Though mobile technology is making waves in Africa, airwaves still count.

With over 200 million people between the ages of 15 and 24–a figure that will double by 2045–Africa’s fast-growing population is the youngest in the world. In the coming decades, hundreds of millions of young Africans will pour on to the job labour market as they leave schools branding qualifications of various levels.

The OECD is cooperating with governments and companies to combat the scourge of conflict minerals and has issued a guidance that several African countries have endorsed. There are encouraging signs of progress.

There are signs of a new, more confident and self-affirming Africa taking shape. As the 2011 edition of the African Economic Outlook argues, this newness is also evident in the continent’s relationships with emerging economies.

Building tax administration capacity is needed to help spur development in Africa. A new survey shows that action is being taken, but more work is needed.

Before the global recession, most of Africa was booming. At last. Can it bounce back?

Inflows of foreign investment to the MENA region have surged in recent years. The area attracted some US$14 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2003, and has more than quadrupled this figure in only three years, bringing in almost $60 billion in 2006. During the same period, real GDP in the MENA region increased steadily and the employment rate grew at an impressive 4.5% per year from 2000 to 2005.

The 9th International Film Festival of Marrakech takes place on 4-12 December. The festival is a major annual event, drawing in stars from around the world, as well as home grown talent like Moroccan actress and singer, Sana Mouziane, seen here at the 2007 edition. The jury that year was led by Czech film maker Milos Forman; Iranian director and Cannes Palme d'Or winner, Abbas Kiarostami, will fill the role this year. Presided by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, Morocco has every reason to take the festival seriously, not just for art's sake, but because of its economic potential too.

Letter to the editor: Secretary-General Angel Gurría argues that “advancing on the issue of water will help us move forward on almost all the Millennium Development Goals” (editorial, No. 256, July 2006). We agree, and would like to draw your attention to the Working for Water programme (WfW) in South Africa.

Is it really “Africa’s moment” (No 249, May 2005)? You mention conflict, but how can we help stop humanitarian disasters, like the one that seems inevitable in Darfur, where we cannot say we were not warned. Essentially, some 2 million people (mostly elderly, female or infants), currently “sheltered” in sometimes abysmal refugee camps, now risk being shoved onto what effectively will become death marches into Chad by the very people who created the problem in the first place.

In many African countries, where unemployment rates can run as high as 30%, there is strong potential for entrepreneurship and employment. Development must focus on bringing down the barriers to progress. 

A new kitchen can raise the value of any home, but in developing countries it can also save lives. That is why in 2010 the OECD’s very own staff charity, the War on Hunger Group, decided to contribute funding to fitting a new kitchen in the headquarters of AFENA, an NGO dedicated to looking after abandoned women and children, and based in Niger’s second city, Maradi.

The launch of the ATAF marks a milestone in the continent’s quest for greater self-reliance, economic growth and social development.

Emblazoned on the front of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington DC is a quote from American poet, author and judge, Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society ” It is the potential to inspire better governance through raising revenue that matters to civil society, and everyone has a role to play. To act as responsible corporate citizens, companies must pay the right amount of tax and be transparent about it. Yet Christian Aid estimates that developing countries lose as much as $160 billion–greater than the global aid budget–to companies dodging tax.

In the current economic climate, in which early signs of recovery give grounds for optimism, the countries of the MENA region are keenly aware of the common challenges that must be met through stronger principles of good governance and economic freedom, consolidation of the rule of law and democracy, the fair distribution of wealth and compliance, and respect for the environment.

On 2 November, Morocco launched a US$9 billion solar energy programme. With fi ve power plants, the programme aims for a total installed capacity of 2,000 MW by 2020-equivalent to almost 40% of the country's electricity production.

Through the ages, the countries of the Middle East and North Africa have been known for their great feats in engineering. The marvels are legion, from the Mesopotamian irrigation systems to the Great Pyramid. But did you know that the first concentrated solar steam engine was built near Cairo in 1914? A century later, solar energy is again putting the region on the cusp of new exploits, this time in renewable energy.

A salmon would find it a hardscrabble life in the waterways of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Not because of dried riverbeds, overfishing or pollution, but because the region has more dams per cubic metre of water than any other place on earth.

