World Economic Forum on Africa: Issues in Depth

• Digital divide: Bridging the digital divide requires broadband connectivity and wireless technologies at low cost, says Mark Beckford, General Manager, Intel, People’s Republic of China.
  
  
• China & India investment: The hunger of China and India for commodities is an opportunity for Africa, says Jim Goodnight of SAS.
  
  
• Energy sustainability: Social and environmental sustainability are critical to securing the future of Africa's energy industry, says Pat Davies of Sasol Limited.
  
  
• Securing investment: Corporate governance and international standards reduce the risk and obstacles in doing business, says Jackie Tong, Ernst & Young, South Africa.
  
  
• Competition: A fair business environment creates cheaper products for the African consumer, and this holds true for IT and network costs, says Olivier Suinat of HP.
  
  
• Ownership: The next challenge, beyond extending the development curve beyond aid, is to encourage African consumers to become owners, says Steve Booysen, Absa Group.
  
  
• Digital divide: Government is not the answer to every problem, but when it comes to technology access, it is the single most important determining factor everywhere in the world, says Gustavo Arenas of AMD.
  
  
• Competitiveness: Africa has made strides in its competitiveness in recent years, but measures must be taken to ensure that the continent's recent gains are sustainable, according to the Forum's Chief Economist Augusto Lopez-Claros.
  
  
• Creating wealth: Financial and social resources should be targeted at helping people to help themselves, says Gisèle Yitamben, social entrepreneur and president of ASAFE, Cameroon.
  
  
• Media and AIDS: Media can serve as an agent for change by shaping government policy and social behaviour, says social entrepreneur Garth Japhet of Soul City, South Africa.
  
  
• Hunger: Agribusiness should be central to meeting the UN's Millennium Goal on hunger, says Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization.
  
  
• Hunger: Working on a cause with the public sector is hard work, but worth the effort, says Peter Bakker, CEO of TNT, Netherlands, ahead of World Food Day on 16 October.
  
  
  
  For more information, please contact:
  E-mail: africa@weforum.org
  Tel: +41 (0)22 869 1481
  Fax: +41 (0)22 786 2744