[Column] Saeed Mohemmed: Youth at the heart of the African free trade area success
For years, since I was a high school student, I have been active among my colleagues with the African idea, asking myself and those around me whether we could be on an economically sufficient continent called Africa and not in a world that became populated by wars and complex conflicts. Today I have the certainty that this dream can and will come true.
The Free Trade Zone is an excellent idea and can be implemented to become a global reality that benefits the whole world, and not just Africa, for the following reasons:
First, Africa's location in the middle of the world connects us to the world with the shortest land, water and air routes.
Second, Africa has vast human and natural resources that have not yet been exploited and these resources can improve the entire world economy, not just Africa's.
Thirdly, it is important for the success of the free trade zone that Africans now love change and the models of change here are quite different from those that were the reason for the rise of the West, and the Far East, by which young people are now thinking differently.
And most of their thinking is to make the African continent united and to grow differently from the West, which began its civilization by colonizing and exploiting Africa's wealth. Now Africa's youth is advanced in education and technology and moreover, they have made significant strides in successful businesses.
If you take a tour of Africa, it is possible to see the training institutes and universities that have come up with thousands of new leaders with new idea. This is the safety valve of commercial progress that is coming soon in Africa as long as its young people are hungry for change and the integration of their successful projects become topics of international discussion.
I assure you that young Africans and risers are able to make Africa a trade area that surpasses all regions of world trade. Rwanda and Ethopia are starters that one might want to watch closely. The present generation IS realizing the dream of uniting the continent economically and politically.
Saeed Mohemmed is the CEO of Vialink Sudan
This column a contribution to [Africa CEO Forum] What are the opportunities that AfCFTA brings for business?