The Maghreb coastal corridor links Morocco to Egypt by road and from there connects to the Arab countries of the Mashreq. Much of the 31,000 km of planned roads are in place. Part of a major road plan that some hope will one day link much of the African coastline, the corridor embodies a future of promise.

The Egyptian government is focusing on several regulatory reform and improved governance priorities. An initiative now underway, ERRAD, aims to collect and review all legislation and ministerial decrees in the areas of investment, trade and industry.  A Transparency and Integrity Committee was also formed to help establish a national strategic plan for governance in civil service.  Special attention is also given to reforming the social security system.

Investment is essential for development, but not all investment brings the wide benefits it promises. This is because the impact of investment on development depends on many things. The type of investment is one factor, but more important is the way in which businesses conduct their activities. This also largely depends on whether the policy and regulatory environment provided by governments encourages or discourages responsible business conduct.

The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which entered into force 10 years ago this December, was the first global instrument to fight corruption in cross-border business deals. To date, 30 OECD member countries and eight non-member countries-Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Estonia, Israel, Slovenia and South Africa-have adopted the convention.

10 years ago this December the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Deals entered into force. The Anti-Bribery Convention requires that its signatory countries make it a crime to bribe a foreign public official in exchange for obtaining, or retaining, international business. Of the 38 countries around the world that have ratified the convention to date, not one is part of the MENA region.

Small and medium-sized enterprises may be the flavour of the moment in development policy, but the potential role of large multinational firms, or MNEs, should not be overlooked. After all, there is some evidence of MNEs having a positive effect on employment and wages, as well as plugging local suppliers into international markets, which boosts skills, technology and productivity.

State building is governance writ large. Seen from without, the accomplishments of a nascent state stand in harsh juxtaposition to the fine-tuning of politically and economically stable governments. One is a stone mason and the other a builder, confident the foundations will support his project.

Morocco is facing the same challenges as most other countries in the MENA region, and hopes to follow the best and most practical paths toward the integrity, transparency, openness and partnership that will promote good governance and development.

The University of Al-Karaouine is located in Fez, Morocco. Founded in 859, it is regarded by many as the oldest university in the world. Today, as countries in the Middle East and North Africa region begin to compete more vigorously in the global economy, they are again focusing more concertedly on how to rekindle their great, historic asset: human capital.

Small and medium-sized enterprises need adequate financing to meet needs at each stage of their life cycle, from creation through operation, development, restructuring, recovery and beyond.

Since antiquity, governments, emperors, kings and queens have been providing traders and investors with special sites offering respite from normal import-export tax regimes and regulations in return for a steady stream of much needed revenue for the public purse. Before modernity, such places were concentrated in the Mediterranean basin, at Delos in Greco- Roman times, and in Venice, Genoa and Marseilles during the Middle Ages. By the 19th century, they had spread to Southeast Asia. But it was not until the latter half of the 20th century that so-called free zones made their mark as deliberate tools of economic development, most notably in China in 1979 when one of the most famous free zones of all was set up at Shenzen.

Hana Barqawi realised her dream of opening her own children's furniture store two years ago in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Ms Barqawi is part of a wave of female entrepreneurs that has swept across the Middle East and North Africa area over the past decade or more. She is not surprised: "Arab women are well-educated, openminded, open to new ideas, new cultures, new challenges," she says. Nor has she found cultural attitudes to be a major problem, with Jordanian men accepting the new female business presence. But Ms Barqawi notes that while servants and nannies are available to help with childcare, balancing work and family life has now become a daily juggle for many women like her. But to what extent do Ms Barqawi's experiences reflect those of other women across the Middle East and North Africa region?

The global crisis and how to get growth and development back on track led the agenda as ministers from MENA and OECD countries gathered at Marrakech in Morocco on 23 November 2009. In our ninth OECD Observer ministers' roundtable, we asked representatives from four MENA countries-Morocco (as hosts of the ministerial meeting), Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen-and from three OECD members-Italy, Korea and Spain: "What action is your government taking to help improve development prospects in the MENA region?"

The countries of the Middle East and North Africa stand at a crucial stage in their development. Though several of them had until recently witnessed high growth-Morocco's economy expanded by over 5% in 2008, Egypt's and UAE's by over 7%-the global crisis has finally dealt a blow.

