Young voices from Africa – Harnessing digital tools for sustainable trade

Audience

The analysis highlights several arguments and discussions on various topics. One of the main points revolves around India’s ability to offer efficient solutions in language, digitalization, and financing that could greatly benefit the World Trade Organization (WTO). India has already introduced and pilot-tested an MSME financing solution called Oconfor and has initiated the United Payment Interface (UPI) for mobile transfers of money with low transaction fees. These initiatives demonstrate India’s potential in addressing issues related to language barriers, digitalization, and financing, making it an asset to the WTO.

Ghana is another country making strides in promoting inclusivity and gender equality in trade. The country has implemented several strategies to support women in benefiting from the African continental free trade. This includes the formation of the Trade and Gender Committee under the National Trade Facilitation Committee, sensitization and training programs for women and border agencies, the adoption of the ‘gender champion’ concept to assist women traders effectively, and the implementation of a simplified trade regime for women crossing the border with goods worth less than $5,000. These initiatives demonstrate Ghana’s commitment to ensuring women are empowered and can actively participate in trade, contributing to the overall economic growth of the country.

Digital inclusion and access to digital financial tools are crucial for remote work and business efforts, particularly in rural areas. Limited access to essential digital tools, such as credit cards, hinders individuals from fully participating in the digital economy. There is a need for solutions to eliminate these barriers and ensure individuals from rural areas have access to digital financial tools. This will not only facilitate remote work opportunities but also contribute to reducing inequalities and promoting decent work and economic growth.

The analysis also explores the issue of youth representation in politics. It is observed that there is a lack of young people’s representation, and their voices are not being adequately heard. To address this, the suggestion is made that young people should create their own platforms to amplify their voices and be noticed in political arenas. This would contribute to building stronger institutions and promoting peace, justice, and inclusivity.

Financial inclusivity is another important aspect discussed in the analysis. The integration of mobile payment solutions with traditional banking methods is seen as essential to ensure financial inclusivity. Many individuals, especially youth, use mobile payments extensively. However, access to Visa cards, which are often required for certain transactions, can be a challenge and may restrict financial participation. The need for integration between mobile payment solutions and traditional banking methods is thus emphasized to promote financial inclusivity, reduce inequalities, and tackle poverty.

The analysis also points out the importance of policies adapting to technological advancements. While technology is advancing rapidly, policies often lag behind. There is a need for policies that can keep up with these developments to ensure organizations can effectively utilize successful models and data, thereby enhancing sustainability and contributing to responsible consumption and production.

Finally, the analysis sheds light on the issue of allowing Africans to pay in local currency for digital services. Currently, the e-commerce moratorium exempts tax on digitally delivered services. However, there are concerns that this moratorium may be under threat, which could have detrimental effects, particularly in Africa. It is argued that platforms like GAFA should work with local partners to enable Africans to pay directly in local currency, rather than relying on hard currencies or mobile visa payments.

In conclusion, the analysis highlights various arguments and discussions on a range of topics. It emphasizes the potential benefits that India and Ghana can bring to the WTO, the importance of digital inclusion and financial access, the need for improved youth representation in politics, the significance of financial inclusivity and technological adaptation in policies, and the challenges associated with digital payments in African countries. These insights provide valuable considerations for policymakers and stakeholders to address these issues and promote sustainable development.

Sarah Frimpong

The analysis reveals several important points about the informal sector and the role of women in African economies. Firstly, it highlights the distinctive dual nature of African economies, divided into the formal and the informal sector. The informal sector is found to make a significant contribution to Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Notably, women and youth form the largest part of the informal sector in Africa, underscoring their importance in this sector.

However, challenges are facing the African informal sector that need to be addressed. One of these challenges is the complexity of digital platforms, which proves to be a barrier for some players in the informal sector who lack literacy skills to make good use of mobile money payments. As a result, most market women can only use their phones to make calls due to low literacy levels. This highlights the need for simple solutions that can enable market women to fully utilize digital platforms and expand their businesses.

Another challenge identified is the issue of affordability in telecommunication products and services in Africa. It is noted that making a call from Ghana to Togo is more expensive than making a call from Europe to Germany. This lack of affordability hinders market women from taking full advantage of their limited knowledge and expertise. Therefore, it is crucial to address this issue by providing affordable telecommunication products and services that can empower market women and facilitate their participation in economic activities.

