United Nations Economic Commission for Africa - Ideas for a prosperous Africa

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  ECA commits to improved delivery for Africa’s prosperity at the mid-year review meeting

  by eskinder.tsegaye on June 23, 2026

  19 June, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintAddis Ababa, June 19, 2026: The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN- ECA) is working assiduously to drive transformative change across the continent, with a renewed focus on accelerating implementation and delivering results. The 2nd Quarter Annual Programme Performance Review Meeting (APPRM) of the EAC, held in Addis Ababa from 17-19 June, showcased ECA’s commitment to advancing key priorities, including the AfCFTA, regional value chains, technology and digital transformation, macro-economic policy, finance and planning. To drive progress, ECA is taking bold steps to accelerate its work program, aiming to achieve 75% of its annual deliverables by the 3rd Quarter APPRM. The organisation is strengthening partnerships with the African Union and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to fast-track implementation of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030. Key initiatives include, among others,  the development of three regional value chains for intensified focus, convening the Committee on Climate Change, Blue Economy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Management, and launching a pioneering training course on Economic Diplomacy for young diplomats. ECA is also amplifying its impact by boosting visibility and outreach on its flagship publications. Said Adejumobi, Director of the Strategic Planning, Oversight, and Results Division (SPORD), which is responsible for organising the APPRM, added, “ECA is committed to scaling up its engagement with member states, RECs, and partners to drive Africa’s economic transformation. “We are excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to working together to build a prosperous and sustainable future for Africa.” He emphasised the urgency of collective action. “We are at a critical juncture, and we must work together to deliver on our promises,” he said. “With 71.4% of corporate milestones achieved, we are on track, but we need to pick up the pace on annual deliverables” Executive Secretary Claver Gatete reaffirmed ECA’s commitment to advancing Africa’s development, despite external and internal challenges. “ECA has the capacity to deliver,” he said, stressing the need to address staff welfare, enhance teamwork, and meet strategic priorities. Ms Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary, responsible for programme support, highlighted opportunities for growth, urging teams to plan jointly, define ownership, and strengthen accountability. "We need more intentional planning, clearer ownership, and better accountability," she emphasised. Ms Mama Keita, Deputy Executive Secretary overseeing operations, thanked the team and stakeholders, emphasising that collaboration is vital for impact. “We’ve delivered in a resource-constrained environment, thanks to our expertise and professionals,”. As ECA accelerates its efforts to transform Africa's economic landscape, the commission remains committed to driving collective action, strengthening partnerships, and delivering impactful results, with a focus on innovation, accountability, and collaboration.

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  Cameroon develops energy accounts to drive smarter energy, economic and environmental policies

  by eskinder.tsegaye on June 22, 2026

