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Articles by Eyerusalem Siba
Discovering a more inclusive private sector development where least expected
Editor's Note: Below is a viewpoint from Chapter 5 of the Foresight Africa 2019 report, which explores six overarching themes on the triumphs of the past years as well as strategies to tackle the remaining obstacles for Africa. Read the full chapter on Africa's untapped business potential. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have the lowest rates of business survival worldwide, and it is generally difficult to grow employment in SMEs. Africa is no different.
Empowering women entrepreneurs in developing countries
Current women’s economic empowerment interventions are not enough to overcome all obstacles facing female entrepreneurs. The emerging evidence from psychology and experimental economics on agency, mindset, and leadership show that for successful interventions to be transformative, they need to move beyond basic access to financial and human capital and also tackle central psychological, social, and skills constraints on women entrepreneurs.
The new urban agenda and demographic dividend: Investments for Africa’s youth
Africa’s youth are key forces of sustainable development. Indeed, both the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 and United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identify youth as key partners of sustainable development, though the youth empowerment agenda is often set aside as part of the social inclusion agenda rather than the structural transformation one.
Can secondary cities bridge urban and rural economies in Africa?
Rapid urbanization is now the norm in Africa: African urban populations nearly doubled between 1995 and 2015 and are projected to almost double again by 2035. On the one hand, urbanization does offer prospects for better jobs, industrialization, and agglomeration economies that confer benefits from firms and people locating near one another.
Point de vue prospectif sur l’Afrique: Sécurité nutritionnelle: la dernière longueur du programme de sécurité alimentaire de l’Afrique
Conscient de l’importance que revêt la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle (SAN) pour améliorer la santé publique, la productivité de la main-d’œuvre et la croissance économique, le monde s’est engagé à mettre un terme à toutes les formes de faim en garantissant à toutes les personnes un accès à une nourriture suffisante et nutritive (Objectif 2 des Objectifs de développement durable).[1] Les pays ont accompli de grands progrès au niveau de leurs programmes de sécurité alimentaire en...
Africa in the news: Zimbabwe updates, DRC Ebola battle, and Rwanda sponsors Arsenal
Zimbabwe re-engages UK through Commonwealth application and business loans This week, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom continued steps to improving the relationship between the two countries. Early this week, the Commonwealth organization announced that Zimbabwe had officially applied to rejoin the group through a letter sent on May 15 by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the Commonwealth’s Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.
Figures of the week: Africa’s intra- and extra-regional trade
Last week, 44 African nations came together and signed the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Under the continent-wide agreement, nations commit to cut tariffs on 90 percent of goods with the aim of increasing intra-Africa trade. The historic document creates the largest free trade zone since the creation of the WTO in 1995. Still, 11 African nations have yet to sign the agreement, including South Africa (for technical reasons) and Nigeria.
Africa in the news: African countries sign CFTA, Mozambique conducts debt talks, Boko Haram returns kidnapped girls
44 African nations signed CFTA but Nigeria sits out On Wednesday, March 21, 44 African countries signed the continental free trade agreement (CFTA) in Kigali, Rwanda, at the 10th extraordinary session of the African Union summit, completing the negotiations on the continent-wide free trade agreement that had begun in 2015. The CFTA will be implemented once 22 countries ratify the pact in their national parliaments.
Strengthening regional value chains: What’s the role of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement?
This week marks the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), which sets out to create a single market for goods and services, free movement of people, and expand intra-Africa trade. In addition to promoting intra-Africa trade, the CFTA has the potential to promote regional value chains. In this post, we explore the lessons learned from highly integrated global trade and production networks.
Foresight Africa viewpoint - Manufacturing complexity in Africa
One of the key challenges sub-Saharan African countries must address is the need to undergo structural transformation in the face of young and growing labor forces. As such, there are the twin imperatives of many economies: First, the need to grow, and second, the need to provide employment opportunities for their growing populations.
Foresight Africa viewpoint - Nutrition security: The last mile of Africa’s food security agenda
Recognizing the importance of food and nutrition security (FNS) for improving public health, labor productivity, and economic growth, the world has committed to end all forms of hunger by ensuring access to sufficient and nutritious food for all people (Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals).[1] Countries have made significant progress in their food security agendas by improving productivity and food production, addressing socio-economic, gender, and regional inequalities in access to...
