Marrakech — The ongoing 52nd ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (COM2019), is opening up a decisive window to emphasize the important place of the 'youth in driving the implementation agenda of fiscal policy, trade and investment through digital innovation in Africa' (which is the overall theme of COM 2019).
In this regard, African policy makers (especially those from ministries of finance, economic planning and industry), experts from ECA and other development institutions working in Africa, youth entrepreneurs, investors, as well as civil society and the private sector leaders, will meet in the Oliveraie room of Palmeraie Hotel, Marrakech, Morocco on 24 March.
According to officials of the Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA), who are the main conveners of the side event, the meeting seeks to discuss and explore collaboration among young business leaders on the continent in a bid to further promote the implementation of Agenda 2063 through trade liberalization, especially with the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
There would be a particular thrust on opportunity-spotting for collaboration and expansion of youth-run businesses on the continent, especially thanks to the avenues offered by the digital economy.
A range of African youth entrepreneurs including those operating business-to-business (b2b) nodes, agribusiness investors and tech-aided medical solutions, among tohers, will share experiences.
In the domain of business networking, for instance, Ms. Hayat Essakkati from Morocco would have a chance to showcase the value her company AXS Africa is adding to facilitating transactions for investors willing to procure materials, goods and services from Africa. Her company's platform offers an opportunity for the prospective business traveler to Africa to use the services of a digital business concierge "to create a perfectly customized trip" for them.
In the domain of agribusiness, Mr. Henry Ngale Foretia, CEO of Poultry Farmers Management Systems (PFMS) from Cameroon, would unveil his company's digital solution to the premature death of millions of chicks on African poultry farms during their 21-day brooding period, due to unregulated heating, diseases or viruses.
"Our solution is the Safe Our Chickens kit, an innovated device with a Wi-Fi Microscope Endoscope Magnifier Digital Pan & Tilt Camera 1000X 8 LED with Audio & Remote Control, Thermostat and Alarm System powered by solar energy and controlled from a smart phone via mobile app," he explained on an online platform.
He says his device takes photos of fowl droppings and quickly sends the information to a microscope for diagnosis of possible diseases or viruses present on a poultry farm. The microscope then sends back a report on the test results alongside prescribed treatment for the farm owners.
Mr Foretia thinks his technology would help stop what he estimates to be the yearly loss of XAF 1 billion (US$1.7 million) by Cameroonian farmers or XAF 90 billion (US$155 million) by farmers Africa-wide, due to preventable chicken diseases.
A young South African engineer - Nneile Nkholise who heads a company called iMed Tecma, would also get a chance to explain how her firm is revolutionizing medical prosthesis and implanting ( the artificial substitution of body parts) through a process known as additive manufacturing - which is a 3d printing technology thanks to computing.
She told IT News Africa that the process is automated, hence more rapid and precise than manual procedures for prosthesis and implanting.
"Tech will be the catalyst that will spearhead the advancement of healthcare in Africa. I believe that technology will allow us to respond rapidly to healthcare challenges in Africa and will allow us to offer quality solutions for patient well-being," she argued.
Expanding these initiatives to promote sustainable development in Africa in well-defined environments where fiscal policy, trade and investment issues interplay, would therefore make for an interesting conversation at COM2019.