  22 June, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintYaoundé, 22 June 2026 (ECA) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Subregional Office for Central Africa and the African Centre for Statistics, is providing technical support to Cameroon in the development of energy accounts. In partnership with the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) of Cameroon and the World Bank through the HISWACA Project, ECA is facilitating a workshop on identifying requirements for the development of energy accounts in Cameroon, taking place in Douala from 22 to 26 June 2026. The workshop brings together key government institutions, specialized agencies in the energy sector, and technical and financial partners to jointly identify available data as well as the technical, methodological and institutional requirements necessary for the compilation of energy accounts in accordance with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), the internationally recognized statistical framework adopted by the United Nations to measure the interactions between the economy and the environment. Energy accounts are a modern statistical tool that links data on energy extraction, production, transformation, consumption and trade with the country’s economic activities, as well as information on residuals released into the environment. They therefore provide an integrated picture of the interrelationships between energy, the economy and the environment. In practical terms, energy accounts help answer critical policy questions: How much energy is produced? Which sectors consume the most energy? How is energy transformed and used? What is the contribution of energy to wealth creation? How can the effects of energy policies on economic growth, employment and greenhouse gas emissions be measured? Energy accounts also help inform decisions regarding the investments required to support the country’s energy transition. In a context marked by growing energy demand, energy security imperatives and climate change challenges, the availability of integrated and reliable statistics is becoming an essential tool for evidence-based policymaking and investment planning. The development of energy accounts is fully aligned with the objectives of Cameroon Vision 2035 and the National Development Strategy 2020–2030 (NDS30), which identify structural transformation, sustainable industrialization and the energy transition among the country’s key development priorities. Energy accounts will also contribute to monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to access to affordable and clean energy, climate action and the sustainable management of natural resources. Beyond their statistical dimension, energy accounts will provide Cameroon with a robust framework for assessing the effectiveness of energy policies, strengthening coherence between economic planning and natural resource management, and better integrating environmental considerations into public decision-making. The Douala workshop marks a foundational step in the process of producing energy accounts. It aims, in particular, to identify user needs, assess available data, highlight existing gaps and establish an operational roadmap for the future compilation of energy accounts. This initiative is being implemented within the framework of the National Plan for the Development of Environmental-Economic Accounting (NPDEEA), adopted by the Government of Cameroon in 2023 as the reference framework for the implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting. The NPDEEA identifies energy accounts as one of the priority areas for the operational rollout of environmental-economic accounting in Cameroon. Through this activity, ECA continues to support the Government of Cameroon in strengthening national statistical capacities and advancing the development of environmental-economic accounting. This support includes methodological guidance aligned with international standards, the mobilization of specialized expertise, including from the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as continuous technical assistance throughout the process of developing Cameroon’s energy accounts. Media QueriesZacharie Roger MBARGA - Communications OfficerUnited Nations Economic Commission for Africa637, rue 3.069, Quartier du Lac, Yaoundé, CameroonTel: (+237) 222504348E-mail: zacharie.mbargayene@un.org Issued by:Communications SectionEconomic Commission for AfricaPO Box 3001Addis AbabaEthiopiaTel: +251 11 551 5826E-mail: eca-info@un.org

