While African members will be buoyed by the progression of Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank managing director and Nigerian finance minister, and Mohamed, a former chairwoman of the WTO’s general council, Egyptian Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh failed to gain enough support to reach the next round. Mamdouh served as a former director of the trade in services and investment division of the WTO.

The two African candidates, who will now compete to unify the continent’s vote, will face off against Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea, Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri of Saudi Arabia, and Liam Fox of the United Kingdom.

The second phase will run until 6 October. Member states will express two preferences to bring the number of candidates from five to two. There is intended to be three stages of consultations, with the winner taking office in November.

The new director-general, who will replace incumbent Roberto Azevêdo, will take charge in an era of high global trade tensions, including an ongoing trade war between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies. It is hoped that an African candidate can help to mediate that dispute and put African trade concerns at the heart of the international agenda.

“Africa has some painful choices to make both in terms of its own unity and, in the long run, for its future in international trade. Should an African DG be selected, they would be symbolic of African unity and, subsequently, well-positioned to cajole Africa on internal issues,” wrote JP Singh, professor of international commerce and policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University in August for African Business magazine.

“Africa also has to undertake another internal reckoning toward a reform agenda in the long-run…To grow, Africa needs to graduate toward non-preferential trade access, and compete on the strength of its exports. African exports have remained depressed and stuck in preferential access.”

In an interview with African Business magazine last week, Kenya’s Mohamed said she would be well-placed to resolve multilateral trade tensions. She is credited with helping to abolish export subsidies for agricultural exports in a critical WTO deal. 

In an interview with the Guardian last week, Ojonko-Iweala argued her own suitability for the post.

Filmed on 9th September 2020 What is Spirituality? By Edison Agbanje - Ancestralessence.com

By Arkebe Oqubay

Ethiopia’s remarkable record of economic growth and home-grown development path has inspired the whole continent of Africa.

In reviewing the decade, a recent Financial Times article, Ethiopia seizes crown as the fastest-growing country in the 2010s acknowledges this fact. The country’s focus on productive investment, industrialisation, and education continues to generate jobs and economic growth. Here I look at the growing impact of foreign investment across Africa and consider the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the continent.

Africa’s bright spot

As the last decade drew to a close, Ethiopia, with its population of 112 million, is one of many countries to top the list for economic growth. The country’s gross domestic product has jumped by 146.7% since 2009, and its per-capita purchasing power parity has risen by 149%. According to the World Development Indicators, Ethiopia’s economic growth has averaged 10.5% since 2004, twice the African average, while life expectancy in the country rose from 44 to 66 years between 1990 and 2016, also twice the average for the continent.

Unlike other countries, Ethiopia’s development path has been home-driven, without the advantages of endowment in natural resources such as oil and minerals. It has therefore focussed on developing productive capacity and attracting productive investment by building physical infrastructure and developing human capital, especially in vocational education and transforming the university system.

Towards investment in the manufacturing sector

In 2010, Ethiopia shifted its attention towards attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into the productive sector, particularly manufacturing, promoting targeted sectors and firms, and working closely with investors. Four-fifths of FDI inflow into Ethiopia in the last few years has been destined for manufacturing, indicating that the government’s strategy of shifting investment into productive sectors is bearing fruit.

Manufacturing FDI also needs to be channelled towards expanding the export sector to tackle the balance-of-payments constraint. A major challenge for policy-makers is how to sustain double-digit growth while at the same time:

• generating enough decent jobs;
• expanding the export sector;
• resolving the balance-of-payments constraint;
• building a solid manufacturing base; and
• transforming the agriculture sector.

[clickandtweet handle=”” hashtag=”” related=”” layout=”” position=””]Ethiopia has built world-class industrial parks to attract investment, facilitate skill and know-how transfer, and promote linkages and environmental sustainability.[/clickandtweet] This enabled it to increase FDI four-fold between 2012 and 2017. The country’s share of East Africa’s FDI inflows rose from 10% to about 50% and inflows into the rest of the continent from 1% to 10%.

For many foreign investors, the main reason for investing in landlocked Ethiopia has been the government’s commitment to support investors and engage in dialogue.

