United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

The next UN Business Seminar is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 11 July 2024 from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa (UNCC-AA). The event, which is being organized in collaboration with the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce, aims to support local businesses in Ethiopia in engaging with UN Organizations in Ethiopia.   This year’s Business Seminar will also be an opportunity to create awareness and understanding of the private sector in Ethiopia to engage with the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA). In view of the pivotal role of the private sector in realizing the full potential of the AfCFTA, the UN in Ethiopia will work together to strengthen the capacity of the private sector in Ethiopia to take advantage of opportunities offered by the AfCFTA to become key players in East Africa and other regional markets for various products.     In addition to objectives outlined above, the seminar will also provide an opportunity for information and experience sharing on the following important issues: - How Vendors can be registered in the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) and how to use the website. - Create awareness and understanding of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) among participating vendors and suppliers. - How to strengthen networks and partnerships among businesses, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange through AfCFTA; - How to empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to play a more significant role in driving sustainable development and economic growth across Africa through AfCFTA; - How to establish a foundation for ongoing support and collaboration to further advance SMEs participation in the AfCFTA. Register in advance for this webinar 👉 https://lnkd.in/ehswyb6n Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations #AfCFTA #AddisAbaba #Ethiopia #SMEs

Speaking at the African Union 7th Ministerial Specialised Technical Committee on Finance and Integration, ECA Deputy Executive Secretary Hanan Morsy underscores the imperative of policy coordination for a united Africa, peace and development and safeguarding a promising future.  Hanan Morsy calls for deepening regional integration, developing regional infrastructures & value chains & aligning Africa’s position and voice on global stages. Africa can capitalize United Nations Tax Convention for fair global tax framework and financial transparency. The 4th FfD Forum is opportune to address debt-growth and debt-climate nexus says Hanan Morsy.  She urges African countries to rally support to South Africa’s presidency of G20 in 2025 to shape the global economic & financial cooperation agenda #peace #development #infrastructures #valuechains #Africa  African Development Bank Group African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Gilbert F. HoungboAfrican Union Eswatini Government

ECA Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, Hanan Morsy, meets with H.E Kalthoum Ben Rejeb Guezzah, Minister of Trade and Export Development in Tunis to discuss critical issues of AfCFTA, transport corridors, and regional integration. #Tunis #AfCFTA, #transport #regionalintegration

CALL FOR PAPERS: Organizers of the 2024 African Economic Conference (AEC 2024) the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNDP, and the African Development Bank Group invite authors to submit papers on the theme: “Securing Africa’s Economic Future Amidst Rising Uncertainty.” Details 👉 https://lnkd.in/esZz_AwC #Globaluncertainty #uncertainty #Africa #development #resilience #emergingshocks #Innovative #developmentfinancing #technology

The seventh StatsTalk-Africa webinar series will focus on: Creating National Reporting Platforms for the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa and will take place on Tuesday, 9th July 2024 from 11:00 to 12:30hrs EAT via Microsoft Teams. The webinar will explain the importance of disseminating data on the Sustainable Development Goals effectively and introduce the Open SDG as an open-source and free to reuse platform to do so. Use cases of the Open SDG platform and experiences will be shared by Kenya and Ghana. StatsTalk-Africa webinar series aims to provide a space for dialogues about data, statistics, and innovative tools with data experts and users within ECA, Africa and rest of the world.  Register in advance for this meeting here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eEgSY4xx #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #SDGs #Data #Statistics #Kenya #Ghana.

ECA Deputy Executive Secretary Hanan Morsy calls for action to address debt issues, trade fragmentation, and climate change at the opening of the 7th AUC Specialised Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning, and Integration. Albert Muchanga #debt #trade #climate

The Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MoTRI) in collaboration with the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) with support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) organized a National Forum for the development of National African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation Strategy. The event gathered over 70 participants from various sectors, including private industries, government representatives, academia, youth, women, and developmental partners. In his opening remarks, Gebremeskel Chala, Minister of MoTRI reiterated the government's commitment to fostering open minds for ideas and open markets for trade. He also expressed appreciation for PSI’s involvement and ECA's assistance in developing the Ethiopia National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy. The Minister highlighted that the forum, with its wide-ranging stakeholder representation, is a crucial step towards establishing a successful National AfCFTA implementation Strategy. Beyene Petros, the Director General of PSI, emphasized the importance of full commitment and ownership from all stakeholders in the development and implementation of the strategy. Speaking on behalf of the private sector, Mr. Wubie Mengistu, Secretary-General of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA) acknowledged the Ethiopian Government for ratifying the AfCFTA agreement. He noted that ECCSA has been actively working to raise awareness and enhance readiness among the private sector for trading under the AfCFTA. Representing the ECA, Stephen Karingi, Director of Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD) expressed appreciation to Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada (GAC) for their unwavering support in advancing Africa’s integration agenda, including the support provided to Ethiopia in developing its National AfCFTA Implemetation Strategy. He noted that consultative and inclusive forums have proven to be the most effective format, based on experiences with other AfCFTA State Parties in developing their national strategies. #AfCFTA #ECCSA 👉 https://lnkd.in/exDGmvv7

Speaking at the Nalafem Summit 2024 Hanan Morsy stresses the need for women’s financial inclusion. Globally African women represent 1 out of 4 female entrepreneurs but this is not matched by access to affordable finance The cost of finance must be addressed for women to achieve financial independence. Evidence shows that women are less likely to default on loans says Hanan Morsy. Innovation, AI and digital solutions play a big role in reducing cost of borrowing, enhancing access to credit & payment systems. Hanan Morsy calls for support to microfinance institutions highlighting the need for new products like mobile registries for collateral. Financial literacy is essential to tackle social norms that affect risk-taking behaviours and where AI & technology can help reach more women says Hanan Morsy. #Nalafemsummit2024 #innovation #digital #AI #technology #digitalsolutions

Executive Secretary, Claver Gatete, concludes three days of deep reflection on ECA achievements over the last 6 months. “We leave the Accountability and Programme Performance Review Meeting re-energized to deliver on key signature projects in Regional Values Chains, Battery Electric Vehicles, among others, as an institution uniquely placed to serve Africa.” #APPRM #RVCs #BEVs

Check out the latest report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Subregional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) titled “𝐌𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐬, 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚: 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬”. The report was prepared by Nicholas Charalambides and Khwima Singini under the supervision of Bineswaree Bolaky, Economic Affairs Officer, SRO-SA. The report offers case studies on how #MSMEs are harnessing technology and innovative approaches to participate in value chains for #Malawi, #Mauritius, #Mozambique, #Namibia, #SouthAfrica and #Zambia. Available at: https://lnkd.in/d87u9tuu Eunice G. Kamwendo Bineswaree Bolaky Mundia M. Hangubo Nick Charalambides Khwima Singini