00:00 Gentlemen,
00:01 ladies and gentlemen,
00:02 good morning,
00:03 good afternoon,
00:04 and good evening.
00:05 Depending,
00:06 of course,
00:06 on which part of the world you happen to be joining us from,
00:10 a warm welcome to this event on bringing everyone along
00:14 and driving an inclusive COVID recovery in Africa.
00:18 Now,
00:18 today's webinar is brought to us by Social Inclusion at the World Bank
00:23 in partnership with the African Center for Economic Transformation in Ghana.
00:28 My name
00:28 is Kimhole Hill.
00:30 I'm dialing in from a warm and vibrant Johannesburg,
00:34 and I'm absolutely excited and honored to serve today as your moderator.
00:39 Now,
00:39 the purpose of today's conversation is really to help us put social inclusion
00:44 at the heart of Africa's development
00:46 while we think about the opportunities and
00:49 challenges brought forward by the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:53 We have an astute panel of experts from the World Bank,
00:57 ASE,
00:58 the African Union,
00:59 as well as Youth Africa
01:00 who will share their knowledge and insights.
01:03 I'd like to use this opportunity to invite you,
01:06 our global audience,
01:07 to engage and interact with us throughout the discussion,
01:11 either by sending us messages on the chat platform on Zoom,
01:15 or by interacting with us on social media.
01:18 And the official hashtag that we are using today
01:20 is hashtaginclusiveAfrica.
01:24 Now,
01:24 without wasting any more time,
01:26 I am going to launch us into the first part of the event
01:30 by calling up our first two speakers
01:32 who are really going to lay the ground for today's conversation.
01:36 It gives me great pleasure to welcome Mr.
01:38 Simeon Eui.
01:40 is the World Bank's regional director for sustainable development in Africa,
01:45 as well as Mavis Owusuyi,
01:48 who is the executive vice president
01:51 at the African Center
01:52 for Economic Transformation.
01:54 Mr.
01:54 Egu,
01:55 the floor is.
02:00 Thank you,
02:00 Dimple.
02:01 I hope uh you hear me well.
02:05 Good afternoon to um
02:07 Colleagues in Africa
02:10 Good morning
02:11 to colleagues in DC and welcome to all.
02:15 I am
02:16 really pleased to
02:18 Open this timely conversation.
02:21 And,
02:21 uh,
02:22 on how we can bring everyone along in Africa and to be actually part
02:28 of,
02:28 uh,
02:29 this,
02:29 uh,
02:29 stellar panel.
02:32 social inclusion in Africa
02:35 was central.
02:37 To the World Bank's mission to end poverty
02:40 and boost shared prosperity even before the pandemics.
02:45 Our,
02:45 uh,
02:46 environmental and social framework
02:48 commits,
02:49 it commits us to taking our engagement with inclusion to the next level.
02:55 It integrates transparency,
02:57 non-discrimination,
02:59 public participation,
03:00 and
03:01 accountability systematically
03:04 throughout
03:05 our portfolio.
03:08 We have a regional.
03:11 IDA International Development Association subwind
03:14 for refugees
03:16 and host communities that provides dedicated funding
03:20 to help
03:21 low-income countries host
03:23 large numbers of refugees.
03:28 Through
03:29 our
03:31 engagement,
03:32 we promote women's economic empowerment,
03:35 closing gaps in access to
03:38 education
03:39 and maternal health,
03:41 and supporting ownership
03:43 and control of productive assets such as land
03:46 and housing,
03:48 and access to finance
03:50 and technology.
03:53 We have numerous projects
03:56 with an explicit focus on gender-based violence,
03:59 including the Great Lakes region,
04:01 where we are supporting the provision of services
04:04 to mitigate the impact of sexual and gender-based violence
04:08 in Burundi,
04:10 the DRC,
04:10 and Rwanda.
04:13 In 2018,
04:14 as an example,
04:15 the World Bank made 10
04:18 commitments
04:19 to accelerate global action
04:22 for disability inclusive
04:24 development in several sectors
04:26 and has made
04:27 progress in that regard.
04:30 Today,
04:32 The question of how
04:35 We can get
04:36 to an inclusive recovery in Africa
04:39 is more important
04:42 than ever.
04:44 The real question to us now is,
04:46 what have we at the World Bank been doing
04:50 to foster an inclusive
04:52 recovery?
04:54 Since the start of the pandemic.
04:57 Exactly
04:58 a year ago in March
05:00 2020.
05:03 The World Bank has made
05:05 Nearly
05:07 $12 billion US dollars available across Africa
05:11 to help countries respond
05:12 to COVID-19 crisis.
05:17 We are combining financing.
05:20 Global expertise.
05:22 And in country experiences.
05:25 Across sectors to build greater resilience to future health emergencies.
05:30 We are expanding
05:32 food and cash transfers.
05:35 In Rwanda and The Gambia through the Global Partnership for Education.
05:40 We are supporting the delivery
05:43 of remote learning
05:45 to students with disabilities.
05:48 Some of our uh
05:49 uh CSOs,
05:52 civil society organization partners.
05:54 are working to support
05:56 the emerging economic and employment needs
06:00 of people with disabilities,
06:02 including
06:02 virtual skills training.
06:06 A,
06:06 a few months before
06:07 the pandemic started,
06:09 we launched
06:10 a regional flagship report titled Inclusion
06:14 Matters in Africa,
06:15 and the authors are on this panel.
06:18 One key lesson of the report was that there is a reason for optimism.
06:25 Africa has seen
06:28 significant progress towards social inclusion in the past few decades.
06:32 In many areas,
06:33 uh,
06:33 moving faster than the global average.
06:37 These areas include health,
06:39 education,
06:40 jobs,
06:41 digital technology,
06:42 uh,
06:42 food security,
06:44 and private sector involvement
06:46 in development.
06:48 The pandemic now is creating new problems,
06:50 of course,
06:52 and there is a real danger that some of this progress
06:55 may stall
06:56 or even be reversed.
06:59 But at the same time,
07:00 the pandemic
07:01 is catalyzing social
07:03 change in many areas.
07:06 Last but not least,
07:08 inclusion matters in Africa emphasize that policies and programs
07:11 can make a difference for inclusion
07:14 from changing
07:15 uh discriminatory social norms
07:17 to creating an inclusive legal
07:19 and institutional development.
07:23 I look forward
07:24 to hearing
07:25 from the panelists
07:27 about where
07:29 they see the greatest opportunities
07:31 for us to leverage innovation
07:33 and partnerships between governments,
07:35 civil society,
07:36 and the international community.
07:39 With this,
07:40 I have great pleasure
07:41 in passing the mic to
07:43 my sister,
07:45 Mavis.
07:47 Thank you.
07:50 Thank you very much,
07:52 my dear brother,
07:53 Simeon.
07:54 It's a great pleasure to be sharing
07:57 this platform with you and our esteemed panelists today.
08:02 So,
08:02 let me begin by maybe sharing why I think this topic is so important as
08:09 Africa is thinking through its policies of
08:13 rebounding and building back better.
08:16 Pre-COVID,
08:17 GDP growth on the continent was very high.
08:20 It was excellent,
08:21 but there were also high levels of inequity.
08:24 With an average Gini coefficient of 0.43,
08:28 Africa,
08:29 despite the growth,
08:31 was still one of the world's most unequal regions.
08:34 And according to the World Bank,
08:36 seven of the world's 10 most unequal countries
08:39 are in the continent.
08:42 The increasing concentration of extreme poverty in sub-Saharan,
08:47 sub-Saharan Africa is also of concern.
08:50 So a lot of the estimates that we are seeing on the
08:54 the last decade to the SDGs is
08:57 um
08:58 anticipating that the world's poorest people are expected to be
09:02 concentrated in a handful of countries,
09:06 um,
09:06 and the largest numbers are expected to be to be in two countries in Africa,
09:10 Nigeria and the
09:12 Democratic Republic of Congo.
09:15 Um,
09:15 as my brother kindly earlier said,
09:18 COVID has also dealt us a rather unfair blow,
09:22 as it has the rest of the world,
09:24 and latest statistics from the bank is showing
09:27 that an additional 26 to 40 million people
09:30 on the continent are expected to be pushed into extreme poverty,
09:34 were expected to be pushed to extreme poverty during 2020.
09:38 This is coupled
09:40 with the expected regression in gains from the SDGs.
09:44 So Simeon talked about
09:45 the progress that we have seen in health,
09:47 education,
09:48 um,
09:49 etc.
09:49 Now we worry
09:51 that with the necessary lockdowns to reduce,
09:55 um,
09:55 mortality rates from COVID-19 on the continent,
09:59 once we get our new data coming through from the DHS's,
10:03 we are,
10:04 it's expected that under 5 mortality will
10:07 Go up again,
10:08 you know,
10:09 the nutrition gains we've um made
10:11 will be regressing,
10:12 maternal mortality,
10:14 access to quality education,
10:16 to name a few.
10:17 So we won't actually know
10:19 what the full impact of COVID on the continent has been
10:23 for a few more years.
10:25 Um.
10:26 And all of this is coupled unfortunately with increased levels of insecurity.
10:31 We are seeing increasing levels of
10:33 insurgency,
10:34 which means that
10:36 people who are already marginalized are being further marginalized.
10:41 Um,
10:41 and,
10:42 you know,
10:43 a lot of the data is showing that
10:47 COVID and conflict often affects the most,
10:52 uh,
10:53 vulnerable,
10:53 and they are the ones who are acutely feeling
10:56 the burden.
10:57 We've all seen the data on
10:59 the impact of women carrying additional burdens and struggling to
11:03 access basic health services for themselves and their young children.
11:06 Poor children struggling to gain access to education because they
11:09 don't have the technology to go online and learn.
11:12 Young people who are already struggling to access decent jobs
11:15 are losing the not so great jobs that they have,
11:18 and,
11:18 you know,
11:19 we haven't even seen sufficient data on what's
11:21 happening to the elderly and the disabled.
11:25 So
11:25 the challenge of data on our marginalized groups on the
11:29 continent is something that we need to work on.
11:31 It's excellent
11:32 to see the improvements on data on gender and young people,
11:36 but it remains very poor for the elderly and the disabled,
11:39 and that needs to be.
11:41 Addressed if we are going to build back a more inclusive Africa
11:46 as we rebound post the COVID.
11:49 And I just wanted to focus on disability for one second.
11:53 So,
11:53 prior to COVID,
11:55 there was already a growing gap between
11:57 people with disabilities and people without disabilities.
12:01 And for example,
12:02 in Kenya,
12:03 the gap between
12:05 a disabled person and a non-disabled person
12:08 when it comes to education is striking.
12:11 If you're a disabled person in Kenya,
12:13 you are 9.9% less likely to get enrolled in primary school.
12:18 You are
12:18 17.3% less likely to complete if you do get enrolled.
12:24 And if you do go to secondary school,
12:26 you are 15.9%
12:28 less likely to finish.
12:30 And overall,
12:31 you are 17.9% less likely to be literate,
12:35 compared to your um
12:39 Non-disabled
12:40 colleagues.
12:41 Now,
12:41 of course,
12:42 if you are female and poor,
12:43 these numbers are significantly worse.
12:46 Given the link between education and earning potential
12:49 and also the untapped resources and skills point,
12:52 we can imagine the impact this is having on GDP.
12:55 So the World Bank estimates that
12:57 South Africa loses.
12:58 Between 6.8% and 7.2% of GDP
13:02 because of the exclusion of its disabled population
13:05 from the labor market.
13:06 We can't afford to be losing money at this critical time.
13:11 So it's because of all of this that the bank's focus on social inclusion
13:15 is critical,
13:16 and
13:17 that is why we are very keen to collaborate with the bank on this work.
13:22 In asset,
13:23 our focus is on transformative growth,
13:25 and for us
13:27 transformative growth is growth with depth,
13:30 and we define it as growth
13:32 that facilitates economic diversification
13:35 and offers more employment opportunities
13:38 for its people,
13:40 growth that facilitates exports,
13:42 growth that enhances productivity.
13:44 Especially skilling Africans to enable them to access jobs.
13:48 Growth that enables us to use technology effectively
13:52 to ensure inclusiveness because we know through technology,
13:57 a lot of our excluded populations could be better included in our economies
14:01 and growth that really benefits everybody
14:04 and really contributes to human well-being.
14:07 And that's why youth employment and skills are a core
14:10 part of the work that we do at ASSET.
14:12 That's why we are ensuring that smallholder farmer voices are informing policies
14:18 in the countries we are supporting,
14:20 and that's why this year
14:22 we are putting gender equity
14:24 at the heart of economic growth policies when we are advising governments on this,
14:28 and it will be a core part
14:30 of the work we do on advising African governments on how to build back better.
14:34 But I look forward to hearing from our esteemed panel
14:38 and learning how we can further strengthen our work in ASSET going forward.
14:42 Thank you very much.
14:51 Dimple,
14:51 you're on mute,
14:52 I believe.
14:57 My apologies.
14:59 Um,
15:00 thank you very much,
15:01 Mr.
15:02 Ehu and Ms.
15:03 Owusu Nyamfi for those excellent remarks
15:05 and really helping to,
15:07 um,
15:07 set the tone for the rest of the conversation as we learn how to achieve sustainable,
15:12 resilient,
15:13 and critically,
15:14 um,
15:14 inclusive.
15:15 Recovery across the continent.
15:17 Before I go into the next part of our conversation,
15:20 which is our panel discussion,
15:22 I do need to make a correction.
15:23 We are indeed being hosted today by the World Bank in Africa.
15:28 They are our official sponsors,
15:30 um,
15:30 in partnership with the African Center for Economic Transformation.
15:34 Right now,
15:35 though,
15:35 it is time for us to get into our panel discussion.
15:39 And um I would like to welcome our panelists.
15:42 Um,
15:42 I have the incredible honor of being joined by Ms.
15:45 Maitre Das,
15:46 who is the manager of the World Bank's Urban Disaster Risk Management
15:50 for Resilience and Land Global Practice.
15:53 We're also joined by Binetta Diop,
15:56 who is the African Union Special Envoy on Women,
15:59 Peace and Security.
16:01 And last but certainly not least,
16:03 we're joined by Ndidi Nwaneli,
16:05 and she is the founder of the NPO Leap Africa.
16:08 Thank you
16:09 so much for joining us today and for contributing and
16:12 adding your voices um to such an important conversation.
16:15 But I'm just going to start
16:17 um with you,
16:18 Maitrey.
16:18 We already heard in
16:20 the opening remarks that although Africa has made significant stride,
16:24 especially um in the area of jobs and education and gender equity,
16:28 there are some threats due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
16:31 So,
16:32 I'm gonna ask you to set the scene for us and explain
16:35 why does inclusion matter for Africa's recovery.
16:39 Thank you so much,
16:40 Dimpo,
16:40 and uh
16:41 real honor to be here amongst this uh very august panel.
16:46 Um,
16:46 let me start by saying that,
16:49 I mean,
16:49 the term inclusion or the term inclusive,
16:52 uh,
16:52 as a,
16:52 as an adjective
16:53 has become somewhat of a,
16:55 somewhat of a catchphrase.
16:56 So you're hearing this a lot,
16:59 and it seems to signify almost any good welfare outcome.
17:02 And it's not the case now.
17:04 It's not the case only in the post,
17:06 in the context of the COVID recovery.
17:08 It's the case,
17:09 you know,
17:09 across the board ever since,
17:11 uh,
17:11 the term inclusion has gained currency in the development discourse.
17:15 Um,
17:16 I think it's really important for us in the context of building back after COVID or
17:20 even during COVID to be able to tease out what this really means for us.
17:24 And,
17:25 and we get asked a lot,
17:26 you know,
17:27 how do we measure it?
17:28 Um,
17:28 what do we,
17:29 how do we,
17:29 how do we do inclusion,
17:31 if,
17:31 if you will?
17:32 And my answer to,
17:34 to them is always,
17:35 tell me what you mean by inclusion,
17:37 and then we take that conversation further.
17:40 So to be able to tease out what does an inclusive recovery really mean.
17:44 for whom
17:45 and the flip side of that is,
17:47 what are we afraid of?
17:49 What are,
17:49 what's at risk here?
