Mupita tells Motlanthe seminar Africa's growth depends on opportunity, not borders

MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita used the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation Winter Seminar to argue that Africa’s long-term prosperity depends less on how the continent responds to migration than on how it expands economic opportunity and regional integration. MTN sponsored this year’s seminar, and the company published his remarks on its own site at mtn.com/africas-future-depends-on-expanded-economic-opportunity-not-division.

Speaking on a panel, Mupita said migration should not be viewed separately from the economic conditions shaping people’s lives.

“If our discussion ends with the language of crisis around migration, we will have treated the symptom and missed the deeper challenge. People move because opportunity is unevenly distributed. The defining question is whether we can build economies in which mobility is matched by opportunity.”

The seminar brought together leaders from government, business, the diplomatic corps, academia and civil society to examine the relationship between migration, development and Africa’s future.

What Mupita says has to come first

Mupita argued that Africa’s demographic advantage becomes an economic advantage only if countries invest in the conditions that allow people to participate productively. He named five: skills, infrastructure, finance, markets and institutions.

His argument to the seminar was that governments set the terms and business follows. “Governments must set predictable policy and regulations. Businesses will follow and allocate resources and capital. Together, we can build a continent where opportunity is more evenly shared and prosperity is more widely created,” he said.

MTN’s own interest in the argument is not hidden. Mupita described digital infrastructure and services as increasingly important enablers of economic participation, connecting people to each other and to education, entrepreneurship, financial and public services, and markets. That is the business MTN is in. He also placed the company’s own history inside the argument: “MTN was born in South Africa and has grown alongside the continent. Our prosperity is inseparable from Africa’s prosperity.”

Why the platform matters

MTN said its sponsorship of the seminar reflects a view that platforms bringing together diverse perspectives are essential to practical solutions on complex challenges. The company described the initiative in its own words as “about building bridges, not borders”.

For a South African reader, the substance of the argument is the part that can be measured later. Predictable policy and regulation is a condition that sits with government. Capital allocation is a condition that sits with companies, MTN included. The seminar produced no commitment, no target and no deadline, and the announcement states none.

The Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation has not published a programme of follow-up work from the seminar, and MTN’s announcement sets out no next step beyond the discussion itself.

Source: MTN Group. Read the original item.