tanzania’s promising outlook.</p>


Here’s what’s behind Tanzania’s positive growth outlook amidst COVID-19


<p>A tribute to Cote d&#8217;Ívoire Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly by Akinwumi A. Adesina, Président, African Development Bank</p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>July 8 was all like every normal day, focused on work. I had no inkling there would be a storm, even though we have weathered many storms and floods in Abidjan in recent times. Like a jolting bolt of thunder, everything changed when my wife, Grace, called my attention to a news item that the Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly had died. I told her this couldn’t be true as he just came back and as far as I knew he was fine.<br><br>I quickly went to look at the news. I had not seen any official confirmation. I made frantic calls. Alas! Amadou Gon had died indeed. What a tragedy! This was a storm with massive lightening like no other. I couldn’t control my sadness. This man who had served his nation so loyally and with such dignity has passed on, while at work.<br><br>My thoughts went to his dear wife and family who have been thrown into sorrow, suddenly. My mind went to President Alassane Ouattara, to whom he was a beloved son, a loyal partner and confidant for some 30 years. My mind went to the government of Côte d’Ivoire, and the nation where I lived for 5 years in the 1990s and now for another 5 years so far as President of the African Development Bank. A beautiful nation whom Amadou Gon served dutifully, diligently, passionately and faithfully until his last breath.<br><br>Amadou Gon was an exemplary leader. He was my friend. I remember calling him while in Paris. I was concerned about him and although we had exchanged messages, I still was not satisfied. I wanted to hear his voice. We spoke. I was very happy he was well.<br><br>Amadou Gon deserved to be well. He was such a great champion of programs to accelerate the development of his country. He carried the vision of the President and the government wholeheartedly into every meeting, into every discussion. We met very often, and every time I was always amazed at how this very humble and serious minded public servant always put the development of his country first.<br><br>He worked very closely with the African Development Bank. He visited the Bank several times and took great interest in all matters that affect the Bank. He worked so hard with the Bank and several development partners to bring life to the social development policy of the government.<br><br>A humble man. A selfless man. A faithful man. A shining light. We met and spoke together on several forums around the world: on the plane, at airports, in high level forums and summits. My impression of him was the same: calm; wise; insightful. A man of few words, whose every word was always well honed for impact. He spoke always from his heart. An he had a heart of gold.<br><br>My heartfelt condolences go to his dear wife and family, and his aged mother. May God comfort them. My heartfelt condolences go to President Allassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. Mr. Président, you have lost your closest ally and confidant, who served you and his nation faithfully until his last breath, working for the good of Côte d’Ivoire. May God comfort you, the government and good people of Côte d’Ivoire.<br><br>My dear brother, Amadou Gon, thank you for your friendship. I was looking forward to us meeting again, in our usual warm brotherly embrace, to chat on your favorite topic: development of Côte d’Ivoire. But Alas! That is no longer to be. I guard emotions and memories of your life &#8211; your great life; and dedication and contributions to your nation. Thank you Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly. Thank you my dear friend and brother, Amadou Gon. Rest well. You will be sorely missed.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>


Akinwumi Adesina pays tribute to  Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly

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<p>Updated forecasts from the African Development Bank show that Africa’s growth is expected to rebound to 3 per cent by 2021 from a 3.4 per cent contraction in 2020 in the worst-case-scenario. Hanan Morsy, Director for Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research at the AfDB joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


AfDB forecasts Africa’s growth in 2021

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<p>According to the African Development Bank’s revised African Economic Outlook, though the continent is expected to rebound next year; it could lose a quarter of a trillion dollars in economic output for the rest of this year and 2021. Nnenna Nwabufo, Acting Director-General of East Africa Regional Office at the AfDB joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


AfDB’s Nnenna Nwabufo on how COVID-19 has impacted African economies

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<p>The African Development Bank says an additional 49 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty by the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. This was in the updated forecast of the Africa Economic Outlook, where they expect Central Africa and West Africa to be the hardest-hit regions. Kayode Akindele, Partner at TIA Capital joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How COVID-19 could condemn millions of Africans into extreme poverty


<p></p>



<p>On the largely virtual Africa Day celebrations, in May, the current African Union Chair&nbsp; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke of “a new Africa”.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As the continent battles a mounting Pandemic crisis is this is simply more empty political rhetoric which tends to get dusted off every Africa Day or will a better Africa emerge from the flames of Covid-19? If so what will this “new Africa” actually look like?&nbsp;</p>



<p>President Ramaphosa believes the Covid-19 pandemic has started to create a unity that Africa aspires to but which has all so often proved elusive:&nbsp;</p>



<p>“Day by day, across our continent, we are seeing the unity that is our strength being put to the service of saving lives and supporting the vulnerable.&#8221;</p>