17:51 Who's at risk here?
17:53 So what are the,
17:54 what are the kinds of people,
17:55 what are the kinds of groups
17:57 that are at risk of being left behind in the course of the recovery?
18:01 And already
18:03 my,
18:04 the opening remarks from Mavis and from and from Simeon
18:07 highlighted the fact that it is a range of different,
18:10 different actors.
18:11 It could be.
18:12 Persons with disabilities,
18:14 it could be ethnic minorities,
18:15 it could be pastoralists,
18:16 it could be,
18:18 you know,
18:19 women of different types,
18:22 and it could be,
18:23 it certainly are
18:25 persons who are poor or households that are poor,
18:27 but it's not just about poverty,
18:29 and that's the point that I also wanted to make as a second one
18:32 in terms of what an inclusive recovery may mean.
18:35 There could be pockets of non-poor persons,
18:39 non.
18:39 Poor households that are at risk of being left behind
18:42 and I often give the example of a woman
18:46 with a disability that lives in a high rise building
18:49 and is unable to have a serious mobility constraint,
18:54 so she may not be affected by poverty,
18:56 she may not be affected by inequality,
18:58 but she's certainly affected by the risk of
19:01 exclusion from different kinds of recovery measures.
19:06 Uh,
19:06 whether it's,
19:07 it's uh,
19:08 it's augmenting her skills or it's,
19:10 or
19:11 her employment,
19:12 her business,
19:13 any of those things,
19:14 she is particularly affected as compared to other,
19:17 other people in her building or in her household or in her
19:22 overall,
19:22 uh,
19:23 social network.
19:24 So I think that these are the,
19:25 these are the kinds of granularities that we probably need to be
19:29 very cognizant of to be able to understand what does inclusion.
19:33 And I'm,
19:34 I'm going to close my remarks by,
19:37 uh,
19:37 talking
19:38 very briefly about this,
19:40 about this book that we,
19:41 uh,
19:41 that we released,
19:42 uh,
19:43 uh,
19:43 just before COVID hit us,
19:45 and that was in,
19:46 in,
19:46 um,
19:47 in 2019,
19:48 end of 2019.
19:50 And,
19:50 uh,
19:51 Mavis,
19:51 you,
19:52 uh,
19:52 pointed out the fact that it's really important
19:55 for us to have data.
19:56 It's really important for us to have analysis.
19:59 And we consider inclusion matters in Africa to be an ex ante analysis
20:04 that sets the stage,
20:05 that sets the bar for us
20:07 in order to be able to refer back to see who's at risk of being excluded,
20:11 and it's this kind of an ex ante analysis based at that point
20:15 on existing data
20:17 that we put in place that is.
20:19 To our mind gives a bit of a foundation to be able to do,
20:24 take the next steps,
20:25 and
20:26 the other thing that this,
20:27 this report does is to be able to show
20:29 the incredible innovations that are taking place in African countries
20:34 every single day,
20:35 which is why I don't want to think about persons or groups that are excluded as being
20:40 necessarily vulnerable.
20:41 Sure they're vulnerable.
20:42 In many ways,
20:43 but they are also agents of change,
20:45 and I think it's this agency that we need to be
20:48 able to build on and to be able to learn from.
20:51 So
20:52 there isn't
20:53 Africa,
20:53 of course,
20:54 is unique,
20:55 but there are many other countries that are in the same
20:57 boat and to be able to learn from African innovations,
21:02 to be able to learn from the digital,
21:04 digital,
21:05 digital.
21:06 Technology to be able to learn from
21:08 the social enterprises,
21:10 the,
21:11 the
21:12 energy that is
21:13 coming
21:13 out of the youth in Africa.
21:15 I think it's really important to be able to
21:17 harness all of that towards that inclusive recovery.
21:20 So inclusive recovery is both an outcome,
21:22 but it's also a process.
21:24 So,
21:24 um,
21:25 let me stop there,
21:26 Dimpo.
21:26 Thank you very much and happy to come back if there's time later.
21:31 Thank you so much for that,
21:32 um,
21:33 Maitrey.
21:33 I am going to,
21:35 um,
21:35 invite our next speaker on the panel,
21:37 Ms.
21:37 Binetta Diop.
21:38 Um,
21:39 I'm going to be a little unfair here,
21:40 and I think I'm going to pose two
21:42 questions
21:43 in one.
21:44 We've heard about,
21:45 um,
21:46 how multilayeral inclusion,
21:48 um,
21:48 can be,
21:48 and I want to focus now on the issue of women.
21:52 Um,
21:52 Mike mentioned the inclusion.
21:53 Matches in Africa report that was released just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
21:57 And my question to you,
21:59 or my two questions to you are,
22:01 um,
22:02 how has the pandemic,
22:03 I guess,
22:03 kind of threatened the progress that has been made in the area of gender equity?
22:08 And my second question then is,
22:10 um,
22:10 what are we doing to ensure that women
22:13 and girls are being empowered during this time?
22:17 Um,
22:17 thank you very much,
22:18 um,
22:19 Madam Moderator.
22:20 You allowed me to,
22:21 and I'm sure with the two questions,
22:23 you give me more time.
22:25 Uh,
22:25 let me thank the World Bank and ASSEC for organizing this,
22:29 uh,
22:29 inclusive recovery.
22:31 Um,
22:32 you know,
22:32 I think I was looking at the inclusion matters in Africa.
22:37 Uh,
22:37 the report of the,
22:38 the World Bank,
22:39 and I was,
22:40 uh,
22:41 just looking at,
22:42 uh,
22:43 that Africa was making significant step in various aspects on gender equality.
22:48 And then COVID came in,
22:51 and,
22:51 uh,
22:52 we saw that there was,
22:53 uh,
22:54 um,
22:54 you know,
22:55 uh,
22:56 impact on the population and impact uh
22:59 on the women,
23:00 uh,
23:00 uh,
23:01 we We
23:02 know that in the African Union,
23:04 one,
23:05 what we have done was that to make parity principle in all organ
23:10 as to be implemented,
23:12 and,
23:12 uh,
23:13 it trickled down in countries like Rwanda,
23:16 Senegal.
23:17 Many countries
23:18 were really doing well when it comes to representation.
23:21 But,
23:21 uh,
23:22 the pandemic had numerous secondary
23:25 impact that affect women.
23:27 And I think uh maybe Saint Simon have alluded to the,
23:30 to them.
23:31 Let me give a few example again,
23:33 just to,
23:34 uh,
23:34 add on what has been said on education.
23:37 Um,
23:37 when I look at one of the reports made by World Vision,
23:41 we say 1 million girls,
23:43 uh,
23:44 you know,
23:44 may be blocked for returning to school
23:47 due to pregnancy during,
23:48 uh,
23:48 COVID-19,
23:49 uh,
23:50 school closure.
23:51 So what needs to be done to bring them back to school?
23:54 Uh,
23:54 the sexual and gender-based violence,
23:57 we call it the silence pandemic.
24:00 Uh,
24:00 when I look at another report which has been done by
24:03 Women Deliver,
24:05 51%,
24:06 uh,
24:07 in,
24:07 uh,
24:08 refugee camps and in conflict zone
24:11 experience sexual violence due to lockdown
24:14 and economic stress.
24:15 So you could see,
24:17 uh,
24:17 the impact even on the job and income generation.
24:21 Uh,
24:21 it has been said that 90% of women employed in Africa,
24:25 work in the informal sector,
24:27 and then know
24:29 social protection,
24:30 that the loss in this lockdown
24:32 will also
24:34 impact on the livelihood of family and communities.
24:37 So,
24:38 now to respond to your question,
24:40 of course,
24:41 uh,
24:41 uh,
24:42 the African Union started because it's,
24:44 as especially
24:45 Well we need to see what policy have been put in place by the AU under the leadership
24:51 of President Ramaphosa was to put
24:53 uh COVID-19 Respond Fund is one of it,
24:58 um,
24:59 another platform.
25:00 And we started by ministers of foreign affairs,
25:04 ministers of gender,
25:06 to see if we can adopt a gender responsive response to COVID-19.
25:11 To enable our member states
25:13 to integrate this strategy into their policy.
