By Izabella Koziell, Program Director, CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)



If you’re of a certain age, Ethiopia may still invoke images of its devastating mid-1980s famine that gripped people around the world – including celebrities. But the once impoverished country has redefined itself in just over a generation.



It is now Africa’s fastest-growing economy, and this week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in resolving the country’s two-decade-long conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.



But these bright prospects come with risks. It is a country that is still struggling with communal conflict. And the peace-building process with Eritrea is seen by some as stalled.



This political backdrop of hope and risk mirrors Ethiopia’s future in two other equally critical spheres: feeding its people and protecting its environment. A quickly growing population means more people to feed, and the land and water resources it relies on to grow food are struggling to cope under intensive cultivation, rapid urbanisation and the impacts of climate change.



If Ethiopia does not act quickly to protect and conserve its natural resources, it may struggle to continue its path of progress.



Ethiopia is highly dependent on agriculture, accounting for at least 40 per cent of its economy and employing some three-quarters of the workforce.



And despite decades of investments into restoring Ethiopia’s land, over 85 per cent is still either moderately or severely degraded, meaning its capacity to produce nutritious and bountiful food is hampered.



At the same time, alternating cycles of floods and droughts are making food production more difficult, and are only likely to worsen under climate change. Getting Ethiopia’s agriculture right has never been more challenging, or essential.



One way to do this is to turn changing climatic conditions into advantages. It is no longer enough just to be resilient to climate change; Ethiopians must convert these challenges to their own benefit.



Pastoralists in the lowlands of Afar, for instance, are now harnessing worsening floods to create new sources of irrigation in areas once inhospitable to crops and livestock grazing. By spreading flood water across land near seasonal streams, new areas of land were now enriched enough to support high value crops. Combined with better data and improved farming practices, the area saw major increases in crop and forage yields.



Likewise, in the highlands of Northern Ethiopia, severe erosion and prolonged droughts converged to create a situation where food, water and soil nutrients were scarce, undermining the subsistence and livelihoods of local communities.



But agricultural researchers from the global consortium CGIAR, along with local experts, supported communities to terrace the steep land, change grazing practices, target fertilizers more effectively and introduce new crops. This mix of techniques reduces soil erosion and turns degraded land back into productive plots, helping to meet mounting food demand.



These kinds of integrated approaches are delivering real results across Ethiopia and so should be expanded to help the country nourish both its people and land.



One way to ensure these big steps are taken is by incorporating the best knowledge and tools into existing programmes, including improved access to climate-smart technologies, such as high tech soil analysis or state-of-the-art seeds. To do this, they must be available to Ethiopia’s smallholder farmers at an affordable cost.



For example, tax cuts or innovative financing can expand the use of technologies such as solar-powered irrigation, helping encourage the transition to cleaner energy whilst boosting farmer productivity.



The Commission on Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture, which brings together renowned scientists, policy-makers, business-leaders, farmer organisations and more, has echoed this call. It aims to provide a roadmap to ensure farmers in Ethiopia and across the Global South can access – and help improve – these innovations.



Building long-term resilience against food shortages must start by safeguarding Ethiopia’s food, water and land resources. Failing to act could exacerbate the already high levels of hunger and place new strains on the Ethiopian government.



And with the global stage looking to Ethiopia and the Nobel Peace Prize as a beacon of hope in troubling times, the country can seize the moment to strengthen its leadership in protecting food security for years to come.

Op-Ed: Ethiopia has a Nobel Prize and a roaring economy. Can it also gain a food secure future?

<h1 class="legacy">Kenya&#8217;s tax on digital trade and services: what&#8217;s known and not known</h1>

 <figure>
 <img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305134/original/file-20191204-70101-8jehr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&#038;q=45&#038;auto=format&#038;w=754&#038;fit=clip" />
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 Digital traders will not escape taxation.
 Create Jobs 51/Shutterstock
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 </figure>

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mercy-muendo-331635">Mercy Muendo</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/daystar-university-3209">Daystar University</a>

Kenya will start levying new tax on digital markets <a href="https://www.rsm.global/kenya/insights/tax-insights/kenya-finance-act-2019">under a new law</a> signed by the president early in November. The Finance Act seeks to broaden the Income Tax Act net to include income accruing through a digital market place. The law <a href="http://www.kpda.or.ke/documents/Policies/Finance%20Bill%202019.pdf">defines</a> the digital marketplace as

<blockquote>
a platform that enables direct interactions between buyers and sellers of goods and services through electronic means
</blockquote>

In addition, a similar change has been made to the <a href="http://www.kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/AmendmentActs/2019/FinanceAct_No23of2019.PDF">VAT Act</a> making digital market services subject to value-added tax.

It’s not clear yet who will be affected – or how the tax will be imposed. The treasury still has to issue new guidelines on how the tax will be implemented. But it appears that potential targets include online taxi-hailing platforms. If experiences elsewhere are anything to go by, Kenya’s move to tax online commerce could put it on a collision path with Western governments and multinationals. One of the market leaders – Uber – has already <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Uber-seeks-clarity-on-taxing-online-firms/4003102-5256592-kdrbuyz/index.html">warned</a> the government that such a move could result in trade wars and retaliatory tax actions by the US.

<h2>Taking on giants</h2>

Like France and India before it, Kenya is trying to get its cut of every digital transaction within its territory. The argument is that it is only fair to <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/Uber--Bolt-owners-and-drivers-face-KRA-tax-bills/4003102-5233472-154si91z/index.html">tap into the revenue</a> accrued from the digital economy taking place within their territory. Companies registered elsewhere and operating in their territory earn income from the same but do not pay taxes, the argument goes.

