‘African Leaders Must Lift Millions Out Of Poverty’

The CEO of Shared Value Initiative and Shift Impact, South Africa, Tiekie Barnard has charged African leaders to lift millions of their people out of poverty through strong economic policies.

Speaking at the CIPM second International Academic Conference themed: “the Commencement of AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area): Opportunities for the Work Environment,” she noted that, “Africans are responsible for the Africa we want.”

To achieve this, she said, leadership should use knowledge, experience and wisdom to lift millions out of poverty. To her, “as leaders, we reap what we sow and now is the opportunity to sow into the future possibilities that AfCFTA can bring to the people of Africa.”

She further noted that diversity and inclusion (D&I), which includes gender equality, is critical. “Women are responsible for 60 percent of the work done globally yet earn 10 percent of the income and 1 percent of the prosperity,” she said, adding that the narrative needs to change in Africa. She charged CEOs and business owners to invest in recruiting and promoting women to improve profitability.

The 2-day conference had participants from across all sectors ranging from academics, students, HR professionals, administrators, policymakers and entrepreneurs.