25:16 Either it is on testing
25:18 or other,
25:19 it is uh
25:20 uh uh on vaccine
25:23 um as well.
25:24 So,
25:24 um,
25:25 but also to recommend that we need to do,
25:28 as it has been also said before,
25:30 the right diagnostic,
25:32 gender analysis,
25:34 and collective gender.
25:35 Gender desegregated data,
25:37 um,
25:37 I think that was necessary to deliver
25:40 the better response.
25:41 So let me stop in,
25:43 uh,
25:43 uh,
25:44 you know,
25:44 highlight one
25:45 good model,
25:46 uh,
25:47 which have been developed by Economic Commission for Africa,
25:50 which we call the 3R.
25:52 But within the 3R,
25:53 how do we integrate,
25:55 uh,
25:55 gender within the,
25:56 it's,
25:57 uh,
25:57 response,
25:58 recovery,
25:59 and reset?
26:01 There is one
26:02 Um,
26:03 right now,
26:04 I think half of the countries have received the COVAXx,
26:08 um,
26:08 you know,
26:09 vaccine,
26:10 and,
26:10 uh,
26:10 and then the COVAX,
26:12 COVID-19 vaccine,
26:13 and the COVAX and the AU platform.
26:16 So we need to prioritize
26:18 the health workers
26:20 who have been at the front,
26:21 and you know,
26:22 the women are the majority
26:24 of the health workers
26:26 in our countries.
26:27 So how do we make sure that they should be
26:30 the first one
26:31 to be uh
26:32 To receive the vaccine.
26:34 I am glad to say that when I saw
26:36 in Ethiopia and South Africa,
26:38 that women were the first
26:40 to be uh um exposed to be,
26:43 um,
26:43 you know,
26:44 uh,
26:44 to receive the vaccine,
26:46 I think other countries have to do the same thing.
26:48 In the recovery program,
26:50 we are also advocating to,
26:53 for
26:54 children to return back to school
26:56 by putting some incentive
26:59 to bring back girls to school.
27:01 And it must be
27:02 Really a priority,
27:04 using digital,
27:05 but also other incentive
27:07 uh to make sure,
27:08 because education
27:10 is number one,
27:11 but education
27:12 is started,
27:13 but also without education,
27:15 um,
27:16 I think we will not,
27:17 uh,
27:18 uh,
27:18 uh,
27:19 build back better.
27:20 In the research program
27:22 as well,
27:22 we are looking on
27:24 how the African Union have adopted a lot of,
27:27 uh,
27:27 instrument,
27:28 legal instrument,
27:29 Maputo Protocol,
27:30 solemn declaration.
27:32 It's time to implement action
27:35 and action.
27:36 I think that's what we are looking
27:39 at the national level
27:40 as well.
27:41 But we need to
27:43 also work on a new convention
27:45 that address uh
27:47 uh gender-based
27:48 violence.
27:49 I think COVID have revealed,
27:51 not just in Africa,
27:52 but the whole world,
27:53 that something needs to be done
27:56 to um uh uh to look into the injustice
27:59 and to make sure that uh
28:01 we fight against impunity,
28:04 um,
28:04 in all ways.
28:06 So,
28:06 uh,
28:07 COVID-19 has demonstrated that,
28:09 uh,
28:10 another example,
28:11 I want to say,
28:12 women leadership matter.
28:15 It's not just about their participation,
28:17 but for women to lead.
28:19 Um,
28:19 you could see what happened in Liberia during the is a good example for Ebola,
28:25 having a woman head of state.
28:27 But we can see the same thing right now
28:30 when you look at the COVID,
28:32 especially in the first place,
28:34 you know,
28:35 um,
28:35 that's why at the,
28:36 at the African level,
28:37 we are
28:38 pushing,
28:39 uh,
28:40 with the African Women Leaders Network,
28:42 with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and other
28:44 women leaders
28:45 to make sure that we look into the policies,
28:48 look into the program
28:51 for women to be at the right place at the right moment
28:54 for the recovery program.
28:57 So now your,
28:58 uh,
28:59 second question,
29:00 which says that,
29:01 uh,
29:01 uh,
29:02 you know,
29:02 how do we make sure that we seize this opportunity to invest?
29:06 And I'm sure that my other colleague will come into it,
29:10 uh,
29:11 it,
29:11 to look into the global food system,
29:14 which have been very fragile,
29:16 but we have seen that,
29:17 uh,
29:18 uh,
29:19 COVID-19 is
29:21 estimated to add 83 to 132 million people to hunger.
29:27 So,
29:27 uh,
29:27 and we know that women are the majority in the
29:30 whole value chain,
29:31 the supply chain and value chain
29:33 of,
29:33 uh,
29:34 agriculture.
29:35 So investment in women in agribusiness
29:38 should be,
29:39 and I'm sure Nindi will talk about it.
29:41 It has to be,
29:42 it's a,
29:43 A cost-effective pathway
29:46 for achieving inclusive growth
29:48 and,
29:48 uh,
29:49 growth-based growth and sustainable
29:51 uh development.
29:53 The issue of land,
29:54 we have seen that,
29:55 uh,
29:56 and,
29:56 and finance,
29:57 land and finance in this.
29:59 In Africa,
30:00 um,
30:00 African countries.
30:02 have signed the CADEP and CADDEP have committed to allocate 10%
30:07 of national budget to agriculture.
30:09 It's time for action.
30:11 It's time
30:12 for implementation.
30:13 The Malabo Declaration also
30:16 commit to 30% to create jobs
30:18 for the young people.
30:21 Why not applying those 30%?
30:23 It's time that we reset.
30:25 It's a time to make sure that
30:28 what we preach
30:29 is what,
30:30 uh,
30:30 we are also implementing.
30:33 So supporting women in the value chain and supply chain
30:36 of agribusiness from farm to fork
30:39 should be one of the
30:41 priority,
30:42 um,
30:43 um,
30:43 as well.
30:44 Another areas of Intervention,
30:47 uh,
30:47 for us is the,
30:48 uh,
30:49 the,
30:49 the financial inclusion of women.
30:51 You know that,
30:52 uh,
30:53 the African Union have proclaimed this coming decade,
30:57 2020 to 2030,
30:59 uh,
30:59 the,
31:00 uh,
31:00 women's empowerment,
31:02 but as well as uh financial inclusion
31:05 of women.
31:06 So,
31:06 women entrepreneur,
31:07 and we need to facilitate access
31:10 as access.
31:11 To finance,
31:12 and there are many funds.
31:13 I know that the fund that the World Bank,
31:16 which have been called WiFI,
31:17 the fund of the ADB AAA,
31:20 the fund of the ECA UN,
31:22 uh,
31:23 which is Women Leaders Fund that,
31:25 uh,
31:25 we have put in place.
31:27 But also some solution that we can leapfrog.
31:30 For example,
31:31 uh,
31:31 uh,
31:31 public procurement countries like Kenya
31:35 for women entrepreneurs.
31:37 So how do we make sure that those uh
31:39 uh solution that women have put in place,
31:43 that we can accelerate their
31:45 implementation?
31:46 And that's where I see
31:48 asset and World Bank
31:50 coming together hand in hand,
31:52 uh,
31:53 bringing,
31:53 uh,
31:53 making sure that we have a platform,
31:56 uh,
31:56 with private and,
31:58 um,
31:58 uh,
31:58 public partners,
32:00 but civil society.
32:01 And Women's Association,
32:03 Women in agribusiness,
32:05 but women and the cooperative
32:08 to make sure that we all contribute,
32:10 not only to
32:11 achieve sustainable and resilient system,
32:14 but better coordination of effort
32:17 and better impact.
32:18 And I know that the
32:20 UN Secretary-General is convening,
32:22 um,
32:23 uh,
32:23 this year,
32:24 uh,
32:25 a summit.
32:26 On the food system,
32:27 and maybe we will have the mechanism,
32:30 the right mechanism,
32:32 uh,
32:32 that will allow,
32:34 uh,
32:34 the women
32:35 to be more,
32:36 uh,
32:36 um,
32:37 contributing more,
32:38 but also being an agent for change
32:41 into the food system
32:42 as well.
