SADC University Goal Needs To Be Realized

Eswatini Daily News
By: Ntombi Mhlongo

ABU DHABI – The goal of developing a SADC University of Transformation remains very much alive and needs to be achieved. This was said by His Majesty the King during an Eswatini business forum held in partnership with Abu Dhabi Company, EMI Gate Holdings, on Wednesday. The project was proposed by the King during his tenure as SADC Chair in 2016 and got the approval of the regional body in 2018, in the form of a virtual university, to focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, commercialization, technology transfer, enterprise development, digital and knowledge economies, and to support the SADC industrialization agenda.

His Majesty highlighted the project as one that needed the support of states such as Abu Dhabi, which are well advanced in the technology space. He said the university aimed to bridge the gap between the region and the developed world by equipping the youth with skills required by the new age of technology.

“In SADC we have 16 member states and the body mandated Eswatini to build a University of Innovation. What we have found here is that technology is very advanced, which is exactly what we need to help us achieve our goal,” he said. He emphasized that the country had a high literacy rate, giving the country a better chance to become what it wants to be given the right partnerships and support.

The King highlighted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but said Eswatini was more fortunate than most as she lost just over 1,000 citizens, yet the situation was much worse in other countries, even though there was plenty of room for improvement to ensure fewer lives are lost in such episodes.
He then invited the EMI Gate Holdings team to visit the kingdom on a fact-finding tour as they explored the various investment opportunities.

“Let us arrange the dates for you to come to see with your own eyes the reality of what we are talking about so that we can soon devise a strategy on how we can move forward together,” he urged. A historic partnership between the government and the United Arab Emirates’ biggest investment company, Emirates Management Investment Gate Holding (EMI Gate), was signed after the business forum.

Commerce, Industry, and Trade Minister Manqoba Khumalo and EMI Gate Holding President and CEO Fatima Al Kaabi signed on behalf of the government of Eswatini and the company, respectively. It took place at the company’s head office in Addax Towers, Jazeerat Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi.

Image: @EswatiniGovern1