Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Donald Kaberuka, group president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has called for action to help small and medium scale enterprises gain better access to financing. Mr. Kaberuka made the appeal Wednesday, during an Africa Commission meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs lack access to financing for investments and the economic crisis has just worsened the situation. That is why we want to establish the 'African Guarantee Facility' with the aim of mobilizing loans for US$3 billion,ÔÇØ he said. ÔÇ£It will be the most innovative initiative launched in Africa in decades,ÔÇØ he continued, ÔÇ£and we are convinced that it will create millions of productive and decent jobs." The Africa Commission is proposing a new consensus for international development cooperation with Africa. It has called for greater focus on private sector-led growth, and is also expected to launch five ambitious initiatives aimed at creating job opportunities for the continent's youth, including:
- The creation of an African Guarantee Fund in partnership with the African Development Bank aimed mobilizing loans for US$3 billion and reducing the cost of access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, which provide 80 percent of output and jobs in Africa;
- Ensuring access to energy at the local level by launching a new initiative in partnership with the EU and the African Development Bank. More than three-quarters of Africans lack access to electricity;
- Improving the business climate and Africa's competitive edge by making sure that the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report covers all African countries and that the findings of this benchmarking process are followed-up by the development of detailed policy responses and concrete reforms;
- Unleashing the power of African entrepreneurship, both in start-up and existing enterprises, by providing advisory services and access to finance in order to allow young people to translate their good ideas into practical plans;
- Supporting higher education and research.
"The lack of employment opportunities for the youth is one of the key challenges on the continent and is not reflected in the current international development focus,ÔÇØ said Commission member Jakaya Kikwete, president of Tanzania. ÔÇ£With the involvement of all the significant African stakeholders in the development of the report, the recommendations represent African solutions to African challenges. This is why I am very optimistic as regard to the prospect of living up to the high ambitions of the report; to create a whole new agenda for development policy in Africa." *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *
