Press Release: Arc. Sonny Echono’s Vision for Africa’s Greatness Through Education and Entrepreneurship

London, United Kingdom, July 18, 2024: The Executive Secretary of TETFund , Nigeria, Arc. Sonny Echono delivered a stirring keynote address at the 9th African Leadership Magazine Summit, held in London, United Kingdom, emphasising the crucial link between education and entrepreneurship as the pathway to Africa’s greatness. The summit, themed “Africa Unleashed: Navigating Disruptions, Enhancing Opportunities,” brought together policymakers, business leaders, diplomats, and thought leaders to explore sustainable socio-economic development strategies for Africa.

In his speech, Arc. Echono highlighted the necessity of adopting democratic principles, good governance, and accountability to achieve political stability and peace across the continent. He stressed the importance of harnessing available funding from institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank to invest in vital infrastructure projects, particularly in energy, transportation, and communication systems.

“Unlocking Africa’s immense potential requires a multilayer approach,” Echono stated. He called for strengthening regional integration through organisations like the African Union and ECOWAS and promoting intra-African trade and collaboration. He argued that this would enable Africa to benefit from economies of scale and leverage its collective potential.

Arc. Echono also addressed the need for environmental sustainability and climate action, urging Africa to protect its natural resources, adopt renewable energy, and promote eco-friendly practices. He emphasised that these efforts must be complemented by a strong commitment from African leaders to invest in education and entrepreneurship development.

“Investment in quality education, skills development, and continuous capacity building will produce a globally competitive workforce,” he said. He advocated for embracing technological advancements and digital transformation to accelerate innovation and promote entrepreneurship, which he described as the “engine of growth and sustainable development.”

Echono pointed out the disconnect between current educational systems and the needs of modern society, calling for a revamp of curricula to foster entrepreneurial thinking and job creation. He highlighted the successes of TETFund initiatives like Research for Impact (R4i) and TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR), which have trained hundreds of lecturers and developed numerous prototypes with commercial potential.

“By leveraging advanced technologies and unlocking the possibilities of science, we can plant and nurture the seeds of tomorrow’s innovation today,” Echono asserted. He concluded with a call to action, urging African leaders to use education and entrepreneurship to unleash the continent’s greatness.

The summit concluded with a resounding commitment to transforming Africa into a global powerhouse through strategic investments in human capital and fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

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King Richard Igimoh

Group Editor

African Leadership Magazine

editor@africanleadership.co.uk,  king.richards@africanleadership.co.uk  

About African Leadership Magazine Summit:
The African Leadership Magazine Summit is a premier event that convenes leaders from various sectors to discuss and promote sustainable socio-economic development across Africa. The summit provides a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas to address the continent’s most pressing challenges and opportunities.

Here’s the complete speech

 A KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY ARC. SONNY ECHONO ON “EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LINKAGES: AFRICA’S PATHWAY TO UNLEASHING ITS GREATNESS” DURING THE 9^TH AFRICAN LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE SUMMIT IN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, 17 – 18 JULY, 2024

Protocols

I would like to begin by appreciating the Board and Management of African Leadership Organization, the publishers of African Leadership Magazine, for inviting me as Keynote Speaker and Honouree at this epochal Africa Summit holding in London, United Kingdom.

