President Paul Kagame has said Rwanda and Africa are using current and previous challenges as an opportunity to evaluate choices, priorities and approaches to inform solutions to move forward.

The president was speaking on the second day of the World Economic Forum underway in Davos, Switzerland.

Speaking at a panel session, "Africa’s Next Challenge,” Kagame said challenges remind the country and the continent in general of things that are within Africa’s available means to transform itself.

President Kagame was on the panel alongside other African leaders, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina, Nigerian vice-president Yemi Osinbajo, and Hans Vestberg, the chief executive of Ericsson.

"There is a silver lining around Africa's challenges. They make us, in Rwanda and in Africa, think harder and smarter,” the President said.

He said African countries stood a large chance of economic growth and development by doing what is within their means such as integrating and doing business with each other as opposed to waiting for outside intervention.

By making the most of such low hanging fruits, Kagame said, African countries would certainly reap dividends such as a higher gross domestic product.

"We can easily compensate what we are losing from outside by concentrating on what we can do between and among ourselves,” Kagame said.

He emphasised the need for African countries to harness the potential of technology to improve productivity, get past the challenges and create opportunities for their people.

For the second time at the forum, the President allayed fears that technology would displace African jobs or render certain sets of skills irrelevant.

The forum, which closes today, has had multiple talks themed around future technology’s effect on labour market and employment around the world.

It is feared that transition from the current era of digital technologies to the fourth industrial revolution could see millions of employees in various sectors displaced by machines and technology.

However, Kagame said concern should be on how to make the most of technology and its advancements to solve challenges and improve productivity.

"Before people worry about technology replacing jobs, why don’t we concentrate on using it for the right reason; productivity,” Kagame posed. "In Africa we have a deficit of technology for productivity, how do we start worrying about a problem before solving another?”

Addressing persistent challenges

To address other persistent challenges that continued to hold the continent back such as energy capacity, the President insisted on the need of political will, which would eradicate issues of slow execution of planned projects. Echoing Kagame’s remarks, Ethiopian premier Dessalegn said the continent was not in any way doomed but can rise past challenges with cooperation.

Dessalegn cited the continent’s biggest challenges as deficits in energy and infrastructure, saying that addressing the two was critical in readiness of the fourth industrial revolution.

Like Kagame, he expressed optimism in the continent’s future, saying the transition from a digital economy would present an opportunity for the continent to leapfrog.

AfDB president Adesina emphasised on the need to generate enough energy on the continent to be able to take advantage of the opportunities presented in the future.

Adesina said it was the reason the bank on Wednesday launched an energy deal where they would invest about $12 million over the next five years.

The panelists also stressed the need to educate the continent and boost higher learning level education skills to ensure available graduates met the labour market needs.

Adesina said it was an issue of concern that a majority of universities on the continent were not producing skill sets relevant to the labour market needs.

Citing the example of Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda, he said there were institutions on the continent that should be used as examples by the other countries in the continent.

Prior to the session, President Kagame had on Wednesday evening attended the launch of African Development Bank’s transformative energy programme, which would see about $12 million invested by the bank in the next five years.

At the launch, Kagame said more needs to be done in the energy sector without blaming the slow progress on financing.

"It is not enough for Rwanda to make a little progress. We need to get organised nationally but also across borders,” Kagame said.

The President ended the day with ‘Rwanda Night’, a cultural evening hosted by the Rwandan community in Switzerland.

The forum is running under the theme, "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

It aims to evaluate the basics of transition from the digital technologies era to the fourth industrial revolution which is expected to influence production, consumption and interactions with one another, thus impacting economies.

Rwanda is represented by a delegation led by top government officials who have taken part in multiple sessions showcasing the country’s potential as an investment destination.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete, on Wednesday, participated in a session showcasing Rwanda’s suitability as a financial services hub.

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