African Leadership magazine

Leadership Afric n

Afric n Leadership Magazine

...A Publication of The African Leadership Organization

Ken Giami Founder & Executive Chairman

Group Managing Editor - Kingsley Okeke editor@africanleadership.co.uk

Editor - Kembet Bolton kembet@africanleadeship.co.uk

Head of Creatives - Joseph Akuboh A.

Editorial Board

Peter Burdin, London UK - Chair Nwandi Lawson, Atlanta USA - Member

Simon Kolawole, Lagos Nigeria - Member

Peter Ndoro, SABC EditorJohannesburg - Member

Frenny Jowi, Nairobi Kenya - Member

Brig. Gen. SK Usman Rtd., Abuja Nigeria - Member David Morgan, Washington DC USA - Member

Furo Giami - Chief Operating Officer / Executive Director

Boma Benjy - Iwuoha - Group Head, Finance & Administration

Sasha Caton - Manager, UK & European Operations

Ehis Ayere - Group Head, Sales & Business Development

Izuchukwu Samuel Ukandu - Manager, Client Relations & Partnerships

Amana Alkali - Executive Assistant to the Chairman

Samuel M. Elaikwu - Manager, Sales & Business Developments

Happy Benson - Director of Operations North America

Christy Ebong - Head, Research & Admin - North America

Stanley Emeruem - Business Development Managers

Muna Jallow - West African Rep for The Gambia and Senegal

Oluwatoyin Oyekanmi - Head, South African Bureau

Bernard Adeka - Head, Nigeria SS/SE

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ISSN 2006 - 9332

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...Identifying, Celebrating & Enabling Excellence in Africa

H.E. JOHN MAHAMA Fmr. President of Ghana

“It is always an honour to be in the companyofsuchdistinguishedfellow Africans, that the African Leadership Magazine events bring togetherAfricans who have committed their lives to changing the negative narrativeaboutourcontinent.”

H.E. MRS. AMEEN GURIB-FAKIM Fmr. President of Mauritius

“It is very gratifying that we now have an organization like African Leadership Magazine, which endeavors to promote good governance and impactful leadership in Africa - bring the best of Africa to theglobalstages.”

DR. GOODLUCK JONATHAN Fmr. President of Nigeria

“African Leadership Magazine has become a brand for Africa and I am pleased to be associated with it especially because of the caliber of AfricanLeadersonitʼsboard.”

JOHN KUFOUR Fmr. President of Ghana

“I believe people are more important than power and anything that promotes good people and leadership is what we need in Africa, and that is what African Leadership Magazineisdoing.”

H.E. JAMES A MICHEL Fmr. President of Seychelles

“I wish to express my sincere thanks and deep appreciation to the African Leadership Magazine for the work that it is doing on the continent, and especially in advancing the cause of small Islands Developing states, Any effort aimed at increasing the visibility of the good workbeing done by leadership in Africa does positively impact on the continent and that is what the African Leadership Magazineisdoing.”

“I am delighted to be associated with the sterling work that the African Leadership Magazine is doing on the continent. Democratic governance is the elephant in the room, and the continent needs to reaccess its governance systems. The agenda on global sustainable development shows that Africans are lagging behind. Africa will need to reinvent its governance system with its youth growingpopulation.”

H.E. ERNEST BAI KOROMA Fmr. President of Sierra Leone

H.E.

WHAT NOTABLE LEADERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AFRICAN LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE

MRS. ELLEN JOHNSON - SIRLEAF Nobel Peace Prize Winner & Fmr. President, Republic of Liberia

“I feel deeply honored to be associated with the African Leadership Magazine as it is a veritable platform to honor true service in Africa. I commend your efforts and assure you of my continued support and the support ofthegoodpeopleofLiberia.”

H.E JAKAYA KIKWETE Fmr. President of Tanzania

“African Leadership Magazine is doing a wonderful job of speaking for Africa and Africans. The magazine remain a good example of what young people in Africa can do in the world. Best wishes in keeping the Africandreamalive.”

H.E DAVID MABUZA Deputy President Republic of South Africa

“It is an honour to participate at this African Leadership Magazine's 2020 Ceremony, and I commend the magazine's focus to reshape positively, the dominant narratives about the African continent, especially towards the pursuit of peace-building and democracy on thecontinent”

“I thank you so much, African Leadership Magazine for the great work that you are doing for the continent. Your tradition of awarding excellence as I have seen in the line up of African Leaders who have received the African Leadership Awards, is something ver y commendable”

DR. MO IBRAHIM Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation

“The future of African people and improving the quality of Leadership on the African continent is my vision and I find in African Leadership Magazine - a true partner I am also happy that the African Leadership Awards is doing at a lower level, what I intend to achieve at the Head of State level. That is why I flew to Paris just to be a part of what you are doing here at the African Leadership Magazine”

MO DEWJI Tanzania Businessman & Philanthropist

“The African Leadership Awards truly captures the essence of my message which is that, success shouldnʼt be solely defined by wealth. It should be about the positive impact and influence that one has had in his community”

DR. AKINWUMI ADESINA President, African Development Bank

African Leadership Magazine (ALM) has concluded its first-ever International Forum on African-Caribbean Leadership (IFAL) with five Heads of states from Africa and the Caribbean region attending and calling for greater cooperation among the nations and peoples of both regions. The forum, which took place on the margins of the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the iconic Harvard Club of New York City, also brought together over 250 business, political and social justice leaders to debate issues ranging from climate action, reparations, food security, trade and defence, among others.

The five heads of states who also addresses the forum included H.E. Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana; H.E. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; H.E. Dr. Terrance M. Dew, Prime Minister, St. Kitts And Nevis, HE Philip J. Pierre, Prime Minister of St. Lucia and HE Adama Barrow, President of The Gambia, ably represented by the Gambia Minister of Foreign Affairs. The event was therefore truly an opportunity for the regional leaders to build strategic partnerships, bilateral cooperation, as well as increase engagements in trade and investments, innovation and technology transfer, culture and tourism, and other sectors. The theme of the programme was - Redefining Trans-regional Cooperation for Sustainable Peace and Development.

The forum, which also featured two high-level panel sessions on the current state of governmental and economic policies impacting social institutions in Africa and the Caribbean countries, with three experts as panellists, namely- Van McCormick, Executive Director, International Economic Alliance (Havard); Hon Marlo Oaks, Treasurer- State of Utah; and Mr. Nathan Estruth, Former Vice President, Procter & Gamble. The second panel session took a different turn with focus on “Viewing the World from the Lens of Regional/Domestic National Security with Gen (rtd) William “Kip” Ward, Former Commander of US AFRICOM and US Colonel Sergio Do La Pena (fmr0 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere, US Department of Defence as expert panellists.

The events also had a special awards presentation ceremony to honour and recognise African leaders who have distinguished themselves excellently in business and public service, as well as contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of their communities. The honourees during the International Forum on African-Caribbean Leadership (IFAL) included Mr.

Hanan Abdul-Wahab, CEO, National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) Ghana who received the African Business Leadership Commendation Award in Food Security; H.E. Mário Augusto Caetano João, Minister of Economy and Planning, Angola who received the African Public Service Excellence Award; and Barr. Mrs Vickie Anwuli Irabor, President of the Defense and Police Officers' Wives Association (DEPOWA) who received the SDG Advocacy & Mental Health Leadership Award. The other honorees included Mr Wilfred Matukeni, CEO, National Oil Infrastructure Company, Zimbabwe who received the African Business Leadership Excellence Award; and Mr José de Lima Massano, Governor, National Bank of Angola who received the African Public Service Leadership Excellence Award.

The International Forum on African-Caribbean Leadership (IFAL) is an ALM flagship event held annually on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly to bring leaders together in setting policy direction and as a peer review mechanism. Over the years, the event has become a platform that connects world leaders, especially from Africa, policymakers and private sector players with focus on the challenges and the progress of the African people. This forum which has been running for eight years and primarily focused on African leaders was expanded in scope for the first time to include Caribbean nations in a bid to strengthen trans-regional cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean nations.

Nana Akufo-Addo President of Ghana

Leadership In Difficult Times

The majority of countries around the world have experienced the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War. and. Ghana is no exception.

But this West African country has demonstrated a remarkable economic resilience. Rated as the most attractive market for trade and investments in West Africa by Fitch, Ghana is on a trajectory to become the next economic miracle in the subregion.

In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK, the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, he talks about his vision for Ghana, and his principles regarding leadership.

Not too long ago, you were unanimously voted across all shades of thought as the African political leader of the year. And one year after, we feel vindicated because youʼve kept your vision, stuck to your promise, and pursued your mandate. Our readers want to know, what are those guiding principles underpinning your political journey for the few decades youʼve been in public office?

First, a huge thank you to you and your readers for what I can only call an elevation and recognition that you have given me and the work we have been trying to do here in Ghana. The idea that it was unanimous is particularly gratifying. Itʼs incredible that everybody who spoke agreed with what we are doing here in Ghana. So thatʼs the first thing to express my gratitude and the fact that these developments and this assessment humble me. The reasons why I went into politics have stayed the same. They coalesce around two or three fundamental ideas. I found that the Ghanaian people will develop faster and with a better quality of life if they develop within democratic institutions and create a political system where democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and principles of democratic accountability. This will provide the

I've always been very animated by the statements of the British Prime Minister and the great war-time leader, Winston Churchill, when he said, "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others", And that has been very much my philosophy.

best context in which we can harness and mobilize the energies of our people to move from the underdevelopment stage to the stage of prosperity. That is the fundamental premise which has guided everything that I do. The wealth of ideas allowed me to participate in the movements against military rule in our country and to insist that the best government we could have was the democratic system.

Iʼve always been very animated by the statements of the British Prime Minister on the war, and the great war leader, Winston Churchill, when he said, “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” And that has been very much my philosophy. So thatʼs the first thing. The second is also in believing that the entrepreneurial capabilities of the Ghanaian people, their ability to innovate, their ability to create their ability to design things for themselves, also offered the best solution to economic growth and development in our country. That the

market is essentially the more efficient way of developing any economy rather than central planning, the socialist fabric that we saw in the 20th century was condemned as inefficient. And for that to happen, you will need a government that has a clear idea of the role of government in developing such a market. And then thirdly, of course, the whole business of fairness and creating opportunity. We live in a society where as a result of poverty or complicated economic difficulties, people are frozen out of some necessities, access to education and health. Then, of course, the basic things, water and the rest, didnʼt create an atmosphere where you could mobilize the energies of all the people. We want to create a political, social, and economic system that will allow everybody willing to participate to the best of their abilities and talents and see what they can do to raise the social product. So those principles have guided me in my journey all these 14-plus years. Iʼve been on the frontline of political activity in Ghana, and going into the

office, as if anything else, reinforced my attachment to these principles. Iʼve seen that if you want us to be a state and a society that is performing and is capable of delivery for all the citizens, we have to adopt democracy in its proper form. One with respect for the rule of law, human rights, and the principles of democratic accountability for a market- driven and market-led economy. A society where we count on the energies of people, that entrepreneurial ability, and then a community which emphasizes creating conditions of fairness and opportunities for every citizen.

Those principles that have guided my political career have been reinforced during my five years in office. These compelling principles will enable our country to take off, confront the under-development issue, and move into prospects. That more or less encapsulates everything that Iʼve been, and of course, the overarching business of where we are as Africans - And insists that whatever we do, we should be conscious of where we are in history. The years of exploitation and being used to benefit other people, our resources, be used to benefit other people that, not ourselves, we should also consciously come to grips with that, do something about it, and change it. My slogan and mantra all these years has been to create a Ghana beyond aid. We understand that weʼre a country with the resources that we do on a continent that has the resources that all of us as Africans have and that that content should be dependent on handouts and acts of charity from the significant parts of the West. For me, Iʼve always needed to understand the logic of that. We should be able to create our prosperity and surpluses and depend on ourselves to build our society. So these principles have been the values that have driven my political career. And they continue to be the values that move me, as I say, in these years of the presidency

The COVID Pandemic hit nations, and many countries couldnʼt withstand it. Ghana was among the

few countries that didnʼt go into recession. And you have consistently said that you need to invest in those critical infrastructures that will prepare us better for you.

What are the lessons learned? And what do you think African leaders, of course, Ghana, but African leaders should do to prepare for the pandemics of the future? I

This has to be one of the most important questions facing all of us at this stage. The lessons from the COVID pandemic are not straightforward, but they stare you in the face. Firstly, when the pandemic erupted, we immediately needed to decide what to do to protect our population from the worst aspects of it. The decisions that we took were all directly within our hands. One became standard procedure elsewhere, closing the airports in our borders, insisting on small gatherings, making it difficult for certain kinds of activities to occur, and even initially, closing our schools. All these were decisions that were, once those decisions been taken. Some degree of stability has been brought to the rate of spreading of the disease of the virus, then came the question of how you then act, ultimately, long-term deal with the virus. And that is where we got our first major shock. To find out that vaccine development that has taken place in the developed world was not available to us was unacceptable. This was the period of so-called vaccine nationalism, where a few countries in the world that could

make the vaccines were in the position to hoard the vaccines and say that they had to deal with the sustenance of their populations before they could turn to others. And in the meantime, we were scrambling and unable to find vaccines for us. And then, sadly, it opened up another area, which was to see our old system; where were the deficiencies in our public health system? And therefore, What decisions did we need to take to plug those deficiencies, reverse them and get us a stronger public health system? Ghana, for instance, was the first country in the world to access COVAX initiatives. It allowed them because it became obvious to those who have to study this thing that our public health system could handle the distribution of these vaccines. We have a relatively robust public health system. Itʼs been built over several generations and was ramped up, especially at the time of the Ebola crisis, where our system learned many lessons from handling mass epidemics. So when those became more and more available, it eased the issue of vaccine dissemination. It became clear that if we cannot manufacture and produce our vaccines, we might be doomed the next time something happens. when you listen to the scientists and the commentators on these pandemics, theyʼre telling us that in the 21st century, we have entered the era of pandemics. The next time, our situation could be even worse and more precarious. So that was a vital lesson for us. And we began

We should be able to create our prosperity and surpluses and depend on ourselves to build our society. So these principles have been the values that have driven my political career. And they continue to be the values that move me, as I say, in these years of the presidency.

immediately to put together the mechanism for managing these issues.

We have a vaccine development committee in the process of being transformed into a National Vaccine Institute that is actively planning to establish facilities here in Ghana that will enable us to have our vaccines. So thatʼs a critical aspect of it. And in so doing, we want to build a medical health advisory containment service here in Ghana as part of the new ecosystem that

we want to develop. So thatʼs one important event; this will not just be the COVID vaccines that we are looking at. Weʼre looking at being able to produce; weʼre told that now, the world is virtually on the verge of a vaccine that will be effective against malaria. And you can imagine malaria for all of us on the continent continues to be a major menace, and then against tuberculosis, you have had to sneak serums. All of these are going to be the hotspots of vaccines that we

intend to be able to produce for ourselves here. And our mechanism is not necessarily state-centred. We want to have private Ghanaian entrepreneurs, with the stateʼs support, able to do this development. And thatʼs the pathway to take. The other is our infrastructure. Halfway through the last year, I asked for a report on our district hospitals and to what extent district hospitals in the country sufficiently serve the population of our country. To my big surprise, it

was like a kick in the guts to me; while I was told initially that 88 We have 260 districts in Ghana, these are the administrative units on which the state system is built, 88 of them did not have any district hospitals at all. Subsequently, with more inquiry, it was, it became raised to 101. One hundred and one districts in the country do not have any district hospitals. Other issues had to be dealt with, like we have new regions in Ghana today, they donʼt have their regional hospitals, and then the psychiatric hospitals that we have the one in Accra, and thereʼs none in the rest of the country. So we put it all together and said to ourselves, weʼre now going to see how we could build 111 hospitals in the country; we call it agenda 111. Agenda 111, whereby, hopefully, within the next 18 months, weʼll have been able to build hospitals in the 101 districts, the six or seven regional hospitals, etc. But that is also the other great lesson: the need to facilitate access to hospitals. When diseases hit, the first thing you think about, as an ordinary person, is what hospital you can get to faster. Now, we see that almost half the country doesnʼt have easy access; they have to go long distances to be able to get to

obtain health services, which isnʼt good enough. For us, it doesnʼt fit in with the idea of fairness; it doesnʼt fit in with the idea of opportunity for everybody. So that commitment, too, is the other major commitment that we have made as a result of COVID - agenda 111, and we own it. Fortunately, in 88 districts, the land has been tested for suitability, and the contractors are now systematically going on board. You can imagine how tough it is to discuss land in a country like Ghana. However, God willing, Touchwood, most of them are being sorted out as we speak now

We are about to unveil the next African Leadership Person of the Year, which has become an annual tradition for the ALO; what will be your message to the next award winner?