But this is easier said than done. In 2016 India <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/google-facebook-twitter-may-be-affected-framework-to-tax-big-tech-companies-being-finalised/articleshow/70458378.cms?utm_source=twitter_app&amp;amp;utm_medium=social&amp;amp;utm_campaign=socialsharebuttons">imposed digital taxes</a> on technology companies involved in digital advertising. In 2018 the country introduced a provision requiring companies to pay tax on domestic income accrued from a digital platform. The provision requires non-resident big tech companies to pay direct taxes on domestically earned income.

In retaliation, the US conducted an inquiry and capped the number of <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-immigration/trump-administration-to-propose-major-changes-in-h-1b-visas/articleshow/66269711.cms?from=mdr">Indian foreign workers</a>. The move was detrimental to India.

Earlier this year France imposed a digital tax on big tech multinational companies. It required them <a href="https://home.kpmg/us/en/home/insights/2019/07/tnf-france-digital-services-tax-enacted.html">to pay a 3% tax</a> on total annual revenue generated . This sparked <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/03/nato-trump-europe-trade-war-digital-tax-google/">a trade war with the US</a> which saw this as double taxation of its companies and their partners. But two months later, the two countries agreed on a <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/26/us-and-france-reach-a-compromise-on-frances-tax-on-tech-giants/">compromise</a>. France said it <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/11/20690253/france-digital-services-tax-google-facebook-tech-companies">would tax big tech companies</a> but scrap the tax as soon as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development comes up with a way to properly tax tech companies. And it agreed to refund any over-payments that might occur in the meantime.

<h2>OECD’s proposed model</h2>

The OECD is an <a href="http://www.oecd.org/">intergovernmental economic organisation</a>, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. Countries use its model convention on taxation as a template for allocating taxation rights between them. 

The model allocates the primary right to tax to the country from which capital originates (the home, or resident country) rather than the country in which the investment is made (the host, or source country). 

Challenges arise when two or more countries claim rights to tax a party – what’s known as double taxation. The OECD has tried to get states to agree on a harmonised form of tax and processes in the case of cross border transactions. Its convention addresses double taxation – but not conclusively. And when e-commerce took root, new challenges arose, including jurisdiction issues, conflict of laws among nations and double taxation. 

On top of this, easy loopholes developed that helped in tax evasion especially by companies dealing with intangible goods and services.

The OECD agreement proposed the concept of significant economic presence. This states that a non-resident is liable to tax in the country of sales even if the taxpayer has no fixed place of business within the geographic boundary of the country of sales. 

In the case of the European Union tax kicks in if:

<ul>
<li>The non-resident exceeds €7 million in annual revenues from digital services in a European Union member state, and </li>
<li>it has more than 100,000 users who access its digital services in a member state in a tax year, or </li>
<li>it enters into more than 3,000 business contracts for digital services in a member state in a tax year. </li>
</ul>

The other proposal is described as an “interim” 3% digital services tax on gross revenues derived from activities in which users are deemed to play a major role in value creation.

<h2>Jurisdiction challenges</h2>

The United States exercises personal and territorial jurisdiction which can be termed as the <a href="https://www.usa.gov/taxes">legal power and authority</a> by a state to impose a tax. 

The US relies on the OECD model law requirements to exercise jurisdiction on a tax subject that has physical offices within a region. If the company is not incorporated – or has no physical office – the government gains territorial jurisdiction by establishing substantial minimum contracts with the state. Minimum contacts include systematic and continuous action within the state. Such action results in a large volume of interstate business, in the course of which subject received benefits and protection of the <a href="https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-int-l-shoe-co-v-washington">laws of the state</a>.

India’s rules on jurisdiction are similar. It claims to acquire authority over a subject through territorial and personal jurisdiction. It introduced a digital tax known as a<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/google-and-other-digital-service-providers-generate-over-rs-560-cr-in-equalisation-levy/articleshow/63933584.cms?from=mdr">n equalisation levy in 2016</a>. This imposed a levy on any business to business transactions, including the digital advertising transactions famously known as the Google tax.

It has also introduced another digital tax similar to the OECD proposed model. And it has released guidelines on what constitutes a significant economic presence similar to the OECD’s proposals. It used this law to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/itat-gives-partial-reprieve-to-uber-in-tax-demand-case/articleshow/66155341.cms?from=mdr">sue</a> Uber for failure to comply with the taxation law.

Kenya might trigger a trade war with the US if it goes ahead and imposes a digital tax. But it would be complying with the international guidelines proposed by the OECD. 

In my view it should come up with guidelines that bring about clarity on exactly who and what is been targeted.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127366/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mercy-muendo-331635">Mercy Muendo</a>, Lecturer, Information Technology and the Law, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/daystar-university-3209">Daystar University</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/kenyas-tax-on-digital-trade-and-services-whats-known-and-not-known-127366">original article</a>.

What you need to know about Kenya’s tax on digital trade and services

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/cat-clifford/">Catherine Clifford</a> 



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/">Elon Musk</a> is running electric vehicle company <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=TSLA">Tesla</a>, aerospace company SpaceX and tunneling venture The Boring Company.



He’s even been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/elon-musk-talks-to-gayle-king-about-meeting-tesla-goals.html" class="">sleeping at the Tesla factory</a>&nbsp;to ensure ramped up production of his Model 3 electric car.



The CEO has a lot going on.



As it turns out, Musk has some ruthless productivity tricks, and he shared them&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/17/elon-musk-internal-email-6000-model-3s-per-week-by-june.html" class="">in a letter to Tesla employees</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday.



Here are Musk’s six tips:



1. Nix big meetings



“Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get [out] of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short.”



2. Ditch frequent meetings too



“Also get rid of frequent meetings, unless you are dealing with an extremely urgent matter. Meeting frequency should drop rapidly once the urgent matter is resolved.”



3. Leave a meeting if you’re not contributing



“Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.”



