#WEFA19: The Nature Economy

WEF Africa 2017 LIVE: Africa in the New Global Context – SA President Jacob Zuma

This year’s World Economic Forum Africa meeting will focus on advancing economic transformation in Africa by driving strategies and actions to set the whole region on its path towards a sustainable, prosperous and inclusive future.
However, the current prospects for growth and development in Sub-Saharan Africa are mixed. The region accounts for some of the world’s fastest growing economies but it is also home to countries whose commodity-dependent economies have struggled to adapt to structural downturns in prices.
According to Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa at the World Economic Forum, “Africa has a historic opportunity to shift the trajectory of its development by avoiding the excesses and mistakes made by countries in advanced parts of the world. But its success will depend on creating new models of growth that provide equality of opportunity to everyone and allow innovation to flourish.”
My belief is that the circular economy is an innovative solution that can be implemented to deal with global challenges. In South Africa, for example, we have already seen the results of a fully functional circular economy being driven through the tyre waste stream. A significant positive aspect of this approach is that it is not limited just to waste tyres or indeed even to South Africa. The business model can be replicated for other waste streams and used in other countries.
Currently South Africa’s biggest economic challenge is arguably job creation. With a largely stagnant economy, the current reality of a junk status rating, and a shrinking GDP, the South African economy is facing challenging times. We can no longer rely on legacy industries such as mining and manufacturing to drive the much-needed industrial development and job creation.
It is clear that we have a problem, and now is the time to look at things a little differently in order to find new ways of doing business and creating jobs.
One of the biggest challenges we face is educating people about the opportunities that can be found and created in waste, all by creating a circular economy, of which extended producer responsibility forms a part.
Waste is a resource and should not be dumped in landfills or burnt. We need to transition to a circular economy as a more sustainable economic growth model through partnerships and initiatives aimed at increasing material recovery and reducing the impact of waste on the environment.
While some progress has been made, there are still only a few countries experimenting with more circular thinking – these include South Africa, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, China and Japan. In all of them, we have barely begun to explore the full potential of the circular economy concepts, but it is already clear that there are benefits in the reduction of waste, protection of the environment, job creation and conservation of resources.
Positively, the European Union Circular Economy mission to South Africa is currently underway and they are already engaging with various stakeholders to discuss the benefits of the circular economy both socio-economically and environmentally.
The circular economy initiatives will provide innovative and new business needs which will simultaneously address resource and environmental challenges, and generate economic activity – especially the job and economic boost much needed in our country.
The circular economy is essentially the industrial revolution turned on its head: instead of continuing to mine natural resources, a market dominated by a few major players, it’s time to mine and recreate from the old. This approach presents a huge economic opportunity for new market leaders – those who are able to see opportunity where others can’t. As a developing continent Africa is perfectly poised to use this to its advantage.

Innovative ideas and new growth models will drive economic growth

Innovation. While this seems like a buzzword, there is certainly potential waiting to be unlocked – our problems and challenges can become our opportunity and with the rate of technology innovation, there is no doubt that growth can be catapulted by new ways of doing things.
With a focus on encouraging intra-Africa business and the need to fast-track growth and development, there is no doubt that some focus is needed – focus on key areas that form the cornerstone to all economic development. Africa is presented with a number of challenges, and with that, opportunities. However, these opportunities can only be unlocked, if we tackle them systematically and if we focus on the core of what drives an economy – its people, its ability to innovate and thereby its ability to improve growth.
In fact, leading global summits taking place over the next month or two are all steering conversations in this direction. It is about unlocking regional growth in Africa, understanding our demographics and how they can work for us, and developing solid strategies to mitigate the skills gap and drive forth sustainable job creation opportunities – through encouraging innovations and enabling a better Africa.
At the outset, we need to focus on unlocking regional growth, finding ways to work together – across Africa. Some of the key questions that need to be addressed here however, include: what are policy makers currently doing and what can they do better, similarly, what are industries doing and what can they do better?
The answer? Innovation. While this seems like a buzzword, there is certainly potential waiting to be unlocked – our problems and challenges can become our opportunity and with the rate of technology innovation, there is no doubt that growth can be catapulted by new ways of doing things.
Africa has very often done things differently, leapfrogging the banking sector with the advent of online and mobile banking, for example, and using innovation to create growth and opportunities. This is evidence of the power of technology and in the coming years more focus needs to be placed on harnessing the power of what new technologies can offer and, as industry players, finding ways that we can better use it to create opportunities.
Organisations should start thinking now about what the implications of technology are on their own businesses. Core to this is understanding the impact it will have on the workforce. Statistics1 indicate that one of the top 5 labour market shifts that are affecting strategy include the changing workforce, at 43%, driven strongly by workforce technology. The automation of services is a key change that we are, and will continue to, witness. While 39% of employees demonstrate concern about their position becoming obsolete as a result of such technology, it is certainly not necessarily the case.
While technology is able to replicate what once was unique to human skill in many instances, technology is complimentary and, in Africa, where the rise of technology has happened rapidly, this is certainly no different. It is more about the intel that can be derived from such technology that will change the way we work and define specific job roles – using big data derived from technological processes to make informed decisions. The human element cannot be ignored, however, and people will still form part of the economy of the future – it is more about adding additional value to what would have been a transactional process.
The second key element of focus across Africa is strategies that we should be looking at to improve job creation. While we know that Africa is rife with unemployment and an under-skilled labour force, there are certainly things we can, and should, be doing now. Job creation in a changing world means encouraging entrepreneurship and as such, this is a key pillar and &#8211; as it comes with numerous barriers to entry &#8211; it is up to governments and the private sector, alike, to really harness the benefits that good entrepreneurs can offer the economy and for the improvement of the local workforce in Africa.
The question is, what can we be doing immediately to make this change?
The continent is entrepreneur-rich and so, it is no longer about creating more space in an organisation for everyday functions, but rather about creating a platform for entrepreneurship – servicing your organisation with these exact small businesses. This will mean helping these start-ups to formalise their work and create a sustainable business over time. Business incubation and leveraging what bigger business has available to it for the development of entrepreneurs and start-ups is key to such growth. In fact, it is merely about simplifying the process, giving smaller businesses access to technology that enhances their opportunity for success, and coaching them around how to grow their business – however this seems to be one of the major stumbling blocks in Africa.
Research indicates that 80%2 of South African companies, for example, are using contingent, intermittent, seasonal, or consultant employees within their businesses. This indicates a definite shift on the continent and again demonstrates the need for the change in policy. However, this is the challenge – policy is not aligned to achieving such entrepreneurial growth.
With such a young African demographic, we have to ask ourselves, in what way does our demographics give us an advantage. With 59%2 of executives stating that Millennials entering the workforce are impacting workforce strategy, there is no doubt that – as business and government – we need to start thinking about what we should be doing differently to harness this demographic and drive new job opportunities.
As such entrepreneurship also has a pivotal role to play in skills development and workplace equality. If the skills are not available, we need to encouraging self-learning, life-long learning and skills transfer. The easiest way to do this is through technology, as it creates an opportunity to carry skills across boundaries – making them accessible in a particular country.
Proper online, virtual learning needs to be enhanced. Cross-border learning, backed by reputable organisations. Africa needs to create lifelong learning opportunities per country in Africa to truly harness the power of skills transfer and upliftment. In fact, in Africa there are already examples of this – like the Africa Leadership College and University in Mauritius. We need more organisations like these across Africa – if we are to witness a big jump in skills development and cross border learning. Furthermore, business funding to create viable joint venture education programmes will go a long way in driving such programmes – where proper skills ironically, is central to business success in Africa.
While the above all lends to the growth and development of the continent, Africa cannot ignore the key basic requirements that all African economies need to address as a pre-requisite to successful innovation and job creation. This includes: the development of robust education, healthcare and infrastructure programmes that will enable innovation to thrive and, secondly, strong cultural shifts with regards to economic participation of women and youth, the improved pace of economic diversification and strong economic and political leadership.
With this said, Africa is rife with opportunity and, despite strong economic headwinds expected into 2017, with a focus on these elements, the continent has a real opportunity to witness the change that is so longingly required – a change in policy, process, culture and the drive towards innovation is at the core of Africa’s opportunities.