Well, itʼs a difficult button because it means that the eyes of the continent are on you as if youʼre chosen for such an honour. It means that you are at the centre of everybodyʼs examination and scrutiny. And that, yes, we political leaders, especially presidents, are used to it when it becomes even more intense scrutiny

Other issues needed to be dealt with as we have new regions in Ghana today that do not have their own regional hospitals. And we only have one psychiatric hospitals located in Accra. There are none in the rest of the country.

P A G E

Top Secrets of Smart Investors In Africa

The African Continent has many business opportunities with many success stories from different investors to attest to this.

While many people look at Africa, and all they see are problems and challenges like hunger, disease, unemployment, illiteracy, waste, financial exclusion, inadequate electricity, and a long list of other negatives, some smart investors are taking advantage of the continent's natural and human resources.

According to the International Monetary Fund's IMF's recent World Economic Outlook, six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa. And by 2050, the continent's economy could quadruple its current size and be worth up to 29 trillion Dollars.

Africa's journey to economic growth would create so many winners as smart and successful investors like that of China and India.

Most investors that are currently building fortunes in Africa have a unique perspective on the African continent. They see Africa differently

These investors have some top secrets that have made their businesses thrive in the African Environment.

As strange as it may sound, while most people are irritated and frustrated by the problems of Africa, the entrepreneurs and investors who are building a fortune and impacting lives in Africa are excited and inspired by these tough

problems.

They see problems differently, the entrepreneurs who are succeeding in Africa apply their creativity and innovation to solve tough problems in a way that makes money, creates jobs, and positively impacts people's lives, because they have seen that Africa is a market that overwhelmingly rewards problem-solvers.

Therefore, the bigger the problems you can solve, the higher the potential rewards you get.

Again, investors have seen that African markets are progressively being seen as open for business and regardless of perceptions of eminent risks, the continent is not different from other continents in terms of progress in business .

One major secret of African investors is recognising that every country in Africa is unique, and to do business and succeed, every single country needs to be understood in its entirety.

Also, appreciating local players, receiving support from local experts and building strong local partnerships are among the success secrets of African investors.

Collaborating with various organizations, cooperating with all levels of government, joining forces with the investment world and building strong relationships with all of them are some of the successful and top secrets of African investors.

In general, African investors have realised that investing in people, especially in Africa's youth population is another way to successfully deal with and reap positively in the continent.

Everyone knows about Africa's potential, created by the population explosion, the demographic profile of the population and the commodities.

Investors with insight saw that Africa's young population could offer a tremendous comparative advantage in years to come that

could propel the continent forward as a dynamic and productive engine of growth for the entire world.

They have also learnt to focus on the positive sides of the continent. Africa has many positive sides, from its youth population which is also part of its human resources, to its vast land for agricultural purposes and progress, its oil and gas sector and even the tech that is springing up speedily

Being patient and persistent, with the African people and their environment is another secret that can not be overlooked.

African investors are aware that in dealing with the continent, they need more patience. The African markets can be unstable and time horizons might not always be effective. Even highly sophisticated companies sometimes re-evaluate their business plans, just as Nestle did in 21 African countries last year

Many countries also have deficits. These gaps will need to be filled by smart and resourceful investors who can bring more prosperity to Africa.

Having realistic expectations and being prepared for hidden costs or surprises are among the investor's secrets to success in Africa.

Investors know that Africa's potential is vast, real and attainable and when it comes to unlocking these potentials and achieving sustainable returns on investments, smart investors need to find a thorough understanding of the continent's local, political and socioeconomic context.

Another top secret to succeeding in the African business environment is the ability of investors to be able to conduct comprehensive due diligence on projects and partners and implement a robust risk mitigation plan to see their investments through.

Identifying and knowing that there is a right way to invest and

also a wrong way to invest is a key secret of African investors. Haven identifies both, then you are sure to go the positive way. Knowing that the right way leads to financial success and the wrong way leads to financial failure is key

They already have a made-up mind that even if they are not making returns from the beginning of their businesses, they would continue. This has also been a driving force to a successful business in Africa.

Investors have seen that African economies are diversifying and therefore, they see new sectors growing rapidly such as telecommunications, real estate, consumption and infrastructure. They are trying their best to explore these new sectors in the continent.

Investing in African real estate across major cities in the continent is lucrative for investors. They form cooperation with relevant countries housing sector and some private firms, then provide commercial building solutions for residential and commercial purposes. With this, they make sure returns as profits, thereby, addig another feather to their caps as smart investors.

Still on real estate, most investors in Africa have concentrated on developing new hotels, and they are doing this business so well that they are building the most suitable hotels around the continent. Seeing that the continent has so many tourist sites attractions, investors know that travellers troop in to different African countries on daily basis therefore, building hotels in strategic places is a successful business story for smart investors.

AGROEDUCATION

The agricultural sector of any economy is no doubt the most important sector of the economy as it handles the major aspects vital to human existence.

Agriculture is inarguably the first occupation of man and it is still helping in life sustenance to date.

Any country or continent that is wise would not joke with its agriculture sector, because through agriculture, the three necessities of life (food clothing and shelter) are made available to man.

Agriculture is one of the most important economic activities in Africa. About two-thirds of the continent's working population is in the agriculture field.

Yearly, in each African country, agriculture contributes about 30 to 60 per cent of the gross domestic product, GDP and about 30 per cent of the value of each country's export.

Its importance and visibility to the African continent cannot be overlooked because agriculture has been an integral component of the development of the continent. It is a vital tool for economic growth and the alleviation of poverty

However, the lack of Education and training in the sector has led to the underutilization of agricultural practices that increase productivity in the sector.

An increase in agricultural education training and further technical and vocational education training could lead to an increase in productivity, which may, in turn, reduce poverty in Africa, especially in the rural areas.

In 2014, According to a World Bank report on human capital development for Agriculture, the low level of human capital in Africa's agricultural sector remains a significant constraint to growth, poverty reduction, and food security on the continent.

To increase income generation from the agric sector in Africa, investment in agricultural education is imperative, as this will grow the agricultural sector to be more effective and efficient.

Not only does agricultural education serve to reduce poverty, but it also works to create increased food security, and promote sustainability by Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 2; End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Studies from the past on agricultural education and training have shown that agric education and training is good in increasing participants' income.

One example of such past studies is the Farmer Field School, FFS which was conducted in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The farmer field school is an adult education

approach based on a participatory method of learning, technology development, and dissemination based on adult learning principles such as experimental learning.

Farmer field schools aim to provide agriculture education training in an informal setting to reach groups most marginalized in poverty-stricken areas; those with little or no formal education, and women.

Results after the study showed that after the farmer field school's participation, there was an increase in crop productivity and livestock production and that women benefited more than men.

It also showed that in all three countries involved in the research, the agricultural income of femaleheaded Farmer's field school households increased by 187 per cent.

Mostly, the agricultural income of female-headed households in Tanzania increased by 155 per cent and per capita agricultural income of female-headed households increased by over 300 per cent in Kenya for those who participated in the farmer's field school.

Engaging people in agricultural education and training contributes to poverty reduction and in turn in, creases incomes for those working in the sector

Also, for Agriculture education and training to be even more successful, reform of current practices is required. Current Agriculture education and training systems struggle with inadequate resources in terms of physical infrastructure, communications facilities, and limited human resources for teaching and research.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the agricultural sector is at the heart of the economies of the least-developed countries.

It agreed that the largest sector of the economy in sub-Saharan

Africa is agriculture with 52% of total employees working in agriculture, higher than the 39% working in agriculture in low-and middle-income countries worldwide.

According to a World Bank report in 2020, this percentage represents a staggering 230 million people working in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

With such large numbers of people in low and medium-income countries working in agriculture, an improvement in agricultural performance has the potential to increase rural incomes and purchasing power for large numbers of people.

African leaders need to deliberate seriously on the future of the continent's agriculture and its potential impact on families, communities and the economy

Making agricultural entrepreneurship and innovation a priority would help the continent positively because agriculture possesses as much potential for entrepreneurship expression as telecommunications or mining.

At a time when the youth unemployment numbers are soaring across the continent, agriculture provides a golden opportunity for young African entrepreneurs and innovators to create jobs and help communities to thrive.

Some African countries can not relate their economic success stories without mentioning their agriculture sector. Somalia and Liberia freed their economies through their agriculture sectors.

Liberia is one African country that places importance on its agriculture sector. The country leapt as a result of its investment in the agriculture sector. Almost 80 per cent of the West African GDP is contributed by Liberia.

About 68 per cent of the country's employment is contributed by agriculture. Though

the country was ravaged by years of civil war that had devastating effects on the country, Liberia was able to locate a region that is most favourable for agriculture( tree cultivation) and developed it extensively

This resulted in Liberia becoming known for producing cash crops like rubber and oil palm as its most produced cash crops. Over 35,000tons of rubber and 42,000 tons of oil palm are produced and exported every year

Somalia is another African country where the agriculture sector helped its economy. The country contributes almost 60 per cent of the East African GDP

It is interesting to know that only 1.6 per cent of the country's arid land is being cultivated.

Unlike Liberia which majored in tree cultivation, Somalia finds strength mostly in pastoral farming, though some areas practice irrigation-based cultivation.

Bananas and sugar came are the major commercial crops in Somalia.

In conclusion, agriculture is an important aspect of every economy The people need to be sensitive to the importance of agriculture and the need to take the sector seriously

There should be proper training in farming on a large scale for workforce and food production in the African economy.

African governments and leaders should have it in their minds that there is no regret in investing in the Agriculture sectors of any economy, therefore, they should act fast so they reap the fruits of their investments in no distant time.

OVH Energy, a leading indigenous petroleum marketing company, behind the Oando retail brand in Nigeria, remains committed to local content development through capacity building. In this exclusive interview with African Leadership Magazine UK, the Chief Executive Officer, Huub Stokman, he talks about the company’s strategy towards plugging skills gap in the auto industry in Nigeria through trainings and retraining. He also talks about the company’s recent acquisition by the NNPC and other important issues. Excerpts:

How much does it mean to you to receive the Local Content Development Champion Award, knowing that it duly recognizes your efforts towards developing the oil and gas sector?

I would like to first thank the organizers of this award ceremony and really appreciate their effort towards recognizing the role NNPC Retail Limited plays in the oil and gas sector, and the Local Content Development Champion Award means a lot to us. We will continue to stay committed to the development of the oil and gas sector. We consider the acknowledgment to be proof that we are a major influence in the downstream industry through the efforts of our local content. We believe that local content is the driver of economic activity and development in every thriving industry. We also see the award as a motivation to step up our efforts in Nigeria's downstream industry by reaffirming our dedication to providing our customers with great services on a constant basis.

You have made remarkable strides in your entrepreneurial journey with notable achievements along the way. Kindly take us through the hoops to see your path to get to where you are today

We at OVH Energy Marketing now NNPC Retail Limited consider it an honor to be recognized as one of the companies that have made outstanding advancements in the entrepreneurial field. We have made significant investments in several areas, which has led to the accomplishments we see today. The Oleum Academy's mechanics training is one of the actions we have taken. In its sixth season, Oleum Academy, an OVH Energy program created to close the skills gap among Nigerian auto mechanics, trained over 5000 mechanics over the years

Recent news shows that the NNPC has acquired all OVH energy retail outlets as owner-operator of the Oando-branded service stations across the country What does this mean for the future of your company?

The acquisition by NNPC Ltd comes at a critical time in the Nigerian energy sector given the implementation of the new petroleum laws, the increasing demand for petroleum products, and particularly the deliberate efforts to improve the supply and consumption of natural gas in support of energy transition goals. By merging NNPC Limited with OVH Energy Marketing, we hope to ensure supply security and efficiency whilst providing superior customer service. An enlarged group will result in significantly more growth opportunities for talents across the merged entity, providing avenues to build, retrain, and strengthen skillsets. To improve the growth of the oil and gas industry in Africa, we are combining the effectiveness of the OVH downstream competence with the exposure provided by NNPC Retail Limited (NRL). The merger is a strategic move which aims to create the largest downstream Oil & Gas company in Nigeria and West Africa and ensure quality service delivery with the ultimate aim to strengthen Nigeriaʼs downstream value chain. The merger will allow NRL, driven by operational excellence and best-in-class management, to operate model service outlets offering premium petroleum products and allied services to customers in line with global standards. Successful integration will result in accelerated energy solutions in Nigeria and the West African region, with the end-goal of achieving sustainable energy security. NRL aims to become the leader of choice in the downstream and energy sector, driven by operational excellence, best-in-class management, and customer satisfaction.

You clearly have a passion for local development. What notable local content development activities have you carried out across the downstream sector in which you operate?

In Africa, Local content development is fast becoming a strategic management issue for

multinational companies with significant efficiency and profitability implications. As a growth driven company, we have also leveraged diverse local content development activities to improve the downstream sector. Such activities include trainings and seminars for talents who desire to hone their skills, mandatory online courses for all members of staff as well as recognition and reward for exceptional performances.

You have a reach across West Africa, with a presence in Togo and intention to expand elsewhere. How much local content development practices do you execute there as well and how has this impacted the growth of your business?

Our strong presence in West Africa is because of local development practices. We always promote the best local talents. We have also practiced the local content development activities that worked in Nigeria in these countries. We believe it will not only serve as a contribution to the Nations GDP but also serve as an initiative to promote creative approaches to local value creation to stimulate our local economies

How much invested are you in CSR as a person and company, and what contributions have you made to the development of the different communities you carry out business in?

AS a responsible corporate citizen, we support Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through various sustainability initiatives like Evolve, where we donate education materials to the girl child in public schools. Also, earlier in the year, OVH Energy Marketing, through its University Scholarship Scheme, offered scholarships to students in universities within our community for the 2020/2021 academic calendar. This initiative reinforces our commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities. The scheme aligns with the United Nationsʼ Sustainable. Development Goals. We also unveiled the Mechanic Oleum Reseller Enterprise Initiative. This program aims to assist mechanics to develop more effective, longlasting companies by improving their entrepreneurial abilities, ensuring product availability, deepening usage, and growing their customer base

The merger is a strategic move which aims to create the largest downstream Oil & Gas company in Nigeria and West Africa and ensure quality service delivery with the ultimate aim to strengthen Nigeriaʼs downstream value chain.

Africa's New Harvest:

Through an FAO project teaching conservation agriculture, this Kenyan farmer is acquiring know-how that will help her better cope with droughts and other shocks.

IF YOU CAN'T READ NOW, JUST LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION:

A promising transformation has already started in Africa's farmlands. Family farmers are increasingly using innovative approaches and scientific research, combined with traditional knowledge, to increase the productivity of their fields, diversify their crops, boost their nutrition, and build climate resilience.

Mr, Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

This shift can go much further with the addition of digital tools, increased links to markets, and greater efficiency along agrifood chains, especially if the private sector and national policies also support the effort.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), along with a broad range of partners, is working to promote the African continent to make Africa's agrifood systems more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable.

For this transformation to be achieved, African countries must be in the driver's seat.

From 11 to 14 April 2022, representatives from more than 50 African countries will come together at the 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa in

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to define regional priorities for agrifood systems transformation on the continent.