4. Drop jargon



“Don’t use acronyms or nonsense words for objects, software or processes at Tesla. In general, anything that requires an explanation inhibits communication. We don’t want people to have to memorize a glossary just to function at Tesla.”



5. Communicate directly, irrespective of hierarchy



“Communication should travel via the shortest path necessary to get the job done, not through the ‘chain of command’. Any manager who attempts to enforce chain of command communication will soon find themselves working elsewhere. “A major source of issues is poor communication between depts. The way to solve this is allow free flow of information between all levels. If, in order to get something done between depts, an individual contributor has to talk to their manager, who talks to a director, who talks to a VP, who talks to another VP, who talks to a director, who talks to a manager, who talks to someone doing the actual work, then super dumb things will happen. It must be ok for people to talk directly and just make the right thing happen.”



6. Follow logic, not rules



“In general, always pick common sense as your guide. If following a ‘company rule’ is obviously ridiculous in a particular situation, such that it would make for a great Dilbert cartoon, then the rule should change.”



The email, obtained by <a class="" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://electrek.co/2018/04/17/tesla-model-3-production-goal-6000-units-per-week/#disqus_thread" target="_blank">electric vehicle website Electrek</a> and <a class="" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://jalopnik.com/tesla-switching-to-24-7-shifts-to-push-for-6-000-model-1825335216" target="_blank">car news and opinion site Jalopnik</a>, also explained to employees that Tesla would be halting production for several days to upgrade equipment with the goal of <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/17/elon-musk-internal-email-6000-model-3s-per-week-by-june.html">producing 6,000 Model 3 cars per week by the end of June</a>. Its authenticity was <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/id/105138447">confirmed by CNBC</a>.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/elon-musks-productivity-rules-according-to-tesla-email.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/elon-musks-productivity-rules-according-to-tesla-email.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Elon Musk: I am not Warren Buffett’s biggest fan

Billionaire Elon Musk: I am not Warren Buffett’s biggest fan. gettyimages-1155740300-594×594

Billionaire Elon Musk’s 6 productivity rules, including walk out of meetings that waste your time

KIGALI (Reuters) &#8211; Qatar Airways has agreed to take a 60% stake in a new $1.3 billion international airport in Rwanda, the state-run Rwanda Development Board said on Twitter on Monday.



The board said a first phase of construction would provide facilities for 7 million passengers a year in the Bugesera district, about 25 km south east of the capital Kigali. A second phase, expected to be completed by 2032, would double capacity to 14 million passengers a year.



The country’s infrastructure minister Claver Gatete told a news conference that a construction company was still being sought to build the airport, and that once work starts, the first phase would take five years to complete.



Qatar Airways declined to immediately comment outside of normal business hours.



The plans for the new airport are a modification of those drawn up in 2017 for a smaller facility with a maximum capacity of 4.5 million passengers a year in the same location.



Company and government officials said at the time that Rwanda had signed a deal with the African division of Portuguese construction firm Mota-Engil to build an international airport at a cost of $818 million.



Gatete said the investment from Qatar Airways would enable it to build the larger airport.



“We are looking for a bigger sized airport. That’s why we are looking for a bigger investor,” he said.



Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani is currently visiting Kigali for the presentation of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence (ACE) Award.



Gatete said there was also a possibility that Qatar Airways would help state-run carrier RwandAir to expand, but gave no more details.



Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyinana; Additional reporting by Eric Knecht; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

gettyimages-78144533-594×594

Qatar Airways to take 60% stake in this East African country’s new international airport

Press Release



We regret and sincerely apologise that stage 4 loadshedding will move to Stage 6 loadshedding as from 18:00 today, as a result of a shortage of capacity. This follows a technical problem at Medupi Power Station impacting additional generation supply. The heavy rains has caused coal handling and operational problems at several power stations.



We remind and assure customers that loadshedding at Stage 6 is no cause for alarm as the system is being effectively controlled. Stage 6, requires 6000MW to be rotationally loadshed.



Eskom&#8217;s emergency response command centre and technical teams will be working through the night to restore units as soon as possible. Eskom is working closely large industry to assist with further load curtailment.



Loadshedding is a responsible act and highly controlled process, implemented to protect the country from a national blackout.



After 2015, Eskom and the municipalities identified the need to extend the loadshedding stages up to stage 8 and the national code (NRS048-9 Ed 2) was subsequently updated.



Even beyond these schedules, the System Operator will reduce demand in a manner that is controlled.



Stage 6 loadshedding schedules are available on the Eskom website.



Eskom will keep you updated.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="669" height="960" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-351888" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image.jpg 669w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image-209x300.jpg 209w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image-293x420.jpg 293w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px" /></figure>

#LoadShedding: South Africa’s Eskom moves power cuts to Stage 6

KAMPALA (Reuters) &#8211; Uganda central bank held its key lending rate at 9.0% on Monday, its governor said, adding that economic activity was moderating.



Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile told a news conference that a combination of slowing global economic activity and domestic factors like falling tourism and export earnings in the first 10 months of this year were expected to contribute to slowing economic performance.



Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by George Obulutsa

Uganda central bank holds its key lending rate at 9.0%

HARARE, Dec 3 (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe&#8217;s former leader Robert Mugabe, who died in September, left $10 million and some properties in the capital, but no will naming his beneficiaries, details of his estate published by state-owned newspaper the Herald showed on Tuesday.



Zimbabweans have speculated for years about the extent of Mugabe&#8217;s wealth, with many assuming that he and his family amassed a vast fortune during his 37 years in power.



Mugabe&#8217;s daughter Bona Chikowore wrote in October to the Master of the High Court seeking to register her father&#8217;s estate, the Herald reported. It listed assets including $10 million held in a local bank, four houses in Harare, 10 cars, one farm, his rural home and an orchard.