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  Central Africa: ECA launches regional project to remove barriers facing women in cross-border trade and accelerate AfCFTA implementation

  by eskinder.tsegaye on June 18, 2026

  12 June, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintYaoundé, 12 June 2026 (ECA) – In Central Africa, women are the main actors in informal cross-border trade. Yet their economic potential continues to be constrained by multiple barriers at border crossings and along value chains. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Subregional Office for Central Africa, officially launched on Friday 12 June 2026, the Development Account 18 (DA18) project entitled “Enhancing Cross-Border Trade Involving Women-Owned Informal Businesses in Africa.” Implemented in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, the project aims to strengthen the capacities of women cross-border traders, increase their access to opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and support their gradual integration into formal and regional trade. Findings from ECA’s study entitled “Characterization of informal cross-border trade in Central Africa: The case of the Cameroon–Gabon–Equatorial Guinea tri-border area” reveal that women account for 67 per cent of informal cross-border trade operators. They are also responsible for 61 per cent of export activities, making them the primary drivers of cross-border trade flows within this economic area. Even more remarkably, 84 per cent of them operate on their own account, demonstrating significant entrepreneurial potential. The challenges faced by women traders remain considerable. According to the study, 71 per cent of operators report a limited understanding of the trade and customs procedures governing their activities. These challenges are compounded by the high costs of border formalities, informal payments, mobility restrictions and limited access to finance. In his opening remarks, Jean Luc Mastaki Namegabe, Director of ECA’s Subregional Office for Central Africa, emphasized that the success of the AfCFTA will depend on African countries’ ability to fully integrate the economic actors who sustain daily exchanges across borders. “Women cross-border traders make a decisive contribution to household incomes, food security and the economic resilience of our communities. This project seeks to transform borders into spaces of opportunity, trust and shared prosperity,” he said. The launch webinar brought together United Nations Resident Coordinators from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, as well as several United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, including UN Women, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), alongside directors and representatives of ECA’s headquarter divisions. Partners unanimously underscored the relevance of the project and expressed their readiness to contribute to its implementation by mobilizing their respective expertise in the areas of mobility, gender, trade facilitation and trade development. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) highlighted the natural complementarity between the project’s objectives and its own interventions along the Douala–Bangui and Cameroon–Chad corridors. According to Abdel Rahmane Diop, Chief of Mission of IOM in Cameroon: “Informal cross-border trade remains insufficiently understood, insufficiently measured and insufficiently recognized. IOM has extensive expertise in border data collection, flow management and support to mobile communities. We stand fully ready to place this experience at the service of the project in order to maximize its impact.” For its part, UN Women emphasized the need to further strengthen the gender dimension of the project. According to Marie-Pierre Racky Chaupin, UN Women Representative in Cameroon: “Women traders continue to face cases of harassment and violence at border posts, a reality that remains insufficiently documented. Addressing these challenges, while strengthening women’s leadership, will help deepen the project’s impact and promote genuine economic empowerment for women.” UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) welcomed the initiative as an innovative undertaking with the potential to accelerate the integration of women and SMEs into intra-African trade. Habiba Ben Barka, Chief of the Africa Section at UNCTAD, stated: “It is rare to see a project specifically targeting women engaged in informal cross-border trade. This initiative represents a powerful lever for promoting a more inclusive form of trade that is better integrated into the African market.” UNCTAD also expressed its willingness to contribute its expertise in the areas of digital trade facilitation, simplified trade regimes and the production of sex-disaggregated statistics. African Republic of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Central African Republic, Rachelle Anne-Marie Mian Diangoné, UN Women Representative in the Central African Republic, welcomed the initiative as particularly relevant for a landlocked country that relies heavily on regional trade corridors. She reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations system to support its implementation through a coordinated approach. For her part, Betty Wabunoha, Resident Representative of UNDP in Equatorial Guinea, recalled that strengthening intra-African trade has become a strategic imperative for enhancing the resilience of African economies in the face of global disruptions. She also called for greater harmonization of border procedures. The project, which will run through 2029, will deliver, among other outputs, a regional analytical study on informal cross-border trade, a georeferenced database of markets, trade routes and border posts, public-private dialogues on cross-border trade, and national roadmaps for more inclusive and gender-responsive trade. The initiative will also focus on strengthening the capacities of women traders and stakeholders involved in the governance of cross-border trade flows. According to Ghitu I Mundunge, Head of ECA’s Economic Diversification Policy and Reforms Unit and Project Coordinator: “The ambition of this project is to transform data into public policies, policies into concrete reforms, and reforms into economic opportunities for women traders. It is about laying the foundations for a more inclusive, better documented and fully AfCFTA-aligned cross-border trading system.” The next steps agreed upon by stakeholders include the establishment of the Project Steering Committee and the designation of national and regional focal points involving the ministries responsible for trade and gender in the four beneficiary countries, as well as the relevant regional organizations, namely ECCAS and CEMAC. The project also plans to launch its first analytical studies and data collection activities without delay. In his closing remarks, Jean Luc Mastaki Namegabe called on partners to sustain the momentum generated by the launch: “When women traders cross borders under better conditions, the whole of Central Africa moves forward. By investing in their economic empowerment, we are investing in regional integration, the resilience of our economies and the success of the AfCFTA.”   Media QueriesZacharie Roger MBARGA - Communications OfficerUnited Nations Economic Commission for Africa637, rue 3.069, Quartier du Lac, Yaoundé, CameroonTel: (+237) 222504348E-mail: zacharie.mbargayene@un.org Issued by:Communications SectionEconomic Commission for AfricaPO Box 3001Addis AbabaEthiopiaTel: +251 11 551 5826

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  [ADIF Guest Blog] From studio to industry: ADIF 2026 charts a path to job creation in Africa's creative industries

  by minilik.demissie on June 17, 2026

  17 June, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintBy Nicholas Mokua Africa's creative economy is currently valued at $60 billion, with projections suggesting it could reach $200 billion by 2030 if the right policies are put in place. That figure framed the conversation at one of the closing sessions at the recently concluded Africa Digital Innovation Forum (ADIF 2026) in Addis Ababa. A panel on Creative Industries and Job Creation brought together Music entrepreneur Jawaya Guitars founder and Sauti Sol founding band member Polycarp Otieno; musician and producer Bolingo Passey and IKOJN fashion brand founder Christine Njoki - all  in conversation with cultural policy expert Prof. Kimani Njogu, and head of the creative program at UNCTAD Marissa Henderson for a candid look at what it would take to turn the immense potential held by the sector into sustainable livelihoods. In 2023 alone, the creative industries employed an estimated 5 million people across the continent. Yet despite that scale, Africa contributes just 1% of creative goods exported worldwide, a gap that is seen as both a warning and an opportunity. Much of the discussion centred on the difference between individual artistic success and a functioning industry. Polycarp spoke to this from his experience setting up structures that work for the music sector as something he and Sauti Sol more broadly have been deliberate about from the beginning of their careers. Having been among the first Kenyan acts to scale to that level, Sauti Sol recognised the structural gaps in the industry and responded by establishing Sol Generation, a publishing and record label venture designed to support the next generation of artists rather than simply build personal legacy. Passey, reflecting on his own path as a younger artist, described the reality of juggling multiple roles at once: singer, songwriter, composer, instrumentalist and manager often out of necessity given his limited access to resources. There is an upside, he noted, in that artists who wear every hat retain creative control over their work. But the trade-off is exhausting with most creatives starting out being forced to multitask across functions they are not equipped for. With better structures and training, particularly on the business side of art, these artists would be more adequately prepared with the knowledge they require. Prof. Njogu brought a policy lens shaped by years of advocacy and his role as the lead in Kenya’s Creative Economy Working Group (CEWG). He equally recalled his role as co-chair of the consultative committee that helped embed and protect the creative industries within Kenya's constitution, ensuring artistic freedom was safeguarded alongside scientific and academic freedom. The underlying argument being if people are regarded as the foundation of a nation, then culture must be treated as equally foundational and not peripheral. This conviction has translated into sustained advocacy through CEWG, which has engaged parliament directly to shape policy affecting the sector, including the introduction of arts and culture into Kenya's Competency-Based Curriculum. Progress on policy is slow, Prof. Kimani acknowledged, but consistency matters. CEWG's current push is to fast-track the implementation of the creative economy bill which will, among many things, secure investment in the creative economy as an immediate priority. He was direct about the scale required: investing less than 1% of GDP in the creative economy is simply not enough. Investment across the full creative sector value chain is imperative. The need for trade barriers affecting creatives within Africa to be lifted through opening borders and reducing intra-African restrictions for artists would meaningfully improve the industry's prospects. AfCFTA will provide the necessary policy framework to ensure mobility is achieved within the continent. Polycarp pointed to a manufacturing gap with a personally relevant example, the guitar. One of the most-played instruments in the world (with strong arguments that it originated from the continent) is not manufactured here. The wood used to build it traces back to Africa, yet the continent still lacks the infrastructure to manufacture instruments at scale and compete globally. Polycarp's own venture, Jawaya Guitars, was raised as a direct response to build instruments from African raw materials on African soil. Other sub-sectors face their own version of the same problem. Fashion creatives, for instance, struggle to compete against the second-hand clothing market (mitumba), where prices are simply impossible to match. Musical gear, meanwhile, is in some cases taxed as luxury items, raising the barrier to entry for musicians just starting out. On a different register, panelists noted how central social media has become to an artist's career, functioning as a kind of digital CV. The caution offered alongside this was virality should not be the creative’s goal. Maintaining authenticity matters more and lasts longer. Taken together, the panel's message was insisted on sequencing structures that let artists focus on their craft, training creatives to build business capacity alongside creative skill, advocate for policy that treats culture as core infrastructure and build manufacturing systems that let African creatives capture more of the value they generate. Every sub-sector is different and will need its own approach, but the panelists agreed that the creative economy is not adjacent to Africa's development goals, it is one of the more direct paths to achieving them.  Nicholas Mokua is a scientist and creative writer with Twaweza Communications

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  [ADIF Guest Blog] With 15 million new jobs needed per year for Africa’s youth, Inaugural Africa Development Forum pushes scalable solutions

