Africa has huge potential to achieve sustainable development through enhanced local content policies in the region. The term ‘local content’ describes the range of benefits that businesses such as extractive industries can bring to the areas where they operate. It’s a set of actions such as local recruitment, training, purchases of local goods and services, which are designed to develop the industrial infrastructure and skills of the people in countries that host multinational or foreign companies working in various investment sectors.
- What should be done for local content to enhance youth employment in African countries?
- What should be done to avoid youth skills miss-match in African countries?
- How can partnerships between African indigenous SMEs and foreign technically competent partners be enhanced?
- What capacities are needed by the government to establish an enabling environment for the growth of local SME and or entrepreneurs?
- What are the best case practices in local content policy frameworks that other African countries can benefit from?
In light of the above, the Africa Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results (AfCOP-MfDR) has launched an online dialogue, inviting its members to participate in the discussion on “Local content policies and youth employment in African countries.” It focuses on how the local content policies and frameworks can contribute to reducing youth unemployment in African countries.
Please join this AfCoP online discussion. Members who are unable to participate online could send their comments or case studies by email to the moderator, Dr. Sheka Bangura, at shekabangs@gmail.com