24 September 2018

5th Social Partners Summit on Employment in Africa takes place in Abidjan 

On 13 and 14 September, the Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI) hosted the Social Partners’ Summit for Employment in Africa at their “Business House” headquarters in Abidjan; this was the first time the Summit had taken place in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This fifth edition of the Summit brought together more than 50 representatives of organisations of employers, workers and governments with an agenda that built on the outcomes of previous Summits which have taken place in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, as well as of regional meetings organised in Namibia and Uganda, to identify and overcome the obstacles to decent and productive employment, especially for Africa’s youth.

The welcome speech was delivered by CGECI President, Mr Jean-Marie Ackah, who underlined the urgency of addressing the employment challenge which remains, above all, an economic issue.

Acting IOE Secretary-General, Mr Roberto Suárez Santos, urged the social partners to work together coherently towards the transformation of Africa’s demographic dividend into a competitive advantage for the continent.

The Summit was officially opened by the Honourable Minister for Youth, Mr Mamadou Touré, who encouraged the social partners to find concrete solutions for building a promising future for Africa’s youth.

Over the course of the two-day discussion, the partners identified three sectors to focus their efforts and action plans: rural employment, agriculture and agribusiness; the development of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills and ICT; and access to finance, especially for SMEs, all with a view to promoting employment creation, entrepreneurship and inclusive growth.

Furthermore, the Summit agreed to collect and share the best practices of the employers’ organisations in these areas so that the most successful programmes can be replicated in other African countries. To this end, focal points will be designated in each employers’ organisation.

Additionally, it was highlighted that the role of Business Africa must be strengthened.  As the collective voice of employers' organisations in Africa, Business Africa is in a key position to address the employment transformation of the continent, as well as the delivery of outcomes.

Business Africa Secretary-General Ms Jacqueline Mugo thanked the CGECI and the IOE for having organised the Summit and launched an appeal to the African social partners to continue their constructive efforts towards employment promotion in Africa.

IOE Vice-President for Africa, Mr El Mahfoud Megateli, and CGECI Executive Director, Dr Vaflahi Meite, provided final remarks and encouraged the partners to proceed urgently to the implementation of their action plans.

A full report of the Abidjan Summit will be circulated in due course, including links to all the presentations.  In the meantime, links to all available documents related to the Summit may be found in the side panel.