
<p>Sub-Saharan Africa has the potential to generate inclusive growth and eradicate poverty, according to the latest World Bank overview of the continent’s economic prospects.<sup>1</sup></p>



<p>“Sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than&nbsp;1 billion people, half of whom will be under 25 years old by 2050, is a diverse continent offering human and natural resources that have the potential to yield inclusive growth and eradicate poverty in the region. With the world’s largest free trade area and a market of 1.2 billion consumers, the continent is creating an entirely new development path, harnessing the potential of its resources and people,” the World Bank says.</p>



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<p>However, between the recognition of this potential and its realisation – the day when all Africans are freed from poverty – an enormous amount of work remains to be done. As the continent marks Africa Day today, it is useful to consider what is required.</p>



<p>A 2021 Economic Development in Africa Report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) states that one condition for achieving inclusive growth in Africa is that workers must acquire better skills to respond to evolving labour market demands.<sup>2</sup></p>



<p>It says inclusive development relies on the capacity of social, economic and political systems to provide the circumstances for well-being on a sustainable, long-term basis.</p>



<p>“Therefore, inclusive development should be measured along the interconnected dimensions of human, social and economic development and environmental considerations,” the report says.</p>



<p>In addition, inclusive growth requires higher rates of female participation, yet women remain marginalised in the labour market in Africa.</p>



<p>The private sector has a major role to play in enabling inclusive growth. It is both the engine of economic development and dependent on a flourishing continent for its own success.</p>



<p>At Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), our aim is to create greater shared opportunity for the business and the communities we serve across the value-chain, and our social and community ambitions address some of the most immediate needs in Africa.</p>



<p>We believe in creating inclusive growth opportunities for communities, with our focus on women and youth. More relevant in Africa than any other continent, women are integral to our continent’s shared success and are often the decision drivers behind consumer spending trends.</p>



<p>We seek to empower women both in the workplace and through community programmes throughout our markets on the continent.</p>



<p>We support female entrepreneurs to thrive through the provision of financial support, mentoring and training.</p>



<p>An example is the Entoto women empowerment programme in Ethiopia, which was launched in 2020. It has enabled more than 260 women to earn higher incomes by collecting and selling used plastic bottles and distributing The Coca-Cola Company’s products – and in turn also aided our environmental initiatives in relation to recycling.</p>



<p>As we see significant growth potential in Ethiopia, we established nine new intensive training centres to increase the amount of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) collected, resulting in more than 400 women having received intensive training on PET reuse and recycling.</p>



<p>In addition, we also embarked on a market development programme which empowered over 800 women business owners through the provision of coolers to sell more products and expand their businesses.</p>



<p>On the youth front, empowering young people and enabling their inclusion in the economy is critical if we are to achieve our vision of making Africa a better place for all.</p>



<p>We empowered over 15&nbsp;000 youth in 2021 across various of our markets to help make them active participants in the economy.</p>



<p>In South Africa, as an example, we established an enterprise development initiative in 2015, known as Bizniz-in-a-Box, to make a sustainable impact on youth unemployment by creating an ecosystem of viable micro-businesses offering complementary products and services in township communities.</p>



<p>Using the spaza shop as the anchor, each business operates out of a custom-designed container, covering various core needs of the local community. The programme offers young entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn business skills to enable them to grow and run their own business.</p>



<p>We have trained over 720 young entrepreneurs and rolled out over 220 Bizniz-in-a-Box outlets since the inception of the programme, of which 47% are female owned businesses.</p>



<p>Communities where we operate benefit by gaining access to more and/or better resources, which over time enable them to become more self-sufficient and sustainable.</p>



<p>Many members of these communities get employment opportunities they would otherwise not have, and some go on to start their own sustainable businesses through our enterprise development initiatives.</p>



<p>We understand the importance of nurturing from the grass roots level up and in Ethiopia, near one of our factories, we built a fully operational public school that accommodates up to 1,000 students. We built a similar school facility in Bahrdar community in 2019, and we are on track to complete our third school, which is located near our Ambo plant, for the local community.</p>



<p>Creating shared value is mutually beneficial to CCBA, as these individuals ultimately become CCBA consumers, with a real sense of Coca-Cola brand loyalty given the impact CCBA has had on their personal lives.</p>



<p>We continue to work with our supply chain to improve sustainable and ethical local sourcing practices, including a continued commitment to protect human rights.</p>



