Statesmen and chief executives of companies operating in Africa left London on Tuesday morning with a clear message: The age of aid for Africa — with its red tape, delays and broken promises — has given way to a time for rapid investment.
Wealthy nations, particularly the British government, which is facing its own budgetary constraints and pressures, are finally waking up to the opportunities in Africa and are taking a different approach to the continent in the wake of the global financial crisis.
“The old way, where the rich world gives and the poor world passively receives, looks increasingly out of date,” former UK prime minister Tony Blair told leading chief executives and global thinkers gathered at The Times CEO Summit Africa at the Savoy Hotel in London on Monday.