<p>In webinar after webinar there’s no doubt that many African business and political leaders share President Ramaphosa’s optimism. They sense this pandemic really is a turning point to bring about the change everyone on the continent is so hungry to see.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The Nigerian entrepreneur Tony Elumelu says “the pandemic presents an opportunity to reset Africa, create employment and eliminate poverty”:</p>



<p>“Africa must embrace the new normal. The disruptions we’ve seen across healthcare, logistics, supply chain, and the digital economy are here to stay. This presents a unique opportunity for a united Africa as a strong regional bloc acting in a coordinated fashion”.</p>



<p>He has called for a Marshall plan to galvanise the entire continent and mobilise people and resources to address Africa’s needs. That is also the conclusion of The African Union’s Special Envoy on Covid-19 Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala:</p>



<p>“We can see this pandemic as an opportunity for the continent. We have to specialise our countries to manufacture the things we need so we can trade with others. We need to produce good jobs for our young people and empower our women and youths and put them at the centre”</p>



<p>Several of these themes have also been expressed in many African-related webinars. There is much talk about how this Covid-19 crisis has smashed international supply chains and how the future is now regional. There are many calls for investment to encourage African SMEs to create local supply chains in their communities to boost employment.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While Africa hasn’t yet suffered the ravages of the Pandemic on the scale that has hit countries like the UK and USA, the impact has still been devastating. Economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa is on course by contract by 2.8% this year, the deepest on record. The collapse in oil prices has hit Africa’s second and third&nbsp; largest economies- Nigeria and Angola- hard, while the collapse of tourism and a drop in demand for agricultural exports to Europe have&nbsp; devastated economies from Kenya and Ethiopia to Cote D’Ivoire, Mauritius and the Seychelles.&nbsp;</p>



<p>South Africa, the continent’s largest and most developed economy, is expected to experience its deepest recession for a century with a 7.1% contraction in output.</p>



<p>Covid-19 cases are now present in every African country. African leaders have come together quickly to help each other fight the pandemic. In contrast to countries like the US and the UK they saw the risk early.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Within days of the first case being reported in Egypt African Union Chair Ramaphosa called a meeting of African Union leaders, and he put his own South Africa into lockdown before a single death had been recorded. Now African Health and Finance Ministers meet every week in virtual conference to co-ordinate their response and share intelligence with the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>



<p>Cameroon has sent planes to the DRC to help that country get medical support its more remote areas, the African Development Bank has denoted $4 million to South Sudan to bolster its fragile health system, while the African Union has launched a medical supplies platform for all 54 African countries. This is designed to make medical supplies, test kits and protective equipment available across the continent.</p>



<p>It feels a much better response than we’ve seen in many countries in the global north and President Ramphosa says he believes this collaboration can form the beginnings of a more united Africa in a post-Covid-19 world.&nbsp;</p>



<p>He’s assembled an all-star team of senior Africa leaders who are already working on plans to implement the lessons of the crisis and rebuild Africa’s damaged economies. Leaders like the former Head of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka and the former Nigerian Finance Chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala see economic integration as a long overdue remedy to many of the continent’s economic woes and essential to developing a strong manufacturing base.</p>



<p>One key component of this plan will be the African Continental Free Trade Area which will be launched early next year to create the largest free trade area in the world, worth three trillion dollars with a market of more than a billion people.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The expectation is that this free trade area will encourage African manufacturers to trade with their neighbours, develop industrialisation, and reduce the traditional dependency on goods imported from outside the continent.&nbsp;</p>



<p>SMEs currently account for 90% of all businesses in Africa. Any transformation is going to require support for this sector through investment and training. These SMEs will be given training and financing to deliver solutions for Africa across manufacturing, healthcare, energy, digital innovation, infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There are more than 600 Tech Innovation hubs across Africa. Africa’s digital revolution will emerge from them, especially in the sectors of e-commerce, distance learning for schools and universities to train better educated populations, and big opportunities in renewables and energy infrastructure to start plugging the continent’s electricity deficit.</p>



<p>Agribusiness is also thought to be ripe for investment. With the opportunity to move more and more of African’s millions of farmers from subsistence to commercial enterprises, there’s no reason why Africa can’t become the world’s bread basket.</p>



<p>The Covid-19 crisis has also brought about a realisation that Africa has great opportunities in health care. Africa currently imports most of its ventilators, masks and personal protective equipment for its doctors and nurses. It also imports almost 100% of its drugs and medicines to the tune of $15 billion a year. There are massive opportunities here for African companies to produce many of these materials, create generic drugs and local supply chains.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I’ve seen many more blueprints for the future of Africa in webinar discussions during this long lockdown. What unites them all is a general agreement that when we finally emerge from this pandemic&nbsp; it mustn’t be back to “business as usual.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Peter Burdin is the former Africa editor for the BBC. </p>


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