<p>As at the end of 2020, our local sourcing was at 83%, exceeding the global Coca-Cola target to source locally, 80% of the raw materials usually imported by 2022. This translates into increased opportunity for African suppliers, entrepreneurs and industrialists, helping to develop local economies, diversify goods made in Africa and support inclusive growth.</p>



<p>We continue to support our suppliers to upskill and improve the quality of materials to meet our high standards.</p>



<p>An example is in Ghana, where we sourced 100% of raw materials locally by 2020. Initially local suppliers didn’t have the necessary technical equipment and expertise to produce preforms, closures and labels according to our specifications and high standards.</p>



<p>We proactively supported local suppliers with technical skills and contractual off-take agreements which enabled them to purchase the required machinery to improve their standards.</p>



<p>With increased local sourcing, we saved costs on shipping, customs, clearing and inventory management, driving bottom line profitability – illustrating how economic inclusion can be beneficial to both businesses and local economies.</p>



<p>Another example is in South Africa, where we sourced 98% locally, including sugar.</p>



<p>Increasingly as the African Continental Free Trade Area takes effect, opportunities will open up for local manufacturers to produce higher-value goods and the development of intra-continental value chains that spur inclusive growth.</p>



<p>Companies like CCBA will play a significant part in empowering entrepreneurs, workers and communities to take full advantage of these opportunities.</p>



<ol type="1"><li><a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/overview#1">https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/overview#1</a></li><li><a href="https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/aldcafrica2021_en.pdf">https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/aldcafrica2021_en.pdf</a></li></ol>


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Africa Day should spur action to end poverty and empower the continent to reach its full potential

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<p>Tanzania has finally launched its trade portal that will stimulate and facilitate the exportation, importation, and transiting of goods.</p>


Tanzania launches trade portal to boost economy

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<p>According to the World Investment Report 2021 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on foreign direct investment in Africa as flows to the continent declined by 16 per cent in 2020 to $40 billion, from $47 billion in 2019. CNBC Africa spoke to UNCTAD&#8217;s Director for Investments and Enterprise, James Zhan, for more.</p>


UNCTAD: COVID-19 slashed FDI flow in Africa by 16%

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<p>New data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development shows that global Foreign Direct Investment flows plunged by 35 per cent in 2020 to one trillion dollars. Meanwhile in Africa, FDI flows declined by 16 percent to $40 billion, with sub-Saharan Africa recording a 12 percent decline to $30billion. James Zhan, Director of Investment Division at UNCTAD joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


SSA FDI flows down 12% in 2020 as global flows plunge by 35%

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<p>According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, cashews thrive in the tropical climates of 20 western and eastern African nations, where about 90 per cent of the raw cashew nuts traded in the global market are grown. However, the continent’s farmers and exporters get only a fraction of the final retail price. Geoffrey Kirenga, CEO of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania, SAGCOT joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Africa cashew nut farmers not reaping benefits

Africa cashew nut farmers not reaping benefits, says UN body

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<p>According to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Covid-19 recovery efforts present an opportunity for governments on the continent to use frontier technologies to reduce the existing inequalities, brought into sharper focus by the pandemic. CNBC Africa spoke to the Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics at UNCTAD, Shamika Sirimanne, for more.</p>


UNCTAD: How frontier technologies can foster an inclusive COVID-19 recovery

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<p>The total capital imported into Nigeria declined by 59.6 per cent to $9.68 billion in 2020. This is the lowest level of capital importation in four years, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.  Meanwhile, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development says Nigeria attracted $2.6 billion worth of investments in 2020, which was lower than the $3.3 billion recorded in 2019. Kyari Bukar, Former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


2021: What’s holding back FDI into Nigeria?