One of the properties is the palatial home known as Blue Roof in an upmarket suburb of the capital where Mugabe lived.



The list does not include several farms that he reportedly owned or a dairy business he ran with wife Grace, or any properties outside Zimbabwe.



The Herald said Mugabe&#8217;s lawyer Terrence Hussein had also asked the court to register the estate, saying he and the family had not found any will left by Zimbabwe&#8217;s founding leader.



Under Zimbabwean laws, the estate of a person who dies without a will is distributed between their spouse and children.



&#8220;Thus far, we have not been able to locate a will, but have sent out enquiries to other law firms, although the family members are not aware of any,&#8221; Hussein wrote in a letter to the High Court that was quoted by the Herald.



Hussein did not respond to calls and questions from Reuters for comment. Chikowore did not answer calls to her mobile phone.



A diplomatic cable from the U.S. Embassy in Harare in 2001 that was published by Wikileaks said Mugabe was rumoured to have more than $1 billion of assets in Zimbabwe and overseas but that it had no reliable information.



Social media posts showing his sons Robert Jr and Bellarmine Chatunga with bottles of expensive champagne at a Johannesburg nightclub and reports of Grace&#8217;s shopping sprees have offered tantalising glimpses of the family&#8217;s lavish spending.



A legal dispute in 2014 over a $5 million villa in Hong Kong suggested the family had been buying overseas property. The government said it owned the house.



Towards the end of his life, Mugabe complained about the size of his retirement package and said he did not have enough money to pay for the upkeep of the Blue Roof.



Mnangagwa hinted last week that the Mugabe family owned a number of farms in Zimbabwe and that the government would leave them with just one, in line with rules limiting farm ownership. 



(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Alison Williams and Catherine Evans)

gettyimages-177202645-594×594

How much money did Zimbabwe’s Mugabe leave behind?

LAGOS, Nov 30 (Reuters) &#8211; The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $210 million loan to help Nigeria upgrade its dilapidated electricity transmission and distribution network.



The loan to Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will support construction of 330KV double circuit quad transmission lines and sub-stations across the country, the bank said in a statement late on Friday.



The AfDB funded project will run across seven states and will improve the capacity of power grid where it is most constrained.



Nigeria privatised most of its power sector in 2013 but retained control of its monopoly grid, operated by TCN. Most of the country&#8217;s power generation is from thermal power stations that use gas.



The creaking power grid has often been blamed for hobbling growth in west Africa&#8217;s largest economy.



AfDB&#8217;s acting vice president for Power &amp; Energy, Wale Shonibare said implementing the project would increase evacuation from the south towards the north, where power supply is limited.



The project would also improve power export and regional power system integration to the West African Power pool, especially through Niger and Benin interconnections, he said.



The country&#8217;s power output stands at around 4,000 MW, the Nigeria Electricity System Operator has said. Total power generation capacity is about 7,000 MW but the transmission network cannot cope if plants operate at full tilt.



Nigeria&#8217;s privatized power sector typically does not use meters to provide invoices, bill collections are low and energy tariffs have remained fixed for three years.



The effect, say industry experts, is that electricity distribution companies recover so little revenue from customers that they pay less than a third of what they owe to generating companies &#8211; leaving the sector with ballooning debts. (Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha Editing by Christina Fincher)

AfDB approves $210 million loan for this West African nation’s power transmission project

<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="265" height="265" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WhatsApp-Image-2019-11-30-at-07.51.13.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-351337" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WhatsApp-Image-2019-11-30-at-07.51.13.jpeg 265w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WhatsApp-Image-2019-11-30-at-07.51.13-150x150.jpeg 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px" /></figure></div>



By Dr Hanan Morsy, Director, Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting and Research Department, African Development Bank Group. 



Despite remarkable progress made on women’s participation in policymaking, Africa is still far from achieving the 50 percent gender parity target set by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).



Between
1995 and 2018, the proportion of women in African parliaments almost tripled
from 8% to 23% but remains insufficient. Out of 11,037 African parliamentarians
as of October 2018, only 2,591 were women and out of 1,348 ministers on the
continent only 302, or 22%, were women<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>. 



The
challenges in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, will be the
focus of the Global Gender Summit to be held in Kigali, Rwanda from the 25-27
November. The Summit, hosted by the African Development Bank in partnership
with the Government of Rwanda, will spotlight innovative financing, fostering
an enabling environment and ensuring women’s participation and voices.



Mainstreaming
gender in policymaking in Africa is crucial for at least three main reasons.
First, women are the main driving labor force in most African countries, making
a vital contribution to the economy. Empirical studies, including the African
Development Bank’s own research<a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>,
have found that if women had equal access to productive resources such as land,
modern inputs, technology, or financial services, then the gender productivity
gap in agriculture of 20%-35% would almost disappear. 



This
suggests that African countries could significantly increase their production
by just closing the gender gap across economic sectors, particularly in agriculture.
Second, increasing women’s participation in policymaking has been found to lead
to higher GDP growth through increases in higher-skilled women in the labor
force and women’s employment in high-productivity sectors<a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a>. Africa
is therefore losing socio-economic opportunities by not doing enough to
encourage the voices of women. The continent cannot afford to wait any longer
to empower women. 



Gender
empowerment in policymaking can also boost women’s role as business leaders. Although
Africa boasts the world’s highest rate of women entrepreneurs (at 27%) and is the
only continent where more women than men choose to become entrepreneurs, most
female-led enterprises are small businesses, in the informal sector with little
growth prospects. 



Access
to finance is a key constraint and the Bank’s research found that women
entrepreneurs in Africa are more likely to self-select out of the credit market
due to perceived low creditworthiness compared to men<a href="#_ftn4">[4]</a>. 



By
influencing policymaking in their countries, women can help lift barriers to their
participation in labor markets which at 61% remains lower than men at 67%. 



And
to ensure that no voice remains unheard, much work needs to be done. Improving
women’s access to education is key. Better educated women are more likely to
influence policy. Despite commendable efforts, the gender gap in educational
attainment persists in most African countries, creating barriers to women’s
advancement.



For
instance, the average number of schooling years between 2010-2017 was 4.33 for
females but 5.6 for males in Africa. In many countries, the educational
disadvantage of women starts at primary school and by the time girls become
adolescents the educational gap has significantly widened.



One
solution to explore is to ensure universal access to education to all girls and
promote education parity at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Several findings
indicate that countries with greater education parity have realized higher
economic growth<a href="#_ftn5">[5]</a>.
In addition to bringing girls into school, having them complete their grades is
also important, as the drop-out rate of girls in primary education is still very
high in Africa, with a third of girls dropping out between 2010-2017. 



Second,
government efforts to support the development of women’s political competency is
particularly important in raising their participation in policymaking. Mentoring
and training programs can equip women candidates with the necessary skills to successfully
run for political office. For elected women, leadership trainings would
strengthen their influence in policymaking and advocacy. 



Third,
scaling up of programs and initiatives or implementation of laws aimed at fostering
an enabling political environment for women will ensure that women’s voices are
heard. Although many African countries have made legal provisions guaranteeing
equal rights of men and women in policymaking and have even established gender
parity in their electoral systems, only a handful have implemented these laws.



Only
Rwanda, Ethiopia and Seychelles have achieved or are close to achieving gender
parity in their ministerial cabinets. Rwanda is the only country in Africa where
women outnumber men in the parliament (61.3% as of January 1, 2019). Other
countries such as Namibia (46.2%), South Africa (42.7%), or Senegal (41.8%) have
set examples for other nations to follow in mainstreaming gender in policymaking.




In
its own operations, the African Development Bank in 2018 launched a Gender
Marker System to track gender mainstreaming in its work. It has also developed
an Africa Gender Index in partnership with the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa to measure gender parity across economic, social, and political
representation dimensions. 



With
its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, the Bank
will extend women’s access to finance through commercial banks and financial
intermediaries, provide technical assistance to women, and engage policy and
regulatory bodies to create an enabling environment for women.



With initiatives such as AFAWA, and the Global Gender Summit in Kigali, the African Development Bank is advancing the course of women and ensuring that no voice is unheard.

Op-Ed: Mainstreaming gender in African policy making: Ensuring no voice is unheard

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="540" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-1110x540.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-351333" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-1110x540.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-300x146.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-820x399.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-768x374.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-1536x747.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-696x339.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-1068x520.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB-863x420.jpg 863w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AFAWA_AfDB.jpg 1700w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /></figure>



By Angelique Kidjo



In African cultures, women play a nurturing role, they are the backbone of the continent. Yet, they face a $42 billion-dollar financing gap with over 3/4 of them being financially excluded.



This means that when it comes to lending money,
women are systematically seen as high-risk by financial institutions. In
Africa, viable guarantees often come in the form of land and properties, both
of which are rarely accessible to women. Land is, indeed, the most critical
economic resource for the vast majority of the population in rural areas who
depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Yet, throughout many African
countries, women have less access, control, and ownership of this key assets
and their land rights are less secure. This often limits women&#8217;s economic
opportunities and leaves them more vulnerable to poverty.



As a result of this systemic discrimination
against women, access to financial services disproportionately favours men. For
instance, in Africa men have 50% more global wealth than women and run more
than 86% of businesses. Local barriers are also erected in front of African
women: most of them at the continental level operate in informal sectors or
very rural areas with limited banking facilities, making easy access to finance
almost unheard of. This is a market failure that must be addressed to ensure
equal access to banking and ultimately equal rights.



The capital lost because of the financial
exclusion of women is deeply affecting our economy and most importantly, deeply
impacting our societies. When you are struggling to make ends meet, to put a
meal on the table, to raise your kids, why wouldn’t you try to go to Europe,
despite the risks and the thousands of lives lost at sea?



The AFAWA initiative is a direct response to
the challenges faced by women in Africa, and the need to unlock access to
finance. It is a major step in the right direction for women all over Africa,
but it is certainly not the end of the battle. AFAWA’s primary end
beneficiaries are African women’s enterprises across the continent, often
neglected by the traditional banking system. A more equal – and gender equal –
Africa is not just a political ideal. It will have a ripple effect on Africa’s
development and human capital. It will lay the foundations for a resilient,
prosperous and forward-looking Africa.



The goal here is to work towards eliminating
these structural and cultural barriers, creating wealth, generating growth, and
supporting female entrepreuneurship. It is surely the first of many steps
towards women’s empowerment, which will ultimately lead to economic growth
across the entire continent. But banks and governments need to act, and act
now, for women to be empowered, for these inequalities to be resolved, and for
the economy to grow.



Women in Africa are the heartbeat of the
continent, they are the agents of long lasting change. If we want to invest in
the future, we need to empower women by investing in them. 



Of course, we know that the AFAWA initiative
alone will not by itself tear down the many hurdles inhibiting women’s
abilities and opportunities. However, I believe that this initiative can
significantly shape the future of Africa.

AFAWA_AfDB

Op-Ed: How the AFAWA initiative is empowering women to propel Africa forward

Kigali, Rwanda, 25 November 2019 – African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina has called for greater access to finance for African women when he addressed the inaugural session of the Global Gender Summit.



&#8220;When women borrow, they
always repay. And 90% of them repay their loans without the least problem. So,
where is the risk? The problem is prejudice and the banks&#8217; lack of flexibility.
We must leave this behind to allow women access to financing,&#8221; President
Adesina urged.



