Africa needs $1.3trn annually to achieve economic growth, says UN
Published 15 Dec,2020 via The Nation - Africa will need about $1.3 trillion a year, according to the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
This follows population growth projected at 45 percent over 2020–2030, a dynamic that could seriously undermine the efforts to end extreme poverty and inequality, tackle climate change and build resilient infrastructure in Africa.
2020 edition of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s Economic Report on Africa: Innovative Finance for Private Sector Development in Africa (ERA 2020), a report released Monday said with COVID-19, African region will have to build on recent initiatives to accelerate economic growth to meet national development aspirations in line with SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and to do so in a financially and environmentally sustainable manner.
The release said increasing the role of the private sector stands out among the widely advocated options for such investments, especially given the low levels of investment by governments and the donor community.
The report noted: “This option resonates with African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) initiatives to harness the demographic dividend, grow the middle class, increase the use of technology, promote rapid urbanization and boost opportunities for regional and global value chains for African businesses as strategic drivers of economic growth in Africa.
And the continent is endowed with a strong natural resource base, abundant human capital and, most important, strong entrepreneurial activity among its people, features that together signpost the road to private sector development.”
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Daniel Essiet