The maiden edition of the Harvard Africa Alumni Forum has ended in Accra with a call on Africans to leverage the many opportunities available on the Continent to address the challenges that impact various sectors for rapid socio-economic development.

The two-day forum was dubbed: “Re-imagine Africa: A call to Action”0.

The forum was opened by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia.

Other high profile speakers included Dr Bernice Dahn, the Minister of Health for Liberia, and Mr Charles Darko, the CEO of Tullow Oil Ghanathers.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stressed the need to position Africa’s enterprises well to compete on the global stage.

He called on the people to take urgent steps to add value to their raw materials to enable them to realise real value along the value chain.

The President expressed the need to strengthen the African Union in line with the re-imagine Africa call.

President Johnson Sirleaf said she was excited to speak at the first ever Harvard Africa Alumni Forum and recalled her time at Harvard University, where she had the opportunity to meet and interact with the finest minds on the Continent.

“As alumni, the challenge is to create similar Harvard here in Africa to empower the African Continent,” she said.

Ms Kosi Yankey, the Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), and Convener of the Forum, said the objective was to provide a platform to inspire Harvard Alumni in Africa and key actors to rethink.

She said it was also to re-imagine a new Africa – one that was healthy, educated and thriving with many opportunities for the youth.

She expressed the hope that the outcome of the forum would contribute towards an action plan and the way forward for the transformation of the African Continent.

Discussants at the forum proposed actions to address problems within Africa’s healthcare delivery, education, governance and rule of law, entrepreneurship and technology, business and finance, gender and leadership, infrastructure and natural resources among others.

The event was attended by politicians, business leaders, development partners, Harvard Alumni and students among others.