UNDP Report Launch: Realizing Africa's Wealth – Building Inclusive Businesses, 10 May Cape Town, 24 May Addis Ababa

Africa’s wealth lies primarily in its people – a young and growing population in search of opportunity. By enabling these individuals to engage in business, the private sector unleashes people’s potential. Inclusive businesses integrate low-income people into their value chains, thus creating opportunities for this group in a targeted way. It is our joint interest to create a better basis for communication and coordination among actors from different sectors working to support inclusive businesses in sub-Saharan Africa.

"Our destination is clear: A future where Africa’s wealth enriches all of Africa’s people. Where Africa’s goods get a fair price on the global market. Where global partnership mean shared prosperity."
- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The new upcoming UNDP flagship report: “Realizing Africa’s Wealth – Building Inclusive Businesses for Shared Prosperity“ aims to be a starting point in what is expected to be a continuous process of mapping, understanding and improving local support for inclusive business.

The report will provide the status quo on inclusive business and its promise in Africa with insights from over 170 in-depth enterprise and ecosystem case studies, expert interviews and survey responses.

The study points out that including the poor into the value chains is key to increasing business opportunities, providing employment and take advantage of high growth rates with regards to food security and poverty reduction.

By providing incentives, information, investment and implementation services, actors from all sectors can improve an inclusive business friendly environment and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and their post-2015 agenda through a successful scale-up process.

The report clearly emphasizes on joint and coordinated action of diverse public, private and civil society actors.

We are therefore looking forward to share this inspiring work about challenges and opportunities for inclusive businesses in Africa with you. Business leaders, policy makers, academia and civil society leader with an interest in inclusive business and private sector development are invited to one of the two regional report launches:

• Cape Town, South Africa - 10 May 2013 (alongside WEF Africa), Cape Town International Convention Centre

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - 24 May 2013, UNECA Conference Center

For more details see the invitation with agenda drafts and UNDP AFIM homepage.

To register please email by 30April 2013 to Juergen Nagler, UNDP African Facility for Inclusive Markets (AFIM), juergen.nagler@undp.org.

Provide your full contact details and indicating which event you would like to attend. Due to budget constraints, UNDP is unable to cover travel and related costs.