Posted on October, 13, 2023 at 05:55 am
Addressing the most pressing economic challenges facing the African continent, “the Voice of Africa” event being hosted at the Mohamed V Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Ben Guerir has put forth four important priorities to address to ensure a positive future for the continent.
The four main issues discussed at the event, which is organized by the UM6P as part of the “Road to Marrakech” program and on the sideline of the annual meetings, include Food Security, Diaspora and Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Cultural and Creative Industries.
Firstly, UM6P President Hicham El Habti highlighted the necessity of ensuring the continent is able to meet its own food security needs, in a statement to Morocco World News (MWN).
Because 60% of the world’s arable land is in Africa, he argued, the continent has the potential to tackle the issue concerning food security.
Rachid Serraj, director of Strategy and Africa initiative at UM6P, echoed that sentiment. “Today, Africa is facing huge challenges in terms of food security,” he lamented, noting that it is rather distressing that the continent “cannot feed itself.”
Moving on to the second issue discussed, the aspect of Africa’s diaspora, the African population counts almost 1.5 billion people across the world, which can help Africa resolve some of its economic issues.
Africa’s youthful population will be an asset to Africa as it faces challenges such as climate change, energy and water, according to UM6P President El Habti.
Concerning the third issue, the field of entrepreneurship, Yola Fresh CEO Youssef Mamou identified specific domestic barriers facing young entrepreneurs who intend to launch their own business in Africa.
In this respect, Mamou highlighted the importance to consider cultural differences, local expertise, whether a solution has the potential to be fully implemented, and the type of local partnerships and cooperation that will be necessary.
Addressing the challenges of African venture capital in developing the start-up ecosystem, the Director of Entrepreneurship and Venturing at UM6P Yassine Laghzioui told Morocco World News (MWN) in an interview that venture capital is encountering a lot of difficulties, including market perception, risk appetite, and numerous other indispositions.
"Today, we're obliged to address these challenges urgently to develop the start-up ecosystem in the African continent," said Laghzioui, stressing the need "to find rational solutions to develop the start-up ecosystem in Africa."
Regarding the fourth issue, Cultural and Creative Industries, the sector covers a broad range of sub-sectors, including the continent’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage, which Africa is trying to monitor.
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) is promoting the overarching subject of "Voices of Africa" in order to make sure that the continent's ideas and views resonate, are amplified, and inspire action.
In addition to being a university, UM6P serves as a forum for communities to come and work together to find African solutions to global problems.
“We are very proud to produce such a strategy because it looks forward to the future and looks at finding ways to contribute to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030),” Serraj concluded.
Read also: OCP, IFC Launch $800 Million Agri-Finance Platform to Enhance Africa’s Food Security
Source: Morocco News