Africa, the continent with the second-highest population in the world, occupies 6% of the planet’s total surface area and around 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) of the planet’s total land area. With about 1.4 billion individuals as of 2021, it was considered home to around 18% of the world’s population.
Africa contains an enormous wealth of mineral resources, including some of the world’s largest reserves of fossil fuels, metallic ores, gems, and precious metals. This richness is matched by a great diversity of biological resources that include the intensely lush equatorial rainforests of Central Africa and the world-famous populations of wildlife in the eastern and southern portions of the continent.
With its rich and diverse culture, varying yet still beautiful and segmented traditions, arts, crafts, and food, to mention a few, the continent is worth celebrating, hence the commemoration of Africa Day.
The yearly celebration of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity on May 25, 1963, is known as Africa Day (previously known as African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day).
It is observed worldwide and in a number of nations on the African continent. On July 9, 2002, in Durban, South Africa, the group changed its name to the African Union, however, the holiday is still observed on May 25.
On April 15, 1958, Accra, Ghana, hosted the First Conference of Independent African States. Representatives from Egypt (at the time a member of the United Arab Republic), Ethiopia, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon, and the host nation Ghana attended the meeting, which was called by Prime Minister of Ghana Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. It was not open to the Union of South Africa.
The conference represented the determination of the people of Africa to be free from foreign dominance and exploitation, as well as the advancement of liberation movements on the African continent. While similar objectives had been pursued since the Pan-African Congress’ founding in 1900, this was the first time such a convention had been held in Africa.
The conference was noteworthy because it served as a model for future gatherings of African heads of state and government that took place throughout the Casablanca Group and Monrovia Group eras up until the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.
The 2023 Africa Day theme is accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area to bring greater prosperity to the continent.
Regardless of the challenges, Africa is a continent that boasts of a young and entrepreneurial population, significant natural resources, rapid urbanisation, dynamic economies, and a supportive diaspora.
This year’s Africa Day aims to highlight the opportunities in various regions of the continent, provide practical leads on how to tackle the market, and, most importantly, provide a platform for African companies to connect.
Africa is fast becoming and innovative hub, and has a space for many more entrepreneurs and investors.