A partnership to accelerate sustainable development in Africa

Africa is a continent with exceptional growth potential. It has abundant natural resources, dynamic demographics, and growing economies. Despite its strengths, Africa faces many challenges. Global issues such as climate change, pandemics, hunger, conflicts, and population displacement threaten to stifle the potential of the continent, particularly in Sahel and the Horn of Africa. Moreover, at the current rate of progress, it will take approximately 100 years to achieve gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa^[1].

Africa must rely on its private sector to tackle these challenges. Businesses play a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals across the continent, particularly for SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 13 (action on climate change). Thus, it is alarming to observe that SMEs, which represent 90% of African companies, are substantially less advanced than large companies in terms of incorporating sustainable development into their activities. These shortcomings not only harm the trajectory of African countries, but they also penalize SMEs directly. Indeed, the standards of multinational companies^[2] are reinforced by investor and customer expectations, as well as by the creation of new international frameworks African SMEs will miss the opportunity to engage in international supply chains if they do not learn to integrate robust social, environmental, and governance practices.

Sitting at the intersection of the United Nations and the private sector, the United Nations Global Compact is uniquely positioned to empower businesses to make a meaningful contribution to Africa’s sustainable development. To catalyze efforts, the UN Global Compact has launched an Africa Strategy that aims to increase its presence on the continent and develop new programs tailored to local needs. The UN Global Compact currently oversees ten local networks in Africa, including four in French-speaking countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritius/Indian Ocean Region (covering Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, and Comoros). The Africa Strategy includes an expansion plan in several countries on the continent, including five French-speaking countries: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and the Republic of Congo. As part of its Africa Strategy, the Global Compact will strengthen the capacities of its existing local networks and develop new ones in order to be a major actor in the sustainable transformation of African businesses.  

To achieve this strategy, the UN Global Compact has been working with many public and private actors. It was then that the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs sought to support the UN Global Compact’s Africa Strategy This collaboration is consistent with the priorities shared by both institutions. Indeed, in 2021, the French Parliament adopted the programming law on inclusive development and the fight against global inequalities, which emphasizes inclusive development and the fight against inequalities. Using the Sustainable Development Goals as a compass, France has committed to increasing its official development assistance budget, with a particular focus on African countries. To this end, France promotes the development of African SMEs through initiatives such as Choose Africa, which is supported by the AFD Group, and the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa, which was launched at the Summit on Financing African Economies (SFEA) in May 2021. Thus, the support of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs will strengthen and enhance the role of businesses in achieving the 2030 Agenda.  

^[1] World Economic Forum (2022). Global Gender Gap Report 2022. WEF_GGGR_2022.pdf (weforum.org)

^[2] such as the proposal for an European Union directive on corporate responsibility to respect human rights and the environment in global value chains. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1145