Spanish English Français Contact Start know us Sectors Areas of activity Projects Corporate responsability Start > News > The African Development Bank urges the industrial renaissance of the continent> African Development Bank urges the continent's industrial renaissance Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Source: Financial Times The head of this international body advocated economic diversification of African countries in order to take advantage of opportunities in the industrial and agricultural sectors. The president of the African Development Bank (ADB), Akinwumi Adesina, indicated that the countries of this continent must improve their industrialization and promote investments in agriculture to ensure its future growth. In his speech delivered during a business forum organized by the Financial Times newspaper between 2 and 3 October in London, the head of this financial institution pointed out that, given the current rise in industrial wages in China, African governments must attract multinational firms willing to transfer their production from the Asian giant to other markets. In this sense, Adesina especially highlighted the opportunities in the light manufacturing sector. Likewise, the leader of the aforementioned international organization described as "unacceptable" that the continent continues to be a net importer of food despite having two-thirds of the global arable area. "Africa must supply itself and become a global potential in agriculture." The ADB plans to invest $ 24 billion (€ 21.548 billion) in agricultural projects in the region over the next decade. African states spend 35,000 million dollars (31,422 million euros) a year in the purchase of food abroad. If this trend continues, the sum could reach 110,000 million dollars (98,754 million euros) annually in 2025. Adesina's call to find sources of growth for Africa such as manufacturing or agriculture comes after the publication of a study by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which reveals that some oil exporting markets in the continent had wasted much of the wealth of its resources in the last 10 years by not undertaking a process of economic diversification. Some examples of the above are Nigeria or Angola. On the other hand, and despite the fall in the prices of raw materials and the consequent pressure on public finances in several countries, the president of the ADB assured that the African economies are not going through "a debt crisis" and that this is " manageable ”at its current levels. However, he admitted that the Administrations face "a challenge" to obtain liquidity. See more news © 2016 Development Promotion Legal warning Privacy Policy Web design: InternacionalWeb