Former President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, have urged the African continent to translate its demographic strength, natural resources and expanding markets into productive capacity and prosperity.

He also called for visionary and ethical leadership, deeper continental integration and investment in industrial capacity and technology to help Africa achieve a more prosperous and competitive future in the global economy.

Delivering a keynote address at the Broad Pool of Ideas (BPI) Foundation’s Iconic Leadership and Excellence Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa, he said Africa’s greatest asset was its people, saying the continent’s young population could become a major source of economic strength if supported by education, relevant skills, technology and opportunities to create businesses and jobs.

Adesina, in a paper titled ‘Africa’s Next Leap: Visionary and Ethical Leadership for an Integrated and Prosperous Africa in the Global Economy’, urged African governments, universities and vocational institutions to prepare young people not only to use emerging technologies but also to develop them.

He highlighted artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, cybersecurity and data science as areas in which African talent should build capacity and compete.

In his view, the success of integration should be judged by the products and companies Africa creates, the value it retains and the competitiveness it achieves in global markets.

On industrialisation, Adesina pointed to Nigeria’s $20 billion Dangote Refinery as an example of the scale of industrial investment possible in Africa.

He said the continent should develop more industrial champions across sectors such as automobiles, electric vehicles, batteries, steel, machinery, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, food processing, software, and artificial intelligence.

Speaking on artificial intelligence, Adesina said the global race to develop advanced technologies was already underway and that Africa should aim to help build those technologies.

He called for investment in universities, laboratories, computing infrastructure, and industrial ecosystems, as well as in skills in semiconductors, robotics, advanced computing, AI, data science, and cybersecurity.

He also tasked governments with investing in people, connecting markets, building competitive industries, supporting entrepreneurs, and establishing institutions that citizens can trust.

He called on African countries to act with ambition, discipline, imagination and integrity, saying the continent’s next leap would depend not on potential alone but on leaders choosing innovation, integration and public service.