2013-2017_-_Private_Sector_Development_Strategy

Voices
from Africa
“Assistance to the private sector goes beyond the provision of incentives,
and government is looking at wider interventions to lower the cost of doing
business. Improvements are being made to economic infrastructure such as
ports, roads and electricity generation to cater for the needs of business.”
Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Finance, The Republic of South Africa, 2012
“At the time I started my first business in the 1950s, it was difficult for
a young African to dream of political freedom, let alone entrepreneurial
success. Today, Africa is free and democracy is taking root. The African
economy is growing, and presenting opportunities for entrepreneurs that
at my time were a pipe dream.”
Richard Maponya, Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Africa Awards for
Entrepreneurship, 2012
“While many of the challenges facing businesses in key African markets
are no more significant than elsewhere in the world, the rewards on offer
are substantial. Critically, it is this risk-reward equation that makes African
investment so compelling – the returns remain among the highest in the
world, while risks are diminishing and can be effectively managed.
Diana Layfield, Africa CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, 2013
“As governments, we need to improve the business environment and
strengthen dialogue with the private sector. Our efforts to create wealth
will be in vain if we fail to create an environment that allows entrepreneurs
to thrive.”
Mompati Sebogodi Merafhe, Honorable Vice President of the Republic of
Botswana, 2012
“Despite the options available for government to raise finance, the
overwhelming consensus is that it cannot be done without private funds.
At their best, private funds ease budget constraints and raise efficiency by
leveraging private sector management expertise and innovation.”
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, 2012
“Africa needs its business leaders as never before – to help it generate
more electricity, grow more food, and create more jobs to keep growing
strongly, while also improving people’s well-being through less poverty,
better health and education, and more hope.”
Thierry Tanoh, C.E.O. Ecobank Group, 2012
“Our analysis of gains in political stability, deep investments in infrastructure
and improved environments for doing business in select geographic regions
in Africa suggests that the time for large-scale manufacturing clusters is
ripe.”
Jean-Louis Warnholz,Co-founder and Managing Director, Fastafrica , 2013