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Realizing the possibilitiesThe EY point of view: 5 priorities forinclusive, sustainable growthIt is clear that the potential exists for us to be partof an African future that would have been virtuallyunimaginable a generation ago. The reality though isthat the best case future for Africa is neither inevitablenor will it happen without active participation andcommitment from multiple stakeholders. As a large,global multi-national, strongly committed to Africa, weare particularly focused on the role and responsibility ofbusiness in helping to realise the possibilities for inclusive,sustainable growth on the continent.Besides investing in our own growth in Africa, part of ourcommitment has been to leverage our brand and globalreach to promote the African investment agenda. Sincewe began our flagship Africa attractiveness programmein 2010, we have been among those at the forefront ofhighlighting the African growth narrative. Since 2012, wehave also convened the Strategic Growth Forum Africa, aplatform for dialogue and collaboration among businessand government leaders. Its focus is exclusively on Africa:on the strategic growth opportunities that the continentoffers and the challenges that need to be addressed torealise these opportunities.Over this period, the key focus areas for us have been tomore fully articulate the African ‘growth story’ - movingbeneath the sometimes sensationalized headlines to helpprovide fact-based substance - as well as to address keychallenges that companies have faced as they executetheir growth strategies in Africa. While these focusareas remain important, our own experience is thatan increasing number of people ‘get’ that the Africangrowth opportunity is difficult to ignore. And, while doingbusiness in Africa remains complex and challenging,there is a critical mass of companies that are getting itright.We therefore feel the time is right for us to shift ourown focus towards the future of Africa: what it will taketo achieve the success story of inclusive, sustainablegrowth, and what the responsibilities are of leadersin private, public and social sectors in realisingAfrica’s possibilities. There are many challenges andopportunities that we could focus on in terms of keepingour economies on the path towards inclusive, sustainablegrowth. However, it is important that we make somechoices. In this context, we are promoting 5 priorities foraction that we believe will be most critical to a successfulAfrican future.Realizing the possibilities: 5 priorities for actionShared ValuePartnershipsEntrepreneurshipRegionalIntegrationInfrastructureDevelopmentAFRICA1.Pursuing profitwith purpose toachieve sharedvalue.2.Collaborativepartnershipsacross business,government andsocial sectors.3.Create enablingconditions forentrepreneursand activelysupport SMEdevelopment.4.Accelerate theprocess ofdevelopingregional marketswith critical mass.5.Implementenablinginfrastructurefor growth.24