CAPE TOWN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The World Economic Forum on Africa opened in Cape Town on Wednesday, with focus on inclusiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Under the theme "Shaping Inclusive Growth and Shared Futures in the 4IR," the three-day meeting was the first that the World Economic Forum has held in sub-Saharan Africa since 2017.
About 1,000 delegates representing governments, businesses, academics and civil societies from around the world will use the forum to shape regional and industry agendas for the year ahead.
The program will focus on how to scale up the transformation of regional architecture related to smart institutions, investment, integration, industry and innovation to advance the 4IR.
This year's meeting falls in a year when 20 elections will take place across the region, and nearly 100 days since South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took office.
Ramaphosa is leading a top-level delegation to the forum to pitch South Africa as an investment destination.
While progress has been made politically in sub-Saharan Africa, economic growth is also expected to accelerate modestly in 2019 from 3.1 percent in 2018 to an average of 3.6 percent in 2019, according to the World Bank.
Against this backdrop, the WEF on Africa will address a number of key issues facing the region's inclusive development, organizers said.
These include supporting growth and integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area, creating high-quality employment opportunities and protecting workers in the 4IR, employing drones to address health, infrastructure and other societal needs, using emerging technologies to advance healthcare and prepare for epidemics, and implementing growth strategies that address environmental challenges and deliver industrialization.
"Africa's successful development depends on building the right conditions for its new generation of entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders," said Elsie Kanza, Head of the Regional Agenda, Africa, and Member of the Executive Committee at the WEF.
This means smart, agile institutions; an enabling environment for innovation that includes access to skills and capital; and a determined approach by policy-makers to level the playing field and implement policies that prioritize sustainable, inclusive growth over short-term imperatives, Kanza said.
