Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has called for the empowerment of Africa’s women in order for the continent to achieve development and growth.
The 61-yer-old made the remarks at the opening session of the 2019 Africa Ceo Forum which is taking place in the Rwandese capital, Kigali.
“In less than a generation, it is projected that Africa will have the world’s biggest work force. That means, 1.1 billion working-age Africans, which is more than China or India… For one thing, half of those one billion people will be women, So long as women face unnecessary obstacles in using their talents to the full, we are all going to continue paying a heavy price in terms of lost wealth,” President Kagame said in his speech.
The Africa CEO Forum brings together the continent’s Heads of State, CEOs, top executives, experts and investors for networking and deliberations on how to make the most out of the African business environment.
The Kigali Forum is the seventh edition, and has been graced by Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, Togo President Faure Gnassingbe, Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde among other top political leaders from across the continent.
President Kagame in his opening remarks also called for closer cooperation between African states in order to enable the continent produce more organizations that champion the continent’s business agenda.
“Overall what we need is much more business activity above all with each other so that we see the emergence of global African firms with continental scope and scale and also impact which champion the interests and ambitions of our people. The public and private sectors must work even more closely together to provide the education and training that will equip Africa’s young workers with the skill to excel in manufacturing, services and technology,” he said.