32:43 So I stop there
32:44 and,
32:45 uh,
32:45 be open to,
32:46 um,
32:47 uh,
32:47 more questions
32:48 if necessary.
32:49 Thank you.
32:52 Thank you very much,
32:53 um,
32:53 Ms.
32:54 Diop.
32:54 Um,
32:55 so it's response,
32:56 recovery,
32:57 and reset.
32:58 Invest in women as well as,
33:00 uh,
33:00 women leadership matters.
33:03 Now,
33:03 we've spoken about people living with disabilities.
33:06 We've spoken about women and the gender implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
33:11 I now want us to talk to another,
33:14 um,
33:14 often,
33:14 uh,
33:15 forgotten.
33:15 Group,
33:16 which is um young people.
33:17 And I'm going to call
33:19 in our third panelist,
33:20 um,
33:20 Ndidi Nwaneli,
33:21 who is the founder of,
33:23 of,
33:23 of Leap Africa.
33:25 And Ndidi,
33:25 in your experience and in doing your work,
33:28 how are young people,
33:29 um,
33:30 shaping Africa's recovery?
33:31 And I think even more importantly,
33:33 are,
33:34 are they being listened to by decision and policymakers,
33:37 um,
33:37 in this process of,
33:38 of recovery?
33:41 Thank you very much.
33:42 It's great to be here and thanks to ASE and the World Bank for convening this.
33:46 It's always difficult to speak after Auntie
33:50 Binta.
33:51 She's covered so much of my ground and she's an activist,
33:54 not just for women but for young people.
33:57 So thank you,
33:58 Madam Bina,
33:59 for those excellent words.
34:01 So I'll pick up where she left off.
34:03 Definitely.
34:03 COVID-19 has affected young people across Africa.
34:07 We've seen
34:08 that before COVID-19,
34:10 1 out of every 5
34:11 young Africans was unemployed
34:14 and a greater percentage were underemployed.
34:17 Some statistics say between 50 to 70% who are employed are underemployed,
34:22 which means they're not fully utilized
34:24 in the current roles that they play.
34:27 So,
34:27 what COVID-19 has done is actually
34:29 exacerbated these challenges around youth unemployment.
34:34 We've seen young people being the first to be displaced,
34:38 um,
34:38 or,
34:38 or laid off from their jobs.
34:40 It's not
34:41 unique.
34:42 To Africa,
34:43 it's a global phenomenon,
34:45 first in,
34:46 first out.
34:47 Last in,
34:47 sorry,
34:48 first out.
34:49 We've seen this across the board in the US,
34:51 in Europe,
34:52 in Asia,
34:52 and Africa hasn't been exempt.
34:54 Um,
34:55 typically,
34:56 it's very
34:58 easy for corporates
34:59 to lay off the people who are either on contract
35:03 or who have just been recently hired,
35:06 um,
35:06 and they feel,
35:07 uh,
35:07 less of an attachment to them.
35:10 So young people are,
35:11 have been affected in unprecedented ways.
35:13 Mavis talked about
35:14 the disruptions in the educational system
35:17 and how COVID-19 has highlighted
35:20 the huge
35:21 Technology,
35:22 and ICT divide that exists between those who
35:25 have and have not on the African continent.
35:27 So we've seen universities,
35:29 uh,
35:29 you know,
35:30 closed down or shut down,
35:31 and this virtual learning really affects people.
35:34 My parents happen to be
35:35 professors
35:37 in their late 70s and they're still teaching,
35:39 and my mother always laughs that,
35:41 you know,
35:41 only 1
35:42 student dials in on Zoom.
35:44 Because they just can't afford the data,
35:46 they don't have electricity.
35:48 So you assume that,
35:49 you know,
35:50 because the children from,
35:52 you know,
35:52 medium to higher-income homes have access to electricity and data
35:57 that everybody does.
35:58 So,
35:59 this COVID-19 has actually disrupted and set back
36:01 many of our university students and secondary school
36:04 students by 6 months to 8 months,
36:06 and they're gonna have to catch up.
36:08 Um,
36:08 and then the third thing is clearly,
36:11 The economic disruptions have also affected households,
36:14 and the investment in their children
36:17 um has also
36:18 been an issue.
36:19 And so we've seen this in,
36:21 especially in,
36:21 in the Sahel and in northern Nigeria,
36:23 we've seen rising crime rates.
36:25 Typically,
36:26 it's the young people who are recruited
36:28 by many,
36:29 many,
36:30 um,
36:30 forces.
36:31 Many times these forces are
36:34 Unfortunately,
36:34 negative forces and in our country,
36:36 in particular,
36:37 it's been terrorist organizations recruiting many of
36:39 these young people to become kidnappers.
36:42 So there's been negative impacts,
36:44 but they've also been very positive trends
36:47 in this COVID-19.
36:48 What we've seen is an explosion of technology
36:51 and young people driving this explosion
36:54 in the entrepreneurial context.
36:56 I'm sure many of you celebrated with us last week when Flutter wave.
37:00 was able to raise $170 million.
37:03 And it's,
37:03 you know,
37:04 it's valued at a billion dollars.
37:06 And Fossil Wave was started by young Nigerians in 2014.
37:10 It's now a billion-dollar company employing hundreds and hundreds of Africans
37:14 with
37:15 uh
37:16 operations and activity in 20 African countries.
37:19 And FossilWave is not an anomaly.
37:20 I spent the last year
37:22 writing a book called Food Entrepreneurs in Africa,
37:24 Scaling Bresilient.
37:25 Agricultural businesses and also launching NourishingAfrica.com.
37:29 And through these two activities,
37:30 I've seen how many young people have been able to raise Series A,
37:33 Series B,
37:34 um,
37:35 funding.
37:36 Cobalt 360 is another one,
37:38 lorries,
37:39 another one,
37:39 and they're all being run by young Africans,
37:42 Tuga,
37:43 and even in the Nigerian context,
37:45 Paystack,
37:45 etc.
37:46 So we're seeing young people driving technology,
37:49 leapfrogging,
37:50 and leveraging it.
37:51 Innovation,
37:52 um,
37:52 and creating jobs and creating wealth.
37:55 Uh,
37:55 so my
37:56 mandate as an,
37:57 as an entrepreneur,
37:58 as,
37:58 as someone who works with young people is to say,
38:01 how can we help these
38:02 entrepreneurs scale.
38:03 Uh,
38:04 young people are brilliant,
38:05 they're energetic,
38:06 they're dynamic,
38:07 and they need to be engaged in a meaningful way.
38:09 They need
38:10 access to financing that's catalytic,
38:12 that's patient,
38:13 and we're seeing an emergence of accelerators and incubators across Africa.
38:17 We're also seeing
38:19 emergence of angel networks,
38:20 which is really exciting.
38:22 And through my work with Africa Philanthropy Forum,
38:24 we're also seeing a growing number of African philanthropists who
38:27 are willing to invest in entrepreneurs through impact investing.
38:31 So that's positive.
38:32 Uh,
38:33 we're also starting to see
38:35 a lot more enterprise development.
38:37 organizations emerge
38:38 and um governments embracing the need
38:41 to create business development support systems
38:44 for young people.
38:46 Now,
38:46 for assets and World Bank,
38:48 there are two areas that I think there's
38:49 a lot of opportunity for growth and development.
38:53 One is around data.
38:55 We need
38:56 Regional,
38:57 but we also need country-specific and even within countries,
39:00 we need disaggregated data on what our young people are doing
39:03 and where they're working.
39:05 Um,
39:05 and this unemployment figures,
39:07 we shouldn't always be dependent on the ILOs of the
39:10 world to tell us what's happening in our own backyard.
39:12 So we need to strengthen the capacity of
39:14 our own national governments and organizations to collect
39:17 data because it helps us to sift out where there's vulnerability
39:20 and who to support and how to support them.
39:23 The second area where we need a lot of support is around
39:27 this seat at the table,
39:28 which you talked about agency and voice.
39:30 I have to say that most of our countries are still not doing a good job.
39:34 Um,
39:34 Nigerians just voted this,
39:36 uh,
39:37 new policy around it's not too,
39:39 you're not too young to run.
39:41 We had to adjust
39:42 and push for an adjustment on,
39:44 on the age requirements to run for office in our country.
