Stakeholders in the financial sector have said there is need for all sectors to cooperate in order to ensure faster growth of Africa’ economy.
A statement said they spoke when key players from the government, the diplomatic community, civil society, and the public and private sectors gathered in Lagos for a two-day Africa Social Impact Summit, co-convened by Sterling One Foundation and the United Nations, Nigeria.
The summit with the theme – Global vision, local action: Repositioning the African development ecosystem for sustainable outcomes’, was the second edition of the Africa Social Impact Summit designed to help build partnerships, and stimulate investments that would ensure Africa made rapid progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Chief Executive Officer, Sterling One Foundation, Mrs Olapeju Ibekwe, expressed hope for several partnerships and innovations to emerge from the summit in her opening remarks.
She said she was looking forward to existing social impact initiatives in various rural communities accessing multilevel resources to be able to do more and spread their impact from community to community across the continent.
According to her, “Across the continent, the people are waiting for action. For far too long, Africa has been tagged – the emerging continent, with the continent’s potential a recurring theme of conversation, yet poverty, hunger, climate crisis, and inequality, remain visible; thus, Africa is yearning for action. I remain confident and incurably optimistic that there is the capacity for the type of action we seek in this room. There is the capacity to build strong partnerships for sustainable solutions to move from plans to action quickly. I urge everyone to interact and collaborate because the stakes are very high.”
In his welcome remarks, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Limited and Board Member of the Sterling One Foundation, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, said, “Six months from now, when we reach out to you, we want to hear that because you came here, you met someone, and you established a relationship, you rethought your approach.
“Therefore, are getting more value from your resources, and are better at solving problems together.