The session headed &#8220;Unlocking women&#8217;s access
to finance in Africa&#8221; had a panel of high-level speakers,
including Salimata Diop Dieng, the Senegalese Minister of Women, Family and
Gender; Andrew Temu, President of the African Guarantee Fund; Kennedy Uzoka,
President and CEO of United Bank of Africa (UBA); Joséphine Anan-Ankomah, CEO
of Ecobank Group; and Christine Ngiriye, an entrepreneur.



Salimata Diop Deng said,
&#8220;It is important that financial institutions support initiatives from
women. They have the market gardens and produce to process. They create
start-ups in innovative areas. But they lack resources and collateral, and the
procedures for accessing loans are complicated. These women have relatively
moderate finance needs, just enough to create projects and jobs. They need
support from the private sector and the banks to help them weave their way into
the economy.&#8221;



Andrew Temu advocated
&#8220;holding discussions with countries to improve the business environment.
What is especially needed is legislation that reassures the banks. There are a
number of actors, banks, investors, entrepreneurs and clients operating within
the economic market. Everyone needs to be in communication to address the
risks.&#8221;



For Anan-Ankomah, ECOBANK is
already making big strides to gender parity. The pan-African bank has signed up
to the African Union gender parity principle of 50/50. “Currently we are at 46%
and out of that, 30% of those women are in senior management positions,” she
said.



Ngiriye said that she had seen
little change in nearly 30 years: &#8220;The problem that comes up again and
again is that of collateral.”



According to Adesina the
financial sector had a responsibility to the women of Africa. And he made an
announcement: &#8220;From now on, we shall be grading every African financial
institution for how well it helps women. Every financial ecosystem must evolve
to support women. And we are going to put pressure on the guarantee
banks.&#8221;



The African Development Bank and the government of Rwanda are hosting the Global Gender Summit from 25 to 27 November in Kigali. The Summit is being organised by the Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) Working Group on gender for the first time in Africa.



Content provided by African Development Bank

gettyimages-870006586-594×594 (1)

Global Gender Summit 2019: “Put prejudice behind us and give women access to finance” says Akinwumi Adesina

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Online retailer Jumia Technologies, often called “the Amazon of Africa,” has closed its e-commerce business in Tanzania, it said in a statement on Thursday, less than two weeks after shutting down in Cameroon.



“As part of our ongoing portfolio optimisation effort, Jumia has come to the difficult decision to cease our operations in Tanzania effective on November 27,” the company said in a statement.



Reporting by Joe Bavier; editing by Jason Neely

gettyimages-1139095842-594×594

Jumia closes e-commerce business in Tanzania two weeks after shutting down in Cameroon

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/victor-odundo-owuor-460341">Victor Odundo Owuor</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-colorado-boulder-733">University of Colorado Boulder</a>

When one talks about young Africans using smartphones, the dominant narrative is that these gadgets serve mostly as platforms for connection so that users can communicate and share greetings and information via text and images. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp and Signal take pride of place in that description, despite their <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2019/11/13/can-social-media-targetcasting-and-democracy-coexist/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=79382557">murkier side</a>. What has perhaps been overlooked is how smartphones are also affecting other facets of young people’s lives. One area is the ever-growing community of sports betting in Africa. 

The phenomenon of sports betting among African youths has taken the region by storm. Recent polls and anecdotal reports point to a grim scenario, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. A 2017 <a href="https://www.geopoll.com/blog/the-spending-habits-of-youth-consumers-in-sub-sahara-africa/">GeoPoll</a> survey found that up to 54% of sub-Saharan African youth between 17 and 35 years have engaged in sports gambling. Kenya, with 74% participation in sports betting, had by far the largest percentage of youth involvement in this activity. The survey of some 2,726 African millennials was conducted in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. 

A core driver of this trend has been the growing ubiquity of mobile telephony around the continent combined with the availability of smartphones. Added to this has been greater connectivity – including satellite access to sport matches – and a ballooning population of young people with high levels of unemployment.

In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5811642/">research</a> on the subject we see that sports betting has brought many <a href="https://theconversation.com/ugandas-ban-on-sports-betting-was-the-right-thing-to-do-110728">ills</a> to young people in sub-Saharan Africa. These include severe gambling addiction and money laundering. Some of these concerns are also experienced in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216302126?via%3Dihub">other</a> parts of the world. These include <a href="https://akademiai.com/doi/10.1556/2006.7.2018.49">smartphone addiction</a> and a closely related phenomenon: internet addiction. These ills in turn lead to heightened levels of social anxiety and loneliness among the affected population.

<h2>The drivers?</h2>

<a href="https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/assa/2018/01/22/the-boom-of-smartphones-and-social-media-in-cameroon-by-patrick-awondo/">Smartphone penetration</a> around the continent has exhibited a remarkable growth rate. Cameroon, for instance, had 72% registered users of social networks among those aged 15 to 24 in 2016. This grew to that level from 43% in the first half of that year. The most popular social networks for that community was Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Twitter. This development has come at a time when there is growing interest in sports betting &#8211; the most popular gambling option for African youth. Mobile phones are the preferred avenue for sports betting.

Of course the increasing availability of smartphones is unleashing the innovative potential of many sub-Saharan African youth. The plethora of social media platforms have the potential to change lives around the continent. Many social media adaptions are the result of the ingenuity of sub-Saharan youth, like M-Pesa, Ensbuuko and WorldRemit (financial services); ButterflyiQ, Momconnect, Usalama (health and security); Cityaps, Musanga and Twiga Foods (supply chain platforms); and Ushahidi, tajirat al-Facebook and Kano’s WhatsApp entrepreneurs (to strengthen social cohesion).

