AfCFTA Conference on Women and Youth in Trade

• Excellency, Mr. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of AfCFTA,
• Leaders and Senior Government Officials from Africa,
• Development Partners, UN colleagues, Women and Youth traders,
• Invited Guests, Mabibi na Mbwana

Habari za Mchana.

Wanawake Oyee, Vijana Oyee,

Please allow me to begin by congratulating everyone that has been involved in organizing this successful conference, including: the AfCFTA Secretariat, respective Governments, UN Women, UNDP, and all other partners who have supported the conference. I also acknowledge participants from national exporters associations, chambers of commerce, business councils, women and youth groups and CSOs, for being actively engaged in the discussions, events and exhibitions that took place over the last several days.

We thank Tanzania for its leadership in hosting this event, which has brought together such a diverse range of stakeholders from so many different sectors and countries. Convening stakeholders in a forum such as this one is important for developing a shared vision for an AfCFTA that pays special attention to the challenges faced by women and youth on the continent. It is important that women, youth and other important groups are in the room when policies are being developed, so that their views can inform and help shape proposed solutions to the challenges they experience on a day-to-day basis.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that more than 30.4 million Africans fell into extreme poverty in 2020 as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, with another 38.7 million in 2021. In Sub-Saharan Africa, women accounted for the biggest share of net job losses, partly because of their over-representation among informal workers who were heavily affected by lockdowns, and workplace and border closures.

The pandemic had a triple shock effect on the region’s young people, namely: job and income losses, the risk of deteriorating labour rights and disruptions in education and training, which pose additional obstacles to finding work, re-entering labour market, or transitioning to better jobs.

I could continue to give more evidence… The bottom line is that the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on women and youth. We can also expect that the effects of higher prices of oil, fertilizers, wheat, maize, and various other damaging effects caused by the war in Ukraine will have disproportionate impact on women and youth, as will the continued impacts of climate change.

Such a global context makes this conference even more important. The World Bank estimates that the AfCFTA will boost Africa’s income by $450 billion by 2035 and increase intra-Africa exports by over 81 per cent. The Agreement is also expected to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and 68 million people out of moderate poverty.

The AfCFTA offers hope for the continent in the face of challenging global times. ‘Building back better’ has become a familiar phrase post-COVID and the AfCFTA is, for Africa, a key instrument for building back better. It offers an opportunity to accelerate trade in the region and use it more effectively for growth and sustainable development and to ensure resilience and economic transformation.

This week’s conference and its Declaration are important for ensuring that the expected economic benefits of the AfCFTA are inclusive and that existing inequalities do not prevent women and youth from taking advantage of the opportunities that it offers. I hope that the Declaration will help shape the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade, to help address the challenges being faced by women and youth in Tanzania, East Africa and the entire continent.

As the United Nations in Tanzania, we have been supporting women and youth in the country for many years, in many areas, including education, vocational and business skills training, agriculture, value-chain addition, accessing markets and financing, and other areas. We also work with the Government and other stakeholders, to develop and review policies with the aim of ensuring they pay special attention to the needs of women and youth. At the regional level, the United Nations has supported a study to inform the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade, to ensure inclusive socio-economic development and that no one is left behind.

As some of you may be aware, the UN and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania recently launched the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-2027 which will guide the work of the UN in Tanzania for the next five years and our support to the implementation the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the national development priorities.

UNSDCFs are a new generation of UN cooperation frameworks that emphasize enhancing collaboration with and among a wide range of stakeholders for advancing the development agenda. Under the UNSDCF, the UN will continue working directly with women and youth to give them the skills and capacity for sustainable livelihoods.

We will also collaborate with partners such as AfCFTA to bring together stakeholders, to accelerate progress on implementing the SDGs, the AU Agenda 2063 and the national development vision and priorities.

I once again congratulate everyone from the organizers to the participants on realising this very successful and important conference. I call on all stakeholders to take action to work towards an AfCTFA that does not leave behind women and youth.

Asanteni sana!