Youth engagement key in boosting Africa’s economic gains – ACCA

 …Says Africa can emerge as the world’s next economic super-power.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has identified youth engagement president as key in Africa’s economy. President of the global finance professional body, Jenny Gu made this disclosure in a new report.Gu projected that Africa can emerge as the world’s next economic super-power.

According to Jenny Gu, “People often ask me for my views on future economic trends, and on what might happen in business in the coming years. I imagine they expect me to say that the future belongs to the East; or if not to Asia, then to a resurgent USA; or to an emboldened Europe.

“But I don’t. I say that the most promise lies in Africa, in this continent with an increasingly young population; a continent of limitless natural resources; and a continent bursting with energy, innovation and potential”, she explained.

Gu, who was speaking at ACCA’s three-day Africa Members Conference which attracted 840 delegates from 33 African nations to the Kigali Convention Centre, Rwanda.

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“As we all know, of all the continents in the world Africa has most to lose from the threat of climate change.

“This is happening now. Millions are displaced from their homes by extreme weather events and drought, as rising temperatures make once-fertile lands uninhabitable.

“This has led to unrest, desperate suffering and mass migration. Africans know better than anybody else that sustainability is more than a slogan: it is a matter of life and death. That is why ACCA is a leading voice for a new approach to business where environmental impact is just as important as profit-and-loss in a company’s accounts”, she explained.

Ms Gu also issued a call for greater commitment to ethical practices in business and Government.

She, however, pointed out that one of the biggest challenges facing Africa in the coming decades is to protect and promote the spirit of civic duty, service, and a strong public sector to work alongside private enterprise.

‘To do that, Governments need to raise revenues as fairly and as efficiently as possible, with the consent of the people. To achieve that, they need a strong finance profession made up of men and women who are ready to serve as defenders of public value and public interest in all that they do. 

‘I know that ACCA, its members, and its partners are passionate about playing their part in that mission”, she added.