Digitization of Africa is impossible without industrialization – Jospong boss

The Founder and Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong has added his voice to the call for an Industrialized Africa as a way to ensure the sustainable growth of the continent.

Dr. Agyepong who represented Private Sector Businesses in Africa, added that Africa holds enormous potential for private investors and thus opportunity to create and grow sustainable jobs. However, Africa needs to scale up private investment rapidly to boost job growth.

He posited that the waste management outlook of most African countries is alarming; with less than 2% of the waste generated being properly collected and recycled. “The situation looks unattractive and requires urgent intervention. Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a full cycle Waste management company has fused technology into its processes from the tracking & monitoring of waste collections, recycling, manure and composting, manufacturing of waste bins and e-payment of service charges. The efficiency demonstrated has open up the sector to digitalization across the continent”.

He was speaking during the opening of the High-Level Forum Africa-Europe 2018. The forum was opened by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Chancellor Kurz of Austria at the Austria Center Vienna.

During the high-level dialogue segment, political leaders and CEOs will be invited to share their vision on the current and future cooperation between Africa and Europe regarding innovation and digitalization.

In attendance at this high level forum were European and African Head of States and government officials. Ghana was represented by H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as well as the Minister for Communication, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful. Other participants included highly agile and innovative European and African companies, representatives of start-ups and innovative companies, investors, bilateral and multilateral development partners and civil society representatives.

President Kagame who is the Chairman of the African Union and an advocate for the advancement of an African single digital market, emphasized that a pathway to prosperity for all Africans, especially young people, can only be achieved by infusing African economies with technology and by collaborating with Africa’s private sector.

The forum was to promote innovation and digitalization as important enablers of our future development, so that everyone can benefit from the ongoing digital transformation.

The event highlighted the untapped potential for deepening the partnership in technology exchange and trade as well as their importance for economic growth, creating employment opportunities, building resilient societies and fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The forum was accompanied by Business to Business (B2B) as well as Business to Government (B2G) meetings where entrepreneurs and innovators will exchange their concepts and solutions for the digital age. A lot of innovation is happening both in Africa and in Europe, with many creative start-ups providing solutions for different emerging challenges, and this will be an opportunity to showcase them.