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

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  Boosting “Made in Central Africa”: Cameroon pioneers tailored Special Economic Zones

  par eskinder.tsegaye le May 11, 2026

  5 February, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintYaoundé, 5 February 2026 (ECA) – Positioning municipalities as key drivers of industrialization and economic transformation is at the heart of a strategic consultation convened in Yaoundé by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Authority for the Development and Management of Industrial Zones (MAGZI) and United Councils and Cities of Cameroon (CVUC). The consultation focused on the implementation of Tailored Special Economic Zones (TSEZs), an innovative territorial development approach designed to strengthen local value chains and accelerate industrialization across Central Africa. The meeting marks a significant step toward operationalizing the Central Africa Industrialization and Economic Diversification Master Plan (PDIDE-AC), which identifies Tailored Special Economic Zones as a strategic instrument for advancing productive transformation, strengthening regional value chains and promoting a stronger “Made in Central Africa.” As the first country in Central Africa to move toward the concrete implementation of this model, Cameroon is seeking to pilot a new approach to territorial industrialization built on local economic potential, SMEs integration and value addition within production basins. The consultation brought together government institutions, decentralized local governments, development partners, experts and private sector actors around a shared objective: developing a coordinated framework capable of linking industrialization, local economic development and regional competitiveness. Discussions identified several priority sectors, including agro-processing, cassava, maize, soybean, rice, aquaculture and livestock, with the aim of strengthening local processing capacity, reducing dependence on imports and developing more competitive value-added products. Participants also emphasized the importance of building integrated territorial ecosystems that combine industrial infrastructure, financing mechanisms, innovation, entrepreneurship and SME support in order to ensure the long-term viability of future Special Economic Zones. While municipalities help structure local economic ecosystems, Tailored Special Economic Zones provide an industrial framework adapted to the agricultural, mining, industrial and economic realities of each territory. MAGZI will play a central role in the planning and technical development of future industrial zones, while CVUC will continue advancing territorial economic profiling and the structuring of municipal and intermunicipal projects. Through this initiative, ECA and its partners aim to lay the foundations for a new generation of territorial industrial policies in Central Africa capable of fostering inclusive, competitive and sustainable industrialization driven by local territories themselves. 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

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  African experts seek to innovate on debt reform, sustainable finance and fiscal resilience

