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Judith Helfmann-Hundack / Peggy Schulz, Hamburg A new compact for a better life and peace in Africa Global-solutions-to-global-challenges
A new compact for a better life and peace in Africa
The focus in Africa has moved from seeking foreign-solutions-for-African-problems to African-solutions-to-African-challenges. With increasing political stability and factors such as abundant minerals and other natural resources, Africa’s future is promising and rewarding, but not only for these reasons. The population of Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double by 2050, and approximately 40% of the population is currently under the age of 15. To benefit from the demographic dividend, governments must not only tackle population growth but they need to ensure that the upcoming labor force is well educated, skilled, healthy and economically engaged. On the international agenda, the African Union speaks up for the continent when it comes to global value chains and especially climate change, demanding adapted cooperative support. Incredible innovations emerge When I tell anyone I have been to Africa, often the first question is ”was it safe?” Suspicion over the continents’ negative stereotypes still inhibits investors from travelling there and understanding firsthand the spirit of innovation that sweeps across the continent. Innovation springs from necessity and it starts at a very young age. Children are forced to create their own toys from tin cans, plastic bottles and other things they find thrown away. I believe it is from this very beginning that the incredible innovations emerge. When we think of innovation, we like to think of the newest mobile phone and its applications, sustainable energy producing technology, or a medical breakthrough. But it is not only these high profile innovations that are impressive in Africa – even though statistics have it that the next Einstein will be African. Old stereotypes plague Africa Everybody cites the massive increase in mobile phone usage. What are less spoken about are the phone repair services that have also popped up all over the continent. When you have a mobile phone, you want it to last as long as possible, as it is usually a big investment. Here, when your phone breaks, it is normal time to find another one. There, that is not always the case. Personally, I had an old phone that no longer functioned, which I had almost given up on while travelling in Ghana. I came across a little phone repair shop on a side road and decided to see if they could fix it. A few minutes later I was given a reconstructed phone, working perfectly. Often firms state that there is a lack of skilled workers, but with a little training, there are specialists out there who would be able to excel. A lot of innovation occurs while people are competing to make a living. Old and almost traditional stereotypes plague Africa. They may be justiby Judith Helfmann-Hundack, Director for Foreign Trade & Development Policy, German-African Business Association, Berlin/Hamburg*
Judith Helfmann-Hundack has been Director of Foreign Trade & Development Policy at the German-African Business Association since 2011 and has been seconded to Afrika-Verein bei GIZ on behalf of BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development). She studied international law in Germany and China and started her professional career in 1998 at the Federation of German Industries (BDI) before joining Ernst & Young. Prior to her current position, she worked with the Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft as an Investment Manager for Asia and Microfinance.
Judith Helfmann-Hundack
fied to a certain extent, but more importantly there is a culture of innovation and resourcefulness to be utilised by businesses inside and outside the continent. The toy car builders of today will be winning the innovation contests of tomorrow.
An increasingly paradoxical world Scientific and technological advances are a huge leap forward – but, at the same time, there is a striking inability to translate these accomplishments into concrete actions to uphold economic development and maintain peace and security. In the globalised world, we seem to have become more connected than ever before, ironically, we have also become distanced from each other, with a creeping feeling of ”otherness” generated by growing polarisation, inequalities and a lack of human solidarity. Poverty and hunger persist at horrific levels, conflicts are growing over generations, violence continues to ravage our planet, and climate changes does not respect any borders. Education is the common ground to develop a nation and provide better living conditions. If prioritised, technology and innovation can and will support the education outreach throughout the
Children with self-made telephone, Ethiopia
Photo: © Rod Waddington, CC BY SA 2.0, Flickr.com Photo: private
continent. The lack of education also fuels the brain drain, forcing the best and the brightest to leave and jump forwards in another society. Basic education for all is needed, as well as opportunities for the best academic minds to make sure excellence is utilised. Currently only 2% of global scientific research comes from Africa.
A new spirit of development cooperation We need to foster African-solutions-for-African-challenges instead of continuous aid, and respect that global-solutions-toglobal-challenges like climate change are our duty. It seems to be common sense that people are our most important resource when setting up a business, but it is equally true for the development of a country or the whole continent. We need to listen to the people on the ground, asking ”what do you want” instead of pushing ”what you need”. Currently, we are, for example so intrigued by the start-up environment in many African countries that we want to be ourselves part of it and bask in its glory. By striving to ”help”, we tend to destroy the local scenery instead of supporting continuous growth on its own strengths. We do not listen, because we still do not believe in African-solutions-for-African-challenges. Human development – health, education, housing and social welfare and, above all, employment – is the number one challenge in Africa, not just in the light of the expected demographic dividend. Governments must create the conditions in which the private sector can flourish.
The two sides of a coin Economic liberalisation is only one piece of the puzzle. The primary responsibility of states remains to ensure that everyone has a decent standard of living, a safe environment and access to basic needs. Among those basic needs, education is the game changer for the younger generation who represent the majority of the population in most countries on the continent. National plans measured by growth rate only, and neither complemented by appropriate social policies nor resulting in job creation, often lead to growing inequality and social unrest. A good case in point was Egypt’s development plan before the
2011 uprising: a high growth rate was achieved, but it was a jobless growth, with little or no impact on poverty alleviation, leading to growing inequality. Most African countries continue to suffer from weak infrastructure, rampant urbanisation, neglected rural areas and an uncompetitive business environment. Plans to develop Africa exist across the continent and worldwide – too often only on paper. A new compact is to focus on support for governments to turn words into deeds and address the issue of implementation.
Acting differently: ColaLife The last mile example: I always wondered why in almost any remote region of the world I travelled to, I would undoubtedly stumble across Coca-Cola, but life-saving medicine would get stuck in warehouses in the cities. In 2012, ColaLife, a UK-based charity, partnered with local bottling plants and shopkeepers to transport antidiarrheal kits to the remote areas of Zambia by packaging them in the empty space in Coca-Cola crates. The whole project was planned locally and it shows that change is possible by thinking, designing and acting just a little differently. > Web: www.colalife.org
Education within good governance People being the most important resource, the greatest hope and the biggest challenge, education remains critical in all development efforts. Quality education has had a transformative effect within little more than a generation everywhere it was introduced. Human capital is crucial to optimising productivity and associated socio-economic benefits that a country can harness from the demographic transition – if not taken care of, the expected dividend inevitably becomes a liability. Education enables people to acquire skills, experience, learn, get jobs, create employment, foster wealth, take care of their families and surroundings, invent and innovate and allow transformation. A new compact should focus on good governance, accountability and stable economic infrastructure just as much as on an educated youth experiencing African innovation.
* The author was supported by Ms Peggy Schulz, who has been the Manager for Southern Africa at the German-African Business Association since 2016. She is responsible for advising companies on the regulatory and economic framework conditions for doing business in the Southern African region. She also heads the Education and Energy Sector.
