Kagame was speaking at the ‘Africa Business and Investment Forum’ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday.
He said that through the cooperation, much can be done to develop different aspects of sectors of the continent.
“There is so much more we can do, when we cooperate. First, as Africans, as we do through the African Union, and also with partners outside, some of whom we also have with us here,” he said.
“More collaboration is also needed between government and business. At the end of the day, we share the same goal of raising the well-being and prosperity of our citizens,” he noted.
He said that the success of business in Africa is critically important to the future of the continent and added that there is a need for active support from the private sector. “in fact without your voice something essential is missing,”
Kagame said that several of the African Union’s most ambitious initiatives, are designed to unshackle commercial activity and entrepreneurship. He said, it is about providing a better quality of life to the citizens.
“I am thinking about the Continental Free Trade Area and the free movement of people which we hope to conclude this year, as well as the Single African Air Transport Market which we inaugurated yesterday. I wish to remind business leaders that you can get your African passports from the AU Commission and this will facilitate you to do business smoothly around the continent,” he said.
He said the initiatives are very important for the competitiveness of African firms, and their ability to expand to new markets and hire more employees, especially young people.
According to Kagame, there are many other urgent frameworks for economic integration waiting to be finalised and applied.
He said it will happen more quickly if Africa’s business leaders keep advocating for Pan-African economic cooperation with policy-makers and the public, especially through the media.
“I am happy to see that today’s roundtables are specific and full of practical detail. This makes it more likely that new public-private partnerships can be forged. We need the private sector’s help in that regard,” he said.
By using health sector as an example, Kagame said that inadequate medical care costs companies and the public sector, a lot of money and lost productivity, through illness and disability. However he said the private sector is part of the solution.
A report from the International Finance Corporation a few years ago, found that the majority of health services consumed in Africa, are already supplied privately.
For Kagame, this doesn’t mean governments should privatise healthcare systems, but rather find ways to improve quality and access to healthcare.
{{Rwanda’s experience}}
In Rwanda, Kagame said the government has entered into an arrangement with an African company to manage the largest hospital.
“What is being done there is already showing success,” he said.
He said they are also partnering with a private firm from the United States, Zipline, to pioneer the use of drone aircraft to deliver blood and other medical supplies to rural hospitals.
Based on such experience, Kagame emphasized that there is much more can be done when governments cooperate with businesses.
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