Africa (Common Wealth) _ African leaders are meeting to launch the 4D initiative, which aims to accelerate transformational development throughout the African continent by reactivating major growth engines such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Nardos Bekele-Thomas, the Head of AUDA-NEPAD, stated ahead of the Summit, “4D will mark a shift.” In addition to mega-platforms designed to scale innovations, major development finance organizations and Funds are being persuaded to channel more resources to support innovations developed in Africa with the goal of making the continent more resilient and competitive, even as global supply chains are reshaped by geopolitics. These platforms include well-known ones like PanaBIOS, ProPer, and AfCFTA Hub, as well as newer ones like Tranzyt and Transforma.
The main goal of the Boma is to bring together Africa’s decision-makers from politics, business, technology, and the technocracy to commit to major actions to accelerate Africa’s achievement of the Agenda 2063 goals of unity and continental prosperity, positioning Africa as a credible global force for good in the twenty-first century.
According to the Commission, the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the Protocol on Free Movement of People (PFMP), the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), and others will be accelerated by the 4D Pact.
According to an AU spokesperson, 4D will increase the resources available to continent-wide platforms and accelerators like BioNovac, the AfCFTA Hub, ProPer, the African Public Health Wallet (PanaBIOS-Trusted Health), and the Transforma Green Economy platform in order to accelerate progress toward Agenda 2063.
The new emphasis on startups, SMEs, and university spinoffs, as well as the focus on a vital subset of technical sectors to encourage local industrialisation and innovation, represents a substantial divergence from prior African Union policies aimed at advancing African growth.
According to an AU press release, African leaders are looking for the next generation of unicorns who will transform hot new fields such as biotech, gene editing, genomics, and artificial intelligence.
The idea is to direct such expenditures in a way that has a significant impact on health, trade, local manufacturing, and job growth. The new 4D Pact with important African Union institutions such as the AfCFTA Secretariat, Africa CDC, AUDA-NEPAD, AFCAC, and ACBF paves the way for them to raise tens of millions of dollars from development finance institutions and assistance organizations, some of which have already committed to the vision. According to a spokesman for the 55-nation political union, the Africa Finance Corporation, BADEA, and Afreximbank all endorse the goal.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and African Union High Representative for the Horn of Africa region, Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of the Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union, Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana and African Union Champion of Financial Institutions, and Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa addressed the “Boma of Africa” Summit organized by the African Union Commission and its strategies.
Other speakers include the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde; the World Health Organization’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu; the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, Ms. Nardos Bekele-Thomas; the AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry, and Mining, Amb. Albert Muchanga; the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene Thiam, as well as AFCAC Secretary General Adefunke Adeyemi.
