New digital skills and technologies are essential to raising living standards and countering the declining economic growth in most African countries over recent decades.
With sub-Saharan Africa experiencing a rise in population almost every year, the dependency ratio is at an alarming increase. This means to feed its citizens and elevate the status-quo, African countries must adopt sustainable methods that will improve manufacturing, production and exchange of values and services.
According to him, manufacturing is essential for the growth of any society. However, unlike the current approach used widely in Africa (especially Nigeria) of exporting raw materials, African countries must invest in indigenous companies and instead focus on exporting value-added product
Del-York was present at the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria where Dr Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), gave a lecture and said, “industrialization is the way out for Africa.” The lecture titled “Overcoming Binding Constraints to Comparative Manufacturing for Interregional Trade” contained insights into developing the African economy. Under his leadership as the president of the African Development Bank, he is keen to change the narrative of Africa moving from being underdeveloped to a developed continent.
He remarked that Africa remains a viable, if not the best option for any investor around the world; however, specific strategic measures must be taken to properly position Africa for this status, including the review of its education curriculum. In his words, “Africa must establish industrial digital skills academies to revamp its industrial manufacturing bottlenecks.”
[You can watch the full video [here]
Talking about digital skills, Del-York is inviting you to be part of our capacity-building program’s 1-month intensive digital training program starting November 22, 2021. (courtesy of Del-York Creative Academy)