Messrs Gabby Asare Okyere-Darko and Njack Kane at the meeting
AFRICA PROSPERITY Network, in partnership with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), will host the second edition of the African Prosperity dialogue (APD) in Accra from Thursday, January 25 to Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Peduase in the Eastern Region.
The dialogue, under the theme “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add value, Trade,” is expected to host heads of state from African countries, entrepreneurs and chief executives, among others, to discuss ways of boosting intra-Africa trade and helping to promote economic growth.
Speaking at a joint press briefing yesterday in Accra, founder and executive chairman of APN, Gabby Asare Okyere-Darko, said the objective of APN was to change the narrative and focus on poverty alleviation and pushing the prosperity agenda since 2019.
“For us, the economic integration is a non-negotiable tool for ensuring that there is sheer prosperity on the continent. If over the first decade of its coming into being as in the AFCFTA, it’s going to work, then there must be that push within the first 10 years, that is between 2021 and 2031.”
“If we can’t get it right now, then we can get it right because it’s the biggest project since 61 years ago, it’s not by accident that Ghana hosts the secretariat given the vision of Nkrumah and others,” he said.
He also explained that though the political leadership has created what is expected to become the largest single market in Africa, it was important for the private sector to own AfCFTA, drive it through partnership with state actors by aggregating resources, human strength, value chains to build linkages across the continent and its economies.
Chief Executive of APN, Njack Kane, said the three days event will capture issues on agriculture, finance, investment and ICT, among others.
He said participants, drawn from various parts of the continent, would discuss policy issues with critical stakeholders who would offer meaningful discussions on happenings in the continent and propose solutions.
“We will also address youthful policies, natural resources on hydrocarbons in the mining sector, how to add value to our continent’s resources, how to accelerate inter-African trade industrialisation, and how to take advantage of the over 1.4 billion market the continent has,” he added.
Silver Ojakol, a representative of the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), Wamkele Mene, who commended APN for the partnership, stated that the partnership was aimed at ensuring the realisation of AfCFTA’s vision with support from all agencies and achieve those by 2035.
He said APN would therefore provide the forum for African countries to deliberate and strategise as well as focus on the natural resources and youthful workforce, to fulfil the promises for the people of the continent.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah
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