The conference comes at a time when 281 million people in Africa do not have enough food to eat each day, nearly three-quarters of the African population cannot afford nutritious food, and drought threatens lives and livelihoods in the Horn of Africa. Meanwhile, countries are still grappling with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like the tall ceiba tree on Equatorial Guinea's national flag, which grows around the island of Malabo, we too must stand tall in the face of Africa's many simultaneous and overlapping challenges. We will hold the four-day high-level meeting in the same venue where leaders of the African Union member countries first committed to transform the African agriculture sector to end hunger in Africa by 2025.

Time is running out. Without extraordinary efforts by every African country, it will be difficult to meet these aspirations and the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Digitalization and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can be game changers in this extraordinary effort. At FAO, we see digitalization as a core element of rural development. Our 1000 Digital Villages initiative is currently being piloted in seven African countries. It aims to equip communities with digital tools and services to fasttrack rural transformation and wellbeing. Through this initiative, FAO has already supported countries in using

The 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa being held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, starts from 11 to 14 April 2022

digital tools to create electronic land registries and apps for pest and disease management, including extension services reaching the last mile farmers.

In the same way, the AfCFTA can radically transform Africa's rural prosperity. This regional single market, covering 1.2 billion consumers, is a major opportunity to boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and broaden economic inclusion. Swift national implementation, taking into account women and youth, will see this opportunity benefit all.

Indeed, African countries already have a suite of instruments to speed up transformation of agrifood systems and rural development. Chief among them is the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) — the continent-wide initiative led by African countries to end hunger and reduce poverty through agricultural development.

I welcome the African countries' recent renewed commitment to accelerate CAADP implementation towards achieving the Malabo commitments. FAO stands ready to support this work, including strengthening the quality of data used to measure progress as part of the CAADP biennial review

Other existing instruments to accelerate progress include the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), which provides a common framework for African stakeholders to build integrated infrastructure to boost trade and jobs; the African Union Climate Change Strategy that aims at achieving the Agenda 2063 Vision by building the resilience of the continent to the negative impacts of climate change; the Science Technology Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA), which can have enormous benefits for agriculture; and Boosting Intra African Trade to make trade a development driver African ownership and African leadership in all of these is vital.

These issues and more will be at the core of the 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa. Ministerial roundtables will focus on the policy priorities needed to address and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on African agrifood systems; investing in ecosystem restoration in Africa for agrifood systems transformation; promoting trade and investment under the AfCFTA; and ensuring that women, youth, and rural farmers are included in the continent's agrifood systems.

I invite policy makers, civil society organizations, research institutions, the private sector, donor partners, and all stakeholders interested in Africa's transformation by innovation in agriculture to follow the proceedings.

Underpinning the discussions will be the FAO Strategic Framework 2022 - 31, which supports the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and sets out our roadmap for achieving the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.

Central to delivering on these objectives are FAO's flagship initiatives, such as the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which identifies gaps in rural transformation and matches countries with partners to deliver tangible results. It is supported by a geospatial data platform powered by FAO's wealth of data on key sectors.

So far, 27 African countries have joined this global initiative. I encourage more countries in Africa to take part and benefit from this unique opportunity

FAO also has recently launched the One Country One Priority Product initiative in Africa to support countries in developing sustainable value chains and reaching new markets.

Our new Green Cities Initiative, which integrates urban forestry and agriculture into local planning, is underway in several African cities. This makes for more sustainable cities and shorter routes for nutritious food to reach markets. All these initiatives are country-driven and country-owned, highlighting that action at the country level is critical.

Together we can transform Africa's agriculture to achieve The Africa We Want.

Mr. Qu Dongyu is the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Ghana and Nigeria are two of West Africa’s largest economies and have remained interdependent since formally establishing diplomatic relations. Though there has been seeming rivalries, the relations between both countries have remained cordial. In this exclusive interview with the African Leadership Magazine UK, the Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria,

HIS EXCELLENCY ALHAJI RASHID BAWA, talks about the diplomatic relations between both countries and efforts to boost same.

Excerpts:

In 1988, a Joint Commissioner for Cooperation between Ghana and Nigeria was established; its over 30 years now; how would you describe the progress made thus far?

The excellent bilateral relations that have existed between Ghana and Nigeria, are underpinned by strong trade and economic ties between the two countries. The entrenched and longstanding bonds of friendship and the peopleto-people engagement has solidified the bilateral ties between Ghana-Nigeria, necessitating more vital collaboration, cooperation and partnership between the political

establishment of the two countries for the enhancement of the bilateral relations.

I wish to express my governmentʼs avowed aim to cooperate, collaborate and work closely with Nigeria towards sustainable development for the benefit of both countries. Furthermore, I wish to reaffirm my commitment to continue collaborating with the relevant Nigerian authorities to strengthen relations between the two countries and peoples.

Barriers to trade have continued to stand in the way of the smooth implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS common market, among other trade protocols. What in your view, can be done to address some of these prevailing challenges, especially as we work towards the full implementation of the African Continental Free trade area?

Let me emphasis that the two countries economic and diplomatic relations have been excellent and thriving. This development has positioned Ghana and Nigeria as the two dominant economies in the

West African sub-region. The ties that bind us also mean that we have become interdependent on each other. As a result, development in Nigeria tends to have a ripple effect on Ghana and vice versa.

The latest foreign trade report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that Ghana emerged as Nigeriaʼs biggest destination for 2019.

The report revealed that Ghana topped Nigeriaʼs export destinations in the third quarter of 2019, as Ghana imported N908.5 billion worth of cable sheaths of iron, submersible drilling platforms and crude oil.

According to reports, Ghana imported N876.5 billion non-crude oil products from Nigeria, while crude oil exports only stood at N32.02 billion in Q32019. Ghana imported 17.18% of Nigeriaʼs export in three months. The trade balance between the two countries favours Nigeria, with more export volume that Ghana.

To answer the specific question of the perennial tension between Ghana and Nigeria traders in Ghana, I am happy to inform that

His Excellency Alhaji Rashid Bawa,Ghana High Commissioner

the issue is virtually resolved. The Ministries of Trade of Ghana and Nigeria have signed a joint agreement that establishes a framework to guide the engagement between the two countries in resolving the issues between Ghanian retail traders and their counterparts from Nigeria.

I can assure you that the Government of the Republic of Ghana is committed to the timely implementation of the framework of engagement between Ghanian and Nigerian traders.

Nigeria and Ghana are two of the regionʼs largest economies, yet, both countries have continued to experience economic shock waves occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine. How is the current administration in Ghana working towards improving Ghanaʼs economic conditions?

Ghanaʼs wealth of resources, democratic political system, and dynamic economy make it undoubtedly one of Africaʼs leading lights. Gaining the worldʼs confidence with a peaceful political transition and a grounded and firm commitment to democracy has helped in expediting Ghanaʼs growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years.

As alluded to in your question, the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020, its attendant lockdowns and travel restrictions, and the war between Russia and Ukraine having an adverse impact on Ghanaʼs economy

The vision of President AkufoAddo is to reset our economy through industrialization.

These comprise an agenda to: Ÿ Aggressively mobilise domestic revenue; Ÿ Streamline and rationalise expenditures; Ÿ Boost local productive capacity; Ÿ Promote and diversify exports;

Ÿ

Protect the poor and vulnerable; Ÿ

Expand digital and climateresponsive physical infrastructure; and Ÿ

Implement structural and public sector reforms.

Earlier in the year, you mentioned Ghanaʼs readiness and commitment to boost investment and trade opportunities with Nigeria at the CEO Forum on ‘Ghana & Nigeria: Stronger Together. Since then, what framework has been pursued to achieve seamless trade relations between both countries?

Let me once again express the Government of the Republic of Ghanaʼs avowed readiness to cooperate and work closely with the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the sustainable development of the economies of our two.

We at the High Commission in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos are always ready to serve as a

bridge for Ghana-Nigeria friendly relations, paving the way for cooperation between the business communities from our two countries.

The mission collaborates with Ghana Export Promotion Authority in the participation of Ghanian companies in Fairs in Nigeria, such as the Lagos and Abuja International Trade FAIRS in October and November 2022, respectively

How much do you see Ghana and Nigeria improving their relationship with the emergence of the African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), especially with the creation of the biggest single market in the world?

Africa is now the worldʼs largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization. A market of more than 1.2 billion people and a combined GDP of $3 trillion offers a huge opportunity to exploit our great continentʼs abundant wealth and resources to

benefit all our people. Despite the devasting effects of COVID-19 on African economies, an opportunity exists to establish robust supply and value chains for African as well as diversify the continentʼs productive capacity, particularly from the overreliance on the export of primary commodities. The AfCFTA signal that Africa is open for business and mutually beneficial investments. Thereby, creating decent jobs and improving livelihoods for Ghana and the Continent.

Ghana has been pursuing a liberalised trade and investment regime and is positioning herself to take full advantage of both regional and subregional opportunities to attract investments into the country to harness the benefits from the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other export market.

Aside from trade, what other key sectors of development are you looking to establish during your time as part of improving bilateral

relation between Ghana and Nigeria?

Enormous investment opportunities exist in Agriculture and Argo-Processing, Finance Services, Education, Energy, Oil refinery and Gas, Health, Mining and Mineral Processing and Jewellery, ICT, Tourism, Industrial and Residential Estate Property Development, Manufacturing and Transport Infrastructure. Accordingly, the Government of Ghana is committed to implementing policies that reduce business costs to promote investor confidence in the country

Education Fair was also held in Lagos to enhance the export of education services to international students and increase foreign exchange earnings. In addition, the Fair allowed various Ghanian Universities to showcase their programmes to Secondary School students in Nigeria. This yearʼs Fair just concluded in Lagos in October, with 16 Universities participating,

intending to recruit students for the next academic year. The turnout of students to the Fair was very encouraging.

What was unique about the Fair was that it provided an opportunity to answer any queries on the spot on how to gain admission into the institutions of High learning in Ghana. The Fair falls in line with the strategic foreign policy of Ghana, which among other enjoin Ghana, which others enjoins Ghana diplomatic Missions abroad to Promote tertiary and secondary institutions in host countries and etc.

As High Commissioner, I will continue to promote investment in Ghana. What future do you envision for the diplomatic relations between Ghana and Nigeria? Are there areas of improvement you wish to point out?

The excellent bilateral political relations that have existed between Ghana and Nigeria, and note that this has underpinned the strong trade and economic ties between the two countries. The entrenched and longstanding bonds of friendship and the people-topeople engagements have solidified the bilateral ties between Ghana and Nigeria, necessitating more vital collaboration, cooperation and partnership between the political establishment of the bilateral relations. This, I will continue to solidify.

I wish to express my governmentʼs avowed aim to cooperate and work closely with Nigeria towards sustainable development for the benefit of both countries.

Furthermore, I wish to reaffirm my personal commitment to strengthening relations between the two countries for the people mutual benefit and prosperity.

African Young Leaders

One of Africa's strengths is that we have the youngest population. And a fresh generation of persistent voices, innovators, change makers, and action-takers are making sure the world sees the continent with fresh eyes, and that Africa itself rose from the ashes of vulnerability

Lack of development as well as high rates of inequality and poverty across Africa have long been perceived as a burden on the rest of the world, presented as things to pity rather than things that need solving. This outlook is one that has to evolve in order for true change to occur on the continent. Luckily, young people are standing up and speaking out for what Africa deserves.

“No more empty promises, no more empty summits, no more empty conferences,” asserted Nakate at last year's pre –COP26 summit. As the year revealed that globally, we are tired of dealing with significant issues in the same old ways and expecting radical improvements. This was a message that echoed loud and clear after young climate activist Vanessa Nakate spoke at the summit in 2021.

This tone was carried all throughout 2021 as the world continued to reckon with COVID-19, a worsening climate crisis, and increased global inequality. As such, 2022 will be defined by the need for action and nowhere is this more pertinent than on the African continent.

Thankfully, young activists have been captaining this need for action, and we cannot wait to see what they will do next. These are a few youth leaders and change makers that we will be looking out for in 2022 and beyond.

Tanzanian children's right activist Emmanuel Cosmos Msoka is a UNICEF Youth Advocate for water, sanitation and hygiene. The young innovator created a pedal –powered hand washing machine in 2020 to help combat COVID-19 in his community, and with the help of local organisations, has supplied over 400 hand washing stations across northern Tanzania over the course of a year.

His interest in innovation and volunteering has led him to encourage other people of his age to come up with inventive solutions to significant problems, and to call on young people to become generational leaders.

STACY OWINO KENYA

When she was just 18years old, Kenyan student and women's right Stacy Owino co-created an app to help bring an end to female genital mutilation (FGM) in her country. Three years later, Owino is not only a determined young woman studying STEM, she is also an African representative on the Youth Sounding Board for the European Commission and was honored at last year's Young Activist summit held at the UN in Geneva for her work towards eradicating FGM.

When asked why it was important for African girls to take up space, Stacy said “something the world needs to know is that things are changing and us as African youth are really taking up these spaces. We are not going to let you tell us about us. We will tell you about ourselves.”

ALAA SALAH - SUDAN

Two years ago, Alaa Salah was dubbed Sudan's “Nubian Queen” when she stood up for the country's revolution. The 25 years old went viral after videos of her dressed in white, standing atop a car and reciting a rousing poem, circulated on social media.

Salah showed courage in putting herself at the forefront of the movement in the country were women's voices are heavily restricted. She was later shortlisted for the Noble Peace Price, and the image of her in white has become a symbol of freedom for citizens in Sudan. This symbol is key to 2022 because, although her efforts and the efforts of other Sudanese women helped move the country towards a democracy 2019 the end of 2021 saw the transitional government being dissolved into a military coup, and the beginning of this years has been unrest in the country as it tries to establish a functional government.

While Sudan has yet to become stable in its freedom, Salah's influence has kept Sudanese women going in their effort to stand up for their country

EMMANUEL COSMOS MSOKA - TANZANIA

LEAH NAMUGERWA - UGANDA

From dedicating her birthday to replanting trees in her community, to establishing a petition to pressure the Ugandan government to ban single use plastic, 18 year old Leah is already a force to be reckoned with in the climate activism space.

Inspired by fellow activist Greta Thunberg, Namugerwa began striking on Fridays in front of the Ugandan parliament at just 14 years old. Today, she continues to advocate for banning plastic in her country, access to water and sanitation for vulnerable community members, and the protection of Africa's trees and forests against the climate crisis.

TREVOR OAHILE - BOTSWANA

Trevor Oahile is a 24 year old student who's helping to educate Botswana's youth about the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights through a radio show called “Don't Get It Twisted.” The show addresses young people particularly boys and men, and explores ways in which they can be better informed about the stigmas surrounding reproductive health.

Oahile also works with UNEPA, the United Nation's sexual and reproductive health agency, to run training programs across the country, speaking about social accountability and empowering other youth activists in Botswana.

History has shown that only through strong institutions can a solid foundation for nation-building be established.

The Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals is “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”. SDG 16 aims to improve people's lives by reducing violence, improving access to justice, and promoting effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. Without a doubt, strong institutions are a prerequisite for a society to move towards sustainable prosperity and, strong institutions can birth future prosperity

Strong institutions are considered to be the essential foundation for Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. Building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are painstaking work. As SDG 16 recognises, though, it is vital. Institutions can and do play an important role in reducing poverty, improving the rule of law and increasing economic growth.

SDG 16 is crucial for all countries but it is especially so for African countries for reasons well-known to all. It is a goal that should be smartly managed by African policymakers. The message is clear. It is about time, even a must, for African policymakers to pay a considerable amount of attention to building strong institutions.

Why are strong institutions essential for Africa's development?

Strong institutions are essential for Africa to deliver on its development goals and to achieve its envisioned political and economic transformation. Agenda 2063, Africa's blueprint and master plan for this transformation, outlines ambitious goals related to building institutions that can accelerate growth as the bedrock for making the continent prosperous.

What would it take for Africa to deliver on its development goals?

Visionary leadership and strong institutions are Africa's surest route to achieving economic growth and sustainable development.

Until 1989, Africa was characterised by many authoritarian governments. After that, democracy took root as countries abolished military dictatorships, undertook constitutional reviews and embraced multiparty politics and elections. This promoted stability, legitimacy and acceptance in African political spheres. The general expectation was that multiparty democracy would eventually lead to economic growth and development.

But almost three decades after the third wave of democratisation, it's not clear that the development dividend has been attained. Despite Africa's vast natural resources, it remains the world's poorest region. Persistently high public debt and corruption, coupled with unemployment, income inequality and poverty remain endemic.

Although the cause of underdevelopment in Africa is manysided, an irrefutable cause is a poor leadership. The inability of governments to drive their countries' development agenda continues to threaten democracy, with most countries reverting to autocracy

In a fundamental sense, the crisis of African development can be said to be a crisis of its institutions. Learning from these past experiences, it is safe to say that the solution to the institutional challenge in Africa requires strong institutions of governance vital to delivering strong

and prosperous institutions. Without strong institutions, a democratic political system cannot work, and these are pre-requisite for the sustainable development of any nation.

It is thus safe to say that building strong and stable institutions should be the priority of each African country. This begins with respecting the rule of law, encouraging free and fair elections, and respect for human rights.

If there is a lesson African leaders can learn from developed countries, it is the leadership's capacity to elevate their institutions from being mere tools by which to obtain and retain political power to vehicles for developing their countries, and citizens, and exploiting many untapped resources. These can be aligned with long-term strategies to deliver economic transformation for their countries.

Of recent, the spate of military coups and unconstitutional power grabs is once again rearing its ugly head on the African continent. Since 2021, have witnessed both successful and unsuccessful coup d'états in West and Central African countries.

This spate of military coups and unconstitutional power grabs can be said to be the result of weak institutions. When leaders are not accountable, they violate the rule of law, disregard human and rights and this presents an opportunity for conflict to thrive.

Allegations of poverty, mismanagement and endemic corruption were the fundamental justifications given for organising coups. In addition, the decadence of the socio-political and economic environment is the justification for coups in many cases, while elite power struggles may also be among the explanatory variables. Five military coups in the West African region in the past 18 months are a testament to the need for stronger institutions.

The resurgence of coups and upsurge in military interventions

across Africa directly violates democratic tenants and represents a threat to peace, stability, and security on the continent. Most of these coups are taking place in countries that are transitioning to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule.

To circumvent this regression into an era of coups and power-grabbing, Africans must ask. What is it that we should do today to make Africa what it should be? The obvious response would be that Africa must build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions. To deliver on this, Africa must:

Make democracy a greater priority, with a more consistent, coordinated strategy and programs; strengthen the pro-democracy systems of regional groupings such as the Economic Community of West African states and African Union — both in preventing coups and in responding when they take place; build better transitions to democracy when coups occur, through inclusive national dialogues that can shape local pro-democracy reforms, clarify the role of the military, and help civilian governments better meet the needs of their people. Also, lend greater support to civil society in countries at risk of coups.

Leaders with exceptional character and skills are critical to Africa's development. Incompetence in leadership in most African countries is not only the problem of people who occupy positions in government; it is a reflection of the leadership culture. Africa has witnessed different leaders with the same results for decades.

It is not too late for Africa to reposition its political systems and build strong institutions that can catapult it to prosperity. These interventions would be the lever Africa needs to shoot into a global position of strong institutions.

With strong institutions driving its development agenda, the world would witness sustainable prosperity and, strong institutions.

Access to financial services has been a major policy focus since the Bank of Ghana was established. Numerous policy interventions to achieve inclusive access to financial services subsequently led to the establishment of several non-bank financial institutions, including savings and loans companies, microfinance institutions, as well as rural and community banks. The late 2000s marked a notable change in the focus of the Bankʼs financial inclusion strategy towards Digital Financial Service (DFS), on account of significant penetration of mobile telephony across the country

In 2018, the Government issued a five-year National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy (NFIDS) to further drive Ghanaʼs financial inclusion efforts in a coherent and coordinated manner. Being the overarching policy document on financial inclusion, the NFIDS was developed through broad stakeholder collaborative efforts and benefited extensively from rich diverse views. The strategy effectively

addresses challenges to access to financial services and provides a roadmap for comprehensive reforms towards the wider development of the financial services sector

Alongside these policy measures, the Bank continued to improve on the supervisory and regulatory frameworks of the payment ecosystem to create an enabling environment for digital financial products. For instance, passage of the Branchless Banking Guidelines in 2008 paved way for the branchless delivery of financial services by banks in partnership with mobile telephony service providers, thus giving rise to the mobile financial services in Ghana. Since then, the Bank has streamlined the regulatory environment with the passage of the Payments Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987) to reflect the dynamism in the DFS space. The Act is anchored on proportionate regulation and risk-based supervision, thereby creating a conducive environment for inclusive participation of financial technology companies of varying sizes and business models. On the basis of sound regulation and supervision, this approach has unleashed a wide variety of innovative digital products and services into the payments ecosystem.

These initiatives have fostered the rapid adoption of digital financial services, particularly mobile financial services, and contributed in large measure to the increase in financial inclusion from 42 percent in 2014 to 58 percent in 2017, according to the Global Findex Survey. As at May 2022, total active mobile money accounts stood at 18.6 million, compared to 17.2 million in the same period of last year, representing 8.1 percent year-on-year growth in total active mobile money accounts. Also, active mobile money agents as at May 2022 increased to 454,000 compared with 386,000 in May 2021.

In the past year, merchant acceptance of digital payments received a major boost following the publication of the new Merchant Account Categorisation Directive by the Bank of Ghana. By this Directive, the central bank seeks to drive merchant acceptance of digital payments, especially among the Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MSMEs) through a proportionate on-boarding requirements to provide accessible and feasible use cases for digital payments thereby driving adoption. With the large share of MSMEs in Ghana, incentivising merchant adoption of digital payments holds significant potential for accelerating financial inclusion among individuals and businesses. The incentives provided by the Directive will therefore provide the needed digital footprints to address information asymmetry challenges and enable affordable and customercentric innovative financial services.

Modernising and building on Ghanaian traditional funds pooling system, popularly called “Susu”, the

Bank introduced a Crowdfunding Policy in 2021. This policy has provided a regulatory anchor for payment service providers, in partnership with banks and with technological support, to provide individuals, groups, and associations with safe means of raising funds for social and economic purposes. The growing use of a Bank of Ghana approved crowdfunding product in recent times by religious groupings, associations, and corporate bodies for economic, social, health and environmental purposes reflect the timeliness and usefulness of this policy intervention in the financial sector

In line with the rapid innovation in digital financial services, the Bank adopted the Regulatory and Innovation Sandbox approach to support the process. Currently, the sandbox provides live-tests of innovative digital financial service products, business models and supportive technologies in a controlled environment for possible market rollout. In 2019, the Bank took a major step to explore a central bank digital currency within the framework of the national digitisation programme. Since August 2021, the Bank, in collaboration with G+D of Germany, has commenced the multiphase pilot of the digital version of the Ghanaian cedi called the eCedi in a sandbox environment. The digital currency project presents yet another unique opportunity to design a technological representation of a fiat currency that will drive Ghanaʼs financial sector digitisation further and also facilitate the Governmentʼs inclusive digital transformation programme.

Looking ahead, the Bank of Ghana will continue to push the frontiers of innovation and inject dynamism into the financial service industry, supported by sound regulatory frameworks. This will provide a conducive atmosphere for nurturing the growth of the payment ecosystem and support the financial inclusion agenda.

The growing use of a Bank of Ghana approved crowdfunding product in recent times by religious groupings, associations, and corporate bodies for economic, social, health and environmental purposes reflect the timeliness and usefulness of this policy intervention in the financial sector.

Africa Has A Great Strategic Plan:

When the United Nations started framing its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2012 – a shared blueprint for working towards global peace and prosperity by 2030 – Africa was the first region to submit its list of priorities.

The continent was quick to act as it was in the process of finalising its Agenda 2063 framework, which sought to articulate African aspirations for the coming decades. It was a product of the celebrations of the 50th year of the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the African Union. Such a symbolic year was a cause for celebration and prompted reflection on what kind of Africa member states wanted to build in the next 50 years.

As the continent battles to contain and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is confronted with a similar moment of reckoning. And the answer is the same: unify around a shared framework for the future that provides strategic direction for meaningful change.

But it can't be all talk, no action.

From general agreement to tangible action

The UN's SDGs, like the aspirations contained in the African Union's Agenda 2063 framework, are bold and ambitious. But both sets of aspirations are painted with a

broad brush. To a degree, it must be that way. Each nation has its own context, capacity and agenda, and the finer the tip, the harder it is to find agreement – the painting would never be completed. This is especially true when homing in on specifics for implementation, where leaders tend to disagree over the minutiae.

Take one of Agenda 2063's flagship projects as an example. On the face of it, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is an amazing success story, and the most important integration project in Africa's history. Most African countries have signed and ratified the agreement. But, since it was officially launched in January this year, progress has been hampered by arguments over appropriate dispute mechanisms, clauses around rules of origin, and intellectual property rights.

It's a difficult task transitioning from general agreement – a shared vision of the future – to practical implementation that delivers on development progress. But failing to mobilise behind a common agenda, with tangible action, could have dire consequences.

This is one of the reasons we can't just leave things to governments. Those of us interested in advancing sustainable development in Africa need to find ways to broaden and deepen engagement and conversation

around these critical issues and create the space where the diverse capacities of multiple stakeholders can be leveraged to find innovate solutions to the many challenges that the continent faces.

To this end, events such as the upcoming International Summit on SDGs in Africa organised by the University of Cape Town can play a valuable convening role. The summit will enable countries to revisit goals and targets in the light of effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scholars from across the globe will be able to define a roadmap that considers recurrent financing challenges but also the signs of a much stronger commitment to social protection and managing climate change.

Collaboration needs to be real and practical

The pandemic serves as a good example here. Despite proclamations of goodwill and good intentions towards Africa, when push comes to shove, the behaviour of the continent's main partners has been selfish. It started with personal protective equipment, then with ventilators, and more recently with vaccines. For example, soon after the outbreak countries such as the UK and the US introduced measures to restrict exports of protective equipment. For its part the European Union remains resistant to calls to waive vaccinerelated patents.

Africa has been here before. Millions of people died of HIV/AIDS during 17 years of protracted negotiations over intellectual property rights to get a patent waiver. Many calls by developing countries to accelerate Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waivers on antiretroviral drugs to save the lives of populations deeply affected by the spread of HIV/AIDS were ignored until the pharmaceutical interests shifted to ensuring large purchases by donors of their products about to lose their profit edge.

Now, Africa is asking for a waiver for COVID-19 vaccines and is facing the same discussions.

In any event, Africa shouldn't see relinquishing of intellectual property rights as a silver bullet. Materials required for manufacturing, the right supply chains, time to build stock, all need solving. Additionally, issues around

ethics and law need to be considered.

Recognising this complexity the Africa Centres for Disease Control has launched no fewer than three initiatives – the African Union's Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa, the African Medicines Agency and the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum –aimed at establishing an ecosystem to enable manufacturing of vaccines in the continent.

All of this calls for discussion between a wide cross-section of stakeholders to prioritise areas of strategic focus, as well as scope actions that will accelerate progress before the next crisis hits. Collaboration can't be a chimera; it needs to be real and practical.

But collaboration also cannot take place in a vacuum.

A common trial

As new COVID-19 variants spread, the commonality of the trial we face is clear to see. To be purely tactical and try to tackle this disease with a narrow, temporary focus, allowing protectionism to rear its ugly head, will limit Africa's capacity to address the problem today. It will also do nothing to strengthen our resilience for the challenges of tomorrow

It is here that the UN's SDGs and African Union's Agenda 2063 vision have a key role to play. While their time frames – the SDG's is 2030 – are long and their aspirations lofty, it's exactly these qualities that can help us to lift our heads when times are tough; to see the big picture and to know what we are aiming for

Now, more than ever, leaders need to lean into the strategic frameworks they helped develop, but they also need to roll up their sleeves and work with a broad set of stakeholders to develop practical ways to achieve their aspirations within these frameworks.

It's only through this kind of strategic cooperation leading to effective implementation that we can hope to shape the future we want and avoid the one we don't.

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained recognition and importance in both business and political settings, although most see CSR in terms of philanthropy. CSR initiatives are growing in Africa, opening up opportunities for development.

CSR represents a twofold opportunity for Africa. It can encourage inclusive and sustainable development while also improving companies' performance and their image. This is a win-win situation for Africa.

The development of CSR on a large scale across Africa will require the involvement of all actors to play in support to building a public and private sector coalition to promote CSR.

CSR refers to a company's contribution to the challenges of sustainable development and its responsibility with respect to the environmental and social (E&S) impacts of its operations.

In developing countries, conflict, lack of basic education skills, health threats and unemployment are all challenges that face African countries and the youth in particular. In the next decade, the mounting impacts of

climate change can be added to this list.

CSR, which is now becoming an important part of corporate expansion strategies, is built around three major pillars: environmental, social and economic.

This policy, which aims at a more sustainable development, also integrates the duty of companies towards their stakeholders, in particular employees and customers.

The social and economic development of poor and rural communities is a universal priority. It is a central theme that dominates international trade discussions, drives government priorities and ultimately influences the long-term prosperity of a nation.

Against the backdrop of civil wars on the African continent, political instability in the Middle East and the fall-out of the economic boom in South Asia, youth unemployment threatens to keep youth, as a global sector, in a cycle of poverty

Companies are well placed to make a considerable difference to those living in contexts of poverty and exclusion by applying CSR principles.

While a degree of support for purely well-oriented approaches will continue to be necessary, companies are potentially strong contributors to sustainable initiatives within the social development landscape, particularly in supporting livelihood strategies for those excluded from the formal economy

Businesses that ignore corporate social responsibility run a risk to their bottom line and their brand. Having a bad reputation socially and environmentally can create serious effects on the overall profitability and success of a company, as consumers want to spend their money on products that they believe in, and engage with companies that follow ethical practices that meet their own beliefs.

For environmentalists, the inclusion of CSR in the growth of companies should make significant contribution to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nation (UN) for 2030.

African countries, which place the SDGs at the heart of their development policies, are faced with rapid urbanisation, internal and external migration, an extroverted economy and the effects of climate

change.

“Achieving the MDGs in Africa requires innovative planning approaches and effective global coordination, as envisaged in Agenda 2063, which structures all the actions that should lead Africa towards sustainable emergence,” explain Abdoulaye Sene (Administrative Secretary of the Dakar 2022 Water Forum).

Toshiba Africa has strong commitment to CSR in Africa for this reason. They are involved with many projects across the continent. To express the essence of their corporate philosophy, Toshiba Group's basic commitment is “Committed to people, committed to the Future. TOSHIBA.”

Toshiba Africa CSR partner is the Langa Education Assistance Programme (LEAP) that runs independent schools that provide fee-free education for some of South Africa's most marginalised communities. It's a good fit for Toshiba; a strong proponent of science and math education and Toshiba Africa has worked with LEAP3 for residents of Alexandra Township in Johannesburg since 2017. Toshiba Africa has donated to LEAP for their school facilities such as books for their library

There is the Save the Children, Tanzania where Toshiba Group supports this early childhood development project in the Shinyanga area of Northern Tanzania since 2014 The Toshiba Group has donated a total of 10 million Yen (more than US$77,000) to the project that has been used to build and operate 10 community childcare facilities in Tanzania.

These community childcare facilities foster caring, educational environments that support the upbringing of 1000 children and provide meals that help improve nutritional standards.

BMW South Africa supports the fight against COVID-19 as they provide nine hospitals and four clinics, including upgrades to emergency facilities, three emergency support cars, PPEs, an ambulance, as well as 750 beds and additional screening facilities.

They also loaned 17 BMW locally built cars to the South African Red Cross Society to help it reach marginalised and poor communities that have been badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

144 schools have benefitted from support from BMW SA; Ntsha-Peu Primary School near Shoshanguve Township in Pretoria received a ZAR4m (US$220,000) investment and world-class upgrades.

