As Africa recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war, the prime minister of Ivory Coast says the private sector is critical to driving development on the continent.
Patrick Achi delivered his remarks at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, the largest international gathering of the African private sector, which drew 2,000 business leaders, investors, and policymakers.
This year’s focus is on increasing the number of African businesses with a $1 billion (£800,000) turnover. According to the management consulting firm McKinsey, growth in businesses of this size has slowed since 2015.
According to the firm, Africa currently has 345 companies with revenues of $1 billion or more, Europe has over 2,700, and Asia has over 3,000.
Ache Leke, a senior partner at McKinsey, stated at the Africa CEO Forum that Africa’s largest companies play a significant role in increasing the continent’s resilience to economic shocks and increasing economic sovereignty.
“By 2030, more than half of these companies could boost their combined annual revenue of $1 trillion by more than $55 billion by entering new markets and increasing productivity.”