39:47 In many African countries,
39:49 we still have an overwhelming number of
39:51 Aged,
39:52 uh,
39:53 presidents,
39:53 I'll,
39:54 I'll,
39:54 I'll be very,
39:55 uh,
39:55 honest,
39:56 who,
39:56 um,
39:57 don't have the energy to really push the change we need.
40:00 So in every African country,
40:02 there has to be a quota for qualified and capable young people
40:06 to
40:06 run for office,
40:08 but to also be appointed into leadership posts.
40:10 At the barest minimum,
40:11 I would love to see data on the.
40:13 Average age of our ministers of youth
40:15 across Africa.
40:16 Um,
40:16 that would challenge us to say,
40:18 if you're a minister of youth,
40:19 you have to be under 30,
40:21 and there are qualified young people who should be there.
40:23 40-year-olds and 50-year-olds should not be ministers of youth in Africa.
40:27 It's unacceptable in this day and age.
40:29 So that's just one data point I'd love to see somebody collecting.
40:32 I'd love to see people collecting the average.
40:34 age of ministers
40:36 and governors across our entire continent and ensuring that policy is shaped
40:41 to
40:42 give
40:43 young people a seat at the table
40:45 because if we don't,
40:46 they're gonna demand it and oftentimes it's,
40:48 you know,
40:49 we see crackdowns when young people demand their rightful place.
40:53 And then the final point is around security.
40:56 You know,
40:57 data is critical for security and we actually are not seeing enough data
41:01 on the impact of insecurity on African countries on economic development.
41:06 And this data will be very,
41:07 very useful to create a sense of urgency
41:10 around the transformation we require.
41:12 And the final thing I'll say is through nourishing Africa,
41:14 which we launched last year,
41:15 we've seen the importance of connecting
41:17 young entrepreneurs across the continent.
41:19 For,
41:20 for networking,
41:21 for trade,
41:22 for partnerships,
41:24 and we really need more platforms that connect our young people,
41:27 not just in the food and agricultural landscape,
41:29 but every single sector.
41:31 And I would love to see
41:32 how ASSED and the World Bank can support
41:34 the emergence of more holistic and continental-wide hubs
41:39 that are virtual,
41:40 leveraging innovation and technology.
41:42 So I'll stop here,
41:43 uh,
41:43 but great to connect with you all.
41:46 Thank you so much,
41:47 Ndidi.
41:48 I think for highlighting
41:49 um the uh technology and the innovation um that
41:53 young people are charging forward with on the continent.
41:56 And I think also mentioning,
41:57 you know,
41:58 the need
41:58 um for support for the
42:16 Depo,
42:16 I think we lost your connection.
42:18 Um,
42:19 let,
42:19 let me see if we can refresh.
42:22 One moment.
43:03 OK,
43:03 I think we're just trying to reconnect Depo.
43:05 So,
43:06 um,
43:06 as we
43:08 reconnect her,
43:09 um,
43:10 I see that audience has already started to
43:13 send questions,
43:14 which is fantastic.
43:15 That's great.
43:16 And,
43:16 um,
43:17 while we're waiting for her to reconnect,
43:19 I wonder if I could direct this question to you,
43:22 Ms.
43:22 Nindi,
43:23 about,
43:24 um,
43:24 how do we see a reset towards ensuring
43:27 the continued improvement of primary and secondary education.
43:31 Um,
43:32 um,
43:32 given that more children are,
43:34 um,
43:34 completing with higher literacy,
43:36 um,
43:37 so if,
43:37 if you could,
43:38 um,
43:38 answer that question while we're waiting for the reconnection,
43:41 that would be great.
43:42 Thank you very much.
43:44 Uh,
43:44 so LA works in 6 African countries,
43:47 and what we realized through our work over the last 19 years
43:50 is the importance of secondary education.
43:53 Uh,
43:54 secondary education has long been neglected,
43:56 but you might not be aware that
43:58 only 1/3 of African children who complete primary
44:02 education actually go on to secondary education.
44:05 Um,
44:05 so there's high attrition between primary and secondary education.
44:09 So LA has made and is making a big
44:11 bet on secondary education by investing in teachers.
44:15 I really believe that we have to transform the way our teachers
44:18 teach and how they offer
44:20 curriculum.
44:21 I believe we teach our teachers to
44:24 Ensure
44:25 employability skills are passed on,
44:27 entrepreneurial skills,
44:28 and life and leadership skills.
44:30 And a key component of our curriculum is ethics training,
44:34 integrity education,
44:35 communications,
44:36 budgeting,
44:38 uh,
44:38 creativity,
44:40 uh,
44:40 time management.
44:41 These practical life and leadership skills
44:43 that enhance your employability potential,
44:46 but also
44:47 enable you to become a more effective entrepreneur.
44:50 And we're not seeing enough of this transformation across Africa.
44:53 We need to revamp our curriculum.
44:55 The amazing thing about life and leadership skills is that
44:58 you don't have to be in a full world classroom
45:01 to pass on life and leadership skills.
45:03 And I think we have to be innovative about how we offer
45:07 uh curriculum development and how we engage
45:10 existing organizations to support us.
45:12 And I have two very practical ideas.
45:15 The first is that across Africa,
45:17 there are churches and mosques that are in every single community,
45:20 every single district,
45:22 um,
45:22 and during the week,
45:23 they're empty.
45:25 Many of them have great sound systems.
45:28 They actually have toilets,
45:30 um,
45:30 and they have assets
45:31 that are underutilized.
45:33 I would like to see a greater partnership between our healthcare,
45:37 uh,
45:37 education infrastructure to leverage faith-based
45:40 organizations to scale rapidly.
45:42 We have seen this in many,
45:44 many other parts of the world,
45:45 but we're not seeing this
45:46 as
45:47 urgently as required on the African continent.
45:50 More
45:50 partnerships with faith-based organizations to scale
45:53 interventions in education and interventions in health.
45:57 Using these assets.
45:58 We also need to
46:00 partner across the board and what LEAP does is that in every country we work in,
46:05 we work with NGOs.
46:06 I don't see enough partnerships between
46:08 governments and NGOs to scale interventions.
46:11 Well,
46:11 we're not just looking at teachers
46:13 as
46:14 individuals who have gone through a formal process and have a certificate,
46:17 but we're also engaging youth workers,
46:20 we're,
46:20 we're engaging community groups and NGOs to enable.
46:23 Enable us to scale and support the transfer of
46:26 life and leadership skills to our young people.
46:28 And then we're working with a lot of vocational institutions
46:31 to bring in the literacy component.
46:33 Every church and mall should have an adult literacy program
46:36 and a youth literacy program,
46:38 and every single NGO should be enlisted
46:40 as a support system
46:42 to scale the interventions required to educate our young people.
46:46 I also see the opportunity to leverage shared infrastructure.
46:50 And through uh Rockefeller Foundation's work,
46:53 they're actual also addressing the energy poverty
46:56 in Africa,
46:57 ensuring that we have mini grids,
46:58 which will create
47:00 um ecosystems of support and transformation in many of our rural communities.
47:04 So I'm optimistic that if we change our
47:06 mindset and start looking at more partnership models,
47:08 we'll be able to bring in new innovation and scale quickly
47:12 to address the education
47:14 and skills gap in our communities.
47:22 Thank you so much for,
47:24 for that excellent answer.
47:25 Um,
47:25 I'm just going to,
47:27 uh,
47:27 step in for a moderator,
47:28 um,
47:29 who seems to be having a little bit of connection issues,
47:32 um,
47:32 but as she's reconnecting,
47:33 I'm going to just
47:34 thank everybody for using the,
47:36 um,
47:37 chat function,
47:38 uh,
47:38 the Q&A function for your questions.
47:40 We have another question.
47:41 I'm gonna post it to both the World Bank and I'm gonna post it also to our partners
47:45 at asset
47:46 in terms of,
47:47 um,
47:47 Uh,
47:48 if they could from the different perspectives,
47:50 I'm going to call on,
47:51 um,
47:51 uh,
47:52 Mitra first about what are the financial requirements to obtain a loan
47:56 to manufacture
47:58 products,
47:58 um,
47:59 and,
47:59 and that,
48:00 and,
48:00 and Mitra can give the context in which
48:02 the World Bank engages in that particular area.
