Thank you very much and Good afternoon to Africans all over the length and breadth of the African Continent.
Truly today is a historic day, a day in which we start officially trading under the preferences of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Today is a day we take Africa a step closer to a vision of an integrated continent, a vision of an integrated market on the African continent.
Following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, the African Union, UNDP and AfriLabs worked together to create the Rollo Africa Business Simulation Programme to support SMEs and the informal sector in the post-COVID-19 recovery process.
The Futures Report: Making the AfCFTA Work for Women and Youth is a groundbreaking UNDP Flagship Initiative produced in collaboration with the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA Secretariat.) It tells the story of the promise of the AfCFTA through the voices of women and youth producing goods and services in Africa. The high – level launch event convenes diverse stakeholders and partners to dialogue on how to support women and youth-owned enterprises to maximize the benefits in the AfCFTA as a means for attaining sustainable development.
Five young innovators have been named winners of the Youth Innovation Challenge on Democracy and Governance in Africa. The winners were unveiled at the 9th High-Level Dialogue Democracy, Human Rights and Governance. The five will benefit from technical support, coaching and mentorship to enable them to scale up their digital or non-digital innovations and be accorded opportunities to showcase their innovation in continental and global platforms.
The African Governance Architecture (AGA), AU Department of Political Affairs has released the list of the Top 20 selected winners of the Youth Innovation Challenge on Democracy and Governance in Africa. The young African innovators were selected from a pool of submissions by the youth from across the continent and in the diaspora, focused on digital or non-digital innovations that address issues of democracy deficit, lack of good governance and the promotion of human rights practices in Africa.
Due to the disruption that the African economy went through due to the COVID-19 crisis, many small and medium enterprises are facing untold challenges. These businesses play an important role in economies and form approximately 80 per cent of the continent’s workforce in both the formal and informal sectors, but during times of crisis, they are often the least resilient.
The African Union Commission (AUC) and HP Inc. held a virtual signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 21 September 2020 to foster entrepreneurial learning in Africa. This MoU solidifies the collaboration between both entities in building entrepreneurial skills across the continent and to leverage HP Foundation’s Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs (HP LIFE).
COVID-19 has created a global economic crisis, forcing millions of young Africans out of work. Some of the jobs lost will not come back, or at least not fast enough to meet demand. Those that do come back will look different, requiring more digital skills as companies race to change the way they work to respond to and recover from the pandemic. Other jobs will become more “tech-enabled,” requiring job seekers to have some level of digital fluency to be able to successfully pursue them.
Aspiration 5 of Agenda 2063 envisions an Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, shared values and ethics. This calls for an African cultural renaissance which is pre-eminent and that inculcates the spirit of Pan Africanism; tapping Africa’s rich heritage and culture to ensure that the creative arts are major contributors to Africa’s growth and transformation; and restoring and preserving Africa’s cultural heritage, including its languages.
The African Union Youth Envoy is building a movement of youth-led accountability by putting young people central to the response to COVID-19 pandemic and reform of service delivery architecture.