  par srona.editor le May 8, 2026

  8 May, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintAddis Ababa, 8 May 2026 (ECA) – The UN Economic commission for Africa  (ECA) and Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa concluded on Friday 8 May in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Second African Forum on Sovereign Finance, under theme: “Enhancing Fiscal Space and Debt Sustainability.” Over three days, participants at the forum discussed the relationship between sustainable development and debt sustainability, credit ratings, and borrowing costs, as well as how debt management offices can leverage these interactions to support development. “Africa’s debt challenge extends far beyond fiscal concerns — it has become a development crisis, a climate vulnerability, and a governance emergency, all of which must be tackled together in an integrated response” said ECA Deputy Executive Secretary for Programme Support, Mama Keita. “The global debt system must shift away from prioritising wealthy lenders over the development and well-being of citizens. Africa's debt managers are building that shift — instrument by instrument, institution by institution,” she added, stating that African debt managers are not merely administrators of inherited liabilities but stewards of intergenerational equity, making decisions that will shape the opportunities of tomorrow. “Despite current economic headwinds, Africa’s macroeconomic fundamentals have demonstrated resilience, but this momentum is threatened by our debt burden: External debt has reached approximately US$1.2 trillion, representing a significant share of GDP – and in many countries, more than a quarter of public revenues are now absorbed by debt service,” said ECA Executive Secretary Claver Gatete earlier in the week. “In practical terms, this means classrooms not built, clinics not staffed or equipped, and jobs not created. It means that development is not just delayed; it is diminished,” he warned.  Debt management is no longer a technical function of government, it is now central to macroeconomic stability, development strategy and policy, said Semereta Sewasew, Ethiopian State Minister for Economic Cooperation as she outlined Ethiopia’s macroeconomic and debt strategies and their positive impacts for the national economy: “An important lesson is that debt sustainability is not only about the size of debt, but about its structure, the foreign exchange backing it, and the credibility of policy frameworks,” she added. Jointly organized by ECA and FSD Africa, the Second African Forum on Sovereign Finance took place as global discussions on debt reform and climate finance are setting new benchmarks for sustainable development financing. The Forum provided African Debt Management experts with a platform to operationalize post-COP30 priorities, aligning sovereign debt management with the evolving global architecture for sustainable and climate finance. Discussions focused on how African stakeholders can innovate by linking Medium-Term Debt Strategies, Debt Sustainability Analyses, and Liability Management Operations with environmental, social performance targets and reforms to help optimize economic growth while transforming Africa’s debt management and aiming towards more proactive, investor-engaged and sustainability-informed fiscal resilience. The Forum also examined the IMF’s Debt Sustainability Framework, where participants identified significant gaps: climate downside risks are modelled in, but the risk-reduction benefits of resilience investments are not. The forum also aimed to foster partnerships with philanthropic foundations, multilateral agencies, and guarantee providers and support the joint design of guarantee and risk-sharing mechanisms tailored to African debt contexts. “Current circumstances suggest that we should double down on financing strategies for climate and nature action to build medium and long-term resilience. The connection between sovereign debt and climate, sovereign debt and domestic capital markets reform are part of an interconnected system, and we should look at how these things come together,” said Mark Napier, CEO of FSD Africa. African economies are currently navigating an increasingly complex policy landscape shaped by tightening fiscal space, rising debt vulnerabilities, and escalating climate risks. This combination of pressures is impacting macroeconomic resilience and limiting governments’ capacity to invest in sustainable development including critical sectors such as health or education. According to the African Development Bank (2024), total debt service in Africa has more than doubled over the past decade, reaching USD 163 billion, while interest payments alone now exceed public health budgets in thirty countries. In 2025, external debt service obligations are projected to reach USD 88.7 billion, further constraining fiscal space and crowding out essential investments in infrastructure, climate adaptation, and human capital. This rising fiscal burden threatens to entrench a cycle of low investment, weakened growth, and reduced resilience to external shocks. “At the core of Africa’s debt challenge, lies a structural issue in how our continent is assessed and priced in global financial markets.  Are we accurately pricing risk; or systematically mispricing Africa?,” said Claver Gatete at the start of the Forum this week. He called on participants to focus on four key priorities: embedding sustainability at the core of debt management; strengthening institutional and data foundations; engaging with investors and partners as strategic allies and setting clear; country-level priorities and actionable roadmaps guiding implementation through 2026 and beyond.  The Second African Forum on Sovereign Finance on “Enhancing Fiscal Space and Debt Sustainability” drew representatives from debt management offices and ministries of finance from 18 African countries, multilateral and regional financial institutions, philanthropic and guarantee partners, credit rating agencies, institutional investors, think tanks, academic institutions, and technical organizations working on sustainable finance, debt management, and climate economics. Issued by:Communications SectionEconomic Commission for AfricaPO Box 3001Addis AbabaEthiopiaTel: +251 11 551 5826E-mail: eca-info@un.org

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  Unlocking access to finance for Central African Republic SMEs amid growing AfCFTA and regional value chain opportunities

  par minilik.demissie le May 8, 2026

  4 May, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintBangui, 7 May 2026 (ECA) — In the Central African Republic, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain at the heart of economic activity, driving production, employment and local value creation across key sectors including agribusiness, timber processing, handicrafts, textiles and services. Yet despite their economic significance and entrepreneurial dynamism, many SMEs continue to face structural barriers to growth, foremost among them limited access to finance. For many businesses, constrained financing conditions continue to undermine investment capacity, business expansion and market competitiveness. This challenge has become increasingly critical as the Central African Republic advances its economic diversification agenda under the National Development Plan 2024–2028 and seeks to position itself within emerging subregional and continental value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It is against this backdrop that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Subregional Office for Central Africa, in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry for SMEs, and the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Central African Republic, will convene a high-level capacity-building workshop in Bangui from 19 to 21 May 2026 aimed at strengthening SME access to financing mechanisms and investment opportunities. The three-day workshop will bring together around thirty SMEs, financial institutions, public administrations and development partners to address one of the most persistent constraints affecting private sector development in the country: the disconnect between enterprise financing needs and the operational requirements of financial institutions. “Central African Republic SMEs possess significant potential to integrate regional value chains and leverage the opportunities created by the AfCFTA. Unlocking this potential requires stronger financial inclusion, enhanced investment readiness and more effective alignment between entrepreneurs and financing institutions,” said Ghitu-I Mundunge, Head of the operational unit for economic diversification policies and reforms at ECA Subregional Office for Central Africa. The workshop will provide participating enterprises with practical exposure to the financing landscape currently available in the Central African Republic, including commercial banking instruments, guarantee schemes and financing windows offered by institutions such as the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Participants will also strengthen their capacities in the preparation of bankable business plans, financial analysis, credit application procedures and investment pitching. Particular attention will be given to the recurrent technical weaknesses that often limit SME eligibility for financing. Beyond technical training, the initiative forms part of a broader strategic effort led by ECA and national stakeholders to position SMEs as a central pillar of structural transformation, productive diversification and regional economic integration in the Central African Republic. The workshop builds on a process initiated in 2025 that has already contributed to the identification of national priorities and the development of a more structured framework for supporting SMEs and regional value chains in the country. Media Queries Zacharie 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 Section Economic Commission for Africa PO Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251 11 551 5826 E-mail: eca-info@un.org

