Sahara Group lauds UNDP’s dev’t agenda

Africa’s huge economic growth potential can be harnessed through robust intra-African trade, collaboration and a firm resolve to pursue shared goals, Temitope Shonubi, Executive Director, Sahara Group has said.

Speaking yesterday at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ‘High Level Dialogue’ in Accra, Ghana, Shonubi said Africa needs to look beyond dependence on foreign aid and embrace the pursuit of economic growth and development as a “single entity with common interests, goals and aspirations.”

Shonubi said: “It is Sahara Group’s firm belief that African businesses can be the greatest contributors to Africa’s success. But tackling some of the toughest global challenges cannot be achieved by any one company or sector alone.”

The event was chaired by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, who reiterated widely held expectations that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will facilitate a new wave of economic prosperity if implemented successfully. AfCFTA commits countries to remove tariffs on goods, progressively liberalise trade in services and address non-tariff barriers.

As of the end of 2018, intra-African trade made up only 15 per cent of the total trading activities by the continent. Successful implementation of the agreement is projected to create a single African market of over a billion consumers with a total GDP of over $3 trillion. This will make Africa the largest free trade area in the world.