Written by: Dr Pearl Kupe
Article source: JOY! Magazine
Approximately sixty leaders gathered at In Harmonie retreat centre in Franschhoek, Cape Town, from 13-16 September 2022. The theme for the summit was “A Call to Courageous Leadership”. The summit was spearheaded by the late Graham Power – Founder of Power Construction, the Global Voice of Prayer, Unashamedly Ethical, and the Heal Our Land initiative. It was also led by Arleen and Dick Westerhof from the Netherlands. It was a clarion call for leaders to meet and discuss economic solutions for the continent of Africa. Leaders came from and represented a number of different nations including Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa, as well as Canada, USA, UK, and the Netherlands.
Leaders praying for Graham Power who has since sadly passed away
The working groups
One of the highlights of the summit was the working groups that were formed. The Word of God, in James 2:26, reminds us that faith without works is dead. Too often we attend meetings and some conferences that go down in history as great “talk shows,” but do not evolve into action.
At this summit, six working groups were formed and leaders were assigned to help facilitate discussions and present rough draft reports that could be collated to form an action plan going forward.
BUSINESS, ECONOMICS, & EMPLOYMENT
The first working group was focused on Business, Economics, and Employment and was led by Boshoff Grobler. Job creation and entrepreneurship were marked as key priorities for Africa’s future. The principle of “The Economics of Mutuality” was presented by Bruno Mars from the Netherlands. This is a principle that interrogates how to solve people-related and planet-related issues in a manner that is beneficial to all. Studies have shown that businesses that employ the Economics of Mutuality approach fare much better than those who do not. Key areas that were also marked for African investment were agribusiness, digital innovation, and manufacturing.
Graham and his wife Lauren
CHURCH REFORMATION
Dick Westerhof led the group on Church reformation. Research conducted found that young people find the Church to be irrelevant and out of touch. The Church has not been fulfilling its given ecclesiastical mandate and has allowed worldliness to infiltrate it and barriers to be created, which have brought division. The Church needs to move out of the building and fulfil its community-developing and nation-building role. It is clear that, going forward, an apostolic and prophetic strategy must be developed to outline the Church’s reformative role.
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
The agriculture group was led by Mia Smith. A previous McKinsey report stated that 60% of the world’s total arable land that remains uncultivated is in Africa. Africa literally has the capacity to feed the nations and to change its narrative from “begging bowl” to breadbasket, as has been prophesied many times over the years.
This makes agriculture a very important game changer in formulating the economic blueprints of Africa for the future. It is also important to ensure that women are trained, equipped, and involved in this key sector. The Limpopo province used to provide 60% of the total amount of citrus fruits that were exported to Europe. Those markets must be re-opened and operational once again.
Certificates of appreciation were presented
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
The Women’s empowerment group was led by myself, Pearl Kupe. This group recognised that women in Africa have to play an integral role in poverty reduction. In my presentation, I emphasised that it was essential that the family unit be empowered as a whole. The empowerment of women, outside of the empowerment of men, often leads to inequalities in the family and contributes to gender-based violence and the eventual break up of families. One of the key challenges for this group would be to develop programmes and initiatives that empower women, without disempowering men and destabilising the family unit.
The Youth entrepreneurs who pitched projects and the judges: Pearl Kupe, Boshoff Grobler, Don Simmonds (from Canada), and Arleen Westerhof (Netherlands)
NEXT GENERATION: INNOVATION & EDUCATION
Harry Loubscher, the MD of Unashamedly Ethical, led the Next Generation group. With 60 percent of its 1.25 billion people under the age of 25 years old, Africa has the youngest population in the world. The youth, however, are not being adequately represented in the economic, political, or social sectors. There needs to be a clear mindset change, whereby the youth are not only seen as the future, but are also regarded as being part of the present!
A special effort was made to involve the next generation in this summit. Representatives from Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa were invited to take part in the summit as well as to make a pitch for an entrepreneurial project/initiative that they had started. The winner emerged from Ghana with a project that was aiding and assisting girls and women who had experienced gender-based violence.
Ke Nako! Africa will no longer be known as a begging bowl, but a breadbasket!
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Date published: 24/10/2022
DR PEARL KUPE – attorney and consultant to world leaders / international organisations. She is the international president of the Global Forum for Women Entrepreneurs. Email pearl.kupe@gmail.com or visit pearlkupe.co.za
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