As part of the programme, the school has had a new computer lab installed that can accommodate 80 learners at a time, and, in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Education, is supplied with 'alwayson' internet.

The core of Goil Ghana CSR business has been in water and sanitation. Goil has thus continued with its portable water supply project by delivering mechanised boreholes to several deprived communities spread across the length and breadth of the country. Over the last three years for example. Goil has been providing a minimum of 10 boreholes every year to deprived communities.

The Kenya Airways CSR programme aims at delivering sustainable educational programmes to support future generations. Some accomplishments related to education project includes putting up school infrastructure such as a dormitory at Esageri School for the Deaf in Baringo county; a science laboratory at Songeni Mixed Secondary school in Makueni county; two classroom at Ongora Primary School in Rongo County, and a dining

hall at Namunyak Girls Secondary School in Narok county.

As a responsible corporate citizen, NETFUND prides itself by contributing towards the positive transformation of life in the areas of environmental, social and economic well being of the society in which it operates. NETFUND has embraced the national tree planting campaign with the theme Panda miti Penda Kenya (Turn up for Kenya). This initiative ensures improved forest cover and biodiversity in their areas of work

In Bomet County, NETFUND worked with county officials to plant 5,000 tree seedlings in Chepalungu forest, an indigenous forest and complex ecosystem that need efficient management.

NETFUND also works with NEMA and other organizations to lead and sustain environmental clean-ups in the major cities of Kenya and promote the use of alternatives to plastics.

Africa's economic performance and trends, combined with its demographic vitality, points towards a brighter future for CSR on the continent. Socially responsible investments models are beginning to spread widely in Africa, thanks to initiatives by major companies in the mining, infrastructure, agro-industry and ecotourism sectors. These practices often involve high valueadded subsidiary businesses that have a strong ripple effect on the local economy.

The higher visibility of these initiatives could help to trigger a wider awareness of CSR in Africa and promote its development. Yet CSR cannot become deeply rooted unless businesses and local organisation can individually and collectively develop their own tools for disseminating its practices, based on the founding principles and realities of their societies.

The global economic crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 Pandemic has exacerbated Zimbabwe's economic constrains. However, concerted efforts towards returning the country on a sure path of progress is ongoing, led by seasoned economic experts heading some of the country's key sectors. In this exclusive interview with the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, John Mangudya, he shares some of the Central Bank's efforts towards restoring economic sunshine in the southern African country.

The Zimbabwean economy has been on the path of recovery and growth after years of challenges and recession. Available data reveals that the Zimbabwean economy grew by 6.3% in 2021, with projections to continue on this path in 2022. What were some of the policies and reforms of the Central Bank that have contributed to this growth?

Indeed, the Zimbabwean economy is on a sustained growth trajectory having recorded a phenomenal growth of 7.8% in 2021, higher than the 6.3% estimated by some international institutions. The economy is also expected to grow by 4.6% in 2022, compared to the sub-Saharan African average growth of 3.8%. This growth is attributed to measures being implemented by the Central Bank and Government to stabilise the economy and support growth. Some of the growth-enhancing measures that have been undertaken by the Central Bank include the following:

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Creating monetary and financial conditions appropriate for business growth through a balanced monetary policy stance of pursuing stability, while mitigating against possible output losses and the risk of financial instability arising from tight monetary policy in the face of the

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current shock-prone global environment. This policy stance is reflected by a different interest rate system being pursued by the Central Bank, where the Bank policy rate is currently at 200% to curb speculative borrowing, while the medium-term lending rate is at 100% to cater for productive lending;

Instituting appropriate legal and regulatory environment for a safe, sound, and resilient banking sector able to support and underwrite sustainable business. In this context, the Central Bank continues to foster compliance of banking institutions to stipulated minimum capital requirements;

As a result of these interventions and policy measures being implemented by the Bank, real sector productivity has significantly expanded, manufacturing capacity utilisation increased, banking sector deposits increased and savings, which are critical for supporting investment and the potential growth rate of the economy have also increased. These factors have combined to support the country's economic growth trajectory

cushioning the impact of the pandemic on Zimbabwe?

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Ensuring the availability of foreign currency to the productive sectors of the economy through the forex auction system, which, to date, has dispensed about US$3.5 billion since its inception in June 2020, representing around 95.20% of total bids submitted. Commendably about 70% of the allotments have gone towards supporting the productive sectors of the economy;

The African Development Bank Group, multilateral finance institutions, the Zimbabwean government, and other partners recently agreed to work together to develop an action plan that will resolve the country's debt arrears. What are the contributions of the Central Bank to the country's debt resolution strategy and action plan?

Like other Developing African Countries, Zimbabwe has a large share of the informal economy, which is estimated at more than 40% of the country's GDP. This means that the sector employs a significant percentage of the country's workforce. The informal sector was disproportionately affected in terms of production, employment and income earnings during the COVID19 pandemic, which called for interventions by both the fiscal and monetary authorities to rescue the sector. The Central Bank instituted some measures in support of the sector and the economy at large. The Central Bank promptly responded to cushion the impact of the pandemic through the following monetary incentives and policy measures:

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Supporting the productive sectors of the economy, notably primary agriculture, agro-processing, and SMEs through the concessional medium-term lending facility. The Bank has dispensed ZW$9.3 billion since the launch of the facility;

The Central Bank is fully behind any efforts aimed at resolving the country's debt arrears challenge which involves strategies to clear the country's external payment arrears to traditional creditors, notably, the World Bank, AfDB and bilateral creditors, from both the Paris and non-Paris club. This is important not only to mend the country's relations with traditional creditors but also to enhance the country's creditworthiness and to unlock the much-needed credit lines from the traditional multilateral and bilateral creditors that have ceased lending operations to Zimbabwe due to external payment arrears.

Ÿ Allowing the use of free foreign exchange resources to ensure seamless business at a time when the transacting agents were faced with multiple constraints emanating from the restrictive measures towards the pandemic, including limited travelling and lockdowns.

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Putting in place monetary incentives towards business promotion, including the reduction of the CentralzBank policy rate from 35% to 15% per annum and reducing statutory reserve requirements for banks from 5% to 2.5% in March 2020.

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Ensuring an efficient payment system under a dual currency regime for seamless settlement of business transactions; a critical condition for attracting investment; and

Ÿ Supporting savings mobilisation for investment by compelling banks to remunerate time and saving deposits at interest rates that protect the value and implementing alternative saving instruments such as the recently introduced gold coins. The Central Bank has put a floor on deposit rates currently at 40% and 80% for savings and time deposits, respectively

The Central Bank is a member of the country's External Debt and Development Committee (EDDC) at both the technical and executive levels. The EDDC is responsible for coming up with debt resolution strategies and evaluating proposals for the arrears clearance programme. In this context, the Bank is actively involved in the debt resolution process.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic affected millions of people dependent on the informal economy and contract and casual workers in the formal sectors. What have been the responses of the Bank in

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Putting in place a concessionary SMEs Facility amounting to Z$500 million at inception. The facility assisted in ensuring adequate liquidity to the SMEs in all the productive sectors of the economy including hard-hit sectors such as tourism among others.

Ÿ Introduced a dedicated SMEs foreign currency auction system to ensure that adequate foreign currency is channeled to the SMEs to allow them to import necessary raw materials, consumables and plant and equipment during the COVID-19 crisis and aftermath of the crisis.

You recently launched a regulatory sandbox framework to encourage innovations in the fintech and further liberalised the operations of the bureau de change to promote financial inclusion. What are some of the expected outcomes of this framework on the nation's economy?

The Fintech Regulatory Sandbox (FRS) was launched in 2021 as a way of testing new financial innovations in a controlled environment before they are launched on the market.

This is important to assess the nature of the innovation and the risks involved given the potential impact of financial innovations on the financial system. The FRS is thus a way of safeguarding the financial system while promoting fintech innovation.

I am happy that since the launch of the sandbox, the Central Bank has admitted two financial technology firms into the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox (the Sandbox) namely Lloyd Crowd Funding and Uhuru Innovative Solutions who are providing solutions in capital raising and money transfer, respectively

The initiation of regulatory testing is a signal of the Central Bank's commitment to promoting responsible innovation and the results are expected to provide the Bank with critical evidence in the formation of an appropriate regulatory framework for financial technology in the country

The liberalisation of the activities of bureaux dechange by allowing them to put a 10% markup over the official exchange rate has gone a long way in sustaining the activities of these institutions, which in the process enhances financial inclusion through promoting the trading of foreign currency through formal channels.

Kindly tell us about the regulatory environment and some of your reforms to strengthen and inspire confidence in the country's banking and financial systems.

The current regulatory environment is conducive to the country's banking and financial systems. The Central Bank has allowed the use of free funds for domestic transactions in the economy. Consequently, economic agents are free to keep their bank deposits in the currency of their choice. The Central Bank has also consistently assured the public that it will not introducet policies that will prejudice depositors, especially with regard to foreign currency accounts (FCA). This policy stance has seen FCA deposits in the banking sector significantly increasing from less than US$300m in 2018 to current averages of above US$1.7 billion. The significant increase in FCA deposits is evidence of restored and sustained confidence in the country's banking sector.

The Central Bank also continues to foster

compliance of banking institutions regarding responsible pricing in terms of interest on deposits and bank charges. Reflecting this policy stance, the Central Bank has put a floor on deposit rates for savings and time deposits currently at 40% and 80%, respectively

The Central Bank employs various supervisory techniques which are continuously refined to take cognizance of international best practices. The methodologies include macroprudential measures and macroprudential supervision incorporating risk-based supervision, consolidated supervision, and financial stability assessments, underpinned by early warning systems and a supportive legislative framework

Other Central Bank specific key reforms to strengthen and inspire confidence in the country's banking and financial systems, include.

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Prescription of new capital requirements that take cognisance of the dynamic operating environment;

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Implementation of Basel III Liquidity Standards to ensure banks have sufficient liquidity buffers to meet net cash outflows in stressed conditions; enhancement of Macroprudential Policy Framework;

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Operationalisation of the Contingency Planning and Systemic Risk Management Framework; strengthening of corporate governance practices and risk management systems in banking institutions; and

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Enhancement of sustainability standards and financial inclusivity; as well as amendments to the Banking Act to ensure it is fully supportive of ongoing reforms.

The Central Bank is facilitating banking institutions' implementation of sustainability standards through a certification initiative driven by the European Organization for Sustainable Development. Banking institutions that are prepared to take meaningful action early and integrate sustainability practices into their business strategies will have an advantage over peers as the sustainable finance market matures.

The Central Bank has also enhanced the credit infrastructure to ensure effective and efficient access to credit, promote financial stability and foster socially responsible economic growth. The credit registry has bridged the information asymmetry between lenders and borrowers while implementation of the collateral registry will promote access to finance.

Since your appointment as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, what would you say are some of your achievements?

The experience of serving the Central Bank has been both an honour and an inspiration. I took office at a time when the economy had started to show signs of stress typified by deflation, which started in September 2014 and ended in February 2017. The country was also facing challenges of high non-performing loans in the banking sector, acute cash shortages and shortage of change in the retail sector since the country was operating under a full dollarisation system.

My first term was, therefore, focused on managing the impact of low aggregate demand and competitiveness of the national economy, which the Bank achieved through the administration of the export incentive scheme and promotion of a cash-lite society to alleviate the cash challenge. My first term was also characterized by the need to return the Bank backto-basics of central banking.

The aggressive promotion of electronic means of payment greatly assisted in resolving the cash challenges and in accelerating the country's financial inclusion agenda. The use of electronic means of payments currently stood at 96% of retail and wholesale payments, which is among the highest in Africa.

The export incentive scheme introduced by the Bank in 2016 and administered through bond notes, created a strong platform for sustained foreign currency generation in the national economy

As a result, the country is currently recording high foreign currency receipts, with US$9.7 billion having been received in 2021, the highest ever. Foreign currency receipts are expected to continue rising as already shown by a 33% increase in foreign currency receipts for the first half of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.

My second term which took effect on 1 May 2019 was substantially different from the first term on account of different policies pursued by the Government of Zimbabwe during the two terms. The successful transition to the use of the local currency as a functional currency gave the Central Bank scope to conduct traditional monetary policy functions of a central bank which were nonexistent during full dollarization.

However, the introduction of the local currency was met with mixed reactions and anxiety by the general public and businesses, which led to a significant increase in inflation that reached 837.5% in July 2020 and is currently on a downward trajectory

My achievements during the current term include precisely dealing with inflationary pressures caused by behavioural factors largely emanating from the unavoidable currency reforms and further exacerbated by external shocks from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The robust monetary policy framework put in place by the Central Bank has greatly assisted in managing inflation and exchange rate pressures, thus preventing the economy from plunging into the hyperinflationary era experienced by the

country in 2008.

The introduction of the foreign exchange auction system on 23 June 2020 was a great achievement as it assisted in reducing inflation from a peak of 837.5% in July 2020 to 50.2% in August 2021.

I am also happy that the current measures being implemented by the Central Bank, notably the successful roll-out of gold coins whose uptake continues to be favourable, have assisted in stabilising the exchange rate, whose volatility has been driven by a store of value considerations by the public and forward pricing behaviour by economic agents.

As of 13 September 2022, 8,699 gold coins have been sold mopping ZW$7.9 billion from the market. Reflecting this policy stance, the parallel market premium that had reached 140% in July 2022 has been significantly reduced to between 5-10%, well within the international acceptable benchmark when compared to

premiums typically observed intransition economies of between 10-15%.

Since I assumed my duties, the Central Bank has ably managed to ensure that the banking sector remained safe, sound, and sustainable to support economic activity

The creation of the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (ZAMCO) in 2015, has sustainably addressed the problem of high non-performing loans in the banking sector, which reached a peak of 23% before declining to current low levels of around 1%, well within the internationally accepted benchmark of below 5%.

The positive achievements to date give me sufficient confidence that the Central Bank will be able to bring inflation further down to single-digit levels within the SADC benchmarks before the end of my second term, thus leaving a legacy of great achievement on the Central Bank's mandate of ensuring price and financial system stability

In our fast-paced world, driven by IT and innovation, only a dynamic and agile company can stand the test of time. The financial services sector has been marked by a sweeping digital revolution, changing the traditional system of banking into one driven by technology and innovation. This has no doubt led to mergers, acquisitions, and sometimes an outright sale.

Debub Global Bank Ethiopia is one of Ethiopia's leading banks that is adapting expertly to the ever-evolving banking landscape. In this exclusive interview the bank's president, Dr Tesfaye Boru, talks about his efforts in building a 'future-ready' organisation.

The financial sector is known for its need for committed and competitive leaders who are ready to make the difference, and your recent Special Commendation Award from the African Leadership Magazine shows you are cut from that cloth. How were you able to become the celebrated leader that you are today?

First of all, I would like to thank Africa leadership Magazine for your extraordinary commitment to tell the African story to the world, celebrating African leadership, and specifically for your recognition.

At the heart of a successful leadership lies a deep passion and commitment to serve, care for people, a bold vision for the future and conscious commitment to lifelong learning.

Leaders work through other people – hence the care for others is important. I would like to think I am successful at creating an environment where people feel valued and truly believe in the bank's mission and vision.

This in turn has contributed to create dedicated management and employees that act as one to innovate, ensure customer excellence and ultimately deliver value to stakeholders. I believe adopting a future fit strategy accompanying development initiatives and organisational structure that helps unleash employees' potential have also contributed to this success.

Your experience in the financial sector cuts across 16 years of solid banking experience and your leadership approach is defined as a strategic and collaborative pattern through which you achieve effective strategising and process improvements. Why do you adopt the use of such innovative means to lead and how has it helped shape your experience at Debub Global Bank?

As you have said, I have worked for more than 16 years in the financial sector in different capacities, including at the National Bank of Ethiopia. I have always been keen to keep the balance between having the bigger picture and being detail oriented.

