Written by Reham Talaat
Cairo,Dec 9,2025 at 11:55 pm
As part of the activities of MEDays– The Southern Forum 2025, ON Air Group CEO and Founder CEO Women conference, Dr. Mona Morad participated in a panel discussion that brought together leading experts and policymakers to explore the future of infrastructure, industry, and investment across the African continent.
During the session, Dr.Mona Morad highlighted several key challenges facing the private sector in Africa, noting that gaps in infrastructure, limited capabilities of small and medium sized enterprises, and the lack of effective regional integration continue to restrict the ability of businesses to expand and engage competitively within cross border value chains.
She emphasized the importance of enabling companies to strengthen their competitiveness through three main shifts: embracing technology and innovation, advancing human capital and technical skills, and restructuring business models to transition from local production to regional value-chain participation.
Dr. Mona Morad also underscored the critical role of government led reforms, public private partnerships, and regional agreements in opening markets and supporting the growth of African companies. She further pointed to the need for greater international cooperation in technology transfer and strengthening supply chain linkages within the continent.
In her remarks, Dr. Mona Morad referred to global economic indicators, noting that the global infrastructure financing gap is expected to reach 94 trillion USD by 2040, reflecting the urgent need for sustainable investment in infrastructure, industrial development, and long term growth strategies.