{More than 1200 participants from 70 countries are expected to attend the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF) that will kick off in Kigali tomorrow. Participants include representatives of business activities, governments, universities, nongovernmental organizations and media among others.}
Participants of the meeting will together seek the ways of connecting Africa for its transformation through the use of technology on the theme dubbed “Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation.”
The meeting will start on 11th to be concluded on 13th May 2016. It will start with reviewing resolutions of the previous WEF held in January in Davos, Switzerland, in relation with economic resilience and addressing the challenges in relation with future technologies and 4th industrial revolution.
It will also be a forum for African countries to seek the ways of fostering development through technology and getting competitiveness at the labor market.
In a press briefing held yesterday, the representative of World Economic Forum in Africa, Elsie Kanza stressed the need of cooperation among all stakeholders to build sustainable economies.
“The progress rooted on technology brings big opportunities of building communities’ development. This can only be attained through building strong policies, cooperation between nations and investing in infrastructures, education and industries among others. There is a big role of the collaboration between the government and private investors to achieve these goals,” she said.
Kanza said that until now only 20% of Africans use internet while it is a most needed infrastructure in this period of reforms based on technology.
“We need to assess challenges resulting in inequalities to ensure that no one is remaining in exclusion,” she said.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Amb. Gatete Claver said that the meeting will help Rwanda to carefully identify opportunities that can be highlighted to improve Rwandans’ livelihoods.
“Job creation, knowledge-based economy are the foundation of development in Rwanda and elsewhere. World Economic Forum on Africa helps Rwanda to strengthen cooperation opportunities of the government and private investors in creating jobs and promoting welfare in Africa and other parts of the World in general,” he said.
The meeting will be attended by president Paul Kagame, the president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, President Alpha of Guinea; Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya; Macky Sall ,president of Senegal and Faure Gnassingbé Togo’s president.
It will also be attended by the leader of Africa Bank of Development Ayodeji Adesina, entrepreneurs like Tony O. Elumelu, Graça Machel and others.
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