This strategic mindset has helped me understand the overall market dynamics, identify competitive advantages, and make bold moves to choose the road less travelled.

Specifically for my current position, applying creativity to my leadership style helps me to create my own unique style that aligns with my own strategic goals, long-term objective and the needs of my staff, esteemed customers and other stakeholders.

In line with this, at DGB, we have always sought to innovate and explore the road less travelled to create sustainable value for our customers and stakeholders.

On the other hand, we have strived to cultivate a

culture of continuous process improvement to streamline the efficiency of existing business processes of the bank in order to deliver improved customer experience.

In addition, process improvement initiatives have contributed to significant reduction in bad costs thereby enabling us to provide efficient services at affordable rates.

The Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia, H.E Dr. Yinager Dessie, mentioned recently that the Ethiopian banking sector has registered a remarkable growth despite the fact that it faced various challenges such as COVID-19, internal conflict, and the Ukraine-Russia crisis. In the face of global recession and economic challenges like inflation, how have you been able to stay afloat with Debub and consistently deliver in customer/client satisfaction?

The past two or three years were marked by challenges resulting from various domestic and global crises. Some of the measures taken by the NBE to counter these challenges supports the banking industry but others contributed to creating a difficult operating environment.

Despite this, it has been a period where we managed to align our strategy and operating structure to help us navigate through the challenging market dynamics, pursuing growth and expansion, and continuing to ensure service excellence to uphold our commitment of keeping customers at the center of our business.

For DGB in general and me as a the president and chief executive, in particular, the previous year was also characterised as a time of reassessment and repositioning and taking proactive steps to lay the foundations for becoming a future-fit bank

What particular policies or marketing decisions help you stay ahead of your competition in the Ethiopian banking industry, and why do your clients take you as the Bank of Choice to deal with?

As I stated in the previous answer, the preceding year was a period of reassessment and repositioning. Accordingly, our new strategy that has four pillars, strong and sustainable financial performance, driving service excellence, enhancing digital capabilities, and building human capital that possess the right skillset; and that has helped us to stay ahead of the competition."

To regulate the economy, government also issues different directives and regulation, like Note Redemption; repeal NBE bill, and minimizing reserve requirements. The limits on Birr and FCY holding supported the bank to stay profitable and competitive in the industry

What peculiar challenges have you been faced with in your role as the President of Debub Global Bank, and how were you able to navigate these situations with favorable decisions for the Bank?

Cognizant with new, conventional and IFB bank establishment, the banking industry in general has been highly affected by shortage of skilled manpower - and DGB was no exception, which hindered the bank to achieving its major strategic pillar, i.e. business expansion.

To solve this challenge, we as a team opted for a strategy of recruiting new graduates and on-thejob development programmes aimed at equipping them with essential banking skills and inculcating the bank's culture and values.

To retain existing talent, we have started up-skilling programmes to prepare our people for increasingly senior roles, implemented succession plans, and introduced competitive compensation and benefits structure.

The other major challenge we have encountered in the previous period was shortage of forex. Forex has been one of the main contributors to profitability for banks in Ethiopia.

To address this condition, we have introduced innovative products and services to attract more forex accounts.

Also, since retail banking is directly attached with deposit mobilisation and loan provision, we have implemented a strategy that helps to maximise our income from loan and advance, mobilising more deposit and minimising the dependence on hard currency

What particular policy changes do you look forward to having in the Ethiopian Banking sector and how will this revolutionize the industry in your opinion?

In order to provide better and a more accessible banking experience, the Ethiopian government has implemented several reforms and policies, especially over the last two years, which helps the country to deal with any change in economic conditions and demographics.

Most policy changes I have been wondering for Ethiopian banking sector are already been implemented over the past two years, like NBE allowed to establish fully-fledged interest free banks; the establishment of capital markets; and opening the Ethiopian banking sector to foreign participation. This all-new regulation makes the banking industry in Ethiopia very competitive.

In my opinion, up to fully implemented all these revolutionary policies, the banking sector do not need a new one except some directives and circulars that helps to smooth and respond to any macroeconomic changes and turbulences.

How will the commendation you have received impact your activities going forward as President of Debub, and how does it inspire other people at your institution to do better?

I believe this recognition will inspire me, my team and the bank's community for more challenges, bold moves and in our journey to position the bank among the leaders in service excellence and stakeholder value.

50 P A G E

THE MIND OF AN ENTREPRENEUR

In the modern period, women have dominated the aviation sector. They are shattering records for altitude, endurance, and speed. Today, in a special interview with ALM, we speak with Ms. Fiona Omondi, the co-founder of Women In Aviation International-Kenya Chapter, who shares with us more about her passion for aviation and the steps she has taken to guarantee that women in the industry continue to shatter glass ceilings. Excerpts:

As a co-founder of Women In Aviation International- KENYA Chapter, kindly give us some insights into what gaps the organization tries to address.

Kenya chapter of Women in Aviation, International. Which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing networking, education, mentoring, and scholarship opportunities for women who are striving for challenging and fulfilling careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. We provide members with scholarships through our mother Company Women In Aviation International which helps students advance their Aviation training be it in flying or engineering, which supports growth and development for its members throughout their career

journey. The chapter offers a networking platform for women in the industry, which also enables members to get job connections. Through our networking events, members and nonmembers can find mentors who are willing to advise, guide, or walk with the members through their career journey. We also host educational fairs, workshops, and exhibitions, to create career and STEM awareness. My favorite Chapter activity is Education outreach, where we visit different girls' schools, and help demystify the Aviation industry while exposing them to the vast career options available in the industry while encouraging the girls to take up STEM courses, this exercise is usually crowned yearly by an event dubbed as Girls In Aviation Day

(GIAD), which takes place every September where we facilitate a maximum of 100 girls for an Aviation education tour where they get to see first hand how the airport and airline work. We can not be blind to what happens in our society so the chapter also participates in community events and CSR activities to bring positive change in our community

All right. But I'm interested to know What was the primary driving force behind Co-Founding this organization?

My father has worked in the aviation industry for more than 40 years. Growing up he always brought us delicious pastries from NAS, a catering company at JKIA. I especially loved the marble and fruit cake. So there were days he would drive us to the airport to buy the pastries, during our runs I got exposed to the aviation industry at a very young age, and that is where my interest and passion for aviation was ignited. Growing up I already knew that I wanted to be an aviator like my father. After high school, he guided me on which courses I should take to join the industry. I always say that I am quite fortunate to have had a mentor throughout my career journey

My motivation to cofound the organization was to provide learners with a channel where they could be guided in this industry, we did that by generating a database of professionals who would help us create awareness and provide mentorship to students and women looking to join Aviation by sharing the information about the different career options in the industry and the STEM courses one had to study. Back then people were not sure of where to go for such information.

WAI-Kenya also provides women and some men Aviators and aspiring aviators with a platform where they meet, make friendships, and have fun while building connections with the right people, taking their careers to the next level. WAI-Kenya is also my way of giving back to the community.

Women account for just about 5% of professional pilots and 3% of airline

CEOs around the world. That is according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISWAP). Please id like to know what could be behind this underrepresentation.

Pilots originated from the military, where women were excluded for many decades, in addition to that the reluctance of some airlines to recruit women pilots are two historic reasons for the low number of women pilots. But as I journey in my career I have come to understand that the real obstacle is lack of awareness. Many young girls and women are not aware of the vast career opportunities available to them in the Aviation Industry. It is important to understand that all this is a reflection of how a girl is brought up in our society, girls are taught how to be good homemakers, leading to fewer women pursuing Science Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), where boy child is considered to be better at. Without any STEM training, the girl child is disadvantaged during recruitment for technical jobs. Those women who are considered “lucky” to undergo training and secure jobs in the industry, and aspire to be female leaders are undeniably met with Biases and stereotyping, during interviews, promotions, and training opportunities. For instance, while compassion and empathy are typically viewed as feminine traits, competitiveness, assertiveness, and confidence are often associated with men. Female leaders who exhibit some of these traits are often viewed as antagonistic. Work-life and familylife balance is also one of the reasons women give up their careers in the industry, balancing the two can be daunting, not to mention the mandatory recurrent rigorous professional training aviators go through frequently. Another point well noting, is that women may also harbor doubts about applying for senior positions or technical jobs when they feel they do not meet the requirements 100%, while men on the other hand always seize the opportunity.

How, in your opinion, can gender

equity be accomplished in the aviation industry?

I always say in everything we do to accomplish it we must be INTENTIONAL, leaders can not participate and not in the intention. When we are talking about gender equality, it's not about organizations coming up with policies just to tick the box and then shelving them to gather dust. The intention is informed by Policy and Infrastructure

Policy without supporting infrastructure will not work, these two go hand in hand, when a woman is promoted, the senior management should ensure she has the right supporting infrastructure to perform her duties in her new capacity. This includes the need to include gender and diversity in an organization's strategic planning, probably the most important, is the presence of female role models at the highest corporate level to provide the coaching, mentorship, and grooming that future female leaders need.

Top management in organizations should commit to sensitizing employees through awareness training and brainstorming sessions, to help them understand, eliminate or mitigate biases and stereotypes during recruitment, promotions, and training opportunities, to increase the talent pool of women. Organizations should also encourage and prepare women for senior management positions through training, shadowing, fostering coaching, and mentoring with a keen eye on gender equality and share best practices which include policies that encourage work and life balance, for instance, there should be a plan on how women who decide to start a family on their return from maternity leave, seamlessly get back into the system so that they do not feel neglected and that their career has come to a standstill...

We should Increase outreach to girls on STEM, with a focus on technical studies, exposing the girl child from a young age to these subjects leads to them taking up aviation careers. At home and in

schools teachers, parents and guidance should affirm to the girl child that they are equal to their male counterparts and they are also capable of taking up STEM subjects and joining and succeeding in technical careers.

The stakeholders in the aviation sector should work towards the promotion of the sector to youth, facilitating access to education by ensuring equal opportunity for girls and boys. These are attractive measures to attract and retain women in aviation and STEM-related careers.

What efforts have you taken so far to achieve gender equity in the aviation industry?

They say charity begins at home, as the Head of Business Strategy and Sustainability at Tradewinds Aviation Services Ltd a Ground Handling Company Headquartered at JKIA, Tradewinds is a very highly male-dominated company due to the nature of business. One of my main responsibilities geared toward gender equality and sustainability is to sensitize and create awareness among the management team that women too can work in some departments considered to be 'male' jobs. Encouraging and promoting for more women to be employed and promoted to leadership positions, and pushing for higher numbers of women representation in departments which are considered 'women friendly' Collect company data on gender representation and monitoring the numbers to ensure we are maintaining acceptable ratios according to our policy.

Since employees work on shifts, I also pushed for women not to immediately get back on shift once they report back from maternity, which has allowed new mothers to bond more with their bundle of joy, this has significantly reduced stress levels in new moms, which has, in turn, improved their productivity

I have continuously spoken about gender diversity at major international conferences.

Under the WAI-Kenya umbrella, is where we demystify the aviation industry by doing a lot of mentoring of young girls to take up careers in the aviation industry. Access to civil aviation is a challenge and training for technical skills for different careers is quite expensive, WAI-Kenya provides women with scholarships through our mother organization, which helps motivate more girls even from marginalized and disadvantaged backgrounds to join the industry

Okay. How far along are we in achieving gender parity in the aviation industry?

We have not scratched the surface yet, great strides have been made throughout the years, but we are far from achieving gender equality. It is difficult to transform something unknown/ a mystery or rather something that is considered to be for the affluent. That's why in my capacity I have taken an INTENTIONAL decision to continuously create awareness.

But it is not all gloom and doom, there are some success stories that I must mention. Collins Aerospace-

Morocco and the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) are organizations that have the 50- 50 gender rule policy and have achieved the same as we speak. SACAA has equally taken this cause further by ensuring that at the highest decision-making structures of the Regulator, women's representation is 50/50.

This serves as another stride forward in the transformation of gender roles in leadership and the development of women.

One of the major strides took place this year at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 41st Assembly where Ms. Poppy Khoza, the Director of Civil Aviation at the South African Civil Aviation Authority, was unanimously elected by the ICAO Member States to serve as President for the 41st Assembly that consists of delegates from 193 countries. It was a historic moment for ICAO to have elected the first woman President of the Assembly. This demonstrates that attaining gender equality is possible where organizations with senior management are committed and INTENTIONAL towards this course.

What would be your call to the Kenyan government and international organizations from where you are seated, please?

They should push for the implementation of policy and action plans on government legislation and organizational policies and advocate and demonstrate commitment from the top. The Kenyan government should also encourage organizations whether in the public or private sector to adopt the two-thirds gender rule this will help close the gender gap

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority should commit to gender equality by encouraging stakeholders in the Aviation industry to sign up for the IATA 25by2025, where organizations commit to increasing female representation in senior roles in their organizations and in areas where women are traditionally under-represented

Training for technical aviation skills is quite an expensive affair, I urge international organizations to make aviation training affordable for aspiring aviators. The Governments support STEM programs related to aviation by providing sponsorship or funding to young girls.

awareness

One of my main responsibilities geared toward gender equality and sustainability is to sensitize and create

among the management team that women too can work in some departments considered to be 'male' jobs

The encouraged States through the ministry of education and gender and the aviation industry to enhance the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education for girls, as a means of increasing girls' access to STEM education

What message would you convey to the newly installed administration on inclusivity in the aviation sector?

Of course, the government has priorities of its own, largely carried in its campaign manifestos. But I would use a platform such as this interview to urge our leaders to appreciate the importance of our Aviation industry and, by extension, to appreciate and consciously support our important role within it.

Lastly, during my research, I learned that you are also the head of business strategy and sustainability. Talk to us about it.

Aviation is a very dynamic industry, which requires continuous improvement of an organization's processes and procedures to remain relevant in the industry. As Head of Business Strategy and Sustainability, I am responsible for overseeing the development, dissemination, execution, and adoption of strategic initiatives at all levels of the department throughout the whole organization, to attract new business. As a key player in leading change management initiatives for the organization, with the help of the management team, I can create new business models, and design strategic roadmaps for innovation and commercial activities, while managing all company projects and partnerships. I also develop and implement the company's sustainability strategies to benefit society, and build positive stakeholder relationships, whilst strengthening the company's value chain and value proposition.

I love my job because it is challenging which motivates me to read and research widely daily, which keeps me abreast with new developments and current affairs in

Aviation Training, Ground Handling business, and the Aviation industry as a whole. I work in a very maledominated company which can be very challenging at times, especially now that we do not have a woman role model in senior management to mentor me and other women in the organization. Due to this, I took it upon myself to champion the gender equality agenda in the organization, through sensitization and policy development, a course I am very passionate about.

In conclusion, I would like to point out that this is not a war against men

have different organizations in the aviation industry all working towards gender equality. Our efforts should be merged and aligned towards supporting the global effort underway aimed at achieving the sustainable 2030 development agenda, in particular sustainable development number 5 on gender

It is critical to our long-term success, our agreed approaches seek to advocate for gender equality in Aviation among both governments and private sector air transport operators, and in each case the need for high-level leadership to come up

but a call for gender equality and it's important to understand that women alone can not achieve this goal. We need to work together with our male counterparts towards this course because we both have different strengths that when brought we can achieve more. It has been proven time and again that gender diversity has a positive net impact on a company's bottom line. A New York Times article I read a while ago, states that increasing the percentage of women from 0 - 30% in management positions has a direct impact by improving profitability by 15%. We

with STRONG and SUSTAINABLE commitments and policies in favor of gender equality that will cater to both existing and new entrants into the industry. One of my favorite quotes on the subject is by Verna Myers “Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance”

WHY EAST AFRICA IS IMPORTANT TO INDIA - AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

locally influential and have built a network with India sums up to 2.63 million. It is because of this that Indian corporations have been able to pursue a variety of economic interests in African countries.

A Snap Shot Of Indian Businesses In Africa Since The First Century

Naturally when we are talking about India - Africa Trade and Investment Opportunities, the East Africa Region emerges as a crucial aspect in this discussion. For as long as I can remember, the area has served as an entry point for India into Africa for historical reasons.