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<p>As we await the rates decision of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee later today, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development notes that Nigeria emerged the top destination for Foreign Direct Investment into Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020. UNCTAD’s Investment Trends Monitor shows inflows worth $2.6 billion came into Nigeria last year despite a decline from $3.3 billion recorded in 2019.Paul Alaje, Senior Economist at SPM Professionals joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Nigeria’s economic outlook in 2021: What to expect

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<p>Efforts to rebuild the economies of the world’s poorest nations post-pandemic will fall significantly short unless their productive capacities are drastically improved. This is according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development&#8217;s 2020 report on Least Developed Countries. CNBC Africa spoke to the Chief of LDC Section at UNCTAD, Rolf Traeger for more.</p>


Increased productivity could spur rebound of world’s poorest countries – UN

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<p>Non-Tariff Barriers are among the main obstacles to intra-African trade. A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that African countries could gain USD20BN each year by tackling these barriers at the continental level. CNBC Africa spoke to the Economic Affairs Officer at UNCTAD, Giovanni Valensisi, for more on trade barriers in Africa.</p>


UNCTAD on how to tackle trade barriers in Africa

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<p>The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development says if the world economy is to move away from the edge of depression and claw its way back towards sustainable growth and development, it must recover more effectively than it did from the Global Financial Crisis a decade ago. UNCTAD also stressed that a return to pre-pandemic austerity will reduce annual global growth by one percentage point and increase the global unemployment rate by 2 percentage points until 2030. Paul Alaje, Senior Economist at SPM Professionals joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19: Plotting the path to global recovery

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<p>The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development says FDI prospect for Africa in 2020 remains negative.</p>


How West Africa’s investment banking space is coping with COVID-19

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<p>The latest World Investment Report 2020 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development indicate that FDIs in East Africa declined by 9 per cent to $7.8 billion in 2019 from $9 billion in 2018. There could be a sharp decline in FDIs this year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage economies across the globe. Oscar Emasu, Research Analyst at Crested Capital joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How the COVID-19 is impacting foreign direct investment into East Africa

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<p>COVID-19 has not only been a health crisis but also an economic one. With supply chains distorted and massive capital flight experienced the economic effects for many African countries is massive, Richard Bolwijn, Head of Investment Research, Division on Investment &#038; Enterprise United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19: How the disruption in global supply chains is impacting FDI in developing countries

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<p>People are talking about the African Continental Free Trade Area, the biggest thing to hit Africa for a century. How is it going to work? What agreements are needed? Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


AfCFTA: How is it going to work & what agreements are needed?

<p><em>From June 19-29, 29 Africa-based entrepreneurs from 11 countries participated in a flagship programme hosted by Alibaba Business School and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The students were participating in an intensive eFounders Fellowship programme which is part of a pledge by Jack Ma, Alibaba Group’s Executive Chairman and UNCTAD Special Adviser for young entrepreneurs and small business. The aim? To empower 1,000 entrepreneurs from developing countries in five years. Two hundred of these entrepreneurs will come from Africa, demonstrating Ma’s personal commitment to supporting entrepreneurs from the African continent and empowering them to succeed in the digital world.</em></p>
<p>CNBC Africa spoke about the eFounders Initiative and Alibaba’s vision for Africa with Brian Wong, Vice President of Globalization Initiatives at Alibaba. Wong also serves as the executive director of the Alibaba Global Leadership Academy (AGLA).</p>
<p><em>What are Alibaba Group’s plans for Africa?<br />
</em>When Jack Ma first visited Africa in 2017, he saw a continent facing many of the same challenges that Alibaba had managed to overcome in the last 20 years in China. As a Special Adviser to UNCTAD, Jack recognised that empowering young entrepreneurs with ideas and practical knowledge from China’s most innovative businesses could accelerate the development of inclusive ecommerce platforms and provide markets around Africa with a whole different approach to enabling entrepreneurs, small businesses, youth, women and more, all with the objective to provide access to prosperity for all.</p>
<p>As with other regions outside of China, Alibaba’s expansion strategy is one of ‘inclusive development.’ The company seeks to work with local partners who share our values and understand local markets. By partnering with local platforms in Africa and elsewhere, we believe we can better enable SMEs and create a more inclusive globalised trading network.</p>
<p><em>What is it currently doing in Africa?</em><br />
Some Alibaba services are available in Africa (Alibaba Cloud, for example) but as mentioned above, our focus is on enabling local partners to develop their own inclusive ecosystems.</p>
<p><em>Which regions does it operate in?<br />
</em>Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba.com, and AliExpress are available to anyone with an Internet connection in all 54 African countries, while TMall Global facilitates African exports to China from around the continent.</p>
<p><em>What is Alibaba Group doing to help young Africa-based entrepreneurs succeed in the digital economy?<br />
</em>The eFounders Fellowship is at the core of the Alibaba’s plan to empower young entrepreneurs in Africa by providing capacity building and access to insights and experience from Alibaba’s own journey.</p>
<p>The eFounders Fellowship is a two-week course for entrepreneurial founders in developing countries who are operating open, platform-based businesses in the ecommerce, logistics, big data, and tourism sectors. The programme provides first-hand exposure to and learning about ecommerce innovations from China and around the world that enabled growth and a more inclusive development model for all.</p>
<p>With a focus on highlighting breakthrough innovations that have transformed society in China, the programme seeks to inspire each participant to think of creative frameworks based on prior expertise and new learnings that can be applied to their own home markets.</p>
<p>Participating entrepreneurs are given the tools to improve their own ventures, but as ‘New Economy’ pioneers they are also expected to serve as network builders and champions of new ways to approach commerce in their own markets. UNCTAD and Alibaba believe these entrepreneurs can inspire others with powerful new ideas around the world by creating impactful communities and empowering their peers.</p>
<p>The course consists of a structured series of classroom workshops, lectures, meetings with business leaders, teambuilding exercises, site visits and a business hackathon at Alibaba Group Headquarters in Hangzhou with site visits to other cities in China.</p>
<p>Upon graduation from the programme the fellows make a 2-year commitment for how they will apply their learnings from their course to transform their businesses and make a positive impact on their societies.</p>
<p>We also invite ecosystem partners from local venture capital and incubators to observe during program and to participate in the hackathon portion in order to engage them and to work with Alibaba to provide the necessary support to the fellows during the subsequent two years.</p>
<p><em>Why is it doing this?<br />
</em>The initiatives in Africa are consistent with Alibaba’s original mission. It is a platform-based business whose mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere by connecting SMEs around the world. Enabling platforms in other countries strengthens this worldwide network and “grows the pie” for all, rather than fighting over the same pie.</p>
<p>The more open, platform-based businesses there are in the world – the more opportunities there will be for all players (including Alibaba), and the more partnerships will be possible in the long term.</p>
<p><em>How many has it helped so far?<br />
</em>There are 52 fellows from Africa who have completed the fellowship and are currently participating, but the expectation is that with their platforms there will be a multiplier effect in their impact.</p>
<p><em>From which countries?<br />
</em>Our current fellows are from 14 different African countries: Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Algeria, Cameroon, Chad, Egypt, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia.</p>


