The President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, George Agyekum Nana Donkor has listed some of the solutions to the economic, agricultural, and unemployment challenges bedevilling the West African sub-region.
This is as he laments that there are no jobs for millions of students that graduate from universities within the sub-region annually.
He said such development among others, constitutes a part of the economic challenges facing the region but seized the moment to call for urgent solutions by relevant stakeholders.
As disclosed by the bank in its X page on Saturday, Donkor raised the concern during the ECOWAS Investment Forum 2024 which took in Lomé, Togo between April 4 and 5, 2024.
At the maiden 2024 edition of the EIF tagged, “Transforming ECOWAS Communities in a Challenging Environment”, the president maintained that West African governments must step up by investing resources to drive future economy, explore agriculture and do away from unnecessary borrowing.
Donkor said,
- “Our universities churn out millions of students every year, but there’s no job for them.
- “There is a need to de-emphasize sovereign borrowing. We must pay attention to smart private sector borrowing. Infrastructure bonds are necessary – matching revenue with the borrowing cost.
- “Agricultural technologies are critical for food security. There is the need to create markets for agricultural trade.
- “Development of storage facilities to store excesses produced to stabilize prices during the off-season.”
- “There is the need to develop financial instruments. Invest resources including resources that will drive the future economy, placing us in a position to negotiate from a position of strength.”
Donkor highlighted that agricultural technology is one of the key areas the Bank would support member states to address regional challenges.
He said one cannot continue to do the normal farming we have been doing, adding ” our mandate is to add value such as storage, provisions of fertilizer and construction of roads.’
Donkor also encouraged public-private Partnerships (PPPs) as a way to addressing infrastructure deficits.
More insight
- The ECOWAS Investment Forum is a maiden event by the bank aimed at bringing development partners and stakeholders to brainstorm on investment opportunities across key sectors of ECOWAS Member States.
- Key discussions of the forum revolved around education, healthcare, infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and global market access in ECOWAS.
- Donkor’s submission on education agrees with the International Labour Organization, which in its 2020 report, adviced policy makers to focus on “Tackling the youth employment challenge” in Africa.
- The EBID was established to serve as a development finance institution of ECOWAS member states comprising Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
- The bank’s vision is to lead wealth creation, economic growth and industrialisation for the well-being of the people in the region.