3 million new entrepreneurs to accelerate job creation in India & Africa There is enormous possibilities of collaboration and partnerships between the two regions.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-job policy is estimated to add almost 50 million jobs to the workforce by 2020 while 70 million new jobs are expected to be created across Africa in the same period. Accelerating entrepreneurial collaboration by the governments of both these regions can lead to the creation of up to 3 million new entrepreneurs by 2020.
These 3 million entrepreneurs in turn will facilitate additional direct and indirect employment and economic benefits for 25 -30 million people in the same period. These new entrepreneurs combined can generate $ 50 billion in economic benefits for the two regions by 2020, which is 50 percent of the combined value of India-Africa trade expected in 2015.
This surge in new entrepreneurial growth can further accelerate wealth creation for these two regions, adding to the $ 500 billion in trade ties by 2020 as articulated by the joint vision of African leaders and Indian industrialists. This is expected to add a combined 30-40 million additional consumer households in Africa and India by 2020 (in addition to the existing 200 million consumer households across Africa and approximately 450 million in India).
As part of its mandate to increase sustainable global economic growth by creating a more empowering ecosystem for entrepreneurs, Ashish J Thakkar, Chairman, United Nations Foundation - Global Entrepreneurs Council (UNF - GEC) and Founder Mara Group and Mara Foundation calls for greater collaboration and engagement between emerging countries, particularly those in Africa and India, to facilitate new opportunities and accelerate job-creation over the next 5 years.
Highlighting the enormous possibilities of collaboration and partnerships between the two regions, Thakkar said, "Increasing entrepreneurial cooperation between India and Africa can play a significant role in poverty elimination and increasing employment. In the 21st century however I see entrepreneurs and innovators more central to finding sustainable solutions to these issues along with governments.
This partnership now needs to move from a government-to-government level to a people-to-people level to encourage greater innovation and economic benefits, to be led by entrepreneurs of both regions. This new entrepreneurial surge will bring in economic benefits of approximately US$ 50 billion while also increasing jobs and generating additional economic opportunities in the region."
Most of these jobs are expected to be created in the area of modern retail, e-commerce, education, textiles, FMCG, healthcare, pharmaceutical and manufacturing. Cross-collaboration between the two regions will also accelerate knowledge sharing and capacity development.
Africa-Indian trade grew steadily at a rate of almost 32 percent annually from 2005 to 2011. This growth was spurred by Indian private investments in ICT, energy, automobile manufacturing, and telecommunications. In the span of less than a decade, since 2007, Regional trade has more than doubled from $ 25 billion to $ 57 billion, while two-way trade is estimated to have reached $ 90 billion by the end of 2015.
African leaders and Indian industrialists have expressed their joint vision of realizing $ 500 billion in trade between Africa and India by 2020. African exports to India are growing at a rate of 32 percent annually, while India's exports to Africa are growing at a rate of 23 percent. Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa account for about 89 percent of Africa's total export trade with India. Enabling greater people to people connect amongst entrepreneurs will ensure further surge in trade.
