By Franklin Alli

CHAIRMAN of Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko, has tasked African entrepreneurs to find innovative solutions to migrate the continent from its dependence on imported raw materials for industries.

Otudeko made the charge at the 16th edition of the London Business School Africa Business Summit with the theme: ”Made in Africa”. He noted that despite the political, infrastructural and other challenges facing the continent, there were enormous opportunities to harness. He called on true entrepreneurs to take advantage of such opportunities and reap buoyant rewards.

According to him, there was need for businesses to come up with effective strategies for developing made in Africa solutions that embrace the diversity and peculiarity of the continent. “For many decades, Africa has been depending on the exportation of low value commodities and industrial raw materials while importing more expensive finished products,” he said.

The Nigerian experience, he noted, presents a vivid situation of the status quo with manufacturing in Africa. “We export crude oil and use a significant percentage of revenues earned there from to import refined petroleum products. Africa cannot continue in this trajectory (low valued added exports). The continent must rapidly migrate from trading, exporting raw materials to manufacturing value-added goods,” he said. According to him, manufacturing accounts for only 11 percent of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that there is a huge untapped opportunity in the sector. He said these opportunities can only be effectively utilized by deliberate, concerted efforts at implementing potent strategies for economic growth and inclusion.

Otudeko said there was need for the continent to change its current business model as well as policies and adopt reforms that would engender sustainable economic growth. “Business leaders must focus on developing talents and coaching people for future leadership roles. When you have the right processes, you still need the right talent to drive these processes towards creating value. We need to particularly invest in equipping the teeming young African population with the right skills (especially technical skills) that can make them readily employable”, he said.

Apart from manpower and skills development, Otudeko admonished entrepreneurs to collaborate with governments to push forward business and investment-friendly policies and reforms, as well as adopt global best practices to ensure business sustainability.