Hitting on the importance of the African economy, African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka kicked off "Believe in Africa Day" on Sunday, ahead of the U.S./African Leader's Summit taking place this week in Washington, DC. "We have to figure out how to finance our own development," he said of Africa. "A country that relies on others to finance development is ordained to fail."

Speaking alongside leaders including the President of Madagascar, and high-level representatives from Guinea and Cameroon, along with executives working in the region, Kaberuka laid out the agenda for this educational forum on African investment potential. He said "changing Africa's perception is step one for encouraging investment" in the continent.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, echoed Kaberuka's sentiment: "The most precious resource we'd like to invest in is our people," she said.

"Believe in Africa" is an African Diaspora-led initiative founded by former U.S. Congressional staffers and African leaders in the United States to empower young Africans, educate policy-makers about economic growth on the continent and highlight its gradual rise in the global economy.

Kaberuka is currently serving his second five-year term as AfDB President. He was first elected in 2005, becoming the seventh president of the Bank Group since its establishment in 1963.