Posted by Ignacio on
Mon, 30/06/2008
The first Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) ended in Brussels last week, awarding close to a million dollars for sixteen investment projects in Africa. The winning projects will be implemented in 11 African countries, including Mali (4), Cote d'Ivoire (2) Benin (2) and one each for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
The winners were selected from a group of 68 finalists who presented projects that a 24-person jury deemed innovative, sustainable, replicable and based on sound business principles. The D-MADE initiative was launched in 2007 to allow entrepreneurs from the African Diaspora in Europe to participate in the development of their countries.
Posted by Ignacio on
Thu, 12/06/2008
Posted by Ignacio on
Tue, 04/03/2008
This year's edition of the ABCDE will take place in Cape Town (South Africa) on 9-11 June 2008. Under the overarching theme of 'People, Politics & Globalization', it will focus on three broad themes:
More information about the ABCDE
Posted by Ignacio on
Thu, 15/11/2007
The World Bank's Africa Development Indicators (ADI 2007), launched yesterday in Johannesburg, would indicate that there is in fact reason to be optimistic.
During the last decade many African countries have achieved steady economic growth, much needed to reduce the levels of poverty in the continent. In the words of Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region.
Posted by Ignacio on
Wed, 24/10/2007
This World Bank initiative will, through a competitive process, award grants and technical assistance to innovative entrepreneurial projects that are designed by Africans, to support the development of Africa.
Elegible participants to the competition can be individuals or organizations emanating from the Sub-Saharan African diaspora, currently living in Europe and active in Africa. Applicants can be entrepreneurs, private investors, NGOs, civil society organizations, foundations, etc.
D-MADE is now accepting proposals until November 23rd.
Posted by Ignacio on
Wed, 12/09/2007
Literally ... and win up to $200,000 to do it.
The World Bank's Development Marketplace has recently launched the Lighting Africa Grant Competition.
The World Bank Group and its partners are pleased to announce a Development Marketplace (DM) competition for the design and delivery of low cost, high quality, non-fossil fuel-based lighting products targeting low income consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The DM is part of the broader Lighting Africa program managed by the World Bank Group which seeks to reach 250 million customers with modern, affordable lighting by 2030.
Deadline to submit proposals is October 31, 2007.
The CGD recently blogged about this bright idea.
More information on the Lighting Africa initiative.
Development Marketplace 2007 Global Competition winners.
Posted by Ignacio on
Sat, 14/07/2007
From Raj Nallari and Breda Griffith's lecture notes.
The Labor Market and the Investment Climate
The interaction between the investment climate and the labor market determine labor market outcomes. The flip-side to a well-functioning labor market is of course a well functioning investment climate that provides opportunities for employment, lower levels of informality, better working conditions and the potential for rising wages. This necessitates reforms in the investment climate that often involve short-term costs for workers: higher unemployment may follow, at least initially, when domestic firms experience a reduction in trade barriers, state support or increased competition from foreign-owned firms. It is widely accepted that outcomes in the short run can be costly to workers and in particular in a developing economy context where the vulnerable groups—the poor, children and women—disproportionately bear the brunt of structural reforms of the investment climate. But equally, it is also by now widely accepted that reforms to the investment climate, including to trade, and product and labor markets, are essential to set countries on a sustainable healthy long-run growth path.
Labor Market in Developing Countries
Behrman (1999) outlines the following characteristics of the labor market in developing countries where most of the world’s poor live:
- By country income group, 80% of the world’s labor force works in the developing countries;
- Agriculture and other rural labor activities are much more important;
- Non-wage labor are much more important (largely unpaid family workers, Particularly in agriculture at lower incomes);
- Labor forces growing more rapidly;
- Labor force participation rates among 15-64 year olds are higher, particularly for low-income countries, in part because of much lower schooling enrollment rates among those who are in the youngest cohort in this age range;
- Human capital investment is lower with larger gender gaps;
- Non–labor production inputs per worker are much smaller.
Posted by Ignacio on
Mon, 09/04/2007
The ECA and the African Development Bank are organizing the 2007 African Economic Conference on the theme “Opportunities and Challenges of Development for Africa in the Global Arena”, which will take place in Addis Ababa on 15-17 November. The program committee invites submission of abstracts (or papers) by interested participants on any economic issues of relevance to African economies.
Deadline to submit abstracts is April 30.
Full announcement and contact information.
Posted by Ignacio on
Thu, 05/04/2007
According to UNECA's latest edition of the Economic Report on Africa (ERA 2007), African economies are forecast to grow by an average of 5.8% in 2007.
From the press release:
The report, titled “Accelerating Africa's Development through Diversification,” notes that African economies continued to sustain the growth momentum of previous years, recording an overall real GDP growth rate of 5.7% in 2006. 28 countries recorded higher economic growth rates in 2006 than 2005.
According to the report, Africa's recent growth performance was underpinned by improvements in macroeconomic management in many countries as well as strong global demand for key African export commodities, resulting in high export prices, especially for crude oil, metals and minerals.
Factors that are likely to hinder growth in the future include lack of diversification of production and exports as well as instability and vulnerability to shocks, and the increasing spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which undermines labour supply and labour productivity. In addition, inefficient public infrastructure and unreliable energy supply at the national level as well as poor integration of transportation and energy networks at the regional level will continue to undermine the productivity and international competitiveness of African economies.
En Français
Posted by Ignacio on
Tue, 19/12/2006
The December issue of Finance and Development is dedicated to Africa.
'Africa: Making Its Move' explores some of the obstacles facing sub-Saharan Africa as it attempts to capitalize on changes that offer fresh opportunities for growth and poverty reduction.
In its lead article, Right Time for Africa, Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané and Benedicte Vibe Christensen, Director and a Deputy Director of the IMF's African Department respectively, present a somewhat optimistic view of the continent. "Africa needs to build on its recent success to catch up".
Yet things seem to be changing for the better throughout the subcontinent. In most African countries, leaders are now selected through democratic elections. The decision-making process is becoming more participatory and involving greater segments of civil society. The number of countries in crisis has declined, although conflict persists in some countries and regions. The pursuit of strong macroeconomic policies and economic reforms is bearing fruit: economies are growing faster and more steadily than before, and inflation is falling. Record levels of reserves in both oil-producing and oil-importing countries act as a cushion against external shocks, such as the recent increase in oil prices. Countries pursuing economic reforms have benefited from unprecedented amounts of debt relief from a wide variety of sources. In addition, the international community has promised a significant scaling up of aid resources in the years to come, offering African countries a fresh chance to free up resources and invest in human and fixed capital to promote sustainable growth. These changes have not gone unnoticed abroad. Foreign investors are showing increasing interest in the African continent, both in the domestic debt markets and in direct investment in the extraction of natural resources.
Although not exempt of challenges
The challenge for African policymakers now is to carry this vision forward. While economic growth has accelerated in many countries, it still needs to translate into greater improvement in the living standards of the broader population. Governments face a dilemma. With unprecedented amounts of debt relief from multilateral and bilateral donors and promises of a scaling up of aid from the international community, which have yet to materialize, the populations hold great expectations for better education and health services, as well as for improvements in infrastructure such as roads, ports, and energy. At the same time, governments have to make sure that increased spending is consistent with absorptive capacity and with maintaining the progress in macroeconomic stability and low inflation, and they must avoid a repetition of past mistakes of misallocation of budgetary resources. This requires a tightrope balancing act.
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