The analysis also emphasizes the importance of involving and informing informal traders about the African Continental Free Trade Area. It is highlighted that most market women are unaware of this trade agreement, and the lack of information and complex language of trade agreements hinder their effective implementation. Therefore, there is a need to translate trade agreements into easily understandable language for market women to ensure their meaningful participation in the economic benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Furthermore, the analysis criticizes the government’s hasty approach to formalizing the informal sector through counterproductive interventions. Specifically, the introduction of a 1.5% tax on withdrawals in Ghana resulted in a 20% drop in mobile money transactions. Instead of imposing burdensome taxes, the government is urged to adopt a collaborative approach that enables a seamless transition of the informal sector into the formal economy.

The lack of comprehensive understanding and data collection on the informal sector is identified as a major hindrance to effective policy interventions. The analysis argues that the informal sector is intricate, with different needs, skills, and capacities. Current initiatives and interventions tend to broadly categorize the entire informal sector and may not address the unique needs of its different aspects. Additionally, the scarcity of data on the informal sector makes it challenging to design appropriate policies that can effectively support this sector.

To address this issue, the analysis suggests increasing and improving data collection on the informal sector in Africa. The availability of more data would allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the various intricacies of the informal sector and would aid in the formulation of targeted and effective policy interventions.

Lastly, the analysis highlights the importance of renewing the moratorium in trade, particularly in the interest of women. Renewing the moratorium is seen as a cost-effective way to include women in trade, with minimal costs compared to the potential gains that would be made by including women in the trade sector. However, the analysis does not provide supporting arguments or evidence for this point.

In conclusion, the analysis sheds light on key aspects of the informal sector in African economies and the crucial role of women in this sector. It underlines the need for simpler digital platforms, affordable telecommunication products and services, and informed participation in trade agreements to unlock the potential of the informal sector. Additionally, the analysis emphasizes the importance of a collaborative approach, comprehensive data collection, and renewing the moratorium in trade to foster inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Africa.

Princess Puskas

Mobile payments have the potential to revolutionize the financial landscape in Africa by including previously unbanked populations and contributing to sustainable economic growth. Around 70% of mobile money accounts in 2022 were from Africa, highlighting the significant uptake of mobile payments in the region. By bringing the unbanked and informal sectors into the financial sector, these individuals can actively participate in the economy and contribute to economic growth.

Mobile payments also hold great promise for the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa. These businesses, often lacking access to traditional banking services, can benefit from mobile payment platforms that enable efficient and secure transactions. This support for MSMEs can foster entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic development.

To ensure the inclusion of the informal sector in the internationalized mobile banking system, digital literacy becomes a crucial factor. Initiatives are proposed to progressively incorporate the informal sector into banking through enhanced digital literacy programs. This approach aims to empower individuals in the informal sector to navigate and utilize mobile banking solutions effectively.

The process of internationalizing mobile banking should begin with a small-scale approach, initially focusing on the leading languages in Africa. Gradually, other languages should be included to ensure accessibility and a universal banking system that facilitates transactions and exchanges of goods and services across the continent.

The inclusion of digital technologies in Africa’s economy can help lower reliance on the informal sector, which is associated with high unemployment rates and limited economic diversification. The adoption and integration of digital technologies can drive innovation, enhance productivity, and contribute to a more diverse and sustainable economy.

Regulation and supervision of digital technologies are important for fostering innovation, safeguarding financial stability, and protecting consumers. A balanced approach is necessary to create an enabling environment that supports technological advancements while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Efforts towards achieving a single digital market in Africa are commendable, particularly through collaboration among African economies. The establishment of such a market holds tremendous potential for promoting digital innovation, boosting trade, and enhancing economic growth across the continent.

Mobile payment services, such as Orange Money, offer their own Visa Card, providing youths with access to financial services without requiring a traditional bank account. This inclusion of youths in the financial sector is crucial, as they hold valuable insights and perspectives that can drive innovation and bridge potential generational gaps.

The commendable efforts made in India and Ghana towards boosting inter-country trade through the adoption of digital technologies are noteworthy. India’s United Payment Interface has been instrumental in lowering transaction costs, while Ghana’s partnership with the Pan-African Payment Settlement System has facilitated cross-border trade. These examples demonstrate the transformative potential of digital technologies in fostering economic cooperation and integration.

