The Challenge

Sub-Saharan Africa’s opportunities are vast, and its challenges persistent. Home to the world’s largest free trade area and a 1.2 billion-person market, the continent is poised to create an entirely new development path harnessing the potential of its resources and people, according to the World Bank.

However, several challenges remain, which are holding back the economic progress of Sub-Sahara Africa, which include:

  • The availability of good jobs has not kept pace with the number of entrants in the labor force
  • The gender gap is keeping the continent from reaching its full growth and innovation potential
  • 416 million Africans still live in extreme poverty

The challenges to Sub-Saharan Africa in the World Bank in relation to the employment sector are further detailed in the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Africa Economic Outlook 2019 report.

The AfDB report projects the continent’s labor force to increase by nearly 40 percent by 2030. If current employment trends continue, only half of new entrants to the labor force entrants will find jobs, most of which will be in the informal labor sector. The report states that nearly 100 million young people could unemployed in 2030. The AfDB report also concludes that African economies with manufacturing sectors achieved superior employment results and recommends increased industrialization.

However, the key factors impeding Africa’s industrialization include businesses lack of dynamism, corruption, an unconducive regulatory environment and inadequate infrastructure. It is estimated that 1,300,000 to 3,000,000 jobs are lost annually to these causes, which equates to 20% of the new entrants into the labor force. The report concludes that small and medium firms have low chances to grow or survive in most African countries.

Reliable accounting practices are the foundation of sound businesses and economies. Trained accounting professionals help businesses to maintain financial viability, profitability and help to reduce corruption.

Universal Accounting International was established to help develop Africa’s accounting infrastructure to foster economic development across the contenient. The proposal below will illustrate a cost-effective opportunity to positively impact the management of African businesses and create employment opportunities for more than 500,000 individuals over the next 10 years.