Global Citizen and Bridgewater Associates, in Partnership with the Government of Côte D'Ivoire, Announce an Economic Summit in Abidjan to Address Key Development Barriers and Energy Poverty Across the Continent

Nairobi, Kenya, April 29, 2024 // Today, at the IDA for Africa Heads of State Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, Global Citizen and Bridgewater Associates, in partnership with the Government of Côte d'Ivoire and Harith General Partners, announced an Economic Summit in Abidjan. This two-day summit will take place on October 9-10, 2024 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and gather Heads of State, Finance Ministers, private sector leaders, Multilateral Development Banks and civil society to drive major financial investments to end extreme poverty across the African continent through support for the World Bank's IDA replenishment and its initiative to deliver energy to 250 million Africans by 2030.

The Summit in Abidjan, presented by Global Citizen and Bridgewater Associates, seeks to galvanize support and drive a clear case for increased financial investments to the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s fund focused on those most in need. IDA provides governments around the world with zero-to-low interest loans and grants that help countries invest in their futures, improve lives, and create safer, more prosperous communities across 75 countries. 

The October Summit will drive a clear investment case as to why the world’s biggest economies should provide an additional $5-6 billion annually for the IDA21 replenishment in late 2024.

More than 600 million people currently lack access to electricity across the African continent, severely impacting their quality of life and access to basic necessities, including healthcare, food and nutrition, education, and economic opportunity. With an additional 25 percent in donor funding, IDA stands ready to lift 250 million people out of energy poverty by 2030, while also addressing malnutrition for more than 40 million women and children per year and promoting domestic resource mobilization. This year, the World Bank must secure more than USD$100B in financing for its IDA21 replenishment to be able to advance these goals. 

Co-Chairs of the Summit are Nir Bar Dea, CEO, Bridgewater Associates and Tshepo Mahloele, Founder & Chairman, Harith General Partners. Major partners of the Economic Summit include the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and Harith General Partners. Additional partners will be unveiled in the coming months in the lead up to the summit.

As part of this initiative, presenting partner of the Summit, Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s premier asset management firms, will publish a series of new research studies in advance of the summit. These reports will provide new data and insights into the economic potential of the African continent, including the anticipated impact an improved economic trajectory for Africa would have on global economies and markets. 

International advocacy organization Global Citizen will lead a global, public campaign in support of the IDA21 replenishment, and galvanize citizen action to urge world leaders and the private sector to provide the crucial funding needed to make IDA21 a success.

“With about 60 percent of the population aged less than 25-years-old, youth employment is a critical challenge and a key objective of the Government. In this regard, creating an enabling environment for the private sector to grow faster, notably through economic and social infrastructure and reforms, is the key to creating enough jobs for and by youth,” said Robert Beugré Mambé, Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire. “IDA is our main source of low interest loans and grants, which are essential to make those reforms and strengthen infrastructures, in order to boost economic and social development of our countries. In particular, the global context of external shocks, including the challenges from climate change and geopolitical crises, reinforces the need for IDA funding to better support our countries, our continent, and the bright future of the world.”

“In the next 10 years, 1.1 billion young people across the Global South will become working age adults. Yet, in the same period and same countries, we are only expected to create 325 million jobs. We will need all shoulders to the wheel to deliver the scale of employment opportunities that will be required to support this energetic generation. The International Development Association can be a crucial element of each country’s development strategy, but we need more than just IDA. Fortunately, an army of friends and partners from the private and advocacy sectors have formed a unique coalition that is supporting IDA’s replenishment and efforts on the ground. They are essential in our push to make sure governments have the resources they need to realize their nation’s potential. Presented by Global Citizen and Bridgewater Associates, a Summit in Abidjan will propel us forward, helping to keep focus on the aspirations we’re driving toward at a critical time. We look forward to working with partners and African leaders to realize a shared vision,” said Ajay Banga, President, World Bank. 

“Africa is expected to have the largest workforce within the next decade, and by 2075, one-third of the world’s population will be African. Yet today, there are challenges in accessing key resources that are essential to economic growth that the IDA replenishment can help secure,” said Nir Bar Dea, CEO, Bridgewater Associates. “We are building on Bridgewater’s mission to understand the world and turn our insights and research into results by providing a deeper understanding of how IDA21 will shift the economic trajectory of African nations and global markets and economies.”

“Africa has the youngest population of any continent, and presents the world’s biggest development opportunity of the next 30 years – but only if the world’s richest nations stop cutting foreign aid and invest the financing necessary to address energy poverty,” said Hugh Evans, Co-Founder & CEO, Global Citizen. “Through a fully funded and functional IDA, the continent’s young people stand to achieve their full potential.”  

“For the continent and its youth to achieve their potential, barriers need to be overcome and addressed in energy poverty, infrastructure, health and human capital development,” said Tshepo Mahloele, Founder & Chairman, Harith General Partners. “Where, through collective global effort and leadership, we have fashioned instruments for sustainable human development and poverty-reduction that have proven to be as potent as the IDA has, over the years, we owe it to ourselves as the global community, to do all we can to maintain, and importantly enhance that potency.”

“Energy poverty and its many implications is a pervasive problem faced by 600 million people in Africa,” said Wangari Kuria, CEO, Farmer on Fire and Global Citizen Prize awardee from Kenya. “The World Bank’s IDA program is already one of the largest sources of poverty alleviation for Africa’s poorest countries, and with more resources, IDA can continue to expand its vital work and alleviate the inequities that are affecting families and communities across the continent.” 

The Economic Summit in Abidjan, presented by Global Citizen and Bridgewater Associates, will serve as a precursor to the G20 Summit, being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November and the IDA21 replenishment conference in late 2024. More information about the Economic Summit and its objectives can be found here.

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