Unlocking Africa’s potential via CIPE Development Blog
How can Africa unlock its economic potential? This was the key question of the recent 18th World Economic Forum on Africa, which took place in Cape Town and was attended by nearly 900 business, government and civil society leaders from 50 countries. Two themes clearly emerged as crucial for realizing the continent’s potential: the need to improve the quality of political leadership and the need to harness the power of the private sector for development.
Participants agreed that many of the roadblocks to Africa’s development have to do with the tendency of governments to be protectionist, interventionist, and perpetuating over-regulation – often in the name of defending the poor but rarely with the result of improving their lot. Meanwhile, more than 80% of poverty reduction in...
from ReutersBy Phumza MacandaCAPE TOWN - Africa needs strong leaders who will connect with the global community and follow up on the many promises made to help pull the continent out of poverty, officials said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday.The 18th WEF on Africa began in South Africa's second biggest city and would discuss how the continent could sustain recent strong economic growth and tackle challenges including soaring food and fuel prices -- which have prompted violent protests in a number of countries.Senior delegates said as Africa's development continually topped the world agenda, leaders on the continent should follow up on pledges to help the continent out of its poverty trap."If Africans themselves do not engage with promises they will remain promises. We have... 
The World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 is out. In my opinion, it does not bring any surprises, but reinforces some trends that we’ve been seeing lately:
The increasing strength and importance of wireless technologies to get connected to the Network
A gradual shift of the research focus from quantitative/economic impact analysis towards more qualitative/social impact analysis
Hence, the realization that ICTs are much more than (information) productivity tools, and they have a role in socialization (through communication), mediated by digital literacy
Part of the Global Information Technology Report gets its data from the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey, which, conducted annually, captures the perceptions of the leading... 
from AOL Video... 
from The Times OnlineThe Prime Minister has invited companies to find ways of meeting goals to provide health and education to impoverished children.David Charter in DavosBusiness leaders were today challenged by Gordon Brown to join a new movement with politicians and aid agencies to prevent international anti-poverty targets heading for dismal failure.The Prime Minister invited the wealthy executives at Davos to a summit at Downing Street in May where companies will be asked to come up with resources to help meet the Millennium Development Goals, a series of targets with a 2015 deadline.His appeal was shared by Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General, Bill Gates of Microsoft and Bono, the U2 frontman, who said that despite their "crap" name, the goals marked a great chance to make real... 
from ForbesDAVOS, Switzerland -Chucking a few dollars at the pet charity of the chairman's wife no longer cuts it as corporate philanthropy, if it ever did. Nor does using corporate philanthropy as PR or window dressing to mollify critics, or even roping off a slice of profits to be dispensed for good works.The definition of a company and its involvement in wider society is expanding, as is the expectations of shareholders, employees and consumers. Traditional corporate social responsibility is starting to be replaced with a new notion of corporate citizenship, which for larger companies means global corporate citizenship.The social and corporate agenda is being integrated, and often involves partnership with other companies, government and nongovernmental organizations--which is a... 
from The Irish TimesIt is time to move beyond moral statements of intent to fight poverty and turn them into legally binding agreements, rock star Bono has told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Bono said the world was facing a moment of truth. "Where another generation put a man on the moon, we can't put every kid in school.""Where another generation fought fascism and injustice and prevailed, we fail in our fight against the anopheles mosquito which kills 3,000 people a day," he said, referring to malaria deaths.United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon echoed Bono's statement, saying rich nations were failing the world's poor and must redouble efforts to tackle the worst effects of global poverty.Mr Ban, flanked by rock star Bono, British prime minister... 
from The HinduDavos, (PTI): Lauding the efforts of corporate sector in improving lives of millions of people world-wide, Microsoft chairman William Gates said the "capitalism" needs to pay more attention to the neglected communities living in poverty."Cures for malaria, which kills over a million a year, receive less attention than cures for baldness," Gates said, while addressing CEOs and political leaders at World Economic Forum meeting here.Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, also announced to set up a US$ 306 million fund for agriculture development in Africa and other sectors aimed at raising the income level of millions of farmers in rural areas.The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has concentrated on improving health in poor parts of the world, has decided it is time to improve... 
