Why this Initiative for Poverty Reduction Through Entrepreneurship in Africa  ?



I was, by chance, born in a well-off social environment (*).

I also had the good fortune of being brought up by parents who, in spite of their social standing, kept several good old values such as efforts in life, work, aversion for carelessness, waste etc.

Moreover, luckily for me, I have had a very good education, with ahead clear prospects for a job corresponding to my level of education and aspirations .

I know that this kind of ideal route is not the standard one for African youth today, far from it ...

Indeed, ILO 2006 Report entitled “ Global Employment Trends For Youth” draws an alarming picture, after analysing the reasons for the worsening of youth poverty and unemployment in an African continent however supposed to have achieved a rather good growth rate lately.

While noting that all over the world youth is among the best assets of countries, the Report underlines that youths are also a rather vulnerable group in the labour market. It is indicated that today's youth face a growing deficit of decent work opportunities and high levels of economic and social uncertainty. I will add to this another factor : too much emphasis on political and civil rights to the detriment of other equally important human rights. Indeed, I have always stated that human rights have, for a (too) long time, been limited to civil and political rights which, in the past and still now, have given rise to an unprecedented mobilization throughout the world. Because of the difficulties and problems faced by developing countries and particularly African countries, economic rights are now remembered and considered as being worth being included as priorities (2).


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(1) in 1921, my two grand-fathers (from my mother's and father's side) Erdman Etéki and David Mandessi Bell were the only Black members of the colonial Chamber of Commerce in Cameroon, sitting with the representatives of the big colonial companies and banks (Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale, Cie Française Sangha Oubanghi, Cie Française de l'Afrique Occidentale etc.). Click here (3rd page : 190, pdf file).

A few additional information on them here.

(2) in this trend :

- in the Report itself, the analysis on youth poverty with a reminder of the fact that poverty entails multiple dimensions of deprivation, in addition to the reference to UN Millennium Development Goals including “both civil and political liberties and economic and social rights as primary goals of development and the principal means of progress”,

- the address of Mr Koffi Annan, former UN Secretary-General to the world leaders in May 2006 quoted in this Report as follows  :   « The UN Secretary General recently called upon Heads of States to work to put an end to the vicious circle of youth unemployment, noting that youth are our most valuable asset, our future. The sentiment was further advanced by the Ministers and Heads of Delegations participating in the High-Level Segment of the 2006 Substantive Session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) who committed themselves to “develop[ing] and implement[ing] strategies that give youth everywhere a real and equal opportunity to find full and productive employment and decent work” and reiterated their commitment “to mainstream youth employment into national development strategies and agendas; to develop policies and programmes for enhancing the employability of youth, including through education, training and lifelong learning that meet labour market requirements; and to promote access to work through integrated policies that enable the creation of new and quality jobs for young people and facilitate access to those jobs, including through information and training initiatives »,

- 2006 Nobel Prize awarded to Muhamad Yunus and Grameen Bank for their achievements in micro-credits.