Attracting targeted and productive FDI is essential for creating jobs, broadening the skills base of the local industrial workforce, motivating domestic firms, and sharing management know-how.

Three ways to attract productive FDI

Africa’s economic performance since 2000 has significantly improved following the sluggish growth of the 1980s and 1990s, a period associated with Washington Consensus prescriptions for economic liberalisation. Although not comparable with that of Asia, Africa’s average annual GDP growth rate for the last 20 years has been 4.6%, but growth has been uneven across African countries (see my forthcoming book on African Economic Development: Evidence, Theory, and Policy with Cramer and Sender).

Ethiopia’s rapid and inspirational growth symbolises the continent’s bright future. At a time of slow global economic growth, African policy-makers should single-mindedly focus on building the continent’s production capacity and attracting productive FDI in three ways.

1. Create the necessary conditions for productive investment

While improving the business climate is essential, it is not enough. Productive investment requires educated personnel, energy infrastructure, and investment in efficient connectivity.

2. Avoid focussing solely on generic foreign investors

Evidence shows that the growth outcomes of FDI for host countries are mixed, with some of it simply ‘phantom’ rather than real capital and bricks-and-mortar investment. African governments should identify their priority sectors and the most promising sources for better quality FDI, and should also target selected firms. An institution fit for purpose should be developed to act as a single investment window, provide better coordination mechanisms, and build the diverse expertise required to attract, facilitate, and retain targeted FDI. Without these essential reforms, there can be no improvement in investment promotion outcomes.

3. Build pockets of excellence and create an industrial ecosystem

There is a need to build and expand industrial parks. Unfortunately, even policymakers often misunderstand the role of industrial parks and that they require a strategic approach linked to creating a wider productive ecosystem. Ethiopia’s approach to building an industrial ecosystem has been driven by learning from others and finding unique solutions to the various challenges and binding constraints.

The mission and challenges ahead

Many countries have encouraged their firms to invest in Africa, but have failed to have a major impact.

The conventional paradigm in advanced economies (such as European countries) must change from the dominant ‘donor‒recipient’ to ‘new growth generation’ that positively feeds Africa’s economic transformation.

The focus must shift to expanding trade, productive investment, financing infrastructure, and collaboration to build human capital.

For instance, in the last few years, the UK’s Official Development Assistance has increasingly focussed on supporting Ethiopia’s industrialisation path. The UK government is also organising the UK‒Africa Investment Summit to give more impetus to the flow of productive investment. However, it is important to note that these efforts are not enough and can only succeed where a government committed to rapid economic growth and economic transformation is playing a key developmental role (see the forthcoming book The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Policy). More needs to be done if the growth initiative and dynamics of many African countries are to be infused.

What Africa needs is not predatory states, but governments that have a strong commitment to economic progress, are capable of setting out policies that benefit Africans, and that support initiatives from the private sector and other social groups. Governments that champion economic development provide stronger support to the private sector, generate new investment opportunities, and improve the livelihoods of their people. It is a pity that the most fashionable prescription of our time has focussed on preaching for a dysfunctional or inactive government, rather than a proactive government that champions economic transformation.

[clickandtweet handle=”” hashtag=”” related=”” layout=”” position=””]Another critical issue is that Africa should continue to engage with its traditional partners (the ‘west’ and the ‘north’), but it also needs new partners from the east and the south.[/clickandtweet] The economic ties between Africa and China are a good example of how African countries can generate win-win benefits, especially when it comes to attracting productive investment, trade, financing infrastructure, and human capital. This should induce other countries to develop ties with Africa’s interest at their heart, not governed by ‘pre-conditionality,’ but based on values of mutual respect and non-interference in others’ internal affairs.

This will help to build a more prosperous Africa and turn the coming ten years into the decade of Africa’s economic transformation.

Arkebe Oqubay is a Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and also serves on the ACET Board.

Thirteen teams of a total of 25 emerging African social entrepreneurs have been selected as winners of the 2020 Resolution Social Venture Challenge. Thirty-eight teams of Mastercard Foundation Scholars gathered virtually to compete in the multi-step competition that identifies promising young leaders with bold ideas for change. Winners of the Resolution Social Venture Challenge are provided seed funding, mentorship, and access to a network of global change-makers. Now in its fifth year, this collaboration between the Mastercard Foundation and The Resolution Project provides a pathway to action for socially responsible young leaders who want to make a difference  in their communities.

“Africa’s young leaders are brimming with talent, energy, and a deep desire to solve local challenges that will have a positive impact on their communities. Yet few young people receive the support and tools they need to undertake a project in their community,” explains Ashley Collier, Lead of North American Partner Network with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. “The Social Venture Challenge equips young leaders with the skills and capital they need to ensure their venture is successful, and to maximize their impact.”

In the five years that The Resolution Project has partnered with the Mastercard Foundation, over 100 Mastercard Foundation Scholars have become Resolution Fellows, unlocking $250,000 in micro-grants for social enterprises. These Fellows have implemented social ventures which have positively impacted 17,208 people, including 2,361 women and girls impacted by empowerment initiatives and 770 people benefitting from skills-based training. Additionally, Fellows have hired 132 paid employees and supported 390 people to generate a sustainable income through self-employment.

Winning projects address a wide range of issues Scholars have observed first-hand in their communities and come from across the continent, including Somalia, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

What the Winners of the 2020 Social Venture Challenge said:

“Winning the 2020 Resolution Social Venture Challenge (SVC) means resilience to us because we never gave up when our team did not win in 2019,” says Maame Efua Essel, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at the University of Cape Coast and a co-founder of Impart Reading. It means hope for the basic school students in the rural areas of Ghana who do not have library facilities

and provides employment to the unemployed. It means one child will get a quality education to become a changemaker one day.  Thanks to the SVC for giving Impart Reading the financial, mentorship, and technical support. Today, Impart Reading is one step towards reducing school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, social vices as well as improving education and youth development in Ghana as a whole."

“Winning the 2020 Resolution Social Venture Challenge means a lot to my team because it’s a validation of our idea and pushes us closer to accomplishing our dream of impacting the lives of refugees,” said Safali Libia, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at Makerere University and a founding member of the A Hand for a Refuge Project. “By becoming a Resolution Fellow, my team will have the opportunity to be funded, mentored, and given access to a network of likeminded people who are passionate about creating change in Africa. Together with The Resolution Project, A Hand for a Refugee will accomplish its vision of creating a brighter future with equal opportunities for our refugee communities.”

“The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program continues to spotlight young African talent and leadership that is ready to ignite the continent with innovation and positive change,” said George M. Tsiatis, CEO & Co-Founder of The Resolution Project.  We are grateful to work with such inspiring individuals and have them as part of Resolution’s community, and we are grateful to the Foundation for its continued support of this collaboration!”

Congratulations to the 2020 Social Venture Challenge Winners:

A Hand for a Refugee: Safali Libia, Kataike Viola, and Kevin Wanai at Makerere University in Uganda

A Hand For a Refugee aims to raise refugee welfare and ensure sustainable support for education among refugee teenagers in the Kyangwali refugee community by providing training for passionfruit farming, a market for the fruit they grow, and financial literacy training along with savings and credit support. 

“The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program continues to spotlight young African talent and leadership that is ready to ignite the continent with innovation and positive change,” said George M. Tsiatis, CEO & Co-Founder of The Resolution Project.  We are grateful to work with such inspiring individuals and have them as part of Resolution’s community, and we are grateful to the Foundation for its continued support of this collaboration!”

Congratulations to the 2020 Social Venture Challenge Winners:

A Hand for a Refugee: Safali Libia, Kataike Viola, and Kevin Wanai at Makerere University in Uganda

A Hand For a Refugee aims to raise refugee welfare and ensure sustainable support for education among refugee teenagers in the Kyangwali refugee community by providing training for passionfruit farming, a market for the fruit they grow, and financial literacy training along with savings and credit support. 

Fona Health Initiative: Samson Idabu at the University of Cape Town in South Africa

Fona Health Initiative is a community education project based in Tanzania that trains vulnerable youth and rural communities about nutritional education and nutritional supplements. It also provides them with the tools and knowledge to produce a pumpkin seed and chickpea supplement.

Holistic Organization: Annelle Kayisire, Crepin Kayisire, and Kevin Kayisire at Wellesley College in the US and the African Leadership University in Mauritius

Holistic Organization is providing out-of-school teen mothers and children from Nyamata in Rwanda’s Eastern province with the intensive vocational, psychological, and social tools they need to be successful.

Impart Reading: Maame Essel and Dorcas Kwofie at University of Cape Coast in Ghana

Impart Reading will provide access to books, both through mobile and brick and mortar libraries, to encourage reading, English comprehension, and to improve literacy in Cape Coast, Ghana.

ISOKOFARM: Kevin Gansa and Lawali Ghislain at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon

Operating out of Kigali, Rwanda, ISOKOFARM is a mobile app startup that allows the exchange of relevant information between farmers and marketers. This platform aims to address the shortcomings of inefficient and unreliable physical markets.

Kibera Canaan Library and Youth Empowerment Centre: Grace Bako and Doris Mwangi at the University of Cape Town in South Africa

Kibera-Caanan Library and Youth Empowerment Centre aims to provide free access to books, mentorship, and technical skills training for youth in Kibera, Kenya to improve literacy and create job opportunities.

Kwabeng Robotics and Mentorship Hub: Ofori Richard and Yamoah Veronica at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana

The Kwabeng Robotics and Mentorship Hub seeks to ignite the desire of students to pursue STEM majors at the tertiary level, slow school dropout rates and improve academic performance.

Laboratory Rats: Miracle Ainembabazi and Ashaba Annah at Makerere University in Uganda

The venture aims to train women in Kamuganguzi sub-county, Kabale district, South Western Uganda to rear laboratory rats, sell them, and earn income. The initiative also seeks to improve the quality of scientific research results.

Project Ignite Her: Lauryn Mwale at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland

Project Ignite Her is a social enterprise designed to close the gender STEM gap. It will be a curated online platform and a community fostering the holistic development of young women on their journey to success. The team will provide advice, support, and mentorship to allow young women to thrive academically and professionally in the field in which black women are deeply underrepresented. 

Small Holder Farmer Innovations: Kondwani Kamsikiri and Godwelll Manda at EARTH University in Costa Rica

Small Holder Farmer Innovations is dedicated to increasing agricultural production amongst the smallholder farmers of Malawi. The venture seeks to introduce, produce, and distribute leading carbon-based organo-mineral fertilizers to minimize production costs and improve soil health.

ABOUT THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.  It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org. Follow the Foundation @MastercardFdn on Twitter (#MCFScholars).

ABOUT THE RESOLUTION PROJECT

The Resolution Project is a unique pathway to action for aspiring young leaders committed to changing the world. Founded in 2007, Resolution identifies, equips, and empowers promising young leaders with the support, skills, and funding they need to make a positive impact today. Resolution discovers young social entrepreneurs through Social Venture Challenges held at undergraduate youth conferences around the world, such as the Youth Assembly at the United Nations, the Clinton Global Initiative University, and others. Resolution enables the winners of its competitions to make a positive impact through Resolution Fellowships, which include dynamic, hands-on support, mentorship, and grants to implement their social ventures. Over 520 Resolution Fellows, in 80 countries on all six inhabited continents (including all across the United States) are working on over 320 social ventures in high-impact fields such as water, food, sustainable development, education, energy and the environment, equality and empowerment, health and wellness, and humanitarian relief. Their efforts have benefitted 2.7 million people and counting. Supporting our Fellows are over 500 volunteers, a dedicated staff, and dozens of partners from the public and private sectors. Together, we are building a generation of leaders with a commitment to social responsibility www.resolutionproject.org.

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We’re currently looking to trial new writers in subjects including Business in Africa, Technology in Africa, Health/Fitness/Well-Being, Money and Entrepreneurship in the Black Community, But if you want to be on our books for future projects and cover other subject areas, it will be good to know you too.

Africax5 is founded on media publishing experience and we are focused on creating high quality content to deliver authentic audience engagement. Subject expertise, a flair for words and an exhaustive depth of ideas and energy are a must if you want to join our Creative Collective.

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