Vice President Kashim Shettima has implored African leaders to work towards ramping up the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Mr Shettima noted that the total GDP of African countries was barely $3.1 trillion, less than three per cent of the global GDP.

In a statement on Thursday in Abuja, the vice president’s media assistant, Stanley Nkwocha, said Mr Shettima made the call at the African Economy of Scale Plenary during the ongoing World Economic Forums (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

“African trade still hovers at three per cent of world trade. These indices must be reversed and ramped up. I believe this is one of the key concerns of Africa’s Economy of Scale,” said Mr Shettima.

While delivering his brief remark at the event, held at Kurpark Village, Davos-Klosters, Mr Shettima said Africa was a growth economy in dire need of investments and infrastructure.

However, he told African leaders that “economies of scale portend the ability to do more by coming together and forming a more formidable unit, with a bigger voice and stronger negotiating abilities.”

Mr Shettima also urged them to run faster and purposefully to catch up with the rest of the world in eradicating poverty on the continent, adding that they must prove that the continent could be a significant contributor to world productivity.

He also emphasised the need for African leaders to prove they could integrate better with the rest of the world in an age when Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are redefining human interactions and existence.

The vice president stressed that Africa needs productivity to improve people’s standards of living. He noted that the continent also needed more affordable housing, power, social services for the vulnerable, and cheaper and better transportation systems.

Mr Shettima noted that the African trade agreement was projected to boost the continent’s GDP by $450 billion in the next decade.

He said the urgency to actualise an African economy of scale was the reason behind the continent’s trade cooperation, as demonstrated by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Mr Shettima observed that Africa’s challenges are not drawbacks but opportunities for engagement, productivity, and profitability.

The vice president pegged the continent’s infrastructure deficit at trillions of U.S. dollars. He highlighted some of the deficits as housing units, schools, stadia, roads, rails, community centres, airports, and water transportation and major investment in the energy sector.

“Viewed from space, Africa still presents as the darkest continent. This narrative can be changed by a combination of efforts and deep collaborations among ourselves and the global community.

“The greater challenge is within ourselves. The concept of Africa’s Economy of Scale is, therefore, a wake-up call to all of us here seated to embrace a major leap of faith,” said the vice president.

Mr Shettima acknowledged the efforts made by African youths in repositioning the continent.

“The youth have created major tech-driven private-sector organisations, some of which are unicorns – with over $1 billion in terms of capitalisation.

“The Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) is a product of the technological prowess of our young professionals working within the larger organisational structure.

“In the creatives and arts sectors, African youths are making a profound impact on and outside the continent.

“There has also been a major push in the outsourcing industry for African youths to show more relevance by targeting remote work all over the world. The terrain is being redefined,” Mr Shettima stated.

(NAN)