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  [Blog] Why Africa must put women and youth at the centre of clean energy transition

  par eskinder.tsegaye le May 8, 2026

  8 May, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintJudith Beatrice Auma Oduol, Keiso Matashane-Marite, Edna Akullq, Zuzana Schwidrowski Africa’s clean energy transition will only be fast, just, and investable if women and young people are treated as producers, workers, innovators, and decision-makers, and not merely as end users of clean energy solutions. A pivotal moment for policy choices Across the continent, energy poverty remains a defining constraint on inclusive and sustainable development. Around 666 million people globally still lack access to electricity, of which 85 per cent live in Africa, excluding North Africa[1], and nearly 730 million lack access to clean cooking energy, with serious consequences for health, education and livelihoods[2]. Women and girls in rural and marginalised communities are the hardest hit, spending far more time than men collecting fuel and managing household energy, often at the expense of schooling, paid work and safety. At the same time, Africa’s demographics and renewable resource base create a historic opportunity. The youth population is projected to exceed 800 million by mid‑century[3], and a scaled‑up clean energy transition could generate over 26 million additional jobs by 2050, including more than 8.1 million in renewables[4]. With the right policies, clean energy can become a driver of decent work, an enabler of a care‑economy, and a foundation for resilient, low-carbon growth. Why gender- and youth-responsive policy matters Evidence from ECA’s forthcoming report, Engendering Africa’s Clean Energy Transition, and the ARFSD‑12 side event on “Advancing Africa’s Clean Energy Transition: Policy Reforms for Expanded Access and Decent Jobs for Women and Youth” shows that the current trajectory is neither fully just nor inclusive. Women hold only about one‑fifth of jobs in African energy utilities and an even smaller share of technical roles, while young people remain underrepresented in formal energy decision‑making spaces. These gaps are largely the result of policy and institutional choices. In several countries, laws still restrict women’s employment in industrial sectors, while unequal property and inheritance rights limit their access to collateral and finance. Gender gaps in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, and weak workplace policies, constrain women’s entry into technical and leadership roles. Women‑ and youth-led enterprises face additional hurdles in accessing credit, markets, and business development support across the clean energy value chain. African solutions to build on A gender‑ and youth‑responsive approach to energy policy is therefore not optional. Without women and youth at the centre, Africa risks missing Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 7 and weakening the legitimacy and effectiveness of the energy transition. Discussions at ARFSD‑12 side-event highlighted that African countries are already demonstrating what works when gender perspectives are deliberately integrated into energy policy and programmes. Ghana’s 2019 Gender and Energy Policy links gender analysis, sex-disaggregated data, and gender-responsive budgeting to concrete programmes, such as the Rural LPG Promotion Programme, which engages women as agents and distributors of clean cooking solutions. Kenya has established a Gender Unit in the Ministry of Energy, adopted a gender policy in the energy sector and advanced programmes that bring women into off‑grid solar, last‑mile distribution and geothermal projects, including through employment quotas, anti‑harassment measures and support for women‑led enterprises. Zambia’s gender and energy initiatives, including the Zambia Gender and Energy Network, demonstrate how networks and rural electrification programmes can expand women’s participation in clean energy markets and governance. Regional financing initiatives such as the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa, GET.invest, and the Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund Africa are also beginning to apply gender-lens approaches, using blended finance and technical assistance to de-risk off-grid and clean energy enterprises that serve women and youth.   These experiences point to a core lesson: policy ambition must be paired with targeted implementation tools, such as gender and youth units, data systems, quotas, dedicated finance windows and structured partnerships, if it is to translate into jobs, enterprises and a agency for women and youth.   Three priority shifts for policymakers Discussions at ARFSD‑12 side event highlighted three priority directions for policy and investment. Hard‑wire gender and youth into energy governance and budgets Energy and climate policies, including Nationally Determined Contributions, should systematically integrate gender and age perspectives, with clear indicators and targets. Applying gender‑ - and youth-responsive budgeting in energy ministries and regulators can ensure that commitments translate into concrete programmes for access, skills, and enterprise support. Invest in skills and entrepreneurship pathways for women and youth Expanding technical and vocational training, apprenticeships, and mentorships in renewables, off-grid systems, energy efficiency, and clean cooking is essential to closing the skills gap. At the same time, green entrepreneurship ecosystems, including incubators, innovation hubs and business development services, are needed to move women and youth into higher‑value segments of the clean energy economy. Scale gender‑lens and youth‑responsive finance Development banks and commercial lenders should increase dedicated facilities and blended finance instruments tailored to women‑ - and youth-led energy enterprises, reduce collateral barriers, and provide technical assistance. Financing strategies must also respect human rights by ensuring that poor households are not left without affordable energy options as traditional fuels are phased out. How ECA will take this agenda forward For the Economic Commission for Africa this agenda is central to ongoing work on financial inclusion, women’s and youth entrepreneurship, gender‑ and youth‑responsive budgeting, and gender monitoring and measurement. Building on the ARFSD‑12 outcomes, ECA will: integrate gender‑responsive energy considerations into its analytical work and policy advice on financial inclusion and entrepreneurship; support member States to apply gender‑ and youth‑responsive budgeting and to track participation and benefits using sex‑ and age‑disaggregated data; and engage with regional and national development banks, governments, civil society and youth and women’s networks to advance practical financing and skills programmes that place women and youth at the heart of Africa’s clean energy future. By grounding these efforts in African evidence and partnerships, ECA aims to help ensure that Africa’s clean energy transition becomes a pathway to inclusive and sustainable growth, decent work, gender equality, youth empowerment and climate resilience for all.   [1] International Energy Agency (IEA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) (2025). Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025. Washington, DC: World Bank. [2] ESMAP (2021). Annual report 2021. Washington, DC: World Bank. Available at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/615511640189474271/pdf/Energy-Sector-Management-Assistance-Program-ESMAP-Annual-Report-2021.pdf [3] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (n.d.). World Population Prospects. Available at: https://population.un.org/wpp/ (accessed 6 March 2026). [4] International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). 2024. The energy transition in Africa: Opportunities for international collaboration with a focus on the G7.

