The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) took part in the African Forum of Investments and Business at the invitation of the Government of Algeria in recognition of its capacity development coordinating role on the continent. The Forum ran from 3 to 5 December in Algiers.
The Forum which brought together over 3000 delegates representing the business community, top government officials, development partners, and representatives of international organisations, amongst others is aimed at boosting trade and intra-African partnerships by providing a platform for exchanging and examining the major economic opportunities on the continent.
The Forum was organised amidst concerns of volatile and declining economic performance reflecting various challenges common to the majority of African countries. These challenges include high dependency on exports of primary commodities, low levels of economic diversification, infrastructure deficits, youth unemployment, inter alia. There has hence been a strong call towards economic transformation.
ACBF, represented by its director for Knowledge Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Thomas Munthali, was one of the key speakers at the Forum.
ACBF’s key message was simple but powerful: “Without paying attention to the capacity required to transform the continent, attracting meaningful private investment will be a challenge.”
The continent needs to prioritize and allocate adequate resources for capacity development aimed at economic transformation. Specifically, capacity is required to enhance productivity, technology enhancement, economic diversification, and international competitiveness.
Critical to transformation is the leadership, human and institutional capacity. Apart from the political will necessary for creating the conducive economic transformation environment, the private sector itself should join bilateral, multilateral and African governments in supporting capacity building efforts. This is especially important with regard to developing the critical technical skills and supporting intra-African peer-to-peer learning.
The three day event which was organised by the Algerian Government in partnership with the Business Leaders Forum (FCE) included thematic plenary sessions, workshops, and experience-sharing sessions on key topics such as infrastructure, energy, food security, ICT and entrepreneurship.
