MARCH 2023
Hello friends,
Happy International Women’s Day! This year, the United Nations is observing the holiday under the theme ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,’ which brings attention to the digital marginalization of women and calls for action to bridge this gap. During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies became especially vital to many enterprises, but women were often left behind. Africa Program scholar, Jane Munga, who was recently attending the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, asks policymakers to address socioeconomic barriers to expanding African women’s access to affordable smartphones and data.
Our chart of the month looks at African women's participation in business. Just 14% of African firms have a female top manager, 19% of overall business owners are female, and 28% of businesses have female participation in ownership. While women’s entrepreneurship in Africa is traditionally higher than in several other regions, women’s participation in formal enterprises remains low and would require targeted supporting policies.
Nigeria’s recently concluded presidential election is one of the most significant for the entire continent. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos, won the highly competitive election with a small margin, amidst low voter turnout, voting technology failures, and distrust of the electoral commission. In a series of articles, Ebenezer Obadare, who sits a few blocks away at the Council on Foreign Relations, called on the international community to “help Nigeria make the best of an imperfect situation” and detailed the “echo chamber” and “tunnel vision” that characterized much of Western media's skewed coverage of the presidential election. The elections will conclude this weekend with the race for governorship and legislative seats across Nigeria’s 36 states. Be on the lookout for an analysis of the high attrition rates of women candidates in the country’s elections, in the next installment of our Pivotal Elections in Africa series.
In late February, I was honored to deliver the keynote address on Africa’s changing global role at the United States Africa Command 2023 African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Rome, Italy. I also participated in a roundtable discussion at the White House earlier this month. It was a privilege to speak with the Office of the Vice President and Africa policy specialists on U.S.-Africa relations and ways to advance a twenty-first century partnership on climate, digitalization, diaspora, and other areas.
Later this month, we will host a special discussion with leading experts on the changing relationship between the United States, China, and Africa, as well as how Africa's development priorities of industrialization, job creation, and universal electrification can remain top of the agenda in this rapidly changing geopolitical arena. Keep an eye out for an event announcement in the upcoming week, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up with the program's events and publications.
Sincerely,
Zainab Usman
Director, Carnegie Africa Program
CHART OF THE MONTH
March 2023 Chart of the Month
FEATURES
With the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, Washington appears to be finally reframing its relationship with Africa in largely positive terms. Yet much hinges on the financing and implementation of the dozens of initiatives announced at the summit. Zainab Usman, Juliette Ovadia, & Aline Abayo
The climate and energy policies of the United States and African countries should build on three shared interests—and address three strategic tensions. Katie Auth
While Macron’s pivot has created new political space for France-Africa engagement on more equal footing, the French president’s vision of mutual aid and reciprocal partnerships between France and African countries remains unfulfilled. Corentin Cohen
Instead of fixating on infrastructure, African countries should look to the experience of Latin American countries with similar resource endowments: a greater relative abundance of land than low-cost labor. David Ndii
DEVELOPMENTS ON OUR RADAR
- President Azali Assoumani of Comoros Takes Over as the New Chairperson of the African Union (AU) for 2023. [African Union]
- How the U.S. Aims to Compete With China in Critical Resource Mining. [China Global South Project]
- The Second Russia-Africa Summit and an Economic and Humanitarian Forum Will Take Place in July 2023, in St. Petersburg. [Russia-Africa Summit]
- President Biden Announces U.S. Nomination of Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank. [The White House]
- France Must Demonstrate 'Profound Humility' Towards Africa, Macron Says Before Four-Nation Trip. [France24]