By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, July 27 (Reuters) - African nations will need to
boost output of goods and services and integrate payment systems
if they are to take advantage of a new $3.4 trillion economic
initiative, according to the head of the African Development
Bank.
A continental free-trade zone was launched this month in
Niger which, if successful, will usher in a new era of
development for an area with a population of 1.3 billion
people.
It is hoped that the 55-nation African Continental Free
Trade Area - the largest bloc since the creation of the World
Trade Organization in 1994 - will help unlock Africa's
long-stymied economic potential by boosting intra-regional
trade, strengthening supply chains and spreading expertise.
Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB, said he expected
industrial manufacturing capacity in Africa to increase, while
financial markets would integrate and food production expands.
"Africa has to have its own industrial capacity ... it's not
just about moving raw materials, it's about value added
products," Adesina told Reuters on the sidelines of an
conference in Nigeria's capital city of Abuja.
The bank chief said African countries need to mobilise more
domestic resources, and encourage sovereign wealth and pension
funds to invest in infrastructure.
"We brought investors to Africa and in less than 72 hours we
mobilised $38.7 billion," he said. "That tells me that the
opportunities are there, if we can get the regulatory and
investment environment right."
He said nations need to provide the right incentives to
boost local output while encouraging competition.