<figure class="align-center zoomable">
 <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img decoding="async" alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302894/original/file-20191121-491-1f0dnv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
 <figcaption>
 A Kenyan man checks out the Football World Cup fixtures. Matches are often screened in small viewing centres.
 Daniel Irungu/EPA
 </figcaption>
 </figure>

Another driver is clever marketing and advances in technology &#8211; the digital satellite television space across the continent broadcasts sports events of African clubs and popular European soccer leagues. In Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and across much of sub-Saharan Africa, the advent of <a href="https://www.dstvafrica.com/en-ng/browse-compare-packages">DStv</a> (Digital Satellite Television) and other broadcast platforms have brought foreign league matches to viewing centres and hence to the doorstep of individuals who on their own who be hard-pressed to afford watching prized league games in their respective homes.

These viewing centres are in the nooks and crannies of urban centres in all these countries. In turn self-acclaimed fans of some of the biggest clubs in the world like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Juventus and Paris Germain can keep up with the performance of their teams without ever visiting the homes of these clubs.

A third driver is the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/youngest-populations-africa/">youth bulge</a> in Africa. The continent has the <a href="https://population.un.org/wpp/">youngest population in the world</a>, with an estimated 60% of people under the age of 25. Of the 420 million youth in Africa today, the majority are unemployed, have insecure jobs or are in casual employment. For many on the continent, the slick advertising of sports betting firms provides an irresistible proposition.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127251/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/victor-odundo-owuor-460341">Victor Odundo Owuor</a>, Senior Research Associate, One Earth Future Foundation, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-colorado-boulder-733">University of Colorado Boulder</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-smartphone-gambling-is-on-the-up-among-african-millennials-127251">original article</a>.

gettyimages-1165324563-170667a

Here’s why smartphone gambling is on the rise among African millennials

WINDHOEK (Reuters) &#8211; Namibians voted on Wednesday in what was expected to be the toughest contest yet for the party that has ruled for three decades of independence, an election it was still expected to win despite a brutal economic crisis. 



President Hage Geingob, Namibia’s third leader since the sparsely populated and mostly arid country freed itself from the shackles of apartheid South Africa in 1990, is seeking a second and final term from 1.3 million registered voters.



He faces nine challengers including Panduleni Itula, a dentist-turned-politician who is a member of the ruling SWAPO party but is running as an independent. Itula is popular with young people, nearly half of whom are unemployed.



Concurrent legislative polls will elect 96 members of parliament, testing SWAPO’s 77-seat majority. Polls opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and close at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).



Results are expected within 48 hours.



Namibia’s ruling party has successfully tackled problems left over from decades of neglectful rule by a German colonial and later white minority South African administrations. The proportion of Namibians living below the poverty line fell by three quarters, from nearly 70 percent in 1993 to 17 percent in 2016, according to World Bank figures.



But now SWAPO is contending with an economy that has been in recession for nearly three years, one of Namibia’s worst-ever droughts and the biggest corruption scandal in its history — all of which have conspired to make this election unexpectedly tough for Geingob, who won by 87% last time.



“I campaigned like hell but if I lose I will accept that. I am a democrat,” Geingob told reporters shortly after voting.



The economy has been marred by a drought that ravaged agricultural export crops, as well as by unprofitably low prices for Namibia’s main hard commodities, uranium and diamonds.



The Bank of Namibia expects the domestic economy to contract for a third year in 2019, by 1.7%.



A scandal in which two ministers were alleged to have conspired to dole out fishing licences to Iceland’s biggest fishing firm, Samherji, in return for kickbacks has also taken the shine off the ruling party.



Yet loyalty to the former guerrilla movement remains high.



“Namibia has gone through a very terrible time,” Leevylee Abrahams said, after casting his vote. “But I’m voting for continuity because I believe that this government can really improve the lives of people, given a chance again.”



Whether the result is close or not, a SWAPO win is likely to be controversial, especially since the court threw out a case mounted by the opposition against the use of electronic voting machines it fears will be used to cheat.



The military said in a statement it was on high alert for violence, which Namibia has avoided in previous polls.



Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Paul Tait

Namibia

Namibians vote in tight contest clouded by economic crisis, what you need to know

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa faces a prolonged period of weak economic growth marked by rising unemployment, inequality and greater credit-rating risk if the government does not act fast to implement reforms, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday.



“The FY20/21 budget to be presented in February should articulate measures to address fiscal and SOE challenges and stabilize government debt,” the global lender said in statement at the conclusion of a 2-week, Article IV visit to the country.



“Failure to implement the needed adjustment in government and SOE (state-owned entities) spending and efficiency will worsen debt dynamics, erode financial stability, and further raise the country risk premium.”



Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Mark Heinrich

IMF says South Africa at risk if economic reforms don’t materialise fast

“What a man can do, a woman can do just as well,” Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda



“History will judge us if we don’t work together to take action now,” Chief Executive Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu



Kigali, Rwanda, 26 November, 2019 – “Investments in gender equality are critical to realizing demographic dividend, but we need to ensure that women have the tools to overcome the barriers they face,” First Lady of Rwanda, Jeannette Kagame told participants at a panel at the Global Gender Summit in Kigali on Monday.



The panel, made up of First Ladies Kagame, Margaret Kenyatta, ministers and development experts, observed that too many women and girls still face barriers to basic rights, particularly access to labour market opportunities.



Rwanda’s First Lady recalled the role women played following the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, where a number of families were wiped out, with women in many cases being the ones catering for families.



“What a man can do, a woman can do just as well,” she added.



She described the Summit as an important platform to highlight issues of women equality. 



Rwanda has implemented gender several inclusive programs, which has enhanced economic equality in a country where women political participation has grown to 61% percent.



First Lady Kenyatta called for the removal of institutional barriers to accelerate women’s economic empowerment, “It has become urgent for Africa to translate its demographic dividend into viable potential.” 