Showing progress; Economy; Hard talk

Africa's economies were on the rise when the financial crisis hit in 2008. Growth was running high on the back of commodity price increases, with African exports almost doubling between 2000 and 2006. Over the same period, foreign capital flows quintupled. Yet the crisis has jeopardised this progress, resulting in a severe investment slowdown, particularly in oil and mineral production, and halving Africa's growth rate from 5.7 % in 2008 to 2.4 % in 2009.

Africa did not cause the economic crisis, but will suffer from it. What are the prospects?

Development aid rose to a new record in 2008. While good news in a crisis, how can the trend be maintained?

Originally founded by OECD member countries as “Club du Sahel” in 1976 to raise international support and awareness of the drought crisis in the Sahel region, the Club extended its geographic coverage in 2001 to encompass all 17 West African countries, home to approximately 290 million people.

Did you know that over the last ten years, the largest bilateral donors to Africa, excluding debt forgiveness, were the United States and France? The US has focused aid on Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, whereas France’s main aid recipients have been Morocco, Mayotte and Senegal.

With the global economy mired in the fallout of subprime crises, costly oil and financial market volatility, it may seem a little surprising to learn that for the fourth consecutive year, Africa has experienced record economic growth. According to the 2008 edition of the African Economic Outlook (AEO) launched in May, the headlines are good indeed: 5.7% GDP growth and a per capita increase of 3.7% in 2007, with estimates looking quite bright for 2008 too. However, behind those numbers lies something more complex.

Several Sahel and West African countries have seen prices of agricultural commodities rising since September 2007 compared with 2006 and on into the first quarter of 2008. This has given rise to tension in some countries like Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

The gloomy image that has for so long hung over the world’s largest continent may at last be lifting.
Conflict and disease remain a bane, and there are challenges in areas like governance and transport, but as we reported in our last issue (No 255, May 2006), the OECD Development Centre’s latest African Economic Outlook is upbeat about future economic growth there.

Well done on a clever choice of photo for “Africa: An emerging markets frontier” (No 263, October 2007). Africa is certainly in a better state than it was and, as you point out, all that new investment coming from around the globe is encouraging. The test is how long it will all last.

You rightly point out that “the supply of medical staff reflects global movements of labour” (No 262, Databank, July 2007). But many of us might disagree with your upbeat headline: “Healthy immigration”. In a report published in 2005, the Royal African Society argues that while recruitment of African medical professionals has shored up western health services, it has left the health sector in sending countries facing permanent crisis or even complete collapse.

Something new is happening in Africa. Once talk of investment in the continent’s countries was dismissed as idealism. Now global investors are turning their eyes–and their funds–to a new investment frontier. Is this short-term euphoria?

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shakes hands with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría at the launch of a new multilateral initiative called the Partnership for Democratic Governance (PDG).The new initiative is designed to assist those developing countries that need help to improve governance, strengthen capacity and accountability, and deliver the services that are essential supports of effective government.

Egypt has become the first Arab and first African country to sign the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. Egypt has made impressive progress in reforming its investment policies in recent years–foreign investment in manufacturing has been fully liberalised, for instance, with the exception of defence-related industries–but significant barriers to both foreign and domestic businesses remain.

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On 19 June 2007 South Africa became the first African country to join the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention. The still photo shows South Africa's ambassador to France, Nomasonto Maria Sibanda-Thusi, welcomed by OECD secretary-general, Angel Gurría.

The figures you give for the dramatic fall in support for economic infrastructure and agriculture as part of total bilateral ODA between 1995/96 to 2002/2003 are sobering (No. 261, May 2007). There is increased emphasis on these two areas by development agencies, but it will be important to see if resource commitments actually follow–particularly for aid and investments in agriculture. But didn’t NEPAD members at Maputo commit to invest 10% of GDP in agriculture, not to increase investments by 10%?

Will the Millennium Development Goals launched in 2000 be met by the agreed deadline of 2015? This question is at the top of discussions in government and development agencies around the world. There have been several initiatives to help focus minds and boost international progress towards meeting the goals, not least by the G8.

The latest African Economic Outlook from the OECD Development Centre, which looks at prospects for 29 countries, reports that economic activity overall in Africa rose by nearly 5% in 2005 amid windfall gains from booming markets in oil and minerals. The African Economic Outlook sees growth accelerating to 5.8% in 2006 and easing to 5.5% in 2007. These figures hide large differences between countries, particularly in light of endowments in natural resources.