WEBVTT 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.000 Thank you very much, Chris. Everybody who came up here 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.000 said they were scared. I don't know if I'm scared, 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.000 but this is my first time of addressing an audience like this. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:20.000 And I don't have any smart technology for you to look at. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.000 There are no slides, so you'll just have to be content with me. 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:26.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:32.000 What I want to do this morning is share with you a couple of stories 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:35.000 and talk about a different Africa. 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:39.000 Already this morning there were some allusions to the Africa 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:44.000 that you hear about all the time: the Africa of HIV/AIDS, 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:50.000 the Africa of malaria, the Africa of poverty, the Africa of conflict, 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:53.000 and the Africa of disasters. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:57.000 While it is true that those things are going on, 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:01.000 there's an Africa that you don't hear about very much. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.000 And sometimes I'm puzzled, and I ask myself why. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:09.000 This is the Africa that is changing, that Chris alluded to. 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.000 This is the Africa of opportunity. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:14.000 This is the Africa where people want to take charge of 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.000 their own futures and their own destinies. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:19.000 And this is the Africa where people are looking for partnerships 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:23.000 to do this. That's what I want to talk about today. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.000 And I want to start by telling you 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:27.000 a story about that change in Africa. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:33.000 On 15th of September 2005, Mr. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.000 a governor of one of the oil-rich states of Nigeria, 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:44.000 was arrested by the London Metropolitan Police on a visit to London. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:49.000 He was arrested because there were transfers of eight million dollars 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:52.000 that went into some dormant accounts 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:55.000 that belonged to him and his family. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:58.000 This arrest occurred because there was cooperation 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:01.000 between the London Metropolitan Police 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.000 and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria -- 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:11.000 led by one of our most able and courageous people: Mr. Nuhu Ribadu. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.000 Alamieyeseigha was arraigned in London. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:18.000 Due to some slip-ups, he managed to escape dressed as a woman 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:21.000 and ran from London back to Nigeria where, 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:25.000 according to our constitution, those in office 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.000 as governors, president -- as in many countries -- 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:32.000 have immunity and cannot be prosecuted. But what happened: 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:36.000 people were so outraged by this behavior that it was possible 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:42.000 for his state legislature to impeach him and get him out of office. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.000 Today, Alams -- as we call him for short -- is in jail. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:51.000 This is a story about the fact that people in Africa 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:56.000 are no longer willing to tolerate corruption from their leaders. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:02.000 This is a story about the fact that people want their resources 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:07.000 managed properly for their good, and not taken out to places 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.000 where they'll benefit just a few of the elite. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.000 And therefore, when you hear about the corrupt Africa -- 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:18.000 corruption all the time -- I want you to know that the people 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.000 and the governments are trying hard to fight this 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.000 in some of the countries, and that some successes are emerging. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.000 Does it mean the problem is over? The answer is no. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.000 There's still a long way to go, but that there's a will there. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.000 And that successes are being chalked up on this very important fight. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.000 So when you hear about corruption, 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.000 don't just feel that nothing is being done about this -- 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.000 that you can't operate in any African country 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.000 because of the overwhelming corruption. That is not the case. 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:53.000 There's a will to fight, and in many countries, that fight is ongoing 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:57.000 and is being won. In others, like mine, 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:00.000 where there has been a long history of dictatorship in Nigeria, 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.000 the fight is ongoing and we have a long way to go. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:08.000 But the truth of the matter is that this is going on. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:11.000 The results are showing: 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:15.000 independent monitoring by the World Bank and other organizations 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:19.000 show that in many instances the trend is downwards 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.000 in terms of corruption, and governance is improving. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:26.000 A study by the Economic Commission for Africa showed 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.000 a clear trend upwards in governance in 28 African countries. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.000 And let me say just one more thing 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.000 before I leave this area of governance. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.000 That is that people talk about corruption, corruption. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:39.000 All the time when they talk about it 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:41.000 you immediately think about Africa. 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:45.000 That's the image: African countries. But let me say this: 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:51.000 if Alams was able to export eight million dollars into an account in London -- 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:57.000 if the other people who had taken money, estimated at 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:01.000 20 to 40 billion now of developing countries' monies 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.000 sitting abroad in the developed countries -- if they're able to do this, 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.000 what is that? Is that not corruption? 