The trade in the Indian Ocean comes first. Literature from the first century claims that traders from Western India had already crossed the Indian Ocean to conduct business with Eastern Africa. And during the colonial era, they arrived in Eastern Africa as part of the UK's effort to develop the area. As a result, a large number of Indians were called into service to carry out specific tasks like building railroads or working as seasonal laborers. Some of those Indians we nt ahead and attracted other family members who later joined them.

Today according to history records, the number of African citizens of Indian descent who are economically,

Up To date indians have spread all over the African continent and they are not here to dally around. They are busy and actively making several company ventures in various African industries. In fact, the Reserve Bank of India agrees with us that Indian corporations have gone all out and made investments across the continent in all types of businesses. This according to statistical evidence, has allowed them to invest a total of USD13.8 billion in 36 of the 54 African nations.

Even so, Mauritius accounts for a larger portion of investments, accounting for 12.9 billion US dollars or 90% of the total. India and Mauritius too have a distinct and special bond. Once more, this is based on strong bilateral ties, cultural similarities, as well as shared interests and beliefs. High-level political meetings, exchanges, and the execution of a wide range of bilateral agreements in multiple areas, including education, health, maritime security, ICT, financial services, and many more, have all served to further strengthen this strong connection over the years. Over time, there has been an increase in both trade and investment links between the two nations.

Total foreign direct investment from India to

Mauritius, for the last five years, stood at more than US$ 50 million. Still, there are currently more than 7,800 Indian workers working in Mauritius for approximately 64 Indian enterprises. According to information currently available, India was the second-largest exporter of goods to the Mauritian market in 2020, with shipments totaling close to US$ 670 million, a significant increase of close to 230% from the export amount in 2005.

But on the other hand, Mauritius exported about US$14 million to India in 2020. So when Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) was signed in February during the official visit of Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India to Mauritius, trade and economic relations between the two nations reached a new level. The CECPA went into effect on April 1st, 2021.

In addition to this, India should make further investments that travel through developing nations to reach Africa. However, due to data shortages, it is challenging to obtain a precise picture of the flow.

According to additional statistics on bilateral foreign direct investments, Mozambique's mining and agriculture sectors (which collectively received USD 92.36 million) and Ethiopia's manufacturing sector (which received USD 84.31 million) received some of the largest investments from Indian companies in African nations (aside from Mauritius). Investments are concentrated in the mining sector of Mozambique's agriculture and mining sectors, particularly for large-scale projects like coal development (USD 10.5 million) and natural gas development (USD 7 million).

What must be observed is that Indian corporations are focusing their investments on the manufacturing industry, despite the fact that Japanese companies have also been paying attention to the

"Africa and Resources" business from the beginning, as was described above.

With Mauritius excluded, the direct investments made by Indian businesses in manufacturing in African nations during this time period were USD 472.57 million (cumulative).

There were 716 projects total, and figures indicate that several Indian businesses have made significant investments in the area from the standpoint of "Africa and Factories."

The following is a list of illustrative examples of how Indian businesses have expanded their operations in nations like Ethiopia, South Africa, and Nigeria.

Practical examples of Indian Businesses in Africa.

One of the biggest tire producers and distributors in India is Apollo Tyres. The business obtained Dunlop's rights in 33 African nations when it purchased Dunlop Tyres International South Africa. Luis Ceneviz reported that they spent $80 million improving and growing the business' operations.

From its factories in Durban and Ladysmith, the company manufactures tires for both passenger and commercial vehicles. It also sells a number of brands, including those that are imported from India, throughout Africa.

The largest producer of liquid steel on the continent is now ArcelorMittal South Africa. Its plants in Gauteng have an annual capacity of 7.8 million tons. With mines in Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal, South Africa, and a $1 billion project in Liberia, it is also the biggest iron ore mining business operating in Africa.

In 2010, Essar Steel acquired Zisco, a steel manufacturer in Zimbabwe. This same company is also involved throughout a number of other initiatives, including BPO operations in Africa. Coal India in Mozambique, Vedanta Resources in

copper mining in Zambia, Varun Industries in rare earth minerals in Madagascar, and Jindal Steel and Power in Mozambique and South Africa are a few more significant Indian investments in African resources.

Another draw for Indian agribusinesses is the vast stretches of fertile land in Africa. The greatest exporter of roses in the world right now is Karuturi Global. owing to its financial involvement in Kenya and Ethiopia. The company's founder and MD, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, claims that her company is Ethiopia's second-largest employer, behind the government.

Karuturi takes its corporate social responsibility seriously and offers its employees homes, pharmacies, schools, and recreational facilities.

Even a professional football team is managed by them in Ethiopia.

Critiques on Indian Businesses In Africa.

Indians living in Africa have drawn a lot of criticism. Both favorable and unfavorable. One thing that sticks out, though, is that whereas China is rumored to be employing its own personnel to work on development projects in Africa, India is actively investing in the abilities of Africans. They have established institutes to assist Africans in learning how to manage development projects and are quite willing to offer their expertise. The majority of experts also view the fact that they speak English as a benefit. They can now communicate effectively with Africans because of this.

But the key is one thing. Africans are being strongly warned to keep a close eye on these giants as they work to enter the continent. Even though they are establishing trade ties with Africa, our rich resources have not yet been fully utilized.

EDUCATION:

The increase in mobile use and the advent of mobile technology have seen tremendous growth in mobile app development across the globe.

Nowadays, there's an app for almost everything; from shopping to gaming, banking and finance, arts and design, dating, entertainment, communication, medicals and even online learning; mobile apps take care of almost everything.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed our lives in many ways. The United Nations Educational Scientific and

Cultural Organization revealed that over 90% of global learners were affected by the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Schools in Africa, like other places in the world, shut down during the worst of the pandemic. Over a billion students, many of them in Africa, did not attend.

The lockdown highlighted the need for changes not only to African students but to education systems worldwide. Many countries had to adopt a new learning system that incorporated social distancing. This made it possible for lessons to continue uninterrupted.

The events of 2020 brought to the forefront the need for alternative learning away from the physical classroom. Consequently, several African Education technology companies stepped in to help students continue their studies while at home. These innovative platforms provided vital learning tools for primary, secondary and high school students across the continent. Technology revolutionized the teaching and learning field. As a student, whether you want help with taking notes, revising, or self-learning, there are apps to make life easier, cheaper, safer and more fun.

In layman's terms, an Education Technology app, Edtech for short, is a platform that integrates learning systems and technologies to offer a customized, end-toend learning solution. In other words, Edtech is a software that enables and encourages virtual teaching and helps individuals with remote learning of any kind. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, extended reality, and 5G, are making it possible for EdTech solution providers to deliver education to every corner of the world.

Today, educational apps are used by school pupils, college students, and teachers at all levels. Classes, lectures, and seminars are no longer confined to the classrooms only. Students are gravitating from paperback to digital books, preferring online classes more often than offline ones, completing various courses digitally; thus, reshaping Africa's education industry

Edtech was by no means new when the pandemic struck. But after the lockdown, African nations kept pace with online education and its use has gained momentum. Learning apps are making learning easier for students and even making learning entertaining. Educational apps are interactive and fun for everyone to use.

Below are some Edtech apps in Africa using e-learning to reshape the continent's education industry

uLesson - This African Edtech service was initially launched to counter the problem of inadequate access to the Internet by students in Nigeria and Ghana. Thus, the company shipped out an SD card (and SD card reader) with all the learning material to students. Consequently, students used a computer or smart device to interact with the content.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, uLesson had to shift its strategy to a stream-only app for its users. The platform now has a rich content database that includes thousands of curriculum-based videos, quizzes, tests, and learning modules for mathematics and science subjects.

Ubongo - The power of entertainment is what drives Ubongo to educate and reach a massive audience. The main objective of this Tanzanian-based platform is to promote educational content in regions with meagre infrastructural resources. Consequently, Ubongo has partnered with animators, translators, and interpreters from different regions to produce edutainment content that reaches almost half a billion children in 40 countries.

This app creates interactive child-friendly content for African audiences. The company uses mass media, YouTube, and an app to deliver local content for children in the form of animated cartoons.

Ubongo currently produces cartoons in five different languages, Kiswahili, English, French, Hausa, and Kinyarwanda.

Kytabu - Kitabu is the Swahili word for book. This app offers access to a library of books, tests, videos, and other content in an affordable and easily accessible way. The content is available offline for students to learn at their own pace. It is a lifesaver for parents who cannot afford expensive textbooks. Kytabu also uses Machine Learning to help provide personalized learning paths for the learners.

Khan Academy - This is a free app that offers mathematics and computing studies to pupils of all ages. The content can be downloaded to a mobile device. It is rich and includes videos, and in-depth articles on math, algebra, geometry, calculus, and others. It also covers basic music notation studies.

Mtabe - Mtabe is an artificial intelligence-powered search engine for secondary students that deliver personalized content and search results from a virtual tutor. Students can access the content via text messages. This is an ideal method for communities with no access to the Internet. Also, there is an app for students who have access to smartphones.

Xander - Xander is designed to suit the educational needs of young African children. Xander addresses the need for basic literacy and numeracy skills to be taught to marginalised young children in Africa for whom mainstream educational apps are not designed and are very expensive and difficult to access. The app is developed to be small in size and cheaply priced to make it more accessible to all people.

Tutor.ng - Tutor.ng is an online learning platform for tutors to create courses and engage learners remotely. It provides the technology for tutors to transform any environment into a learning space.

Tutors come in various forms: they can be learners themselves, university affiliates or test preparation companies. The idea is to promote knowledge sharing across borders. It enables learners to build basic academic skills such as reading, spelling, history, science, and creative arts as well as non-academic skills such as cooking or make-up tutorials.

Education mobile apps offer several advantages for students, tutors and educational institutions. The following are some of the benefits of education apps.

Mobile Learning: This benefit of educational apps is the game-changer. Learning via mobile devices makes learning much more convenient in terms of mobility and accessibility

No Time Bounds: While learning via an education app,

the advantage is that the learners can study anytime that they want.

An abundance of Study Materials: With the presence of the internet almost across the globe, it is feasible to make educational materials available online. With educational content being accessible online, everything from political science to African History can be available for everyone. Mobile applications can be easily updated and improved in real-time (as opposed to a textbook).

Higher Engagement: Visuals always attract people more than plain texts. And e-learning apps are a great example of this. Educational apps are stimulating and fun to use; thus, attracting many learners.

Personalized and Interactive Learning: Personalization is one of the key advantages of educational apps. Personalization is one of the most interactive learning ways, encouraging learners to engage with the app more and more. Educational apps are becoming the new priority choice for learners as they allow them to learn anything in their comfort, at their own pace.

Education mobile apps also have disadvantages. The following are some of the cons of education apps.

Lack of Real Interaction: One on One interaction is a gem. Studies have shown that continued disconnection from society and gravitating more towards technology and social media results in increased mental and emotional health problems. That said, educational apps eliminate real and social interaction, causing distress.

Distraction: Today's learners are savvy mobile users and find ways to use their mobile phones to perform other internet activities. Hence, students just end up distracted from their education.

It Requires Internet Connectivity: Educational apps can be a big problem in places without internet coverage. Therefore, this can be a major disadvantage of educational apps.

One thing is certain, with Edtech apps, education will never be the same. African Edtech like those listed creates a viable alternative to classroom learning. Cheaper mobile devices coupled with the boom in educational app development mean that many learners in developing countries can now access quality educational media outside of the classroom. However, this should not be seen as a total shift to tech-based learning but instead, as a complementary tool that will help students in the current situation and beyond.

Building a Climate Conscious

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing today's society. It doesn't matter where you live or how old you are; climate change affects your life and will continue to do so unless action is taken. Everyone has a part to play in mitigating climate change, youths included.

Mayokun Iyaomolere is the founder of Plogging Nigeria Club. In this exclusive interview, he spoke to African Leadership's Chekwube Ukoh on Building a Climate Conscious Generation.

The new report from the International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, calls for an immediate and complete transformation of every sector of society. Only then will it be possible to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This begins with individuals. How can people's behaviour make a difference?

Let's take Nigeria, for example. We have a population of over 200

million persons. Let's create a scene where a person drops a nylon bag into the drainage. That might seem insignificant because it's just nylon and doesn't clog the drainage. Let's imagine again 200 million people, each dropping that into that drainage. It will amount to a lot of waste that would cost a lot of environmental problems.

Now, imagine 7.8 billion people in the world being careless with waste. That shows the power in numbers. Just one person looks insignificant, but when we count all the ones in different places, it becomes tangible and significantly affects the environment. In the same light, imagine 7.8 billion people being conscious and taking one action per day with everyone being aware of the type of food they eat, how they use energy, how they discard their waste, and their carbon footprint.

Individual behavior can make a huge difference. if every individual is conscious about the need for

environmental sustainability, the need to maintain balance with global temperatures, it will have an impact on their life style and invariable, amount to massive benefit for the planet. The bottom line here is that every action counts in the fight against climate change, each person's behaviour and effort to combat climate change and reduce global warming counts. This also means that for those already fighting to combat climate change, the conversation must continue. The future of the planet and the next generation lies in today's youth's hands. This is a statement we hear often. Why is the burden on the youths? Why should they be involved in a situation they didn't create?

It's a dilemma for youths, having to be vocal and take so much action and leadership for a situation we can distance ourselves from. In one of his speeches, Barrack Obama said, "We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change

and maybe the last generation that can do something concrete to stop it".

That statement highlights why the burden has been thrust upon the youth. Let's take, for example, plastic. When plastic was invented and used for packaging, it was a big win, but nobody foresaw how it could become a nuisance like it is now. It rests on this generation to develop innovations and inventions that would address this plastic problem, especially by providing alternative packaging that people can use.

The generation that brought industrialization to develop world economies did so without thinking of the environmental impact. Still, now that we see the negative impact, it falls on the youths because if they don't, the consequences will be on them and the future generations the most. The whole concept of sustainability revolves around using resources the planet currently has without compromising the ability of future generations to have access to some resources. We could say that the generation before us was not sustainable in their endeavours, but now, we have an opportunity to correct and address their mistakes.

There is a saying that we should look at the planet not as our property but as one which was borrowed from our children ahead of us. When we understand this saying, we will understand that preserving the planet is for us and for generations to come.

Let's talk about Africa. Despite contributing only a minute amount of global greenhouse gas emissions, the African continent suffers the toxic effects of climate change to an imbalanced extent. It could get worse, and as we have established; the future lies with the youths. How climate-conscious are African youths?

It's unfortunate how things tend to happen; the way the whole planet and environment are connected that activities

somewhere in the world could affect people in other parts of the world. If this were not the case, we would see that Africa would thrive beautifully. Naturally, there are regions where we feel the negative impact of climate change due to our local actions, but we can arguably say that most of the effects on the continent are from the more developed countries.

We say that Africa is the earth's lungs in the climate space. We have an opportunity in Africa not to develop how Western countries have developed. We have seen the impacts of industrialization; we can thus do better for the planet's sustainability in our approach to development. For the African youths, the consciousness is increasing. In the last 2-3 years, there has been a rise in the number of informed youths about climate change issues. But we still don't have enough youths who understand climate change and its conversation. More needs to be done to make African youths aware of what is happening to the planet and mitigate climate change.

So how can youths help stop climate change? Some youths are not rich to sponsor various environmental programs or projects. Some are not influential people who could invite many people. Some are just ordinary students.

This is the situation in Africa. Many African youths barely survive and try to get the means to cater for themselves and their young family. Many significant projects require huge funding, and in Africa, we rely mostly on foreign grants and funding. But there are inexpensive ways of talking about climate change.

By educating others via conversations with family, friends, neighbours and colleagues where you may not have to spend money Self-education is also key to disseminating knowledge on climate change and climate action. You can educate others by word of

mouth, by writing articles, and employing social media as a tool. Youths can help mitigate climate change by keying into available opportunities as volunteers for several African organisations and countries that are executing climate-related projects around Africa.

