AFRICA – Ivorian prime minister Robert Mambé and African Development Bank Group president Sidi Ould Tah have urged Africa’s private sector to take centre stage in the continent’s economic transformation, stressing that the current global trade disruptions present an opportunity rather than a threat. “For Africa, this is not a threat; it is a historic opportunity to establish a stronger, more integrated and more resilient local economy,” the bank president said. “They will also come from the African private sector, which must be central to the strategy,” the bank president said, calling on entrepreneurs to innovate and become major players in global markets. African leaders see the moment as critical for the continent to strengthen intra-African commerce and reduce dependence on external markets. The CGECI, which represents nearly 80 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s private sector companies, has a long-standing partnership with the African Development Bank to boost youth entrepreneurship.