Swiss 3.2 million francs for Africa young entrepreneurs

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the Government of the Swiss Confederation (SECO) and the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) have signed two agreements to fund African initiatives on the sidelines of the AfDB 2019 Annual Meetings.

SECO contributed 3 million Swiss francs to the Entrepreneurship Lab (E-Lab) for innovative young entrepreneurs and 200,000 Swiss francs to the Urban & Municipal Development Fund for Africa (UMDF) which helps African cities plan and manage urban growth and climate-resilient development by improving governance and basic services.

“These days it’s important that partners work together to put talents together in a complementary fashion. These are two areas which are forward-leaning and positive for the African continent,” said Raymund Furrer, Bank Governor for Switzerland who signed on behalf of SECO at the Sipopo Conference Center in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, AfDB Vice-President for Finance and Chief Finance Officer, signed on behalf of the AfDB. “Our partnership goes beyond the consistent and strong support of the two main windows of the AfDB. Let me then take this opportunity to thank Switzerland for these two very valuable contributions, but also, for being our long-standing partner,” she said.

Switzerland joined the African Development Fund almost 50 years ago in 1972 and has been a full member of the African Development Bank for close to 40 years since 1982.

The E-Lab, a component of AfDB’s Boost Africa strategy, provides innovative young entrepreneurs with financing, technical assistance and broader ecosystem support through incubators, accelerators, fund managers and others.

Five countries, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, have been identified to pilot it.

Boost Africa was launched in partnership with the AfDB and the European Investment Bank to enhance entrepreneurship and innovation across Africa. The initiative, which has also received backing from the European Commission and other donors, is part of AfDB’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy (2016-2025) to create 25 million jobs and impact 50 million youth by catalysing private sector investments that create employment for youth.