“This is the spirit of Africa’s vision to accelerate its path to sustainable socio-economic development. Our collective commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ is a new chapter in our struggle towards achieving gender equality.”



The panel heard that impediments to gender equality include lack of access to credit, low representation in decision making positions, lack of control over productive land and lack of financial control to make spending decisions on education and health.



Minister of Solidarity, Social Development, Equality and Family Jamila El Moussali of Morocco, shared experiences from Morocco where policies have been introduced to increase women&#8217;s political and economic participation.



The Chief Executive Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, called on stakeholders to come together to leverage each other’s strengths “translate women dreams into reality. History will judge us if we don’t work together to take action now.”



The African Development Bank and the government of Rwanda are hosting the Global Gender Summit from 25 to 27 November in Kigali. The Summit is being organised by the Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) Working Group on gender for the first time in Africa.



Content provided by the African Development Bank

VW_GlobalGenderSummit_2019

First ladies’ panel seeks urgent policies to translate Africa’s demographic dividend into viable potential

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="601" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-1110x601.png" alt="" class="wp-image-350844" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-1110x601.png 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-300x162.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-820x444.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-768x416.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-696x377.png 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-1068x578.png 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods-776x420.png 776w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Java-Foods.png 1290w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /></figure>



By Mariam Yinusa and Edward Mabaya, Principal Economist and Manager, respectively, in the Agribusiness Development Division of the African Development Bank.



Monica Musonda, CEO of Zambian food processing company <a href="https://java-foods.com/">Java Foods</a>, certainly faced hurdles in her rise
to the top, but she overcame them. 



“Although the barriers to entry for
women can be frustrating, they are often basic and relatively easy to resolve,”
she said, playing down her struggles. “My
climb up the agribusiness ladder has been challenging but definitely
worthwhile.” 



Musonda, whose company produces
affordable and nutritious food snacks made from local ingredients, is one of just
a handful of female agripreneurs who have <a href="http://www.lionessesofafrica.com/blog/2017/5/14/monica-musonda-founder-of-java-foods-zambia-wins-the-african-agribusiness-entrepreneur-of-the-year-award-2017">successfully broken through the
proverbial glass ceiling in Africa’s agribusiness</a> industry. 



Women are
the backbone of Africa’s agricultural sector. From farm to fork, African women
are players along the entire agricultural value chain, be it as farmers,
livestock breeders, processors, traders, workers, entrepreneurs or consumers. While
their influence on the continent’s growing agribusiness industry is undeniable,
more solutions are needed to address the gender-specific challenges they face to
boost their participation. 



The average
African woman is a budding entrepreneur either by choice or by circumstance.
According to the &nbsp;<a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/gem-20162017-womens-entrepreneurship-report">Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor Women’s Report 2016/17</a>,
the continent has the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs in the world,
with one in four women starting or managing a business. The agribusiness
industry is often the natural focus of this entrepreneurial drive. 



Across the
continent, women dominate as primary processors post-harvest, as traders with
bustling market stalls, as owners of fast food restaurants and with
increasingly frequency as manufacturers of packaged ready-to-eat food products.
Yet despite this dynamism, female-led agribusinesses tend to remain small,
fragmented and informal in nature. They struggle to sustain and scale-up their
agribusinesses into well-organized profitable enterprises.



Admittedly,
the challenging business environment in many African countries including poor
infrastructure and unreliable legal and regulatory systems affects all business
activities of both men and women. However, in addition women-led businesses must
also grapple with a number of gender-specific constraints, inhibiting their
expansion into more lucrative market segments.



Firstly, African women often lack the
technical know-how. &nbsp;Despite the gains in
female education on the continent, highly productive agribusinesses require
specialized vocational and technical skills in fields such as food safety, food
conservation, packaging and product certification which many African women do
not readily possess.



Access to
finance is the most frequently cited obstacle by African SMEs. Women
entrepreneurs face multiple difficulties in securing funding mainly due to lack
of collateral in the form of land and other tangible assets and a high-risk
perception. According to the African Development Bank, an estimated $42 billion
financing gap exists for African women across business value chains, including
$15.6 billion in agriculture alone. Women are forced to rely on personal
savings and family loans which are rarely enough to fund their businesses to
scale.



Thirdly, socio-cultural barriers and
stereotypes persist. African women remain the primary caregivers in families
meaning that managing those responsibilities while growing a thriving business
can become a difficult balancing act.



Over the last two decades, many
governments and development institutions have rolled out programs to promote
access to finance, agricultural inputs and provide technical support and
business training to female agripreneurs. The African Development Bank recently
set up the <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/afawa-affirmative-finance-action-for-women-in-africa">Affirmative Finance Action for Women
in Africa (AFAWA)</a>, a bold pan-African initiative to bridge the financing gap
facing women. It adopts a three-pronged approach centered on improving access
to finance, providing technical assistance and strengthening the enabling
environment.



It often
takes very little to make a difference. The capital injection required by the
majority of female led SME agribusinesses on the continent is typically less
than $50,000. And women have consistently proven to be more credit-worthy than
men, usually paying back loans within agreed timeframes. Successful solutions
by women for women such as microfinance and saving groups, peer-to-peer
training and information sharing should also be reinforced and taken to scale.



More of such initiatives are urgently
needed across the continent. Solutions must be based on in-depth engagement
with the women business owners themselves to properly understand their
frustrations and needs. Tailored programs designed to specifically address
these pain points are critical. The <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/events/global-gender-summit-global-gender-summit">Global Gender Summit</a> is a timely opportunity to
drive this forward.



Women are central for Africa’s agricultural transformation to be successful, sustainable and inclusive. More African female agripreneurs must be supported to grow and progressively transition into the business segments of agricultural value chains which are most profitable. It has been proven time and time again that when African women thrive the entire society shares in those dividends.

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