2. The theme of the Summit “Africa Unleashed: Navigating Disruptions, Enhancing Opportunities” is a clarion call to galvanize policymakers, political and business leaders, diplomats, civil society and thought leaders, along with other key stakeholders from across Africa, the UK, and the rest of the globe to explore diverse pathways for sustainable socio-economic development in Africa. Besides signifying that Africa has commenced its journey towards repositioning itself in global affairs, this summit should deliver the blueprint to navigate the identified obstacles and optimize the opportunities for Africa’s greatness.
3. There is shared acceptance that unlocking Africa’s immense potential requires a multilayer approach which features a convergence of different pathways. First, Africa must address its leadership crisis by adopting genuine democratic principles and values, promoting good governance and a culture of transparency and accountability to achieve political stability and ensure lasting peace and security on the continent. Next, it must efficiently harness available funding sources (WB, AFDB, China-exim, and other bilateral loans etc.) and channel same towards massive infrastructural projects, with particular focus on energy (power), transportation networks, and modern communication systems, to facilitate economic development.
4. There is a need to strengthen and deepen regional integration (AU, ECOWAS, EAC, ECCAS, SADC, UMA) and to promote intra-African trade and collaboration to benefit from the economies of scale and leverage Africa’s collective potential. The revival of a common identity and cultural renaissance will enable Africa to preserve, celebrate, share, and export its rich heritage of customs and traditions, arts and culture, music and dances, fashion and cuisines, movies and athletic abilities through sport. It will also provide a more equitable basis to build strategic partnerships with global players to access new markets, adopt new technologies, and exploit investment opportunities.
5. Africa must recognize and partake in the vast opportunities presented by environmental sustainability and climate action. Concerted efforts must be made to protects its natural resources, adopt conservation and renewable energy, promote eco-friendly lifestyles and practices to guarantee a sustainable future,
6. These possibilities and potential can only be realized if there is a strong resolve and commitment by African leaders to invest in their people through education and entrepreneurship development. Investment in quality education, skills development, vocational training, and continuous capacity building will produce a globally competitive workforce. Similarly, embracing technological advancements and digital transformation will accelerate innovation, while vigorous promotion of entrepreneurship will enable Africa to leapfrog the conventional development stages.
7. When Africa prioritizes its human capital by investing in health care, poverty reduction, social welfare, and education, it will build a healthy, skilled and productive population. Indeed, empowering Africa’s young and growing population will yield bountiful benefits and enable the continent to leverage its competitive advantage in natural resources and human capital. It will birth an era of rapid economic growth and a boom in innovation and entrepreneurship.
8. Entrepreneurship Education seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success. It is the handshake between education and entrepreneurship, through which entrepreneurial attributes are imbibed. However, the education system of many African states no longer meet the requirements of the modern-day competitive world. There is a disconnect between curriculum offerings and the needs of society and this is reflected in the subpar entrepreneurial development in the continent.
9. Entrepreneurship education will develop students to think in a creative and critical manner, to recognize and pursue opportunities, and to establish and operate new ventures. Currently, our educational systems are producing graduates that will be dependent on others for their livelihood as opposed to those who can create jobs and generate wealth.
10. As Africans, we cannot continue to hope for greatness. We must make concerted efforts to achieve it. As a continent, we must recognize the important role of entrepreneurship as the engine of growth and sustainable development. By leveraging advanced technologies and unlocking the possibilities of science, the seeds of tomorrow’s innovation must be planted and nurtured in our campuses today. By shining a spotlight on best practices and by collaborating with strategic partners across sectors, we can equip the youth with the knowledge and skills to reimagine the future and build a global economy that is more resilient and more prosperous for everyone.
11. Given the commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Area, it is important to support firms to become regionally competitive, and then aspire to continental leadership. This will require taking deliberate steps to promote industrialization, the development of indigenous technologies and the provision of business support services to indigenous firms to enable them effectively compete globally.
12. Accordingly, repurposing entrepreneurship education in the higher education institutions will require;
13. Alignment of research funding to Africa’s specific economic development priorities;
14. Implementation of a robust monitoring and evaluation process across R&D and entrepreneurship programmes;

• Establishment of technology transfer and commercialization structures and processes to assist in improving uptake of research outcomes, which will lead to development of indigenous technologies, and establishment of new firms.

1. Establishment of technology hubs and entrepreneurship development centres for unleashing the creativity of the youth and spurring an uptake in the development of local solutions;
2. Implementation of processes to facilitate University-Industry Collaboration to enhance uptake of research outcomes and ensure that research focuses on identified needs; of industry and the local community, and establishment of industrial, knowledge, science & technology parks around tertiary institutions.
3. TETFund, which I lead, has funded many innovative initiatives such as research for Impact (R4i) and TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR) targeted at deepening impactful research and uptake of research outcomes with potential for commercialization. In the last year, over 600 lecturers from our tertiary institutions have benefitted from the “Research for Impact” programme and have developed 95 prototypes from the initiative.
4. Under the TETFAIR programme which is in its fourth cohort, 44 teams of 176 researchers have been trained from tertiary institutions across the six (6) geopolitical zones. The first cohort of sixteen (16) teams have developed sixteen (16) prototypes. Most noteworthy is that a team designed and developed a hearing aid that is self-programmable, affordable, and more suitable for the African market. This Team was selected among the top 3 participants in the ARC Center for Digital Innovation Entrepreneurship Program at the Sheba Hospital in Israel where they presented their innovation at an international medical conference. Interestingly, all prototypes have been tested and are receiving positive feedback from potential investors.
5. Furthermore, the Fund is also sponsoring the establishment of four (4) regional multi-purpose research laboratories, twelve (12) innovation hubs and twelve (12) entrepreneurship centres in tertiary institutions across the country under the 2023/2024 interventions. The aim is to provide the enabling environment for conducting ground-breaking research and development of innovative technologies to enhance entrepreneurship, innovation and employability in line with contemporary global best practice.
6. As a great believer in Africa’s promise, I am convinced that the continent will emerge as a global powerhouse in the next decade. Education and entrepreneurial linkage will be the catalyst to stimulate innovation, develop and hone problem-solving skills, encourage technology adaptation, promote job creation, economic growth, and global competitiveness. I also believe that Africa can empower its population to become dynamic entrepreneurs capable of driving sustainable development of the continent. Let us therefore resolve from this summit to utilize the opportunities provided by education and entrepreneurship to unleash Africa’s greatness.
7. Thank you for your kind attention.