The executive director of London based African Partnership Development, Mr. Tunde Alabi has
challenged Africans in the diaspora to tap into the multi-million pounds opportunities which African
economies present.
Speaking at the 2015 African Financial and Investment Review on ‘Africa: Exploring the
opportunities of strong emerging markets’ held at the London Stock Exchange, Alabi stressed that
the dynamic performance of Africa’s emerging markets during the global crisis and ability to
bounce back have put emphasis on the opportunities available on the continent.
Speaking before an audience comprising chieftains of industry, businessmen and politicians, Alabi
particularly tasked Africans in Britain especially the investors to look back home and take the
opportunities offered by Africa’s resilient economy to invest on the continent.
Quoting scholars who had written glowingly of the vast opportunities which African economies
embody, Alabi estimated that by 2020 the collective GDP of the emerging markets would overtake
that of the developed economies, adding “in the next ten years consumer spending in emerging
markets is expected to grow three times faster than consumer spending in developed nations,
reaching a total of $6trillion by 2020.”
He noted that in 2013, GDP growth in Africa was an average of 4.8% and 5.3 per cent in 2014,
adding “meanwhile the GDP growth in the EU for the same period of 2013 was 0.1 per cent, 1.3
per cent in 2014 and about 2 per cent in 2015”.
As a poser Alabi asked his audience “What are you doing to explore these opportunities that are
starring us in the face as Africans in the diaspora or a British entrepreneur?”
He called on the Diasporan Africans to position themselves to tap into the lucrative African
market, ‘which though may have challenges and problems, but were still windows of opportunity
that could make all the difference.
According to him, “the economic and financial liberation of Africans either in the diaspora or Africa
must be achieved, if not for us, for our children and their generations. We cannot have enormous
resources in our continent and continue to be beggars, refugees and asylum seekers in Europe
and America where their leaders understand the economic potentials and dynamics of the
continent, exploit the resources and in turn give the continent aids.”
The event attracted investors, businessmen and politicians, notably Lord Victor Adebowale,
member of the British House of Lords, David Foxman, chairman Developed Africa; Ranjiv
Goonawardena, Chairman International Consultants; David Smith, chairman British Africa
Business Alliance; Washington Kapapiro, chairman, Association of African owned enterprises.
Others include Ms Jennifer Obaseki, senior partner Obaseki solicitors, Alistair Soyode, chairman
BEN TV, among others.