Technology set to drive job creation, innovation and skills into Africa

Changing the way Africa employs, educates and manages existing or potential employees is set to be a sure focus.
2nd May 2017; The global economy is no doubt facing some major challenges. Sluggish growth, leading to stagnant global trade, subdued investment and increasing policy uncertainty world-wide, are just a few. Further to this, with economies worldwide on the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution, which is expected to drive significant change to global industries and business models, there is also major concern around jobs of the future, and potential job loss – with pressures mounting on industries to drive innovation, harness technology and to create a new way of working and growing.
With the World Economic Forum on Africa set to take place from the 03rd – 05th May 2017, the question has to be raised – what is Africa’s stance and what are the key elements that can be expected to, and should be, brought forward this year?
Kunle Elebute, National Senior Partner, KPMG in Nigeria and Chairman, KPMG West Africa, says; “While Africa is presented with a number of challenges – some closely aligned to the global view and others completely unique, the continent also holds many opportunities for future growth. However, these opportunities can only be unlocked, if we tackle them systematically and if we focus on the core of what drives an economy – infrastructure, its people, and its ability to innovate and improve growth.”
Africa’s growth and development is intimately linked to infrastructure development on the continent, and in many instances, the lack thereof.
In fact, possibly the biggest obstacle for the continent to adapt to this next revolution is the lack of sufficient infrastructure. It is well known that there is a direct correlation between infrastructure and; building or accessing markets, workforce productivity and – generally – economic growth and social development. However, the reality in Africa is that it faces a number of key challenges within this sector including:
<ul>
<li>Economic hubs or nodes are geographically dispersed, where there are 1000’s of miles of very rural land in-between them.</li>
<li>There have been very few collaborative strategies, planning or development of cross-border infrastructure projects – where rather, most countries have been focused on what they need to do in-country to improve infrastructure networks</li>
<li>There are limited funds available to fund long-term development infrastructure projects, or to maintain the ones that are built. This has left a financing gap in this sector, perpetuating bottlenecks that make these projects less attractive to investors – both foreign and local</li>
</ul>
“Addressing these key issues and devising collaborative plans that focus on regional integration and cross-market support will be critical this year,” continues Elebute.
Furthermore, as we start moving more rapidly towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we need to look at the impact of digital transformation. This sector bodes immense opportunities to further bridge the digital divide between emerging and developed markets, as well as provides great opportunity to support and advance the millennial generation and entrepreneurs in Africa – the future business owners and leaders. Adapting to the Fourth Industrial Revolution therefore is a strategy that can be more inclusive, as it will empower African states to harness the technology and the skills available to them, as well as enable these states to continue to form part of the connected, global economy.
Such a movement would need to encompass key strategies, underpinned by significant investment into R&amp;D on the continent, a realignment of education to increase talent pools and skills transfer and the opening up of cross-border trade – making business in Africa easier and less complicated to stimulate growth.
To this end, Innovation and job creation also play a pivotal role in the economic development of the continent and, if we consider that Africa is facing strong headwinds, there is no doubt that a stringent focus will be placed on these two areas in this year’s WEF conference. It is about unlocking regional growth in Africa, understanding our demographics and how they can work for us, and developing solid strategies to mitigate the skills gap and drive forth sustainable job creation opportunities – through encouraging innovations and enabling a better Africa.
Continues Elebute, “Africa has very often done things differently, leapfrogging the banking sector with the advent of online and mobile banking, for example, and using innovation to create growth and opportunities. This is evidence of the power of technology and in the coming years more focus needs to be placed on harnessing the power of what new technologies can offer and, as industry players, finding ways that we can better use it to create opportunities.”
This year’s WEF will get organisations thinking about the implications of technology on their own businesses. Core to this is understanding the impact it will have on the workforce across Africa. Statistics1 indicate that one of the top 5 labour market shifts that are affecting strategy include the changing workforce, at 43%, driven strongly by workforce technology. This is scaring employees and employers alike however, it is more about adding additional value to what would have been a transactional process than replacing the human element. Elebute indicates that this is one of the definite shifts we will see into the next year and beyond.
Nhlamu Dlomu, KPMG Executive Board Member, Partner, Head of People and Change, agrees and indicates that Africa has been doing the same thing for years and certainly, the continent is on the verge of seeing significant change.
“Changing the way Africa employs, educates and manages existing or potential employees is set to be a sure focus. And entrepreneurship is at the centre of this – harnessing the 59% of millennials who are entering the job market and demanding a different workforce strategy, using entrepreneurs to provide core business functions instead of expanding the business head count and creating opportunity for skills transfer and development – across and inter-Africa.” says Dlomu.
Africa is on the brink of a workforce revolution – driven by technology and new job seekers – and it is now that policies need to be adapted, businesses need to realign what they once knew and &#8211; as a collective &#8211; the continent needs to define new strategies to move forward, with conviction.
“Africa is a massive continent and more governments therefore need to start thinking smartly around their urban areas, planned infrastructure projects, job creation and the power of connectivity and digital transformation – as this can significantly reform their strategies; towards investment and development that will underpin their adaptation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and will empower and enable their nations to leapfrog,” concludes Elebute.

World Economic Forum Africa

#WEFA19: The Nature Economy

WEF Africa 2017 LIVE: Africa in the New Global Context – SA President Jacob Zuma

Innovative ideas and new growth models will drive economic growth

Technology set to drive job creation, innovation and skills into Africa

World Economic Forum Preview: Africa – a hub of opportunities, waiting to be unlocked!

News Tips

Advertise With Us

World Economic Forum Africa

#WEFA19: The Nature Economy

WEF Africa 2017 LIVE: Africa in the New Global Context – SA President Jacob Zuma

Innovative ideas and new growth models will drive economic growth

Technology set to drive job creation, innovation and skills into Africa

World Economic Forum Preview: Africa – a hub of opportunities, waiting to be unlocked!

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters