Columbia University

Columbia University: Annual African Economic Forum 2018 - April 7, New York

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I am excited to be participating on a panel at Columbia University’s Annual African Economic Forum.  My remarks will primarily focus on the importance of private-public partnerships and approaches to address youth unemployment, mitigate poverty and create a path to economic prosperity.

Saturday, April 7: 3:20 – 4.40 pm

Youth Unemployment: Youth unemployment is one of Africa’s greatest challenges. Unemployment among young people aged 15–24 years old in sub-Saharan Africa has hovered between 12% and 14% since the 2008 global financial crisis. The data does not include youth in vulnerable employment and underemployed in informal sectors, who make up at least 70% of the workforce. Although these statistics may seem daunting, African policymakers, entrepreneurs, and private businesses have been working to mitigate unemployment among African youth in their respective countries by tapping into innovation. This panel will focus on the complexities of unemployment, expand on the roles of actors on the ground who are working to solve this problem, and give exposure to budding programs and innovations that have been successful in alleviating unemployment throughout the continent.

Panelists:

Annie Duflo - Executive Director of Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)

Mpho Sekwele - Co-Founder, Bantu Hikers

Samantha Taylor - President, Reputation Dynamics

Special Event Feature: Elephant Art Shop:  Original watercolor paintings, cards and prints for sale with proceeds to benefit the endangered African elephant species.

Facebook: @ElephantArtShop

You can also find updates and information regarding AEF here at:

http://aefcolumbia.com

We do hope that you will be able to join this important conversation.

Sam Taylor, Founder of Reputation Dynamics

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Columbia University: Annual African Economic Forum 2016 - April 2, New York

I am excited to be participating on a panel at Columbia University’s Annual African Economic Forum.  My remarks on the Development Policy/RegionalIntegration in Africa panel will focus on ‘Aligning Business with Purpose', importance of partnerships to address community challenges and create a path to economic prosperity. 

Regional Integration as Development Policy: Throughout history, the African continent has been broken up and torn apart for the economic needs of outsiders. Now, as a group of nation states, the continent’s leaders are attempting to figure out how to establish partnerships to bring about inclusive growth. At a continental level, organizations such as the African Union, the African Development Bank and the UN Economic Commission on Africa are working towards creating an enabling environment for the citizens of various nations to engage in a range of economic and social activities. At a regional level, we have organizations such as ECOWAS, COMESA, and SADC working towards this aim. Our Regional Integration as Development Policy panelists will shed light on how this system of integration both creates lucrative opportunities for economic development, while also raising some major challenges.

Panelists:
Rachel Macauley - MIA Candidate, Columbia SIPA
Mamadou Diouf - Director, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University
Nayé Anna BATHILY - Head Global Parliamentary Relations, The World Bank Group
Samantha Taylor - Founder, Reputation Dynamics
Yetunde A. Odugbesan-Omede - CEO, Yetunde Global Consulting, LLC

You can also find updates and information regarding AEF here at:

http://aef2016.com/schedule.html.

We do hope that you will be able to join this important conversation.

Sam Taylor, Founder of Reputation Dynamics