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  MC14: Rethinking Africa’s role in global trade — from participation to strategic

  par eskinder.tsegaye le May 7, 2026

  24 March, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintYaoundé, 24 March 2026 (ECA) – Thirty years after the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the verdict is clear: Africa’s share of global merchandise trade has declined from 5% in 1994 to 2.8% in 2025, while its contribution to global manufacturing value added remains below 2%. This stark reality was at the heart of discussions led by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) during a side event held on 24 March 2026, on the margins of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14). The high-level dialogue brought together members of the African Group of WTO negotiators, AfCFTA chief negotiators from Central Africa, representatives of regional economic communities, international organizations, the United Nations system, as well as independent experts and civil society actors. A clear consensus emerged: trade liberalization alone does not deliver development. While Africa is fully integrated into the multilateral trading system, respecting its rules and contributing to negotiations, this institutional participation has not translated into the expected structural transformation. As Asia strengthened its position and moved up global value chains, Africa has largely remained confined to exporting low-value, unprocessed commodities. The cotton sector illustrates this reality starkly: in a global market of nearly 25 million tons, Africa remains marginal in textile processing, historically a key pathway to industrialization. This challenge is compounded by structural distortions, including $500 billion in annual agricultural subsidies in developed economies, which continue to undermine the competitiveness of African producers. Time for a strategic shift Against this backdrop, ECA’s dialogue delivered a strong message: Africa must move from a defensive posture to a proactive strategy of influence in global trade. The objective is no longer to simply adapt to existing rules, but to help shape them in line with the continent’s development priorities. As emphasized by Jean Luc Mastaki Namegabe, Director of the ECA Subregional Office for Central Africa: “MC14 is both a mirror and an opportunity for Africa to structure a strategic offensive aimed at securing concrete gains in industrialization, productive capacity, and regional integration.” At the core of this strategy lies a powerful yet underutilized tool: the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Far beyond a trade agreement, AfCFTA is a central instrument for building regional value chains, enhancing competitiveness, and repositioning Africa in the global economy. Its protocols on services, investment, digital trade, and intellectual property offer concrete spaces for influence—provided Africa fully mobilizes its negotiation and implementation capacities. For international trade expert Sékou Doumbouya, “the key challenge is to translate AfCFTA’s potential into real gains in productivity and competitiveness.” The services sector presents a major opportunity: between 2010 and 2023, global services trade grew by 95%, compared to 56% for goods. In Sub-Saharan Africa, services now account for 58% of GDP. “The issue is no longer to observe this shift, but to actively manage it,” he noted, highlighting four key drivers: digital technologies, pro-competition regulatory reforms, the integration of services as production inputs, and human capital development. MC14 may not, on its own, mark a decisive turning point for Africa. That turning point must be driven by the continent itself—by activating its own instruments, building its value chains, and asserting its priorities in global trade negotiations. As summarized by Adama Ekberg Coulibaly, Chief of the Subregional Initiatives Section at ECA: “Development outcomes will not be achieved without stronger alignment between trade, industrial policies, productive capacities, and accelerated regional integration.” 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

