{"id":242033,"date":"2022-11-04T12:38:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T10:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/leading-thinkers-affirm-africas-enormous-potential-and-proven-paths-to-prosperity?lang=en"},"modified":"2022-11-04T12:38:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T10:38:54","slug":"leading-thinkers-affirm-africas-enormous-potential-and-proven-paths-to-prosperity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/leading-thinkers-affirm-africas-enormous-potential-and-proven-paths-to-prosperity\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading thinkers affirm Africa\u2019s enormous potential and proven paths to prosperity"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"image_wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/thumb\/716476325836c13\/600\/418\" alt=\"The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business\" \/><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/africarc\/loganalytics?press_id=224228&amp;press_source=The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>&ldquo;With proven reforms we&#039;ve researched, there is no reason African countries could not become some of the most economically free and prosperous nations on earth&rsquo;&rsquo; according to Fred McMahon, who serves as the Dr. Michael A. Walker Chair in Economic Freedom at the Fraser Institute, a leading Canadian think tank.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>These opening remarks were delivered during the recent Africa Accelerating 2022 (<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/3fyXgKN\">http:\/\/bit.ly\/3fyXgKN<\/a>) conference, which welcomed messages from heads of state and government on the African continent and in Canada &#8211; kicking off three days of deliberations on how best to accelerate trade and investment between Canada and African markets.<\/p>\n<p>For McMahon and numerous speakers drawn from the private and public sectors &#8211; as well as civil society &#8211; the message was clear: African countries can succeed, with Canada as a trusted partner in trade and investment, including in the creation of an enabling environment for economic development, through collaboration with some of its leading researchers.<\/p>\n<p>The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) served as a central point for deliberations over 3-days in Johannesburg, with hundreds of in-person delegates joined interactively by delegates at a satellite venue in Toronto and thousands of online registrants.<\/p>\n<p>The official conference panel on Free Trade and <em>&ldquo;<\/em>Canada&rsquo;s ongoing role as a trusted third-party partner for long-term prosperity<em>&rdquo;<\/em> followed a keynote address by H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General to the AfCFTA Secretariat, who underscored the importance of free trade and markets.<\/p>\n<p>Ayanda Khumalo, Vice Chair of the Board at the FMF (a member of the Fraser Institute&rsquo;s Economic Freedom of the World Network)&nbsp;(<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/3DBlYSS\">http:\/\/bit.ly\/3DBlYSS<\/a>) delivered the official Economic Freedom presentation, which preceded a forum with African and Canadian Ministerial representatives deliberating on effective strategies for trade and investment across African markets.<\/p>\n<p>Khumalo detailed the institutional and policy pre-requisites for successful free trade and prosperity, in which businesses &ndash; especially at the early stage &ndash; can grow and succeed.<\/p>\n<p><em>&ldquo;<\/em>The world&#039;s premier measurement of economic freedom by the Fraser Institute&nbsp;(<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/3DBm5Oi\">http:\/\/bit.ly\/3DBm5Oi<\/a>), ranks countries based on five areas&mdash;size of government, legal structure and property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade international and the regulation of credit, labour and business,<em>&rdquo;<\/em> he explained, summarising decades of data. <em>&ldquo;<\/em>There is absolutely no reason the top global rankings should not be dominated by African countries &#8211; with market potential translated to majorly improved outcomes.<em>&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, the Canada-Africa Chamber&rsquo;s Special Envoy to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement concurred, recognising the Fraser Institute&rsquo;s Economic Freedom of the World Report as <em>&ldquo;<\/em>an invaluable resource that shows not only the importance of free trade, but the supporting institutional and policy framework for African countries to succeed as members within a thriving African free trade bloc<em>&rdquo;<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>&ldquo;<\/em>The Economic Freedom of the World Report is an incredible contribution from Canada to the cause of economic freedom and prosperity around the world,<em>&rdquo;<\/em> he added.<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by the work of the Fraser Institute, one of several tangible outcomes of the 3-day conference included a Memorandum of Understanding, signed between the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business and the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity (IATP) (<a href=\"https:\/\/theiatp.org\/\">https:\/\/theIATP.org<\/a>), comprised of African policy entrepreneurs and innovators working to accelerate trade and investment &#8211; with a particular focus on AfCFTA. With the sponsorship of 121 Canada&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.121canada.com\/\">https:\/\/www.121Canada.com<\/a>), the MoU commits the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business to supporting the IATP through full member benefits of the Canada-Africa Chamber, which include access to programs, events management, media services and matchmaking young leaders across Africa with Canadian organizations and prospective partners.<\/p>\n<p>Recordings of the 3-day presentations are available here&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3fyXgKN\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/3fyXgKN<\/a>), including details of the incredible sponsors and partners whose support made Africa Accelerating 2022 possible.<\/p>\n<p><i>Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Queries:<br \/>\nThe Canada-Africa Chamber of Business<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:press@canadaafrica.ca\"><strong>press@canadaafrica.ca<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nTel: +1.647.667.1223<br \/>\nEmail: garreth@canadaafrica.ca<br \/>\nManulife Building RTO<br \/>\n55 Bloor Street West, PO Box 19553<br \/>\nToronto, Ontario M4W 3T9<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Canada-Africa Chamber of Business has been serving its members for 28-years, committed to the mission of accelerating Canada-Africa trade and investment through world-class networking and information-sharing events, welcoming hundreds of speakers and thousands of participants each year drawn from a variety of sectors, perspectives and markets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Africa Accelerating 2022:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfrica Accelerating 2022 is an International Information Exchange which was held from October 25-27, Sponsored by Canada&#039;s Ivanhoe Mines.<\/p>\n<p>For a second year in a row, Ivanhoe Mines is working with the Chamber to address challenges and advance opportunities for enhanced Canada-Africa trade and investment that will contribute to shared and sustained economic benefits. The three-day conference in Johannesburg, with in-person live addresses from the Toronto conference location, were available virtually to all at no cost.<\/p>\n<p>Please visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/countlinks\/215482\/http:%7D%7Dwww.canadaafrica.ca%7D\/website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.CanadaAfrica.ca<\/a>&nbsp;for more information, including access to the full recordings from the 3-day forum.<\/p>\n<div class=\"well well-sm\"><b>Media files<\/b><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/c3f2646d310bb74\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/c3f2646d310bb74\" alt=\"The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business\" style=\"max-width:500px\" \/><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/download\/c3f2646d310bb74\">Download logo<\/a><\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/\">Source: Africa Newsroom &#8211; APO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&ldquo;With proven reforms we&#039;ve researched, there is no reason African countries could not become some of the most economically free and prosperous nations on earth&rsquo;&rsquo; according to Fred McMahon, who serves as the Dr. Michael A. Walker Chair in Economic Freedom at the Fraser Institute, a leading Canadian think tank. These opening remarks were delivered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":242034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[4585],"class_list":{"0":"post-242033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-apo","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/leading-thinkers-affirm-africas-enormous-potential-and-proven-paths-to-prosperity.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}