How Ready Is Africa For the Future? The 2017 World Economic Forum on Africa

After three days of speeches, discussions, etc., the annual World Economic Forum on Africa, come to an end today in Durban South Africa.

Economic powers within and without the continent have been brainstorming on how to resolve some of the most critical economic and socio-economic problems currently facing the Africa

These events whenever they occur provide a platform for stakeholders across various sectors of the African economy to interact on problems as well as possible solutions as they apply to various countries in the region.

However, there continues to be an increased questioning of the relevance of these forums as the plight of the continent largely remains unaddressed.

Persistent mass unemployment predominantly linked to the access and quality of education from the basic to tertiary level, a rising food crisis that threatens the survival of millions in the suburbs of various nations across Africa are just but a few of the problems the continent has been grappling with for decades

Another teething challenged is the readiness of most African countries for the dynamics of the technology/information-driven 21st Century.

Just in the last World Bank and IMF Spring Meeting in April, it was estimated that two-thirds of jobs in the developing world will be lost to automation in the near future.

Significant number of these job losses would be on the African continent where the public educational system is failing to equip the next generation workforce with relevant soft and tech skills, which will make them lucratively engaged in the new info-tech driven economy.

Such projections further intensifies the level of anxiety among the populace and greatly undermines the importance of such forums as the WEF to Africa and global development.

The silver bullet has not emerged from these forums though, but advances and successes have been realised. For instance through discussions and recommendations from several of such forums by major leaders of the energy sector, Africa is witnessing what many regard as an energy revolution: one that holds the potential for creating millions of jobs across the continent with the likes of Kenya, Algeria, among others already executing well-documented plans to transit to sustainable, clean and renewable energy sources. In this edition of the WEF on Africa there was a reinforcement of commitment to this goal and a session was dedicated to – Green Jobs and Growth.

There is also the ongoing partnerships on education and technology aimed at re-inventing the African school curriculum to reflect the changing conditions in this global market.

With all these views about the irrelevance, or relevance of stakeholder forums as the WEF on Africa, there is no doubt that while we must recognize the significant progress made thus far across various sectors, there are still issues and only a continued partnership hold the hope for the continent and more so, would better prepare Africa and African’s for the challenges of a this century.