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  Africa Climate Talks call for stronger negotiating capacity and implementation-focused COP32 in Addis Ababa

  par minilik.demissie le May 7, 2026

  1 May, 2026Share this:facebooktwitteremailprintAddis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1 May 2026 - The 7th Africa Climate Talks concluded in Addis Ababa with a strong call for Africa to strengthen its negotiating capacity, build wider coalitions, and position COP32 as a decisive moment for climate implementation, accountability and resilience. Presenting the highlights of the 30th April to 1 May, meeting, Cosmas Ochieng, Director of the Climate Change, Food Security and Natural Resources Division at the Economic Commission for Africa, said the 7th Africa Climate Talks focused on positioning COP32 for success in three priority areas: strengthening Africa’s negotiating capacity; building broader coalitions around implementable outcomes; and advancing measures outside the formal convention process that can support the goals of COP32. Held on the margins of the 12th African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development ahead of the 2026 COP31 in Türkiye and the 2027 COP32 in Addis Ababa, the meeting brought together African climate negotiators, experts, policymakers, scientists and civil society representatives to consolidate Africa’s post-COP30 climate agenda and define a coordinated continental approach toward future climate negotiations. The meeting took place at a critical moment for global climate action. With the emissions gap widening, climate impacts intensifying, and trust in international commitments under strain, participants emphasized that the credibility of the multilateral climate process will increasingly depend on delivery, not declarations. Africa’s hosting of COP32 in Addis Ababa in 2027 was described as a moment of global consequence. Participants noted that the conference was taking place when the international community must demonstrate tangible progress on adaptation, loss and damage, climate finance and the implementation of Global Stocktake outcomes. The 7th Africa Climate Talks reviewed outcomes from the Second Africa Climate Summit, CCDA-XIII and COP30, examined the implications of the first Global Stocktake for Africa’s forthcoming NDC 3.0 cycle, and discussed finance, adaptation, just transition, carbon markets, and the links between trade and climate. Participants called for a more structured follow-up process, including working groups to identify critical issues for the negotiating track and prepare analytical papers to guide Africa’s engagement in the lead-up to COP32. They also proposed a dedicated coalition-building process to mobilize support from governments, academia, business, civil society and international partners around practical and measurable outcomes. Discussions also highlighted the need to connect climate, nature and land agendas while protecting the integrity of the different global conventions. Speakers emphasized the importance of integrated learning spaces, stronger African scientific capacity, and closer links between research institutions, universities and government ministries. Community ownership emerged as a central theme. Participants stressed that communities should not be treated only as beneficiaries of climate action, but as co-creators of solutions. They called for nature-based solutions that are rights-based, ecologically credible, development-enhancing, and anchored in land tenure, benefit-sharing, local knowledge and gender justice. On finance and technology, speakers underscored the need for home-grown African carbon solutions, stronger monitoring and traceability systems, fair and interoperable carbon markets, and greater access to green technology as a public good. They also called for increased domestic financing and stronger action to address global misperceptions that constrain investment in Africa. The 7th Africa Climate Talks reaffirmed that Africa’s role in the global climate process must shift from receiving decisions to shaping implementation. By grounding its approach in science, equity, finance, institutional coordination and development priorities, Africa aims to ensure that COP32 in Addis Ababa delivers concrete progress for the continent and the world. Issued by: Communications Section Economic Commission for Africa PO Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251 11 551 5826 E-mail: eca-info@un.org