Wealth Creation For Poverty Eradication In Africa

Document from the year 2022 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Development Politics, grade: A, University of Namibia (Rundu Campus), language: English, abstract: Research has shown that poverty is a man-made phenomenon. Historical interventions to redress its rampant manifestation, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, very much remain a serial flaw of misplacements in the hands of wrong architects and premised on the unholy misconception that aid will lead to both poverty alleviation and economic development of Africa. Looking at the historical landscape of the poverty debate in Sub-Saharan Africa, one cannot help but notice the silence or scarce mention of entrepreneurship as the engine for growth in the alleviation of extreme poverty. Therefore the Africa Redemption International Conference (ARIC) was conceived from the premise of a long and hard look at the serial and regrettable failures of the three salient beaten-trek interventions of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPS), Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Earlier interventions focused more on economic growth and paid little attention to social development. With the advent of MDGs, attention somewhat shifted towards resulting in poverty being reduced by more than half between 1990 and 2015. Critical success factors including infrastructure development, domestic resource mobilization, and institutional capacity building, among others, have largely been overlooked by most of these instruments. The architecture of poverty reduction strategies has, for far too long, been the work of foreign agents with little, if any, of Africans themselves. It is generally on this very basis that the ARIC Conference was convened with the objectives to: a. Bring academics, practitioners and policy-makers into one unique place to deliberate on issues that keep Africa behind any other parts of the world in emerging out of poverty. b. Allow policymakers to chart a way forward and share that with the broader body of light-minded Africans who want to seriously take the country of scourges of poverty c. Allow academics to analyze, articulate and recommend what they perceive Africa needs to do in order to overcome its stagnation that has earned its Mantra of a Dark Continent. d. Invite development activist in the world and Africa, in particular, to share their isolated experiences with a broader community of stakeholders willing to amplify their good practice efforts to other parts of Africa where they are needed most. e. Showcase domestic innovators of all sorts

This book takes a unique approach to the topic of poverty reduction, primarily employing an international business framework as opposed to the usual economic or political lens. Some of the key ideas explored in the book include: poverty is primarily the lack of choices, not the lack of material possessions; attacking inequality of opportunity might be a more effective means to reduce poverty than attaching inequality of wealth; political systems matter, but individuals and for-profit firms also have a vital and indispensable role in helping to create the wealth needed to reduce poverty; and an effective corporate social responsibility strategy to help reduce poverty may include finding innovative and creative ways to operate profitably in areas of the world where poverty is currently robbing too many people of the opportunity to live their version of the good life. Building on such ideas, the book advocates for private companies to expand operations into the least developed regions of the world as part of their corporate social responsibility programs and to reframe the debates away from ones focused on exploitation and economic nationalism to one of creating opportunities across political borders.

One of the major tools of attaining proper development all around the world is creating wealth and economic inclusion, such that all classes of people can secure their lifestyles through access to financial services from formal sectors. Expanding access to resources and increasing self-employment opportunities help reduce poverty and improve social development. Wealth Creation and Poverty Reduction: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice examines trends, challenges, issues, and strategies related to the creation of livelihood options through the redistribution of resources, foreign aid, private sector activities, and other methods. Highlighting a range of topics such as microfinance, poverty alleviation, and socio-economic development, this publication is an ideal reference source for government officials, policymakers, executives, economists, analysts, researchers, academicians, professionals, and students interested in wealth creation in areas of extreme poverty.

Could regional integration be a first step toward joining the global market? In a context where liberalizing trade has not produced the expected gains in developing countries and growth in global trade has not led to the expected economic growth, an alternative solution has emerged. This new paradigm suggests that trade liberalization should be accompanied by public investment. However, by its very nature, trade liberalization leads to a reduction in revenues from duties and taxes, which means that the available resources for public investments will also be reduced. There are now solid arguments for encouraging the less-developed countries to first emphasize regional integration before trying to access the global market. This book explores the issues linked to regional integration in West Africa and presents empirical data about the experiences in = West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries to converge their economies. It also examines how these efforts, which make a major contribution to regional integration, influence poverty reduction in the economic and monetary community. It will be of interest to researchers working in this area. Elias T. Ayuk is Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa in Accra, Ghana, and was formerly a senior program specialist at the International Development Research Centre. Samuel T. Kaboré is a researcher/lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Ouagadougou II, Burkina Faso. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most. Elias T. Ayuk is Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa in Accra, Ghana, and was formerly a senior program specialist at the International Development Research Centre. Samuel T. Kaboré is a researcher/lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Ouagadougou II, Burkina Faso. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most.

A significant contribution to the debate on poverty alleviation in Africa, Professor Mbaku offers practical policies for economic growth. He argues that the most important contributor to poverty and deprivation in Africa is the absense of institutional structures that enhance indigenous entrepreneurship and wealth creation. He explains that these are so vital that living standards will continue to deteriorate unless these building blocks are put in place.

Promote a new social contract based on the ability of leadership to improve the general welfare of society Provide more legitimacy to the creation of wealth and facilitate, beyond sports and music, the rise of new role models whose leadership and contribution to the advancement of society can become an inspiring force for the youth Reform the education system, so as to eradicate illiteracy and spread know-how and values necessary for a successful market economy Reinforce the strategic capabilities of the state, strengthen institutions underpinning the well functioning market economy, and decentralize power Foster regional integration to create larger markets for the development of industries and investment Promote longer-term population growth policies by among others, forcefully fighting pandemics such as HIV-AIDS and malaria, as well as malnutrition Set an ambitious development vision and benchmark competition in the implementation of reforms in areas such as business environment, infrastructure, labor productivity, and set up Free Processing Zones to gain access to international markets Create an enabling environment to attract mature technologies in Africa and encourage domestic use of technology Shift IMF and World Bank policies toward promoting growth and employment and encourage the most promising African countries to exit from IMF lending Stop providing sustained financial assistance to governments with an established track record of corruption and to regimes that have failed over an extended period of time to improve the standard of living of their populations.