Over the course of two days, March 27 and 28, 2009, the African Economic Forum, presented as a collaboration between the African Business Club, SIPA Pan-African Network, and African Law Students Association, demonstrated a multifaceted approach to understanding the challenges the continent faces in the wake of the global economic crisis as well as the resources it can harness to provide the impetus for rapid and reliable economic and social development particularly through technology.
Keynote speaker Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a managing director of the World Bank and former finance minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, stated that "Africa does not want to be a continent of aid...[it has] the resources to help itself [and] we need private investment." Dr. Okonjo-Iweala went on to say that bringing in the private sector and investing infrastructure would be essential to help Africa become more self-sustaining in the future. Furthermore, Africa as a whole needs to explore areas where it could provide a competitive advantage, whether in the services industry, microfinance, media, or technology. The focus, she continued, needs to be on moving away from aid from donor countries and remittances, sources which have proved to be volatile and unreliable in recent months as worldwide markets have contracted. She went on to say that Africa must transition out of being a mainly commodities-based economy, which has left the country vulnerable as prices of mineral, vegetables, and cotton often fluctuate.
To that end, the panel "Inspirations and Innovations: Bridging the Technology Gap" provided insights on how technology could both provide advantages for the continent by enhancing the productivity of other sectors and also be a viable growth sector in itself. Moderator Murray Low, professor of management and director of the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center, echoed Dr. Okonjo-Iweala's thoughts as he introduced the panel and stated that "Africa should be the source of solutions, not the source of problems."