Six Decades of Empowering Africa: Celebrating the African Development Bank’s 60-Year Legacy
African Development Bank Urged to Expand Support for Women Entrepreneurs and Young Innovators
Africa’s youth business representatives emphasized the need for the African Development Bank to expand its support to women entrepreneurs, young innovators, and business creators to reduce poverty and tackle the lack of jobs in Africa.
This call to action came during a panel discussion on the topic ”Our world, our experience,” organized shortly after the launch of the Bank’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
African Development Bank’s Humanitarian Efforts Praised
Jean-François Yao, Regional Policy Advisor in charge of Institutional Partnership at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), commended the Bank’s new approach, which addresses humanitarian crises and development issues.
“The African Development Bank is already doing great things in the humanitarian domain and for a host of organizations that help reduce human suffering, and we congratulate them for that.”
Yao highlighted the success of a pilot project that empowered women in the Sahel, providing support to vulnerable women and widows affected by the crisis in Chad, Mali, and Niger.
“A woman from Mali who sold donuts received 200,000 CFA francs, enabling her to develop her business, then make fruit juice, and today she works in second-hand clothes. She managed to buy a plot of land and started building her own house. She has also been able to send at least three of her six children to a private school.”
Private Sector Representatives Call for Increased Support
Christelle Essim Egue, Lamin Barro, and Stéphane Aka-Anghui, who operate in the Ivorian private sector, shared their experiences of working with the Bank Group and their vision for the organization over the next decade.
“Previously, I was producing 500 packs of donuts a day; today, I produce 60 packages per minute,” says Christelle Essim Egue, Ivorian entrepreneur and founder of Pam Holding.
Courtesy of the Bank’s Affirmative Action Finance for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, Christelle received 40 million CFA francs in funding from AFAWA through the pan-African bank ECOBANK.
Young Entrepreneurs Emphasize the Need for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Lamin Barro, an innovator and developer of IT solutions, and CEO of Etudesk, praised the Bank’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab initiative, emphasizing that the Bank must help young Africans “to create and innovate.”
“One of my dreams is to see an incubator or innovation center in every university in Côte d’Ivoire, and even in Africa. We can promote ‘education entrepreneurship’ ie setting up your own business while still at university.”
Stéphane Aka-Anghui, Executive Director of the General Confederation of Businesses in Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI), called for a special partnership with the Bank to industrialize Africa, create jobs, and promote new businesses and innovation among young people.
“The Ivorian government wants to create eight million jobs by 2030. This can only happen if we create a large number of businesses. If we start a million businesses, they can create 10 million jobs.”