'Africa's economies set for growth'

Terrence Okeke Taylor, a lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science in South Africa has said that the US and Chinese economies are going to shrink while African economies will see growth.

He made this known in an interview with Joy Business News on Wednesday.

Terrence is in the country to hold Business Education Seminars with some cooperate institutions. He is an Associate of African Business Schools which brings together countries like Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa where he teaches managers how to bring success to their business and country.

He said the future of Africa is bright and it will take the full involvement of the private sector since it plays a pivotal role in the development of the continent. Using Angola's economy as an example, Terrence said a lot can be learnt from it because it has been developing by 20 percent for the last three years.

This has made Angola the 3rd largest economy in Africa after South Africa and Nigeria taking into consideration the fact that Angola was once ravaged by war for 20 years. He said Angola benefited a lot from oil price increases which it used to invest in other business in Africa. The country also invested a lot in Construction and Tourism.

He said African on its own can boast of personalities like Mo Ibrahim who owned Celtel now Zain and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Another successful Telecom company is Sonatel of Cote I'voire which is the 3rd largest mobile telecommunications network in West Africa. The Telecommunications sector is the fastest growing business in the world especially in Africa.

He said further that Nigeria is also doing very well when it comes to the Banking sector that is why they are invading the Ghanaian banking sector due to their expansion drive.

Ghana has its own success stories, he said, citing companies like Kasapreko and Unique Trust who have become very successful over the years. These companies are owned by indigenous Ghanaians.

“Africa needs to critically look at business education, have more time for research and also learn from what others have done. There is a lot of fortune in Africa but we must create services that are affordable. Many think business is exclusively about making money and profit, the effect the environment has on the people is very important,” he said.

Touching on the oil find in Ghana and the negative effects it could have if not handled properly, Terrence Keke Taylor said although there is a curse in Africa when it comes to oil, Angola is a clear example of a profitable oil economy that Ghana can learn from.

Dr Daniel Sedoh, a lecturer at the Central University Business School also said in an interview that, business should be about worth creation and not only profits. The environment must also be given key consideration.

He said failures in the economy and businesses are mostly due to the fact that business students are not willing to learn, explaining that most people learn because of the certificate so they 'chew and pour' just to pass.

Dr Sedoh also reiterated that money and time are not being appropriately invested and that there is no documentation for research purposes which will serve as a reference for study and development.

Terrance Keke Taylor concluded by saying there is a lot of hope for Africa because the world's super power houses are getting to their elastic limit and Africa should be adequately prepared to capitalise on that for growth and development.

Story by Aglanu Dela Ernest/Myjoyonline/Ghana