Brexit and economic deceleration in China pose risks for Africa’s growth says ECA director

APO News from Africa:

Brexit and economic deceleration in China pose risks for Africa’s growth says ECA director:

Africa’s economy is set to feel the effects of Brexit following Britain’s formal trigger Wednesday of the two-year exit process from the European Union after last year’s historic referendum vote to leave the EU.

Director Adam Elhiraika of the of Economic Commission’s Macroeconomic Policy Division says Africa’s economic growth declined from 3,7 percent in 2015 to 1,7 percent in 2016 due to weak global economic conditions, persistent low oil prices and adverse weather conditions and may further be affected by Brexit.

“The effects of Brexit may slow the global economy with spillover effects into Africa, mainly through trade and financial channels,” Mr. Elhiraika said as he spoke about the ECA’s Economic Report on Africa (ERA) 2017 which was launched Saturday in Dakar.

He added; “Economic deceleration in China, subdued performance of the euro area and low commodity prices also pose risks for Africa’s growth. Rising debt levels also pose a concern for continental long-term growth.”

Mr. Elhiraika said although Africa’s medium-term growth prospects remained positive despite risks and uncertainties, growth continued to decline regardless of a sluggish recovery in global commodity prices.

He said weather-related shocks remained a regional risk, in particular in parts of eastern and southern Africa and could lead to poor harvests and heighten the risk of inflation.

Ultimately Africa’s growth is expected to rebound despite global headwinds even after feeling the effects of Brexit and all but Mr. Elhiraika said also of concern was the fact that security remained a risk in some African countries affecting economic growth in the process.

He said progress in combating poverty and addressing inequalities on the continent remained slow raising the need for countries to embrace the rapid urbanization on the continent and coming up with policies that will spur sustainable, inclusive growth.

“The high level of initial inequality, rapid population growth and delayed demographic transition and the sectoral composition of growth are some factors responsible for the limited impact of economic growth on poverty reduction,” he said.

ERA2017 urges governments in Africa to implement urban and industrial policies in a coordinated manner and to instigate and coordinate investments in urban infrastructure, particularly in electricity and transport, both to support industrial enterprises and to meet urban populations’ needs.

Titled; “Urbanization and Industrialization for Africa’s Transformation”, the ERA looks at recent economic and social developments in Africa and offers policy recommendations to Member States and the 2017 edition specifically calls on Africa to take advantage of rapid urbanization being experienced throughout the continent.

Africa is expected to be predominantly urban by 2050 with the average annual rate of urban growth over the period 2010-2015 estimated at 3,6 percent, much higher than the rest of the world.

However, close to 60 percent of people in Africa still live in rural areas.

“Unlike global trends, urban-rural differential in welfare and living standards in Africa do not converge with increasing urbanization,” said Mr. Elhiraika.

He said recent developments in the global economy have demonstrated that Africa’s dependence on commodity exports is not sustainable and suggested the continent diversifies and emphasize value addition through commodity-based industrialization.

“Volatility in commodity prices calls for prudent and counter-cyclical macroeconomic policies and strategies,” said Mr. Elhiraika, adding; “There’s need also to boost productivity and competitiveness by building the continent’s infrastructure and increased investment in research and development.”

He said Africa also needs to enact policies that promote agricultural growth and increase its global competitiveness, adding this is crucial to reducing poverty and overall income inequality and enhancing structural transformation in Africa.

The policy response to urbanization, he said, needs to cover the entire rural-urban continuum, including secondary cities.

Distributed by APO on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

South African Team Runner Up in Mozilla’s Equal Rating Innovation Challenge:

Afri-Fi: Free Public WiFi has been announced as the “Runner-Up” in Mozilla’s Equal Rating Innovation Challenge (www.EqualRating.com) with a funding award of US$ 75,000. With this global competition, Mozilla (www.Mozilla.org) called for creative and scalable ideas to provide affordable access to the full diversity of the open internet. Mozilla offered awards, totaling USD 250,000 in funding and expert mentorship to bring these solutions to the market. It received 100 submissions from 27 countries. The final shortlist of best five entries was chosen by an esteemed panel of expert Judges (www.EqualRating.com/judges) from around the world.

