This archive report was first published on 14 December 2019.
December 14, 2019
Africa's future is at a crossroads, and the path to growth and prosperity lies in embracing a borderless continent, where young people can collaborate, invest, and migrate freely. This was the message from Mukhisa Kituyi, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, during a panel discussion at the Kusi Ideas Festival in Kigali, Rwanda.
Kituyi noted that the continent currently has a generation of young people who are more interested in collaboration than competition. These millennials look for opportunities beyond national frontiers, overlooking analogue boundaries and physical barriers as they chase their dreams.
"Governments now need to create policies for them to ease travel, access, and movement across the continent," Kituyi said.
The discussion, themed Borderless Africa and why it is a winner, saw Kituyi, Linus Gitahi, a board member of Msingi East Africa, and Clare Akamanzi, the chief executive officer of Rwanda Development Board, push for a borderless continent that can allow young people to freely interact, invest, and migrate within the continent.
Akamanzi gave Rwanda as the perfect example of how a borderless vision can spur growth in the continent. She noted that the country has championed this for the last five years and it has really helped attract visitors and investments.
Gitahi challenged governments to focus on new educational curricula stressing digital technology, which he said is the face of the future. He also urged governments to support the youths in accessing capital to promote their enterprise ideas, as this will help them become viable and create employment.
