Innovation key to creating much-needed jobs in Africa, says Songwe
Africa has to innovate if the continent is to create sufficient decent jobs for its growing youthful population, Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe, said Tuesday. Speaking in Addis Ababa at a joint ECA-World Bank roundtable on jobs and economic transformation, Ms. Songwe said with Africa’s rising population, estimated to increase to 1.7 billion by 2030, a growth rate of more than 8 per cent per annum is needed to create at least 120 million jobs for the youth entering the labour market between now and 2030. “Africa is growing again but we need to do better and more. It is disheartening every day to see that more Africans are falling into poverty. That is why it is imperative that we are having this discussion of creating jobs on the continent,” Ms. Songwe added. Innovation, she said, is a major force for economic growth and development, which is crucial for the continent to create enough jobs for its youth in particular. Ms. Songwe also spoke about the need for African economies to stimulate adequate industrialization through increased intra African trade. The joint workshop focused on three topical areas: digital transformation, trade and global value chains, and human capital for jobs.
| Format: | Press release biblioteca |
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| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
2019-03
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10855/45308 |
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