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Africa Day should spur action to end poverty and empower the continent to reach its full potential

Tanzania launches trade portal to boost economy

UNCTAD: COVID-19 slashed FDI flow in Africa by 16%

SSA FDI flows down 12% in 2020 as global flows plunge by 35%

Africa cashew nut farmers not reaping benefits, says UN body

UNCTAD: How frontier technologies can foster an inclusive COVID-19 recovery

2021: What’s holding back FDI into Nigeria?

Nigeria’s economic outlook in 2021: What to expect

Increased productivity could spur rebound of world’s poorest countries – UN

UNCTAD on how to tackle trade barriers in Africa

COVID-19: Plotting the path to global recovery

How West Africa’s investment banking space is coping with COVID-19

How the COVID-19 is impacting foreign direct investment into East Africa

COVID-19: How the disruption in global supply chains is impacting FDI in developing countries

AfCFTA: How is it going to work & what agreements are needed?

Chinese internet giant Alibaba shares its plans for Africa

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United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Africa Day should spur action to end poverty and empower the continent to reach its full potential

Tanzania launches trade portal to boost economy

UNCTAD: COVID-19 slashed FDI flow in Africa by 16%

SSA FDI flows down 12% in 2020 as global flows plunge by 35%

Africa cashew nut farmers not reaping benefits, says UN body

UNCTAD: How frontier technologies can foster an inclusive COVID-19 recovery

2021: What’s holding back FDI into Nigeria?

Nigeria’s economic outlook in 2021: What to expect

Increased productivity could spur rebound of world’s poorest countries – UN

UNCTAD on how to tackle trade barriers in Africa

COVID-19: Plotting the path to global recovery

How West Africa’s investment banking space is coping with COVID-19

How the COVID-19 is impacting foreign direct investment into East Africa

COVID-19: How the disruption in global supply chains is impacting FDI in developing countries

AfCFTA: How is it going to work & what agreements are needed?

Chinese internet giant Alibaba shares its plans for Africa

News Tips

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