While a lot of discussion about climate change and energy use is centred around replacing the energy we use currently with a cleaner substitute, the latest IPCC report shows that by 2050, ideas and technologies that could lower emissions are required to keep the world up and running. Taking this into consideration, what ideas and technologies can youths employ to reduce our carbon footprint across the continent?

Youths must continue to do the basics. I am always very particular about the basics because it sets the foundation for building on stronger actions. You must perform the simple task of managing energy consumption, as simple as putting off the lights in your house when not in use, unplugging your gadget from power outlets, and adapting to energy-saving solutions like the use of solar energy to generate electricity and reduce our energy footprint. Although this technology is still unpopular in Africa, the use of wind turbines as a source of electricity is a technology that should be looked into for sustainable and renewable energy

Plogging Nigeria was founded with the mandate to promote a culture of responsible waste handling. What's the link between this mandate and ensuring a cleaner planet and climate change mitigation?

There is a big connection between waste and climate change. The connection is through the emissions that come from waste from the industries that create them. In Africa, for example, there is a lot of burning of waste even with waste management systems. In more developed countries, waste is

harnessed, and there have been reports of importing waste to harness energy from it. For Plogging Nigeria, our mandate revolves around helping people become conscious about the decisions they make with their waste and helping them to understand the impact it can have on the environment. The 2021 National Determent Contribution report stated that 9% of Nigeria's total emissions are from waste. If we can cut down the 9%, it will reduce our emission profile. We teach people to be more sustainable with their waste, reduce their consumption of resources so they can generate less waste, reuse and repurpose items, up-cycle to make new items, and recycle waste. The essence of all this is to reduce national emissions associated with waste. That's how Plogging Nigeria is connected to mitigating climate change.

Has Plogging Nigeria succeeded in its mandate of building a cleaner environment? How involved are youths in Plogging Nigeria's operations?

Yes, Plogging Nigeria is succeeding but has yet to meet its long-term target: to have a clean environment with fit people. Plogging means jogging and picking litter Back when we started in 2018, only 15 people came out to volunteer. We have a network of over 1,300 students and youths across 22 Nigerian campuses and two local communities. We are still expanding our tentacles to awaken consciousness in more people. Over time, we have reached millions of people physically and virtually We organize lots of campaigns and activities to promote climate change. For example, we run a Green Switch Academy where we teach young people about environmental sustainability. The Academy has trained

about 900 youths from 11 African countries and 4 European countries. We have other initiatives where we do social Media campaigns, Plogging episodes, and workshops. We do these activities to create a climate-smart generation.

How can we build a generation that is climate-conscious? What are your recommendations?

My first recommendation will always be to educate others in simple ways. For people that know about climate change, it is not knowledge that should be kept. Share and inform others. Everything we possess; clothes, shoes, cars are all extracted from the environment. Imagine how much it takes from the environment to provide for the needs of 7.8 billion people worldwide. So, we have to awaken everyone's consciousness through education, enlightenment and

engagement. Nations and continents have to be intentional about reviewing policies that are not climate-friendly and introducing policies that encourage climate action. It is also imperative that climate change be taught in schools. Including climate education and environmental sustainability in the school curriculum is an excellent way to catch children young and help them develop consciousness from a very early age. We have to continue to be sustainable in our daily interactions with the planet for individuals. For every action you take, think of its effect on the environment.

P A G E

The Leading Institutions Promoting Climate Change in Africa

“On an increasingly crowded planet, humanity faces many threats - but none is greater than climate change. It magnifies every hazard and tension of our existence.”Prince Charles

Climate change has been identified as a leading human and environmental crisis of the 21st century

Climate change can be referred to as a large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns and average temperatures.

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas “Climate change is having a growing impact on the African continent, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, and contributing to food insecurity, population displacement and stress on water resources. In recent months we have seen devastating floods, an invasion of desert locusts and now face the looming spectre of drought because of a La Niña event. The human and economic toll has been aggravated

by the COVID-19 pandemic”

Climate change is drastically affecting the African population, with research indicating that variable temperatures have affected health, food productivity, livelihoods, and water resources.

The Increasing temperatures and sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and more extreme weather are threatening human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development in Africa.

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), by 2050, climate change will lead to higher temperatures and mixed rainfall, leading to changes in crop yields and growth of the agricultural sector, higher food prices, less availability of food, and increased child malnutrition.

Also, a multi-agency publication coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), provides a picture of current and future climate trends and

associated impacts on the economy and sensitive sectors like agriculture. It highlights lessons for climate action in Africa and identifies pathways for addressing critical gaps and challenges.

"This report shows increasing climate change threats for human health, food and water security and socio-economic development in Africa. Because of this, we need accurate and current data for adaptation planning," said Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary, UN Climate Change.

However, some environmental NGOs has been playing a crucial role in helping to plug gaps by conducting research to facilitate policy development, building institutional capacity, and facilitating independent dialogue with civil society to help people live more sustainable lifestyles in Africa.

Below, African Leadership Magazine provides detailed information of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who are working to curb the harsh effects of climate change in Africa.

African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC)

AYICC stands as one of the youth NGOs working for environmental protection in Africa. It concentrates on six main areas, including: Ÿ

Ecological restoration and tree planting Ÿ

Renewable energy promotion Ÿ

Agribusiness promotion Ÿ

Recycling Ÿ Action for climate empowerment Ÿ

Campaigns and advocacy

AYICC also partners with African countries and international organizations such as AU and UNEP This organization is an excellent platform for youths to contribute to environmental conservation.

The Health of Mother Earth

Foundation (HOMEF)

The health of Mother Earth Foundation is one of the African environmental organizations in Nigeria. An advocacy organization that focuses on environmental/climate justice, food sovereignty, fossil politics - whose goal is to encourage people to shun the use of fossil fuel, an action that will enhance environmental protection.

Also, this organization runs hunger politics and Ikike. These projects seek to achieve food sovereignty and the protection of natural resources.

HOMEF runs different advocacy webinars addressing current environmental and biodiversity issues alongside other publications.

International Centre for Environmental Education and Community Development (ICENECDEV)

ICENECDEV is an environmental advocacy organization in Cameroon with a mission of encouraging and empowering people to protect their environment. The organization helps to enhance environmental conservation by transforming the human attitude towards natural resources and ecological assets.

An organization that uses a grassroots approach in building and creating environmental awareness, promoting education, and offering community development support. To achieve this, the organization has come up with six distinctive programs, namely: Ÿ

Environmental education

Sustainable forest management

Improving air quality

Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable waste management Ÿ

Access to sustainable renewable energy

The Green Belt Movement (GBM)

This one stand as one of the leading NGOs working for

environmental protection in Africa. Established in 1977 by Nobel Peace Prize winner the late Prof. Wangari Mathai.

This organization focuses on improving community livelihood and protecting the environment.

It works at the grassroots where it takes part in environmental activities environmental activities such as tree planting and growing seedlings. GBM encourages volunteerism and participation of women in environmental conservation advocacy.

It does this by helping them improve their livelihood through activities like:

Ÿ

Encouraging them to plant trees, to restore water catmint area

Teaching them rainwater harvesting techniques Ÿ Offering food and monetary tokens to exceptional women Ÿ

Ÿ

Curbing deforestation by providing alternative use of forests

Giving Life Nature Volunteer

Giving Life Nature Volunteer (GILINAVO) is an environmental NGO based in Ghana. founded in 2000 and registered in 2005. It is a member of the Ghanaian environment protection agency.

This organization encourages the volunteerism of students, women, institutions, and wellwishers in protecting the natural resources and the environment in Ghana.

Aside environment, the group also focus on caring for youth, women, children, human rights, peace, food security, and agriculture. It realizes its mission by working with students, school committees, and tourist coordinator groups.

A Rocha Ghana (ARG)

A Rocha Ghana (ARG) is a committed environmental NGO

providing practical conservation interventions aimed at contributing to the sustainable management of important ecological habitats and initiating programmes aimed at facilitating target community's ability to adapt to current trends in climate change and the impacts of a changing natural environmental. In 2003 Eden officially became part of the A Rocha family (network)

ARG is an international network of organizations working to show God's love for creation with five(5) core values and they are:

Ÿ Christian – Underlying all we do is our biblical faith in the living God, who made world, loved it and entrusted it to the care of the humankind.

Ÿ Conservation – We carry out research for the conservation and restoration of the natural world and run environmental education programmes for people of all ages.

Ÿ Community – Through our commitment to God, each other and the wider creation, we aim to develop good relationships both within the A Rocha family and in our local communities.

Ÿ

Cross-Cultural – We draw on the insights and skills of people from diverse cultures, both locally and around the world

Ÿ Cooperation – We work in collaboration with a wide variety of organizations and individuals who share our concerns for a sustainable world.

ARF works to inspire and empower people to care for nature through advocacy livelihood improvement and inter-faith dialogue that hinges on research and education.

Green Africa Foundation (GAF)

The Green Africa Foundation operates on this aspect that a

“green world is a sustainable and healthy planet”. Founded in 2000 in Nairobi, Kenya, it is one of the top environmental organizations in Africa. The organization works on the slogan “Think Green, Act Green” and has three green pillars, which include:

Ÿ

Being kind to people by preserving ethics and offering training on life skills

Ÿ

Promote healthy and peaceful communities, as well as create a sustainable livelihood

Ÿ Environmental

conservation

Green Africa Foundation works with learning and religious institutions, as well as organize music and sports to promote its agenda. Also, this environmental NGO learns a campaign dubbed “The Plant Your Age.”

This campaign seeks to personalize the environmental

commitment by encouraging individuals to plant trees that are equal to their ages. This way, it hopes that the goal of having a green Africa will be easy to achieve.

Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection

The Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection is an initiative of the Morrocan king, His Majesty King Mohammed IV since 2001.

Its mission is to prepare an environmentally conscious future generation that engages in a path of permanently sustainable development and to create awareness and promote education on environmental issues.

This environment organization appreciates its mission through training the stakeholders, particularly the youths. It helps to create public awareness, educate people on environment protection, and mobilize the stakeholders on participating in innovative programs.

The initiative focuses on six areas, which include:

Ÿ Coastal protection

Ÿ Air and climate

Ÿ Education for sustainable development Ÿ

Responsible tourism Ÿ Restoration of historic gardens and parks

Ÿ

Development and safeguarding of the Marrakech palm grove

Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection also partners with international environmental agencies such as UNESCO and UNEP

Environmental Education Through Film (EETF)

EETF operates on this belief that information is power and key to the protection of the environment. People will be conscious of environmental conservation if they

have the right information.

This organization promotes environmental education through films. It creates films in different languages on various environmental issues facing different regions in Africa.

EETF distribute these videos, free of charge to learning institutions and other public centres to reach millions of people across Africa. The goal is to offer adequate learning materials to help equip people with insightful knowledge of environmental conservation.

The organization films also involve notable narrators such as Hillary Clinton, the former American president, and Jackie Chan, a renowned movie actor

African Rainforest Conservancy (ARC)

The ARC is among the best environmental charities in Africa. This organization has a mission of raising funds to support grassroots environmental conservation projects and create awareness of the importance of this action.

The group ensures the conservation of mountain rainforests through collaborating with the local communities. The goal is to educate the community on the importance of the rainforest on environmental health and curb the burning and cutting of indigenous trees.

Established back in 1991, the ARC works in collaboration with the TFCG (Tanzania Forest Conservation Group), to ensure that the local communities can take care of these indigenous forests.

It targets a network of over 260 villages, spreading over seven mountains and coastal regions across Tanzania.

Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA)

WESSA is a South African environmental organisation which aims to initiate and support high impact environmental and

conservation projects to promote participation in caring for the Earth.

WESSA implements environmental, ecotourism, education, and youth development programmes nationally, encouraging people to care for the earth. This means improving the school curriculum through education for sustainable development and providing skills training, creating job opportunities and sustainable livelihoods in local communities. WESSA's environmental initiatives are about the restoration of ecosystems. It also encourages responsible tourism and improved management of our coastline.

WESSA is an integral part of the international environmental community: In addition to being the appointed operator in South Africa for five FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) programmes, we are a founder member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and, as a UNESCO partner, we are supporting education for sustainable development across the southern African region.

Matekane:

By Alkali Amana

In June 2022, Sam Matekane won the African Leadership Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award recognition for his outstanding business acumen, and the excellent contributions that he has accrued over the years to create his solid legacy

Now, he has taken a step forward as an African icon and budding statesman with his venture into the political leadership of his home country, Lesotho.

On the 28th October, Matekane was installed as the new Prime Minister of Lesotho. He will act on a mandate entrusted to him by his people to lead them into the next phase of visionary governance and growth.

He demonstrated his readiness and

commitment to handle this responsibility while campaigning for the national elections by going to places other candidates did not access.

Matekane's victory comes on the back of planning strategically and setting his mind on achieving a platform that will provide for the common good of the Basotho people. Results of the election, announced by the Independent Electoral Commission, revealed that the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), a political party Matekane founded in March 2022 had won 56 seats in the national assembly, five seats shy of an absolute majority. It was a resounding victory

Nevertheless the last time such numbers were recorded was in 2007 when the thenruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy won

61 parliamentary seats. Since then, subsequent elections held in 2012, 2015, and 2017 saw no political party winning more than 55 seats.

Matekane the Businessman

Born in Mantšonyane, ThabaTseka, on 15th March 1958, Matekane is the seventh child of fourteen children from his family He began his education at Bocheletsane primary in Matšoanyane before progressing to Mabathoana High School in Maseru where he obtained a junior certificate after three years of secondary school.

Matekane ventured into business after obtaining his junior certificate. A close family friend, Timothy Nhlapho, mentored him at the time.

Matekane's business life began with commercial livestock farming of donkeys in 1980, before diversifying his business interests into brick manufacturing. From brick manufacturing, he expanded the business into mining and selling sand, and formally registered it under the name Matekane Transport and Plant Hire (Pty) Ltd. to include transportation.

The growth of Matekane Transport and Plant Hire saw its entry into the construction sector, and the building of roads, dams, and reservoirs.

In 1992, Matekane registered his umbrella company, 'Matekane Group of Companies' (MGC). Today, MGC is home to many business ventures initiated by the forward-thinking Matekane, cutting across multiple sectors such as road construction, real estate investment, aviation, and mining companies. His business footprints spread across South Africa, Botswana,

Mozambique, and India.

Matekane has been described as a calm, humble and vision-oriented individual with a great sense of humour. Also, summing up the representation of what he has committed himself to over the years, he is widely perceived to be a philanthropist and business mogul.

He was 'Forbes Best of Africa Entrepreneur' in 2021.

The Vision for Lesotho

There is no doubt Matekane is passionate about creating a better and greater Lesotho. While campaigning, he captured his vision for Lesotho in what he and his party called a 'Developmental Agenda'. To implement this agenda, he wanted his party to gain a majority in parliament.

This did not materialize, however, as the RFP only secured 56 seats, as against the 61 seats needed for an outright majority

But Matekane was undeterred relying on the power of collaboration to achieve the common goal. The RFP formed a coalition in government with the Alliance of Democrats and the Movement for Economic Change.

Together the two smaller parties added nine seats to the new coalition, giving Matekane's

government a slim majority of 65 seats.

The choice of the two parties for the coalition rests on the belief that they share the same vision of financial prudence and improving the delivery of government services to the people of Lesotho.

Alongside that advantage, the leaders of the two partner parties bring much-needed experience from their time in government. The leader of the Alliance for Democracy party, Monyane Moleleki, served as the Deputy Prime Minister from June 2017 to May 2020; while the leader of the Movement for Economic Change party, Selibe Mochoboroane, was the Development Planning Minister in the outgoing All Basotho Convention-led government.

Matekane intends to lead Lesotho into a new era and a time of progress by mapping the way forward with the newly formed coalition. His business acumen and time-tested skills in navigating difficult waters will serve well in his early political days.

Although politics is a different game entirely, principles of excellence and leadership can translate to governance and it is anticipated that Matekane will successfully deliver for his nation.