By Ediri Ejoh & Hope Ofobike

A Veteran Economist and Senior lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri Professor Emeka Adimmadu, has said that Africapitalism is the solution to Africa’s growth challenges.

He stated this in Abuja while launching his book titled ‘Economics and Africapitalism: The African perspective.

He said: “Africapitalism, a new platform for African development, is a synergy of the world economic forum, Africa’s campaign for a new Africa as well as a wake up call for Africa and Africans to realize that the world has gone beyond the spectre of redundancy and mere resilience.

“It is all about a model of social capital or culture that promotes egalitarianism through an inclusive institution. For the African nations to grow and prosper it must evolve economic trajectory by changing institutions. Africapitalism is Africa’s version of free market system differentiated by reliance of market mechanism driven by consumer interests and not driven by supplier or producer overzealous and inordinate profit motive.”

According to him, the ills with the Africa’s economy are inexplicably premised on the continent’s inability to scale minimum global benchmark for acceptability as an important global partner.

Speaking on ways to revamp the Africa’s ailing economy, he said: “In order to avert future marginal affiliation or lopsided integration with the rest of the emerging global community or regional epicentres, African nations must develop strong all inclusive institutions that would create various circles of innovation, economic expansion and more widely held, wealth.”

“The challenge to develop new perspective in Africa’s Economic trajectory requires a regional or inter regional long-term strategy involving first and foremost the revitalization and promotion of the erstwhile moribund micro, small and medium scale enterprises, a political process that encourages strong and virile private sector in partnership with cognate public sector institutions.

Such a collective regional approach would result in shoring up the nearly extinguished middle-income group which will support the simultaneous development of SME’s and in the long run bolsters greater opportunities for rapid growth and development of the African region.”