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 In this country, if you receive stolen goods, are you not prosecuted? 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:16.000 So when we talk about this kind of corruption, let us also think 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.000 about what is happening on the other side of the globe -- 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:23.000 where the money's going and what can be done to stop it. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.000 I'm working on an initiative now, along with the World Bank, 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.000 on asset recovery, trying to do what we can 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:32.000 to get the monies that have been taken abroad -- 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.000 developing countries' moneys -- to get that sent back. 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:38.000 Because if we can get the 20 billion dollars sitting out there back, 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:41.000 it may be far more for some of these countries 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:44.000 than all the aid that is being put together. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:51.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:55.000 The second thing I want to talk about is the will for reform. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:59.000 Africans, after -- they're tired, we're tired 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:04.000 of being the subject of everybody's charity and care. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:08.000 We are grateful, but we know that 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 we can take charge of our own destinies if we have the will to reform. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:17.000 And what is happening in many African countries now is a realization 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:21.000 that no one can do it but us. We have to do it. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:25.000 We can invite partners who can support us, but we have to start. 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.000 We have to reform our economies, change our leadership, 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:34.000 become more democratic, be more open to change and to information. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.000 And this is what we started to do 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.000 in one of the largest countries on the continent, Nigeria. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:42.000 In fact, if you're not in Nigeria, you're not in Africa. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:43.000 I want to tell you that. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:44.000 (Laughter) 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.000 One in four sub-Saharan Africans is Nigerian, 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:53.000 and it has 140 million dynamic people -- chaotic people -- 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:58.000 but very interesting people. You'll never be bored. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.000 What we started to do was to realize 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:03.000 that we had to take charge and reform ourselves. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.000 And with the support of a leader 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:09.000 who was willing, at the time, to do the reforms, 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:11.000 we put forward a comprehensive reform program, 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.000 which we developed ourselves. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.000 Not the International Monetary Fund. Not the World Bank, 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.000 where I worked for 21 years and rose to be a vice president. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.000 No one can do it for you. You have to do it for yourself. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.000 We put together a program that would, one: get the state 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:30.000 out of businesses it had nothing -- it had no business being in. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.000 The state should not be in the business 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.000 of producing goods and services 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.000 because it's inefficient and incompetent. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.000 So we decided to privatize many of our enterprises. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 (Applause) 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.000 We -- as a result, we decided to liberalize many of our markets. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.000 Can you believe that prior to this reform -- 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.000 which started at the end of 2003, when I left Washington 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.000 to go and take up the post of Finance Minister -- 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.000 we had a telecommunications company that was only able to develop 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:09.000 4,500 landlines in its entire 30-year history? 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.000 Having a telephone in my country was a huge luxury. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.000 You couldn't get it. You had to bribe. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.000 You had to do everything to get your phone. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:21.000 When President Obasanjo supported and launched 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:25.000 the liberalization of the telecommunications sector, 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:34.000 we went from 4,500 landlines to 32 million GSM lines, and counting. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:39.000 Nigeria's telecoms market is the second-fastest growing in the world, 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:44.000 after China. We are getting investments of about a billion dollars a year 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:50.000 in telecoms. And nobody knows, except a few smart people. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:57.000 The smartest one, first to come in, 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:59.000 was the MTN company of South Africa. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:03.000 And in the three years that I was Finance Minister, 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:06.000 they made an average of 360 million dollars profit per year. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:14.000 360 million in a market -- in a country that is a poor country, 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.000 with an average per capita income just under 500 dollars per capita. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:21.000 So the market is there. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.000 When they kept this under wraps, but soon others got to know. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.000 Nigerians themselves began to develop 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.000 some wireless telecommunications companies, 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.000 and three or four others have come in. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:35.000 But there's a huge market out there, 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:38.000 and people don't know about it, or they don't want to know. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.000 So privatization is one of the things we've done. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:49.000 The other thing we've also done is to manage our finances better. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.000 Because nobody's going to help you and support you 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:56.000 if you're not managing your own finances well. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:00.000 And Nigeria, with the oil sector, had the reputation 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:05.000 of being corrupt and not managing its own public finances well. 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.000 So what did we try to do? We introduced a fiscal rule 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.000 that de-linked our budget from the oil price. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:16.000 Before we used to just budget on whatever oil we bring in, 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:21.000 because oil is the biggest, most revenue-earning sector 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:24.000 in the economy: 70 percent of our revenues come from oil. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.000 We de-linked that, and once we did it, we began to budget 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.000 at a price slightly lower than the oil price 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:35.000 and save whatever was above that price. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.000 We didn't know we could pull it off; it was very controversial. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:42.000 But what it immediately did was that the volatility 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.000 that had been present in terms of our economic development -- 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:49.000 where, even if oil prices were high, we would grow very fast. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:51.000 When they crashed, we crashed. 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:55.000 And we could hardly even pay anything, any salaries, in the economy. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:00.000 That smoothened out. We were able to save, just before I left, 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:06.000 27 billion dollars. Whereas -- and this went to our reserves -- 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:10.000 when I arrived in 2003, we had seven billion dollars in reserves. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:14.000 By the time I left, we had gone up to almost 30 billion dollars. And 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:17.000 as we speak now, we have about 40 billion dollars in reserves 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.000 due to proper management of our finances. 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:26.000 And that shores up our economy, makes it stable. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:29.000 Our exchange rate that used to fluctuate all the time 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:33.000 is now fairly stable and being managed so that business people 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:38.000 have a predictability of prices in the economy. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.000 We brought inflation down from 28 percent to about 11 percent. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:52.000 And we had GDP grow from an average of 2.3 percent the previous decade 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.000 to about 6.5 percent now. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:59.000 So all the changes and reforms we were able to make 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:02.000 have shown up in results that are measurable in the economy. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:06.000 And what is more important, because we want to get away from oil 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:08.000 and diversify -- and there are so many opportunities 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.000 in this one big country, as in many countries in Africa -- 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.000 what was remarkable is that much of this growth came 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:19.000 not from the oil sector alone, but from non-oil. 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.000 Agriculture grew at better than eight percent. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.000 As telecoms sector grew, housing and construction, 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:31.000 and I could go on and on. And this is to illustrate to you that 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.000 once you get the macro-economy straightened out, 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:37.000 the opportunities in various other sectors are enormous. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.000 We have opportunities in agriculture, like I said. 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:45.000 We have opportunities in solid minerals. We have a lot of minerals 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:48.000 that no one has even invested in or explored. And we realized 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:51.000 that without the proper legislation to make that possible, 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:54.000 that wouldn't happen. So we've now got a mining code 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.000 that is comparable with some of the best in the world. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:00.000 We have opportunities in housing and real estate. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:03.000 There was nothing in a country of 140 million people -- 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:09.000 no shopping malls as you know them here. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.000 This was an investment opportunity for someone 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.000 that excited the imagination of people. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.000 And now, we have a situation in which the businesses in this mall 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:22.000 are doing four times the turnover that they had projected. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:26.000 So, huge things in construction, real estate, 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.000 mortgage markets. Financial services: 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:33.000 we had 89 banks. Too many not doing their real business. 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.000 We consolidated them from 89 to 25 banks by requiring 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:42.000 that they increase their capital -- share capital. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:47.000 And it went from about 25 million dollars to 150 million dollars. 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:51.000 The banks -- these banks are now consolidated, and that strengthening 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:55.000 of the banking system has attracted a lot of investment from outside. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.000 Barclays Bank of the U.K. is bringing in 500 million. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:03.000 Standard Chartered has brought in 140 million. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:06.000 And I can go on. Dollars, on and on, into the system. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.000 We are doing the same with the insurance sector. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.000 So in financial services, a great deal of opportunity. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:17.000 In tourism, in many African countries, a great opportunity. 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.000 And that's what many people know East Africa for: 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:24.000 the wildlife, the elephants, and so on. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.000 But managing the tourism market in a way 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:29.000 that can really benefit the people is very important. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.000 So what am I trying to say? I'm trying to tell you 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:36.000 that there's a new wave on the continent. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:41.000 A new wave of openness and democratization in which, since 2000, 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:43.000 more than two-thirds of African countries have had 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.000 multi-party democratic elections. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:49.000 Not all of them have been perfect, or will be, 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.000 but the trend is very clear. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:55.000 I'm trying to tell you that since the past three years, 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:58.000 the average rate of growth on the continent has moved 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:02.000 from about 2.5 percent to about five percent per annum. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:06.000 This is better than the performance of many OECD countries. 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:11.000 So it's clear that things are changing. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:13.000 Conflicts are down on the continent; 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:16.000 from about 12 conflicts a decade ago, 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.000 we are down to three or four conflicts -- 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.000 one of the most terrible, of course, of which is Darfur. 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:24.000 And, you know, you have the neighborhood effect where 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:26.000 if something is going on in one part of the continent, 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.000 it looks like the entire continent is affected. 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.000 But you should know that this continent is not -- 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:38.000 is a continent of many countries, not one country. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.000 And if we are down to three or four conflicts, 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:43.000 it means that there are plenty of opportunities to invest 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:50.000 in stable, growing, exciting economies 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:53.000 where there's plenty of opportunity. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.000 And I want to just make one point about this investment. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:01.000 The best way to help Africans today 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.000 is to help them to stand on their own feet. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.000 And the best way to do that is by helping create jobs. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.000 There's no issue with fighting malaria and putting money in that 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.000 and saving children's lives. That's not what I'm saying. That is fine. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:23.000 But imagine the impact on a family: if the parents can be employed 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:25.000 and make sure that their children go to school, 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.000 that they can buy the drugs to fight the disease themselves. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:32.000 If we can invest in places where you yourselves make money 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:37.000 whilst creating jobs and helping people stand on their own feet, 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:42.000 isn't that a wonderful opportunity? Isn't that the way to go? 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:45.000 And I want to say that some of the best people to invest in 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.000 on the continent are the women. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:55.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:16:55.000 --> 00:17:00.000 I have a CD here. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything on time. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.000 Otherwise, I would have liked you to have seen this. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:05.000 It says, "Africa: Open for Business." 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:09.000 And this is a video that has actually won an award 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.000 as the best documentary of the year. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.000 Understand that the woman who made it 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:18.000 is going to be in Tanzania, where they're having the session in June. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:24.000 But it shows you Africans, and particularly African women, who 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:29.000 against all odds have developed businesses, some of them world-class. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:32.000 One of the women in this video, Adenike Ogunlesi, 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.000 making children's clothes -- 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:39.000 which she started as a hobby and grew into a business. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:42.000 Mixing African materials, such as we have, 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:44.000 with materials from elsewhere. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:49.000 So, she'll make a little pair of dungarees with corduroys, 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:53.000 with African material mixed in. Very creative designs, 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:58.000 has reached a stage where she even had an order from Wal-Mart. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:00.000 (Laughter) 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:03.000 For 10,000 pieces. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:08.000 So that shows you that we have people who are capable of doing. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:13.000 And the women are diligent. They are focused; they work hard. 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.000 I could go on giving examples: 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.000 Beatrice Gakuba of Rwanda, who opened up a flower business 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:24.000 and is now exporting to the Dutch auction in Amsterdam each morning 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:28.000 and is employing 200 other women and men to work with her. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:33.000 However, many of these are starved for capital to expand, 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.000 because nobody believes outside of our countries 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:42.000 that we can do what is necessary. Nobody thinks in terms of a market. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.000 Nobody thinks there's opportunity. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.000 But I'm standing here saying that those who miss the boat now, 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.000 will miss it forever. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:56.000 So if you want to be in Africa, think about investing. 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:03.000 Think about the Beatrices, think about the Adenikes of this world, 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.000 who are doing incredible things, that are bringing them 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.000 into the global economy, whilst at the same time making sure 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:12.000 that their fellow men and women are employed, 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.000 and that the children in those households get educated 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:17.000 because their parents are earning adequate income. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:22.000 So I invite you to explore the opportunities. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:27.000 When you go to Tanzania, listen carefully, 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:31.000 because I'm sure you will hear of the various openings that there will be 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:36.000 for you to get involved in something that will do good 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:41.000 for the continent, for the people and for yourselves. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:42.000 Thank you very much. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:50.000 (Applause)