African Economic Outlook 2012 Promotes Youth Employment

Culled from VENTURES AFRICA - With the number of youths in Africa set to double by 2045, countries across the continent should boost job creation and help young people acquire new skills, according to the African Economic Outlook 2012.

“Creating productive employment for Africa’s rapidly growing young population is an immense challenge but also the key to future prosperity,” say the authors in the foreword.

Co-written by the African Development Bank, the OECD Development Centre, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the report says youth are an opportunity for future economic growth.

Between 2000 and 2008, despite world-topping economic growth rates, and a better educated youth, Africa created only 16 million jobs for young people aged between 15 and 24.

Today, youth represent 60 percent of the continent’s unemployed, and of these 40 million youths, 22 million have given up on finding a job, many of them women.

“The continent is experiencing jobless growth”, said Mthuli Ncube, Chief Economist and Vice-President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). “That is an unacceptable reality on a continent with such an impressive pool of youth, talent and creativity”.

The report argues youth unemployment figures will increase unless Africa moves swiftly to make youth employment a priority, turning its human capital into economic opportunity. On the other hand, youths can present a significant threat to social cohesion and political stability if they do not secure decent living conditions.

High growth alone is not sufficient to guarantee productive employment. Youth employment is largely a problem of quality in low-income countries and one of quantity in middle-income countries, the report says.

“In low-income countries, most young people work but are poor nevertheless. In African middle-income countries, on the other hand, such as South Africa or the Northern African countries, despite better education, more youth are inactive than working,” said Mario Pezzini, Director at the OECD Development Centre.

The report recommends that African countries design better-coordinated strategies to effectively tackle youth employment, focusing on job creation in the private sector while providing the right conditions for businesses of all sizes to grow and expand their work force.

In addition, given the small size of the formal sector in many African countries, the report finds that a government focuses on the informal sector and rural areas, which contain immense entrepreneurial talent, can serve as engines for inclusive growth since they can absorb higher numbers of unemployed youths.

It also advocates for policies focused on creating the skills that are necessary for youths to compete in the job market, for instance by improving the quality of education in agriculture and new technologies.

Increased policy focus on youth employment must be coupled with measures to boost investments in social and economic infrastructure and diversify the continent’s economy.

“Export diversification beyond raw material and private sector development are important to mitigate the continent’s susceptibility to external shocks, but that takes time”, said Emmanuel Nnadozie, Director of Economic Development at UNECA.

With the right policies in place, the continent could capitalize on its recent economic growth to achieve a development breakthrough.

“Youth employment is an investment in the future. It contributes to reducing poverty, wealth creation, well-being and social cohesion,” said Pedro Conceição, Chief Economist at UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa.

The African Economic Outlook presents a comprehensive analysis of the economic, social and political developments in the region. The report includes in-depth country notes on 53 of the continent’s 54 economies, a macroeconomic overview.

The document also offers a chapter on human development, which focuses this year on the importance of reversing capital flight to achieve sustainable human development.





Note: The annual 2012 African Economic Outlook covers economic, social and political development in 53 of the continent’s 54 countries. It is published with financial support from the European Union and the Committee of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). For the whole report, including statistics and specific country performance, please visit http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org

Talent Alone Is Not Enough. Tips For Entrepreneurs

Aspiring entrepreneurs often struggle with finding their first seed-fund or funds to expand their venture. In the last interview feature with Ashish Thakkar, Founder Of The Mara Group, he said, “It is always the tough part. However you need to be passionate about your venture and persistent. Eventually it always works out. It is easy to quit but also very boring.”

How did he finance his first business venture? “I started with $6,000 load and slowly grew it from there. I created a track record from day one, which meant doing everything above board and officially, which allowed me to access debt once I built a few years of good track record. Always think long term and never be short sighted when creating a business…short-term pain are long-term gains,” says Ashish.

It has not been an all jolly-ride for the entrepreneur. From his experience, we learn that entrepreneurs should quit being afraid of failing. Failure is part of the growth process. Drawing from his experience of making a bad business decision, Ashish said, “I was too desperate for business and trusted the wrong clients. This meant losing cash flow as some debtors turned out to be fake. This was a huge blow for me as I was playing with very little cash flow and this made it even tighter. But instead of dwelling over this, I got up and learnt from the mistake. Never be too eager, you end up not thinking through things and you never end up looking at the worst-case scenario, which is critical.”


Read the full interview here: I’m Just Getting Started- Ashish Thakkar, Founder Of The Mara Group

Interview With Ashish Thakkar, Founder Of The Mara Group

British-born Ashish Thakkar, founder and managing director of Mara Group, migrated to Uganda at the age of 12. But he did not relocate to the continent for nothing. Ashish’s entrepreneurial spirit propelled him to start selling computers to friends and his school in Kampala, and before long he founded his first company, Raps. As the years rolled by, so did his penchant for startups. He founded Riley, a manufacturing company believed to make the most modern corrugated packaging plant in East and Central Africa; and Kensington, a real estate business in Dubai and Africa. Talk about serial entrepreneurship!

In 15 years, under the management of Ashish, Mara Group has grown into a globally recognised firm with over 4,000 employees and having operations in 17 African countries.

In addition to expanding his venture’s portfolio across different continents, this young entrepreneur takes giving back very seriously. Through Mara Foundation, The Group has been able to impact over 2,000 students in 2 countries through different initiatives like assisting rural secondary schools; entrepreneurs mentor programs, business incubation centres and venture capital funds.

