It is good to see optimism, however whilst it may be possible to develop faster than other regions, I am not sure that it is possible to 'leapfrog'. The Asian economies have grown because they built strong manufacturing industries from the ground up. Also the rise of China and India as superpowers will make competition increasingly tough. Competing with America, Europe and Asia means taking the raw materials and manufacturing the goods people want to buy around the world. It will also require the necessary transport infrastructure. This requires pan African government and private initiatives and millions of motivated people well trained in business, engineering and science. Many African graduates leave Africa in search of well paid jobs on other continents, rather than using their skills to develop Africa. Their absence also negatively impacts the development of craft and technician training as well as the education and training of the next generation of engineers, scientists and business people.