  by minilik.demissie on June 17, 2026

  17 June, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintBy Nicholas Mokua The inaugural Africa Development Impact Forum (ADIF) 2026 kicked off at the historic Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to a gathering charged with both urgency and optimism. Convened at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the two-day forum brought together policymakers, researchers, investors, and industry leaders from across the continent with a shared mandate: to move Africa’s most promising development ideas from isolated pilot programmes to continent-wide, scalable solutions. Africa must generate approximately 15 million new jobs each year simply to absorb the young people entering its labour market. ADIF 2026 is designed to accelerate the creation of those opportunities by surfacing innovations that work and building the partnerships needed to take them to scale. The measure of the forum’s success, participants agreed, will not rest solely on the quality of its conversations, but on the tangible commitments and replicable models that emerge from them. Unemployment and under-employment remain among the most persistent structural challenges on the continent. Even as the global technological revolution reshapes industries and labour markets, Africa continues to grapple with the gap between the jobs being created and the millions of young people seeking them. The challenge is not a lack of ideas or workable solutions — many such models already exist and are demonstrably effective within their local contexts. The central question ADIF 2026 is designed to answer is: How do we take what works in one corner of the continent and make it work everywhere? Participants pointed to a rich pipeline of innovations from agri-tech cooperatives and digital financial services to creative economy platforms and green manufacturing hubs that have produced measurable results at community or national scale. The forum provided the convening infrastructure to connect these models with the financing, policy support, and cross-border partnerships required for continental impact. These promising ideas, delegates affirmed, have the potential to become real opportunities, sustainable jobs, and enduring partnerships. While much of the developed world contends with the economic drag of ageing populations and shrinking workforces, Africa presents a strikingly different demographic profile. More than 60 per cent of the continent’s population is under the age of 25, making Africa the youngest continent on earth. By 2035, more young Africans are projected to enter the world labour force than the rest of the world combined. This represents an extraordinary resource capable of driving economic transformation on the continent. Speakers at ADIF 2026 were emphatic that realising this demographic dividend requires deliberate and sustained investment. The frameworks and policy architectures already in place across the continent — including the African Union’s Agenda 2063, national youth employment strategies, and regional integration agreements — must be implemented with the youth firmly at the centre. Africa’s young people are both the present engine driving the continent’s economy and its future. The double-edged nature of the current technological revolution is one of the most pertinent concerns of the continent and its future. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genetic engineering, and other exponential technologies are reshaping labour markets and production systems at an unprecedented pace. For Africa, these developments carry both enormous promise and serious risk. The promise lies in the potential to leapfrog legacy infrastructure, democratise access to knowledge and finance, and create entirely new industries. The risk is that structural inequalities already embedded in the global economic system could be deepened rather than disrupted by technologies designed and trained largely outside of Africa. The extraction of African data to train AI systems, with minimal benefit flowing back to the communities and countries from which that data originates requires ethical frameworks for data governance and ensuring African agency in the global technology ecosystem as a matter of economic sovereignty. No discussion of Africa’s development challenges can ignore the continent’s fiscal crisis. Twenty-five African countries are currently in debt distress or at a high risk of it. This situation severely constrains governments’ ability to invest in the infrastructure, education, and social services that young people need to thrive. When a disproportionate share of public budgets goes towards servicing external debt rather than building roads, schools, hospitals, or digital infrastructure, the compound effects are felt most acutely by the generation entering the workforce every year. This reality gives ADIF 2026 its urgency. Africa’s youth did not create the structural conditions that constrain their prospects. Yet it is they who carry the heaviest burden of its effects in their daily lives. The forum’s agenda reflects a collective determination to change that equation. By identifying scalable innovations, mobilising investment, and advocating for the structural reforms that can unlock a more equitable and prosperous future for the continent.   Nicholas Mokua is a young Scientist and Creative Writer at Twaweza Communications

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  Digital Transformation and Trade in North Africa (webinar series)

  by srona.editor on June 16, 2026

  16 June, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintWHAT: Webinar Series on Digital Transformation and Trade in North AfricaWHEN: 23 June 2026 from 10:00 to 16:00 pm UTC+1WHERE: Online. Please click here to register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0IfAZKq4TrmPzpsEjWf67wLANGUAGES: Discussions will be translated into English, French and ArabicRabat, 16 June 2026 (ECA) - The ECA Office for North Africa is holding on Tuesday 23 June 2026 a webinar series under the theme: “Digital Transformation and Trade in North Africa.”This meeting will examine how digital transformation can be leveraged to advance trade integration and trade inclusion in North Africa, in alignment with continental frameworks such as the African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and identify opportunities and challenges related to digital trade in the subregion.North African countries are currently navigating a period of profound transformation marked by accelerating digitalisation. However, their progress remains unequal from one country to another and globally below potential with regards to aspects such as connectivity, infrastructures, digital literacy, digital trade facilitation and digital trade platforms. These delays are limiting the ability of North African SMEs – which account for 80 to 90% of formal firms and roughly half of formal employment in the subregion – to seize online trade opportunities within the framework of the AfCFTA.Discussions at the webinar series on “Digital Transformation and Trade in North Africa” will cover a variety of issues including how digital transformation can reshape trade processes and accelerate regional integration; what environment North African decision makers need to create to accelerate the development of digital trade; and the governance, regulatory, and institutional requirements for the effective implementation of digital trade policies under the AfCFTA.Speakers at this event will include experts from a variety of institutions including the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Côte d’Azur University and the Mohammed V University of Rabat. Note to editors: For more information about this event and interview requests, please send an email to filali-ansary@un.org or a WhatsApp message to (+212) 673 734 462.Concept notePostcard