In his words, “It is very important to give back but give back in a meaningful and impacting manner.”

Ashish who was recently nominated for the Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum says he is just getting started! Be inspired by this interview. Click here to read all

Taking Advantage Of #Outsourcing Growth In Africa – Interview With Kagem Tibaijuka

Kagem Tibaijuka founded Kagem Tibaijuka & Co, a B2B marketing company based in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. But, all of her clients are based outside Tanzania. While India is part of the outsourcing boom, companies like Kagem Tibaijuka & Co, customize marketing campaigns for international small businesses in markets such as London and Prague. They are a part of the sudden outsourcing growth on the continent.

According to Kagem, “outsourcing is traditionally seen as something in the IT sector to cut costs but in marketing, outsourcing from a business to business angle can be an excellent way for small businesses to focus on what they do best and allow us to do the heavy lifting for them to ensure that they meet their business goals.”

Kangem Tibaijuka & Co has worked with companies like Peachy Loans, Designer-Clothes.co.uk and Signature Car Hire.

“Kagem was contracted to create fashion guides to go on my e-commerce website. I would say it was high quality writing that Kagem provided, it ticked all the boxes in terms of the way I wanted it written. I would work withKagem again on new projects” Matt Seigneur atDesigner -clothes, writes in a testimonial.

“We always put their priorities first which is why clients work with us to create campaigns that will resonate with their buying audience,” states Kagem.

How can more entrepreneurs venture into the business of outsourcing? What business opportunities are there for African countries?

In this interview, Kagem shares her experience and sheds more light on the business of outsourcing and how African businesses can take advantage of the surge. Enjoy! Click here to view the full interview

Apply to be a Student Reporter at the 2012 World Resources Forum in Beijing

I just saw this online and thought to share! If you are a student and a tech savvy journo, this is for you! Click the link to check it out:

Apply to be a Student Reporter at the 2012 World Resources Forum in Beijing, China (19th-24th October)

YOUNG INNOVATORS COMPETITION - GET YOUR INNOVATION ON A WORLD STAGE

Fab-Ukozor Somto Sharon, won of the ITU young innovator’s contest last year. She was in Geneva, Switzerland with other young innovators from across the world where she presented her MS2C idea and emerged winner of the prestigious contest. Click here to read her interview!

Here is a news release about this year's competition:

This is your opportunity to shine a global ICT spotlight on your innovative ideas and digital creativity. Enter the Young Innovators Competition at ITU Telecom World 2012 to show the world how your fresh thinking and talent for technology can provide real-world solutions to real-world problems and change the future for the better. Showcase your innovation on a truly international stage and win the chance to access development workshops, industry expertise and the unparalleled networking potential of World 2012.

Are you 18-25 years old?

Do you have an innovative ICT-based concept or project?

Are you in need of resources to take the next step?

Are you a social entrepreneur?

If your answer is yes to these questions, this could be just the competition for you. Any solution using innovative ICT to support development, from concepts to mature projects can compete to win!

Finalists will be invited to join us at ITU Telecom World 2012 in Dubai, where they will receive the following:Up to CHF 10,000 in prize money: great concepts can win up to CHF 5,000; innovative projects can win up to CHF 10,000.

Industry mentorship: benefit from intensive one-on-one sessions with high level industry mentors, plus their ongoing support over a one-year development period.

Hands-on Workshop: training sessions focusing on developing entrepreneurial skills.

Networking: Opportunities to build relationships with top ICT names from industry, governments, academia and peers.

Showcase at the InnovatorSpace: demo your submission to our influential audience.

Enter the young innovators competition today! Click here to submit your application. Use the documents on the right hand side of this page to help prepare your application. 

Should you require any further information in the meantime, please contact: young.innovators@itu.int

More details on their website: http://world2012.itu.int/enter-the-competition

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR APPLICATION!!! :-)

African Dream In Lagos! #MING

I mentioned last month that MING's special edition on Lagos was out! And kind Ren did send me a copy :-) I still cannot read in Chinese but I do have an idea of the story each article tells in the magazine.

"We all knew it. Africa. Africans. The struggling history of slavery, the “next-day-may-never–come” living attitude. The ground-shaking, impoverished scene that charity campaign photos embark. The worst tags are all on this piece of land, and we are no short of hearsay. But what and how on earth is Africa? Who on earth are Africans? How does this piece of continent differ from ours?" Ren writes in a blog entry after her trip to Lagos to cover this story.

Good People, Great Country, Global City?

Some of the pages of those interviewed:

Seun of I SEE LAGOS

Olori Super Gal

Tolu of DUSTBIN ESTATE

Temitayo of GLOBAL PRESS INSTITUTE

Yours sincerely, @disgeneration

Photography by Ola

 Lagosians as they are. The very Lagosian things:

Photography by Ola

Photography by Ola

Moji Rhodes, Eko Atlantic City project

My love letter :-) 

The magazine cover (took this shot in the dark- it looks better in real life)

Moji Rhodes of Eko Atlantic City project

"Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it." John Maxwell.

Thanks Ren, for sharing this interesting piece about Lagos!

Interested in following Ren's work? Follow on Twitter: @renhermite 

Blog: http://loccomama.com/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/jupyeah