Child abuse is rampant in Africa. This growing oppression, from domestic servitude to outright slavery, is not only immoral explains Debbie Ariyo, but it is also undermining the continent's capacity to achieve economic growth and international competitiveness.

Venture capital has been behind the development of numerous high growth high technology firms in Europe, America and Asia. Nigeria and other African countries seeking real time economic growth to alleviate poverty and create jobs and prosperity for their people can also benefit from this form of investment, writes Debbie Ariyo.

Nigeria's new government should put small firms policy at the top of its agenda, argues Debbie Ariyo. Trade liberalisation and encouragement of foreign investment must go hand in hand with a concerted effort to help the growth and development of indigenous small and medium enterprises, which provide the bulk of the country's employment and industrial output.

Most of Nigeria’s wealth and power comes from the control of physical assets - land, oil, iron and steel, etc. But in the 21st century, this cannot continue to happen, argues Debbie Ariyo. The main source of value and competitive advantage in the new economy is human and intellectual capital. With a population of 120 million people, Nigeria, in theory has the capacity to make a successful transition into a truly knowledge driven economy, she explains