Foresight Africa viewpoint - Commitment to women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment: Why 2018 will be a defining year
The year 2017 has seen a commitment to furthering Africa’s demographic dividend through inclusive access to productive resources and opportunities for all to achieve sustainable development.[1] As leaders grapple with striking the balance between modernizing economies, meeting skills needs, and achieving the demographic dividend, even more attention should be given to closing gender gaps in education, skills, and productive jobs.
Financing African cities: What is the role of land value capture?
This week, December 10-14, marks the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) week. This year’s conference is under the theme, “Enhancing Trade and Economic Transformation through Regional Infrastructure Development.” As African leaders tackle various challenges related to infrastructure at the conference in Swakopmund, Namibia, a major theme will be strategies for financing infrastructure development.
Smart city initiatives in Africa
This year’s theme for World Cities Day, “Innovative Governance, Open Cities,” emphasizes the implementation of the global New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the creation of livable, sustainable cities conducive to inclusive growth and development. Smart cities in particular can be key tools toward achieving these global goals.
Four things you should know about food security in Africa
Today marks the eighth annual Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security, which aims to raise awareness of chronic hunger and malnutrition and to encourage collaboration between national, regional and international actors to achieve food security. Although most African countries have made progress over the past decade, the food-security situation remains severe. Here’s what you need to know. 1. Many Africans are food insecure, despite marked improvements in nutrition over the past two decades.
Foresight Africa viewpoint: Supporting secondary cities | Brookings Institution
Rapid urbanization is inevitable in Africa given its demographic structure and vulnerability to climate change. Thus, city planners are often left with the challenge of managing urbanization rather than designing optimal city size, since both pull and push factors affect urbanization. Successfully managing Africa’s urbanization thus involves finding the balance between getting the basics right in megacities and promoting population and industrial de-concentration into secondary cities.
Learning to export and learning from exporting: The case of Ethiopian manufacturing
In this study, we use a long panel dataset of Ethiopian manufacturing firms for the period 1996-2009 to test certain hypotheses regarding firm performance and exporting, namely export hysteresis, self-selection, and learning-by-exporting. We find evidence for export hysteresis and the presence of high sunk costs associated with exporting.
Unlocking urban potential in Africa | Brookings Institution
Habitat III begins next week, from October 17-20, during which time policymakers and urban leaders will descend on Quito, Ecuador, to adopt the New Urban Agenda. While sub-Saharan Africa and its cities share much in common with the rest of the world, the region is rapidly becoming the fastest-urbanizing one on the planet and faces unique obstacles of its own. As Africa-tied urban actors gather in Quito, they should keep the below recommendations in mind.
Can rapid urbanization in Africa reduce poverty? Causes, opportunities, and policy recommendations
Sub-Saharan Africa is urbanizing rapidly but remains mostly rural. Already, cities such as Lagos and Kinshasa constitute urban agglomerations of over 10 million residents (“megacities”), while Dar-es-Salaam, Johannesburg, and Luanda are projected to reach that size by 2030. This rapid city growth in sub-Saharan Africa reflects trends across all developing nations. In 1950, most of the world’s largest cities were in rich countries, but by 2015 nearly all were in low-income nations (Figure 1).
Enabling female entrepreneurs and beyond
Investing in female entrepreneurs has a multiplier effect. Women often invest a higher proportion of their income back into their families and communities than men. Indeed, it is well-documented that when women control a greater proportion of household resources, the family allocates more money toward food and children’s education, and children that are healthier and more educated are better-prepared to contribute to a developing economy.
Enabling female entrepreneurs and
Investing in female entrepreneurs has a multiplier effect. Women often invest a higher proportion of their income back into their families and communities than men. Indeed, it is well-documented that when women control a greater proportion of household resources, the family allocates more money toward food and children’s education, and children that are healthier and more educated are better-prepared to contribute to a developing economy.
Considering land tenure security for structural transformation of African agriculture
The agricultural sector, though a major employer in most African countries, is often characterized as risky and low-productivity business largely run by small-holder farmers.
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