African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Akinwumi Adesina has charged graduates to embrace entrepreneurship by establishing businesses in technology and agricultural sector rather than looking for jobs.
The AfDB President who said this while delivering the convocation lecture at the 13th Convocation Ceremony of Bowen University said that the worth of the agricultural sector in Africa would be 1 trillion dollars by 2030 and is attracting a lot of international investors.
Dr. Adesina stated that the future of Nigeria was no more tied to crude oil but agriculture, stressing that the youths must be willing to invest in the sector.
According to Adesina, “The size of food and agribusiness in Africa by 2030 will be worth USD1 trillion and the future millionaires and billionaires of Africa will not come from oil and gas, but from the agriculture sector.”
The AfDB president expressed that the world was about to experience its next industrial revolution which would evolve around digital technology and robotics and Africans must decide where they belong.
Adesina noted that “Start-ups are emerging in Africa. In 2015, Africa had 3,500 new tech-related ventures and $1 billion in venture capital and by 2019, 6,500 tech start-ups have been established, with $2.27 billion investments in tech start-ups.”
“The continent’s Internet of Things (IoT) is estimated to be $12.6 billion by 2021 in Africa and the Middle East. By 2019 financing for Big Data start-ups inched to $9.8 million” He added
He urged universities to invest in development and research as this remains the only instrument to bring about innovations and help in imbibing entrepreneurship and growth among students.
SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA