This book is a master piece and underscores two foundational aspects to actualize Africa’s solutions perspective. First, the continent must focus on maximizing productivity of its catalytic sectors. These are economically inclusive sectors in which the region holds a comparative advantage in resources and which can mitigate carbon & build ecosystems resilience simultaneously with meeting leading socioeconomic ends – food security, creation of income & job opportunities and expansion of macroeconomic growth to actualize multiple SDGs. Accordingly, combining for synergy developments in clean energy & sustainable agriculture to establish sustainable agriculture led, clean energy powered industrialization enterprise stands out as most catalytic.
Second, the continent must leverage on its people, and the multiplicity of the skills, talents, ongoing initiatives, creativity, energy & networks they represent in the diversity of sectors they engage as the most fundamental resource to foment mutually beneficial, market-driven partnerships amongst themselves to bridge gaps towards establishing the above strategic thrust. Where a challenge for one actor becomes a market opportunity for another in a market-driven partnerships that drives towards ultimately establishing this sustainable industrialization. This is what we call innovative volunteerism. Within the book, I also share briefly on my own story – my background to date to make the book readable and encourage even more people, especially the youth, to leverage on their skills and engage in innovative volunteerism.
Focusing on the above is akin to dedicating the continent’s development drive on a determined path of leveraging on its strengths – something that has hardly happened. To make the book more relatable & readable, I share my own story of a humble beginning, from which I rose to where I am now by applying simple principles of success deriving from what we are proposing on the continents development- leveraging on strengths.
This is a timely read that needs to get to as many hands & minds as possible and the possibility of having the Youth to champion this movement of self-reliance as a custodian of the SDGs will be history making.
