The 17th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa kicked off Wednesday with the leader of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom announcing one of the first donations to a new fund aimed at supporting
businesses in Africa.
Baroness Amos told reporters at WEF-Africa that Britain would be contributing US$20 million (approx R140 million) over three years to the recently announced Africa Enterprise Development Fund, set up to encourage entrepreneurship on the continent.
The UKs contribution is a significant boost to the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund which aims to stimulate private sector entrepreneurs in Africa. This is the right approach because encouraging small, independant businesses and entrepreneurial ideas helps developing countries reduce poverty and create sustainable business growth. The fund will look to support businesses which innovate and find profitable ways of improving access to markets and the way markets function for the poor, particularly in rural areas.
It will do this by offering grants, matched by private sector contributions, to innovative business ideas which encourage greater participation of poor people in markets – as consumers, workers or entrepreneurs. It will become operational in early 2008 and will have a minimum capitalisation of $50m when fund commences. It will be hosted in a multilateral institution or a private foundation based in Africa and operate across Africa and primarily aimed at established companies capable of implementing and co-funding relevant projects.
different sub-topic – technology, government role, funding. On the last day, CGAP sought participants' input on the future role they believed CGAP should play in working towards universal access, this topic is