48:04 And then,
48:05 um,
48:05 I'm also gonna turn to,
48:06 um,
48:07 Ms.
48:07 Mavis with the same question,
48:08 um,
48:09 from,
48:09 from the asset point of view,
48:11 the financial requirements to obtain a loan to manufacture products
48:14 and hopefully we'll have Depo one soon.
48:16 So,
48:17 over to you.
48:19 Thank you so much,
48:19 Ui,
48:20 um,
48:20 and I'm going to talk in more general terms on,
48:23 on the kinds of requirements that are,
48:25 that are,
48:26 uh,
48:26 needed for to take a loan for manufacturing purposes.
48:30 First of all,
48:30 it's collateral.
48:32 So,
48:32 uh,
48:32 to be able to take a loan,
48:34 you need to be able to put something down,
48:35 and that's across the board,
48:37 but that is what actually hinders
48:40 several
48:41 small entrepreneurs,
48:43 um,
48:43 to be able to access credit facilities.
48:46 So that's,
48:46 that's one real,
48:48 real bottleneck.
48:49 The second bottleneck is just the paperwork.
48:51 A lot of the,
48:53 a lot of the
48:54 entrepreneurs,
48:55 especially first-time entrepreneurs that are starting out
48:58 trying to set up small businesses,
49:00 don't have the identity requirements,
49:03 don't have the paperwork.
49:04 They are unable to complete everything to be able to
49:08 get to the next step of actually securing that loan.
49:12 And a third aspect is of course the supply of credit.
49:16 Very often,
49:17 especially in countries that have a squeeze on credit,
49:20 there is
49:22 a lack of
49:24 availability of money.
49:25 And so
49:26 there are only those people that are in the know
49:30 and have the collateral and are
49:32 serial entrepreneurs that are able to probably access that.
49:37 Um,
49:38 finally,
49:38 and I'm sure there are many other,
49:40 other constraints and other requirements that,
49:43 uh,
49:44 that people need to be able to access,
49:46 uh,
49:46 access loans.
49:47 Um,
49:48 the final thing is just,
49:49 just the,
49:49 the know-how,
49:50 just the,
49:51 just the information.
49:53 A lot of times people don't have the information
49:56 to be able to know where to go,
49:59 how to apply,
50:01 whom to talk to,
50:03 what are ways in which
50:05 credit and other facilities
50:08 come together
50:09 in order to set up an entrepreneurial venture.
50:13 In this regard,
50:14 in particular for female entrepreneurs,
50:17 there's a real bottleneck,
50:18 a real capacity.
50:19 Constrained,
50:21 a real constraint,
50:21 not just capacity,
50:22 a real constraint.
50:23 So I do want to highlight a new,
50:27 a new World Bank report that has just come out.
50:29 It's called Women,
50:30 Business and the Law,
50:31 and Women Business and the Law actually
50:34 gives you the list of barriers or constraints or requirements
50:39 for women to actually set up their own businesses.
50:42 So I would very much urge people to download that document.
50:46 The new 2021 version is just out,
50:50 and it has a wealth of information in terms of the legal barriers
50:55 and the legal requirements that constrain women or enable women to be able to
51:00 set up,
51:01 set up businesses,
51:02 but also to be able to
51:04 be mobile and
51:06 go about their daily lives in a productive
51:10 manner in the in the manner that they would choose to do
51:13 so women.
51:13 Business of the law for sure is something that I would,
51:16 I would urge people to take a look at.
51:19 So in terms of the constraints to taking loans,
51:22 I mean there are,
51:23 there are,
51:24 it's also very country specific.
51:26 So
51:27 what I spoke about was more generic,
51:29 that across the board these are the kinds of constraints that often occur,
51:33 but specific countries,
51:35 specific areas,
51:36 specific financial institutions
51:38 have got their own requirements.
51:40 And
51:41 that varies not just by country,
51:42 but it varies by setting as well.
51:45 So,
51:46 um,
51:46 we,
51:47 over back to you just,
51:49 um,
51:49 just one final point in terms of where the bank comes in.
51:53 We have a very large financial sector program.
51:56 And,
51:57 uh,
51:57 we do two kinds of things.
51:58 One is to,
51:59 uh,
51:59 to,
52:00 to intervene on the sides of,
52:01 on the side of the financial institutions
52:04 to be able to enable them to,
52:05 to,
52:06 um,
52:06 give loans.
52:07 It's called,
52:08 it comes under the broad category of financial inclusion.
52:11 But then they also are smaller work and this is even our community
52:16 development community driven development work actually looks
52:19 at the demand side of loans.
52:20 So getting
52:21 women or other groups together to be able to access loans,
52:26 to be able to access credit
52:28 as a group and not just as Individuals and the power of the group is of course
52:33 it's been,
52:34 uh,
52:34 you know,
52:34 savings and credit groups,
52:35 uh,
52:36 Roscas,
52:36 etc.
52:37 have had a lot of positive,
52:40 um,
52:40 uh,
52:41 a lot of positive outcomes in terms of accessing loans
52:44 for those that otherwise wouldn't have access to these credit facilities.
52:49 Uh,
52:49 we'll be back to you.
52:55 Great,
52:56 thank you so much,
52:56 and Depo is back on,
52:58 um,
52:59 with us,
52:59 so I'm gonna put the spotlight back into her.
53:01 We only actually have 2 minutes left for the Q&A,
53:04 and I can see in the chat that we have
53:06 several questions,
53:07 but I'm gonna let Ndipo go ahead and ask the last question
53:09 so that we can get to our closing remarks with this Court.
53:12 Thank you.
53:15 Thank you very much,
53:16 Ui,
53:16 and thank you for um taking over
53:19 while I dealt with some of my connection challenges.
53:23 Apologies for that.
53:25 Um,
53:25 this question
53:26 is
53:28 to Miss Mavis.
53:29 And
53:29 the second Panelists talked about several funds being available.
53:33 The problem is enabling women to access these funds.
53:36 How can ASET as well as the World Bank enable countries
53:40 to build capacity
53:41 um of institutions in order to help women access funds?
53:46 OK,
53:47 thank you very much,
53:48 Dimpo.
53:48 So,
53:49 um,
53:49 very quickly,
53:50 um,
53:51 a couple of things.
53:51 I think Maita outlined some of the fundamental issues around
53:57 the challenges of gaining access to finance,
53:59 um,
54:00 for excluded groups,
54:03 um,
54:03 within society.
54:05 But just to build on it,
54:06 I think there are a couple of things that I think Asset and the bank could do more of,
54:09 and we are,
54:10 I know both organizations are doing.
54:13 The first one is helping
54:15 female businesses access business development services.
54:20 And this is really important because when you go and borrow money,
54:25 you need to make sure that your books are robust.
54:27 You need to make sure that
54:29 your governance systems are structured.
54:31 You need to make sure you have a clear business plan.
54:33 There are some really basic systems
54:36 that businesses,
54:37 uh,
54:38 most entrepreneurs don't actually think of because
54:41 the
54:41 Ideal entrepreneur is out there doing.
54:44 Unfortunately,
54:44 when you go and see a bank manager to borrow money,
54:47 the bank manager needs some basic systems in place
54:50 to ensure that your risks,
54:51 you are a worthy borrower.
54:53 So that's one of the things,
54:54 really getting access to good business development services
54:57 and paying for it.
55:00 It's
55:01 worth
55:02 it.
55:03 The second thing is looking at your risk profile.
55:07 So,
55:08 Mara talked about,
55:09 you know,
55:09 the importance of risk profile can be managed
55:12 so that you are not paying over and above the odds on interest rates.
55:16 Most
55:17 women pay higher interest rates because they are seen as riskier borrowers.
55:21 And then the final thing I would say was
55:23 to really
55:24 For financial institutions,
55:25 the bank and asset can do more with financial institutions
55:29 to really think through the financial products that they are providing
55:34 and flex.
55:35 I might have talked about some of the things that
55:37 have been done around SME financing for SUU groups,
55:40 etc.
55:41 There are other products that we can innovate.
55:45 Around how Africa does business,
55:47 so we don't necessarily have to think somebody is risky because they don't meet
55:51 the European structure or the American structure of low risk.
