Al-Mashat:

• Employment rates and youth skills development are among the biggest challenges facing the African continent.

• We urge the World Bank to strengthen the employment agenda through development in the continent and encourage industry and entrepreneurship.

• The necessity of expanding economic, commercial, and industrial zones and promoting industries with high added value.

• Qualifying the African workforce with the skills required to meet the challenges of the digital economy is a pillar for increasing employment rates.

H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation and Egypt’s Governor at the World Bank Group, delivered the speech of the Governors of the African Group at the Bank during the Group’s meeting with H.E. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group. 

This took place during the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, held in Washington until April 26. 

In her speech, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat pointed to one of the biggest challenges facing Africa, which is the necessity to ensure the existence of key pathways for job creation and equipping the workforce with the necessary skills required by the market, noting that about a third of working-age individuals without jobs live in Africa.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized that despite the efforts made by the World Bank Group to create job opportunities, we need a larger volume of these jobs commensurate with the current challenges.

Therefore, we urge the World Bank Group to strengthen the jobs and economic transformation agenda through some vital pathways, including financing physical and digital infrastructure. This is through providing additional support from the Bank Group in building, renovating, expanding, and modernizing railways, roads, bridges, ports, airports, water supply systems, wastewater treatment, electricity networks, irrigation systems, and other infrastructure in the field of agricultural technology, digital communication networks and internet services, platforms, technology startups, and innovation centers that will open opportunities in the technology and services sectors.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat also pointed out the importance of financing local manufacturing, calling on the World Bank Group to support the development of economic, commercial, and industrial zones, and to promote local industries such as textiles, electronics, and chemicals, as well as factories for renewable energy components such as solar panels, wind and hydro turbines, and measurement systems.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat reiterated that promoting industries with high added value also represents a key opportunity, and the Bank can also support these activities, particularly in the extractive, agricultural, and energy sectors to process raw materials locally to preserve local value; as well as in the fields of ecotourism and waste management to generate job opportunities while preserving environmental goals. 

This is in addition to the importance of empowering small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship initiatives in Africa, which can be supported through financial support, soft credit, and alternative financing sources (such as venture capital) that can help companies expand job opportunities and enable young African entrepreneurs to obtain the indispensable tools to start and develop their own businesses.

Regarding the “Future of Jobs 2025” report issued by the World Economic Forum, which highlights the shared focus on technology-based skills and human capabilities, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat said that it is important for the World Bank Group’s interventions in the field of human capital to be multi-sectoral and effective in leveraging the integrated cooperation approach within the World Bank Group, by strengthening partnerships between the public and private sectors. 

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat highlighted that given that job creation requires a skilled workforce, it is therefore crucial for the Bank Group to finance vocational training and guidance programs to enable individuals and communities to meet the needs of the industry, which will transform informal jobs into formal ones and enhance economic dynamism.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat clarified that it is essential to address the need to collect and analyze accurate and robust data to support political and developmental decision-making, calling on the World Bank Group to accelerate the implementation and provision of new data and analysis within the “Knowledge Agenda” to keep pace with economic developments and achieve development goals. 

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat noted that based on the World Bank Group’s own analysis, we must take into account the findings of the 2023 World Development Report on “Migrants, Refugees, and Societies” to emphasize the need for effective management of economic migration to help balance demographic disparities and ensure sustainable development.

In conclusion, H.E. Minister Al-Mashat affirmed that the success of these pathways requires strong cooperation, expressing the support of the African Governors Group for the continued cooperation of the World Bank Group with the “Private Sector Investment Lab” and the “High-Level Advisory Council on Jobs” to develop and implement innovative tools and risk mitigation instruments, while ensuring regular updates and transparent communication, in addition to strengthening partnerships and opportunities for cooperation and integration through existing and new co-financing platforms.