from The AP via GoogleBy EDITH M. LEDERER – 3 hours agoDAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — With fears of a global recession growing, trade ministers met in the Swiss Alps on Saturday to see if they could advance long-stalled global commerce talks and provide a boost to a troubled world economy.While expectations have been low, the meeting of about 20 countries could provide an indication of whether hopes can be revived for a global trade pact, touted as the best way to lift millions of people out of poverty worldwide.It comes a day after U2 frontman Bono, Queen Rania of Jordan, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and other prominent speakers at the World Economic Forum demanded that people and businesses everywhere help reduce poverty for "the bottom billion" — who struggle to survive on less... 
from AFP via GoogleDAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — Corporate responsibility rather than profit took centre stage in Davos on Friday, as the annual get-together of business chiefs turned its attention to issues of health, aid and development.Rock star activist Bono, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and UN chief Ban Ki-moon steered the conversation away from the global economy and geopolitics, towards issues such as malaria eradication, poverty alleviation and climate change.Ban challenged delegates to renew a commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals, aimed at halving extreme poverty, boosting health and education and further empowering women across the developing world by 2015."Too many nations have fallen behind," he said. "We need new ideas and fresh approaches."The Davos... 
from Reuters By Daisuke WakabayashiSEATTLE, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Dell Inc and Microsoft Corp are teaming up to release a Product Red computer, donating up to $80 for every one sold to fund AIDS-fighting drugs in Africa.Dell will start selling two (Red) laptops and one desktop running Microsoft Windows Vista on Friday. The two companies will donate $50 for a laptop and $80 for a desktop to the Global Fund, which finances health programs in Africa.(Red), founded by U2 singer Bono and Bobby Shriver, works to develop co-branded products with companies such as Motorola Inc , Apple Inc and Gap Inc, which then donate a portion of the proceeds for antiretroviral drugs.Microsoft said it expects "several hundred thousand" (Red) Dell PCs to be sold in 2008. The PCs, designed in part by Bono, will... 
from The Associated PressBy GEORGE JAHN DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Former Vice President Al Gore and U2 front man Bono offered measured praise Thursday for efforts in tackling climate change and global poverty, but warned the World Economic Forum that conditions were not improving as much as they could.At an early-morning session that drew several hundred attendees, many clutching cups of coffee or tea to stave off sleep, Gore warned that the world climate crisis was worsening."We could take the whole session talking just about the new scientific evidence of the last few weeks and months," said Gore, who shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to fight climate change, adding that the "climate crisis is significantly worse and unfolding more rapidly."Bono, a vocal and... 
from the Financial TimesBy Krishna Guha and James Politi in WashingtonRobert Zoellick will call on world leaders in Davos this week to make the fight against hunger and malnutrition a global priority following sustained increases in food prices worldwide.The World Bank president will tell political and business leaders that failure to find ways to help the world’s poor cope with higher food prices could bring about a “loss of hope” that might undermine development strategies.The Bank president will also warn that the global economic turmoil poses a serious threat to a group of poor countries – mostly in Africa – that are vulnerable to a combination of slowing global growth and high energy and food prices.These include countries that export non-oil commodities. The price of their... 
from The New York TimesBy MARK LANDLERDAVOS, Switzerland — There was George Soros hunched over a dinner table, deep in conversation with a nodding companion. Howard Stringer of Sony ran into Mickey Schulhof, who once ran Sony’s American arm. And Klaus Schwab, the impresario of the World Economic Forum, welcomed an A-list crowd to a twinkling ballroom at the Hotel Belvedere.It seemed like just another meeting of the world’s most exclusive talk shop, held each January in this Alpine ski resort. The trouble is nobody was talking about anything but the global market turmoil and the faltering American economy.This year, the World Economic Forum is actually going to be about the world economy.Which is not to say that there won’t be fun. The guys from Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page,... 
from The International Herald TribuneBy Klaus SchwabOn Wednesday, the World Economic Forum will convene 2,500 leaders from industry, government, media, civil society and international organizations for its 38th annual meeting. They will have travelled from 88 countries to arrive at this small alpine village. An obvious question to ask, particularly in an era of advanced communication, is why? What compels this diverse group to make this journey every year?As the founder of the World Economic Forum, even I cannot provide a single overwhelming rationale. But I do believe that the theme for this year's meeting, "The Power of Collaborative Innovation," offers the most compelling answer.A year ago, the "Shifting Power Equation" was the thematic framework in which the global agenda was examined...