High quality human resources are crucial for a successful industrialization of Africa, according to experts attending a meeting in the Ivorian city of Abidjan on the theme, “Industrialization in service of Africa’s emergence” .
The experts, who discussed obstacles that need to be overcome to bring Africa to industrialize, unanimously recognized that “the strengthening of human capacity is needed for industrial development”.
“The big gaps in terms of labour productivity, to a large extent, show the gaps between industrialized countries and developing countries.
The meeting is under the auspices of the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Seeing the high competence level needed for industrialization, African countries have to prioritise their human capital, whose negligence contributes significantly to the delay in the continent’s industrial development.
Education, health and acquisition of competences will therefore be essential to improve the production capacities of the countries.
The meeting of experts, which opened on Thursday, is a prelude to the sixth joint conference of African ministers of Finance, Economic Planning and Economic Development, planned for Monday on the theme “Industrialization in the service of Africa’s emergence”.
The conference is the main annual consultative forum of the ministers and governors of Africa’s central banks on issued linked to the continent’s development programmes
