The Odds are in Africa's Favour
Pictured (l-r) Heinrich Hafeni, Premiere David Makhura, Percy Koji and High Commissioner Veiccoh Nghiwete
13 April 2022
“Namibia used to be the 5th province of South Africa,” said Heinrich Hafeni at the launch of the South African chapter of the African Economic Leadership Council (AELC) in Johannesburg. He was referring to the shared history and close ties between these neighbouring countries.
Heinrich Hafeni, a Namibian and Percy Koji of South Africa are the co-founders of AELC which was launched in Windhoek in April 2021. AELC is the organisation established to augment the momentum of the growing commercial integration of Africa.
“It makes sense,” said Koji, an entrepreneur with 15 years of experience in the Travel and Tourism sector with his business Travel With Confidence – TWC. He spoke of his many encounters on the continent and expressed the immediate and continuous need for capacity building and implementation. He shared his thoughts of young enterprising Africans creating new and unique spaces that provide scope for business activity, trade and investment.
Premier of Gauteng David Makhura and High Commissioner Veiccoh Nghiwete of Namibia brought to light the potential and value of the dynamics of the collaboration between these southern African nations, at an international, regional level, and even through metropolitan cities and provinces locally. The Ocean Economy is one of the areas that is earmarked to generate value, said Nghiwete as he referred to Namibia’s shoreline that stretches for over 1500km on the Atlantic seaboard. Walvis Bay is the largest commercial port of the country’s four ports and has an important logistical role for the country and the continent.
Gauteng has grown rapidly since 1994 explained Makhura, sharing his experience and imparting his knowledge of the province that is emerging as one of the cosmopolitan hubs of Africa. Gauteng’s GDP ranks among the top 10 African countries due to the province’s diversified economic sectors of production and services, among which technology and finance are highly advanced.
Pictured (l-r) Heinrich Hafeni, Nicholas Kabaso and Palesa Mabasa during the panel discussion
Palesa Mabasa of First National Bank – FNB, who were sponsors of the event, said that FNB recognized the need for leadership to drive the process of aligning the continent to meet its potential. Banking is vital to sustainable business and for building stable functional societies. Through this sponsorship the banking sector has shown its support for entrepreneurship and African enterprise innovation.
Lusaka, Zambia received a special mention for its steadfast supportive role in the liberation of both Namibia and South Africa. Nicholas Kabaso, President of the Capital Markets Association of Zambia shared his thoughts on financial technology – FINTECH and the wide open areas and opportunities to unlock potential for the continent’s youthful demographic.
Both Hafeni and Koji operate travel companies, they are alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship and have knowledge and experience that align with Agenda 2063, the masterplan of the African Union. The ratification and implementation of the free trade area, AfCFTA takes place at a poignant moment of history with the unprecedented corona virus pandemic and the current geo-politic and economic stance and Africa will require a complementary and conciliatory paradigm. Cooperation between the Africans should be based on trust and respect and a leadership that is able to pro-actively harness the available resources and capabilities to generate positive collective value.
AELC’s next function in partnership with Discover Namibia will host an 'Intra Africa Expo' and a 'Doing Business In Africa Summit' in Swakopmund from the 23-25 May 2022. Enterprises of all sizes and sectors will have the opportunity to put on display their products and services and get exposure to the possibilities of the African Continental Free Trade Area. A gala dinner to celebrate Africa Day on May 25th is also being planned.
TDS