Afri-Fi: Free Public WiFi is an extension of the highly awarded and successful Project Isizwe, where 2.9 million users all access 500MB of free daily WiFi data. The key goal of Afri-Fi is to create a sustainable business model by linking together free wifi networks throughout South Africa and engaging users meaningfully with advertisers so they can “earn” free wifi.

“The team has proven how their solution for a free internet is supporting thriving communities in South Africa,” concluded Marlon Parker, Founder of Reconstructed Living Labs (http://RLabs.org), on behalf of the jury. “Their approach towards community building, partnerships, developing local community entrepreneurs and inclusivity, with a goal of connecting some of the most marginalized communities, are all key factors in why they deserve this recognition and are leading the free Internet movement in Southern Africa,” said Parker.                                                   

In reaction to the “Runner-Up” award, Tim Genders, COO of Project Isizwe, said: “The divide between rich and poor is being defined as your ability to access the Internet. Free wi-fi allows everyone to gain access. Free wi-fi allows the poor to play on the same field as the rich. Free wi-fi removes the barriers to education, social inclusion, skills development and job applications. In short, free wi-fi empowers.” Genders added: “Our next steps are to make free wi-fi scalable and self-sustaining through an advertising model. We want to make free wi-fi the new medium to get messages out to communities.”

In Africa, availability and affordability of Internet access is one of the new grand challenges that the continent is faced with. “I was particularly delighted to see strong African representation in the semi-finalists,” said Omobola Johnson, the former Communication Technology Minister of Nigeria and Partner of TLcom Capital LLP, “the solutions were contextually innovative and they all emphasized a strong need to collaborate; big companies, local governments, rural communities, Telco’s, all working together to implement solutions where each of them come out a winner. This unique approach provides a strong platform for sustainability, and I do hope the prize money will go to further scale these projects and extend knowledge gained to other parts of the world with similar context.”

The Overall Winner of the Equal Rating Innovation Challenge and receiving US$ 125,000 in funding is Mumbai-based Project Gram Marg Solution for Rural Broadband. Gram Marg utilizes unused white space on the TV spectrum to backhaul data from village wifi clusters to provide broadband access (frugal 5G). The team of academics and field workers around Professor Abhay Karandikar, Dean (Faculty Affairs) and Institute Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, leverages what people already have in their homes, and creates rugged receivers and transmitters to connect villages in even the most difficult terrains. The solution has been rolled out in 25 villages on a pilot basis so far.

The “Most Novel” award worth US$ 30,000 went to Bruno Vianna and his team from the Free Networks P2P Cooperative in Brazil. Rather than focusing on technology, the Coop has created a financial and logistical model that can be tailored to different villages’ respective norms and community. The team experiments with ways to engage communities through “barn-raising” group activities, deploying “open calls” for leadership to reinforce the democratic nature of their approach, and instituting a sense of “play” for the villagers when learning how to use the equipment.

Following the announcement, Katharina Borchert, Chief Innovation Officer at Mozilla, noted in a blog post, “Mozilla started this initiative because we believe in the power of collaborative solutions to tackle big issues. We wanted to take action and encourage change. At Mozilla, our commitment to Equal Rating through policy, innovation, research, and support of entrepreneurs in the space will continue beyond this Innovation Challenge, but it will take a global community to bring all of the internet to all people.”

Mozilla, the non-profit organization behind the open source browser Firefox, launched the ‘Equal Rating Innovation Challenge’ in October 2016 as part of its endeavor to help catalyse new thinking and innovation for providing open internet access to communities living without it. 

Distributed by APO on behalf of Mozilla.

Media Contact:
Bianca Gardella
Bianca.Gardella@OFYT.co.za
+27 (0) 71 350 2478
+27 (0) 21 461 5178

About Mozilla:
Mozilla (www.Mozilla.org) is a pioneer and advocate for the Open Web for more than 15 years. We create and promote open standards that enable innovation and advance the Web as a platform for all. Today, hundreds of millions of people worldwide use Mozilla Firefox to experience the Web on computers, tablets and mobile devices. For more information, visit www.Mozilla.org and www.EqualRating.com.

Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa