This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's 10-day trip to Zambia, South Africa and Senegal sought to “highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to deepen U.S.-Africa economic ties, including by expanding trade and investment flows and promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth” (US Treasury). This visit fulfills the promise that President Joe Biden made at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit that he and members of his cabinet would visit the continent in 2023.  It seems the US is recognizing the growing importance Africa will have in the coming decades. While in Senegal, the Secretary stressed that “Africa will shape the trajectory of the world economy over the next century.” Given this, the US clearly wants to take a more proactive approach to diplomatic relations with the African continent. It also seems China’s involvement in Africa has not gone unnoticed. Yellen called out China as being a barrier to resolving Zambia’s debt crisis, explaining that loans backed by China “ca...

                 On Monday, June 4, the Brookings Institution, in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),  held a panel discussion titled “Industry 4.0 in Africa: Helping or hindering?”. Industry 4.0 refers to the digitization of the manufacturing sector, driven by computing power, connectivity, and new forms of human-machine interaction, like artificial intelligence. The panelists were Julius Akinyemi an Entrepreneur in Residence at MIT Media Lab, Mary Hallward-Driemeier the Senior Economic Adviser for Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation at the World Bank, Susan Lund, Partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, and Olga Memedovic, the Chief of Business Environment, Cluster & Innovation Division in UNIDO's Department of Trade, Investment & Innovation. The panel addressed relevant issues and questions, such as: What can be done to put the prerequisites for Industry 4.0 adoption i...

      Photo: Mr. Owusu, CIR Intern, Franklin and Marshall, Ms. Muyangwa, Director, Africa Program at the Wilson Center, Mr. Zheng, CIR Intern, Georgetown University.         The Wilson Center's event on opportunities and challenges of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was insightfully supportive of the new trade agreement. Trade refers to the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often (but not always) in exchange for money. A Free Trade Zone (FTZ), is a geographic area where goods may be traded without the imposition of any barriers by customs authorities. These barriers include tariffs and quotas. Free Trade Zone examples include the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Southern African Development Community Free Trade Area.  The AfCFTA seeks to create a unified continental market with minimal trade and migration barriers and unified trade policies to facilitate the easy movement of peo...