Furthermore, when discussing digital technology and youth, it is important to ensure gender balance in the conversation. While women are often the focus of gender equality efforts, it is equally important to include male youth in discussions to ensure a comprehensive understanding and address the needs of all genders.

In conclusion, mobile payments, digital literacy, inclusive internationalisation of mobile banking, digital technology inclusion, regulatory balance, collaboration, youth involvement, inter-country trade facilitation, and gender equality are crucial elements for driving sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion in Africa. Through concerted efforts and strategic initiatives, Africa can harness the transformative power of digital technologies and leverage them to forge a prosperous and inclusive future.

Cecilia Malmström

Trade liberalization has a differential impact on men and women, with gender discrimination in laws making it more difficult for women to access financing. Women’s clothes are also subject to higher tariffs compared to men’s clothes. To address these challenges and promote gender equality in trade, it is crucial to involve women in trade more systematically and remove obstacles to their participation. Research has shown that countries with higher participation of women entrepreneurs are more competitive.

Gender provisions should be included in free trade agreements to ensure gender equality in trade. The European Union (EU) has taken steps in this direction by including gender provisions in their agreements with Canada and New Zealand. Additionally, 125 countries signed a joint declaration on women in trade at the Ministerial 2017 in Buenos Aires, showing a global commitment to addressing gender inequalities in international trade.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement has immense potential for empowering women by improving their financial and digital literacy, increasing their access to capital and opportunities. Inclusion and participation of women are crucial components of the agreement to ensure that women benefit from the trade opportunities it provides.

Better data on the informal sector is needed to design effective interventions and policies. Collecting data can help understand the unique challenges faced by women in the informal sector and implement targeted solutions.

The needs of the informal sector include digitalization, training, access to capital, and the removal of discriminatory rules. Addressing these needs can enhance opportunities for women in the informal sector, leading to improved livelihoods and economic growth.

Standardization in e-commerce, anonymization in public procurement, and high-standard digital trade rules are essential for promoting gender equality and reducing discrimination. Standardization facilitates fair and efficient business transactions in e-commerce. Anonymization in public procurement projects can mitigate discrimination and increase the number of projects that go to women. High-standard digital trade rules ensure inclusivity and enable women and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to benefit from digitalization.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of digital trade and services has increased. High-standard digital trade and services rules can ensure that women and MSMEs receive the benefits of digitalization. Enhancing digital services trade within the African continent requires sharing best practices and experiences.

Measures related to digital services and market access are crucial for building trust. Implementing high-standard provisions and providing access to cybersecurity and fraud prevention tools are essential for fostering trust in digital transactions and promoting business growth.

Mobile payments play a transformative role in reducing inequalities, particularly in the African context. Encouraging diverse solutions and services can create an enabling environment for women and promote financial inclusion.

Including women’s rights in trade agreements is a vital step towards gender equality and decent work. Most modern trade agreements reference the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions, which protect women’s right to unionize and advocate for non-discriminatory wage negotiations. Examples include trade agreements between the EU and various countries, as well as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Individual companies must take action to implement ILO conventions and promote gender equality and decent work. While enforcement lies with the companies, support from organizations like the EU and the ILO is essential for monitoring and addressing systematic abuses.

In conclusion, trade has a significant impact on gender equality, and it is crucial to address the differential effects of trade liberalization on men and women. By involving women in trade, removing obstacles, and improving access to markets and resources, countries can enhance competitiveness and promote gender equality. Including gender provisions in trade agreements, such as those by the EU, contributes to gender equality in international trade. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement empowers women by addressing their specific needs and promoting standardization and high-standard digital trade rules. Collecting better data on the informal sector informs effective interventions, and addressing the needs of the informal sector, such as digitalization and access to capital, benefits women. Standardization in e-commerce, anonymization in public procurement, and high-standard digital trade rules reduce discrimination and promote inclusion. Mobile payments promote financial inclusion and reduce inequalities. Finally, including women’s rights in trade agreements and implementing ILO conventions are vital for promoting gender equality and decent work.

Cathleen McDonalds

Visa’s presence in Africa and its approach to the continent’s demographics and technological innovation have been viewed positively. They operate in over 200 countries, including various African countries, and their aim is to facilitate access for women, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs into the global economy. This aligns with the goals of SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Visa recognized the opportunities in Africa’s demographics and technological advancements.

