Responsible business practices can help companies big and small attract young talent and also new sources of finance to grow and thrive, writes Sanda Ojiambo
My experience of working in business in Kenya and now with the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, is that sustainability works. It helps train the focus on key material issues for longer term success by providing an extended vision of the trajectory of a business. Sustainability is helping to fire up the best new business ideas on the continent. It is fostering innovation and is addressing some of our most pressing needs, such as the fight against climate change.
As the world bounces back from the ravages of the pandemic, Africa is uniquely positioned for far stronger growth. With 1.3 billion people and a combined gross domestic product of $3.5 trillion, Africa is the world’s biggest growth market.
Young people hold the key to unlocking Africa’s economic potential. With the youngest population in the world – almost 60 percent are aged under 25 [1] – Africa is well placed to grow. And the best way to take advantage of the demographic dividend of a youthful population is to build a healthy, robust and resilient economy. This should start with ensuring access to vaccines and continue with a new focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which open new opportunities for business. Realizing the vision of a prosperous Africa
Driving greater sustainability is Africa’s most significant growth opportunity. Meeting the SDG goals by 2030 means, among other things, connecting 570 million Africans who lack access to electricity at present [2] . It means making sure that more farm produce reaches markets in good condition. According to the Business and Sustainable Development Commission [3] , reducing food losses in the value chain would add $57 billion to farmers’ incomes. Efforts in this direction are already under way. Rwanda has reduced post-harvest losses by 60 percent with the introduction of small silos and crates for transport. In Nigeria, ColdHubs [4] provides solar-powered cold storage facilities that can extend the shelf-life of perishable foods from two to 21 days.
When you consider the opportunities for delivering sustainable cities, and for managing Africa’s vast natural resources sustainably, the Commission estimates that achieving the SDGs would unlock an economic prize of at least $1.1 trillion and create 85 million new jobs on the continent by 2030. One […]