‘Africa Can Finance Its Own Development’ Says AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina

African countries should look within to the private sector to fund their own infrastructure rather than borrowing from international markets to plug financing gaps, said Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank.
Nigeria’s former minister of agriculture, Adesina spoke at the Fourth African CEO Summit underway in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, SABC reported.
Motivational speaking is a strong point for Adesina, who was named 2013 Forbes African of the Year. In his acceptance speech, he urged young Africans to see agriculture as a business rather than a development tool and predicted that Africa’s future billionaires will get rich from agriculture, according to AfricanFarming.net.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, says he’s rolling out an investment plan with hopes of expanding Nigeria’s sugar sector to make the country self-sufficient. “These are hard times, but hard times bring opportunities,” Dangote said at the African CEO Summit, according to TheAfricaReport.
Financial experts worry that African countries could slip back into debt crisis as local currencies depreciate, demand for Africa’s natural resources sink and global interest rates rise, SABC reported.

“What we have to see now from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa is austerity, cutbacks in government spending and budget cutbacks,” said Martyn Davies from Deloitte.
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