Denis Opudo
In any region, the economic growth always lies in the hands of the young population. But then can we achieve that with a little level of knowledge and skills? Definitely NO. The youths need to get relevant knowledge and skills to facilitate the economic growth process. Therefore, Africa needs to promote a culture of innovation driven by African youths. This is one of the issues that took a center stage at the third Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) in Africa.
The forum took place in Cairo Egypt between 10th and 12th February 2018. African ministers and head of delegations attended the forum. They promised to support the African youths in building a better future society through innovation. Furthermore, according to Cairo Declaration, Science, Technology, and Innovation are going to be on top of development agenda. This will be both at national, regional and continent level.
The Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, researchers and African Ministers attended the session. Akinwumi Adesina was also present during the session. He is the President of African Development Bank. Furthermore, STI delegates promised to support the development of an African Education Fund. This will be done through the partnership with the Islamic Development Bank. There will also be the partnership with African Development Bank and various financial institutions. The partnership will help in attracting sustainable funding.
The leaders promised to help the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) in innovative fields. The fields include computer science, automated and telecommunication and electronics. They will also encourage private sectors to start platforms and incubators for startups. They also pledged to form and adopt policies that promote gender equality in both levels of education. Much emphasis was directed on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
The African Development Bank is willing to partner with African governments and investors. The partnership is to improve the continent’s STI. The bank will play a strategic role in raising awareness. It will also work with African countries on smart investments in STI. This will ensure continent’s growth and competitiveness. Furthermore, the Korean government was also ready to support Africa’s transformation initiatives. The initiative was to be based on industrialization. They were also ready to improve people’s lives. This is in relation to Korea’s experiences in socio-economic transformation.
