5 Minutes With Elsie Kanza (Head Of Africa - World Economic Forum)

Nigeria will be playing host to the World Economic Forum on Africa come May 7th-9th, 2014. The World Economic Forum is not just an African summit, but a global one as Nigeria will be hosting world leaders from across the globe. The major focus of this meeting under the theme "Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs" is to make Africa a better place to live in for the African populace.

Ahead of this, as a collaborative partner to the World Economic Forum on Africa caught up with Elsie Kanza, Director, Head of Africa, WEF for an exclusive chat.

 Excerpts:

As head of the WEF (Africa), would you say that in the last few years there have been new areas of economic development in the continent and if yes what are some of these opportunities young people can aspire to?

There have been lots of economic development in Africa in recent years, and as an African myself (I’m not sure if I am still qualified to call myself a young mind!) - I am optimistic about the prospects of our young people.  Here in Nigeria, 1.6 million new jobs are being created every year. When you consider that 1.8 million people reach working age each year, it’s clear this is still not enough, but I believe the target will be reached soon.

As for opportunity, Africa needs to play to its strengths. Africa could be a global leader in agriculture and it is desperately important that young people are encouraged to stay in this sector. This means creating real career opportunities, where people can get promoted, learn new skills, take better advantage of technology.

Africans are also excellent innovators; just look at M-Pesa, the mobile payments firm. It is no surprise to me that the businesses that are really making an impact in the consumer space right now are African, rather than consumer brands.

For me, the most important revolution needed is in the area of skills. The global economy has come to Africa. Trade is now no longer reserved to commodities and raw materials; we are now trading technology, clothing, and financial services. This makes it more important than ever that young Africans get the skills they need to play a role in this revolution.

At our meeting this week in Abuja, we will launch the African Skills Initiative; to help leaders deliver the best skills training so our youth can compete in the global marketplace.

In recent times, entertainment has become a huge revenue generator in Africa but it’s still mostly run with private funds. What are your thoughts on this and are there plans by the forum to create projects around this which will create more jobs for the youths and generate even bigger revenue?

This is a very good question. We all know how important entertainment is to Africans but I confess, I was surprised as anyone to learn that Nollywood is now Nigeria’s biggest employer outside of agriculture. This has been a remarkable private sector success story that shows the depth of entrepreneurial talent we have in this continent. I’m looking forward to meeting D’Banj at our meeting this week and we will certainly talk about whether there is room for greater public-private collaboration as a way of driving the sector forward further.

Are there are any major projects the forum will be embarking on anytime soon?

We’re very excited about a number of initiatives. First, I have to mention “Grow Africa”, which has been running for three years now and has already helped over 2.5 million farmers in Africa improve their livelihood. Last week, we announced that it has now raised over $7 billion, so this revolution in agriculture has only just begun.

Then there is the Skills Initiative I mentioned. We are also looking at ways of helping countries get financing for the massive infrastructure projects – water supply, power and roads mainly – that Africa so badly needs. For me, one of the most exciting things about our meetings are the ideas that come out of them that might not have even been considered, which we then help take forward by pulling together a team of committed stakeholders to develop. You’ve already given me an excellent idea, entertainment: maybe we’ll be talking about this at our 2015 meeting.

Why was Africa (and specifically Nigeria) chosen this year and what should the youths of Africa expect to take away from this year's forum?

We chose Nigeria frankly because it was high time we had a meeting here. Roughly one in four sub-Saharan Africans is Nigerian, it has the largest economy in Africa and yet it remains still relatively unknown to many of our partners and constituents. The fact that we have more of our strategic partners – these are the big, global companies that we engage with most regularly on a year-round business – coming to this meeting than any other we have held in Africa demonstrates the level of interest the country is attracting among investors.

This interest will translate into investments that will generate jobs. But more important is bringing investment that provides good quality jobs; jobs with real career prospects, training opportunities and a good environment to work in. What is most important though is that leaders come away from this meeting with a clearer idea on how to build growing economies that don’t leave anyone behind: that prioritize better education, healthcare, roads and safety. Governments have indicated they want to listen, and business wants to help. It is these kinds of partnerships that deliver real benefits to our youth.

There have been speculations that the WEF will change location from Nigeria due to the recent violence in Abuja, is this true? 

The problems happening in Nigeria are exactly the reason why we need to be here. This meeting is not the priority for Nigerians right now and nor should it be: bringing back the schoolgirls is everybody’s topmost concern. But the problems being experienced here and sadly in other parts of Africa just show how vitally important it is that we manage to find solutions for the problems we have in society. Nobody wants an Africa where one is afraid to walk the streets or go to school: it is up to all stakeholders – government, business and society – to work together to build a better, more inclusive future for all of us. This is our mission: it’s what we’re here to do.