KIGALI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese billionaire entrepreneur Jack Ma on Friday called on African economies to advocate for the culture of entrepreneurship to address high levels of unemployment on the continent.
He was speaking at the Africa business breakfast roundtable hosted by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) on the sidelines of the YouthConnekt Africa Summit that opened on Thursday in the Rwandan capital Kigali.
"Africa economies should encourage the culture of entrepreneurship and growth of small and medium enterprises to alleviate many of the continent's social and economic problems, most especially high employment rate, poverty and hunger," said Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
He added Africa should have the same goal and desire to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth to take the bulk of its population out of poverty.
"African countries need to diversify and expand their sources of economic growth while creating opportunities for more inclusiveness. Creating jobs through entrepreneurship will also help the continent achieve higher growth rates," he emphasized.
At a meeting session, Jack Ma called on African countries to take advantage of the technology and internet and sell Africa-made products abroad.
On whether Jack Ma will invest in Africa, he said "Yes we are considering investing in Africa and the value shall be to sell African products and services to the rest of the world using online service."
"Mr. Ma your story reminds us of who we are as Rwandans, that with resilience you can transcend all odds and become successful," said Clare Akamanzi, chief executive officer of RDB.
The three-day YouthConnekt Africa Summit is organized by the government of Rwanda, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and UNDP. The summit from July 19 to 21 is dubbed: "Realizing Africa's Youth Potential."
It attracted about 2,800 participants including top executives from multinational companies that operate in Africa, leaders of civil society organizations, Africa's development partners, members of the academia, successful entrepreneurs, youth entrepreneurs, members of start-up companies, artists and youth opinion leaders from 90 countries to interact and discuss on enhancing the potential of the youth in Africa, according to the organizers.
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