55:56 That's it.
55:58 Thank you so much um for that,
55:59 Mavis,
56:00 and I think highlighting
56:01 the importance of also supporting entrepreneurship in the African context,
56:05 um,
56:06 and also in informal,
56:07 informal markets.
56:08 We are now going to go into the last um part
56:13 of today's conversation.
56:14 Thank you.
56:15 If you are on,
56:16 on watching
56:17 us,
56:17 um,
56:17 from whichever part of the world.
56:18 Thank you to our global audience
56:20 for staying with us,
56:21 um,
56:21 up until this part of the conversation.
56:24 For now,
56:24 I am going to invite Ms.
56:26 Louise Cord,
56:27 who is the Global Director of Social sustainability
56:30 and inclusion at the World Bank,
56:32 who's going to,
56:33 um,
56:33 conclude the conversation for us.
56:41 Thank you so much,
56:42 Dimpo,
56:42 and for what a remarkable conversation this discussion has been,
56:46 and I'd really like to extend my thanks to Mavis
56:49 and our friends at the Africa Center for Economic Transformation,
56:52 my colleagues in Africa who made this event possible.
56:56 It's been absolutely
56:58 transformational to use a word that's been said.
57:01 As pointed out by many of you,
57:02 today's,
57:03 it's time now for focusing on an inclusive recovery in Africa.
57:07 The last year hasn't been easy for many of us,
57:10 or any of us,
57:11 I should say.
57:12 And across Africa,
57:13 the virus has disrupted everyday life for many vulnerable groups,
57:17 disabled,
57:17 the youth,
57:18 gender and sexual minorities,
57:20 migrants and refugees,
57:21 indigenous communities,
57:23 and now we're grappling with many new poor,
57:26 particularly in urban areas.
57:27 As we start to rebuild communities that have been worst hit by COVID,
57:31 I think we all are agreeing
57:33 that now is the time to focus on an inclusive recovery,
57:37 and I really enjoyed today's discussions which
57:39 highlighted several concrete investments we can make.
57:42 Simeon and Mavis gave us some very compelling reasons
57:46 why this matters.
57:47 Benita,
57:48 I appreciated the gender lens you brought to the discussion.
57:51 We pay such a high cost when women are economically excluded.
57:55 In over 140 countries,
57:57 if women could have the same lifetime earnings as men,
58:01 we would increase an average of $25,000 per person,
58:05 global wealth.
58:07 Similarly,
58:08 Nitti,
58:08 you brought a unique look
58:09 at the impact that COVID has had
58:12 among youth on the ground,
58:13 highlighting very concrete interventions that can be made,
58:16 but I also really appreciate that you highlighted some of the positive things
58:19 that have emerged from the pandemic.
58:22 So,
58:22 I'd like to thank all of you for the positive,
58:24 forward-looking solutions that
58:26 you have taken
58:27 and for your engagement in this area.
58:30 In the past,
58:31 during times of crisis such as now,
58:33 we've often put a strong emphasis,
58:35 and rightfully so,
58:36 on economic sustainability,
58:38 and now we're also talking much more than ever before.
58:40 Again,
58:41 rightfully so,
58:42 on the importance of climate change
58:44 and environmental sustainability as we start to build back better.
58:48 But now,
58:49 with the growing awareness of the unequal impact of pandemics and the
58:52 rising inequality that we saw throughout the world even prior to COVID,
58:56 there's increasing emphasis on social sustainability,
59:00 and the social sustainability and inclusion global practice at
59:03 the World Bank is actually prioritizing social inclusion and sustainability
59:08 and how we work with clients towards an inclusive recovery.
59:11 We do so in three ways,
59:13 by building and creating and supporting more inclusive societies
59:17 that close gaps.
59:18 Apps and access to critical services and markets,
59:21 enhancing the empowerment and voice of citizens
59:23 and building social accountability mechanisms between government
59:27 and citizens,
59:28 and by fostering more peaceful,
59:29 resilient,
59:30 and socially cohesive societies that are able to act together and be more resilient
59:35 to external shocks.
59:38 What does this mean though in practical terms?
59:40 And I'd like to really focus on one instrument in particular that
59:43 I think touches all three of these dimensions in interesting ways.
59:46 It's what we call community-driven development
59:48 that empowers communities to be the architects of their own solutions.
59:52 At the same time,
59:54 works to build social cohesion across
59:56 the community using participatory approaches,
59:59 building on the community's own values,
1:00:01 which is something really important to touch upon the point
1:00:04 of,
1:00:04 um,
1:00:06 Norms and values that was also mentioned.
1:00:08 And CDD can improve community services
1:00:12 by providing support for health services,
1:00:15 for education,
1:00:16 for water and sanitation.
1:00:19 And I'd like to say also,
1:00:20 my vision is that CDD
1:00:22 also builds smart villages,
1:00:24 brings increased digital energy and water supply
1:00:28 to communities that are in marginal and excluded areas or in urban slums.
1:00:33 Those services will free up the time of women,
1:00:35 which we've talked about so much as a driver of this inclusive recovery.
1:00:39 And will also allow women to connect from one community to another,
1:00:43 build up leadership values,
1:00:45 enhance their access to the internet,
1:00:48 provide also easier access to financial inclusion,
1:00:51 something we've heard about.
1:00:52 So,
1:00:52 the power of digital stress by,
1:00:54 I think,
1:00:54 um,
1:00:55 many of you today,
1:00:57 well and particularly needy,
1:00:58 is something that the CDD instrument can do
1:01:01 even more going forward
1:01:03 to help drive a more productive and inclusive
1:01:06 and sustainable recovery.
1:01:10 But clearly,
1:01:11 there is much more to be done.
1:01:12 The bank is doing these types of investments.
1:01:14 We have lots of examples across Africa of CDDs that are currently working,
1:01:18 currently engaging with women.
1:01:19 A good example is in the Horn of Africa,
1:01:22 where during COVID,
1:01:23 we've provided support for women to
1:01:25 build,
1:01:26 make masks,
1:01:27 to have access to information about the
1:01:29 pandemic and to improve their productive activities.
1:01:32 But as we go forward to address this challenge of inclusion in the 21st century,
1:01:37 we need to keep coming together to explore solutions
1:01:40 like the one I mentioned around smart villages,
1:01:43 and like to address some of the challenges that you've laid out today
1:01:46 in expanding access to financial inclusion
1:01:49 and to women's leadership across the continent.
1:01:52 So,
1:01:52 this work requires strong partnerships like the one we have with ASSET
1:01:56 to think through these difficult challenges of what
1:01:59 does it mean to create an inclusive recovery.
1:02:01 I am encouraged what we heard today and hope that the conversation just is a start,
1:02:06 not an end.
1:02:08 Thank you again to our friends in ACRA,
1:02:10 to our esteemed panel,
1:02:12 and to those of you who have tuned in from around the world,
1:02:15 and thanks to our moderator,
1:02:16 Dimpho.
1:02:17 Again,
1:02:18 thanks for your engagement in this important panel
1:02:20 on this critical subject as we go forward.
1:02:24 Uh thank you very
1:02:26 Thank you very much,
1:02:27 Louise,
1:02:27 um,
1:02:28 for concluding the conversation,
1:02:30 um,
1:02:30 for us.
1:02:31 Now,
1:02:31 I do want to just talk to our global audience who
1:02:35 have been sending in questions and comments on social media,
1:02:39 as well as here on Zoom.
1:02:41 Um,
1:02:41 we have run out of time,
1:02:42 but those questions will be collected and engaged with at a later stage.
1:02:47 And that,
1:02:47 ladies and gentlemen,
1:02:49 brings us to the end of today's conversation.
1:02:51 I know that we have given you a lot to think about
1:02:54 and an understanding of the importance of bringing everyone along
1:02:59 and really prioritizing a socially inclusive recovery.
1:03:03 Thank you to our speakers,
1:03:05 to ACET,
1:03:06 to the World Bank Africa region,
1:03:08 but,
1:03:08 um,
1:03:08 from myself,
1:03:09 Dimpholegou in Johannesburg,
1:03:11 it's been an absolute pleasure to host you,
1:03:13 Yabon.
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