During the pandemic, Visa’s Think Tank discovered a surge in women’s entrepreneurship, driven by the acceleration of digitization. Businesses that experienced growth during this period were more likely to use digital platforms and payments, as well as engage in export. This highlights the positive impact of digital payments on women’s empowerment and economic growth, in line with SDG 5 and SDG 8.

Visa’s initiatives in Africa further demonstrate their commitment to promoting economic growth and innovation. They have partnered with Safaricom in Kenya to extend the use of M-PESA, a mobile money transfer service, beyond Kenya’s borders. Additionally, Visa has launched the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, aimed at supporting local startups and fintechs. They are also working on ensuring interoperability of different payment models across Africa. These efforts contribute to the goals of SDG 8 and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

The relevance of digital technology in promoting financial inclusion and economic growth is underscored by Cathleen McDonald. She emphasizes the potential of digital technology to act as a catalyst for these goals. Additionally, McDonald highlights the importance of disseminating information about digital technologies in an accessible and inclusive manner. Utilizing appropriate channels such as radio stations and newspapers, especially for people in rural areas, can enhance inclusion, aligning with SDG 9 and SDG 10.

McDonald also upholds the importance of language in information sharing, suggesting that utilizing local languages can improve the rate and efficacy of inclusion. Trade affairs and educational forums are suggested as platforms for teaching about opportunities for financial and economic advancement through digital technologies. These platforms align with the goals of SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8, and SDG 9.

However, McDonald acknowledges technical issues experienced with Visa mobile payments, indicating the need for further improvement in this area.

The initiatives of India and Ghana in promoting digital financial inclusion are praised. India focused on digital public infrastructure during its G20 host year, while Ghana is working on direct interventions to facilitate digital financial inclusion. These efforts contribute to the goals of SDG 9 and SDG 10.

McDonald commends young African trade experts for their focus on youth, particularly the inclusion of young women. Their efforts align with SDG 5 and SDG 8.

Access to more digitally enabled services is considered a net benefit for economies and diversification, with a particular positive impact on women and MSMEs. This aligns with SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 5, SDG 8, and SDG 10.

Extending the moratorium on certain digital tools and services is seen as crucial to maintaining the availability and offerings of these tools. Not extending the moratorium could have a negative effect, and the use of these digital tools is vital for achieving SDG 8, SDG 9, and SDG 10.

Visa’s Visa Net Settlement Service is offered in the African continent, providing services in local currency when domestic services are needed. This contributes to SDG 8 and SDG 10.

More competition in payments is viewed positively as it drives down costs, encourages investment in innovation and security, and provides more options for consumers and small businesses. This aligns with SDG 8, SDG 9, and SDG 10.

In conclusion, Visa’s presence and approach in Africa highlight their dedication to promoting gender equality, economic growth, and reduced inequalities. Their initiatives in partnership with local entities, support for startups and fintechs, and efforts towards interoperability are ways in which they are contributing to the achievement of the SDGs. Additionally, the positive impact of digital payments on women’s empowerment and the importance of inclusive information dissemination and language accessibility are emphasized. The initiatives of India and Ghana, as well as the commendation of young African trade experts, further highlight the significance of digital financial inclusion and youth focus.

Moderator

During the discussions, speakers explored various topics related to inclusive economic growth in African countries. One key focus was the potential of mobile payments to foster inclusivity, particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It was acknowledged that bringing unbanked individuals into the financial sector through mobile payments could stimulate economic growth. The positive sentiment towards this argument suggests an optimistic outlook for the impact of mobile payments in Africa.

However, concerns were raised regarding digital literacy and language barriers that could hinder the implementation of mobile payment systems. It is crucial to address these issues to ensure that all individuals, including those with limited digital and language skills, can fully participate in the digital economy. This neutral sentiment highlights the need for further considerations and actions to overcome these barriers.

Another significant argument was the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to integrate the informal sector into banking services. The use of AI technology was seen as a potential solution to unify African banking and facilitate smoother exchange of goods and services. The positive sentiment towards this argument implies that AI integration can promote economic growth and inclusivity in the informal sector.

Digital technologies were also highlighted as means to empower women and graduates in starting their businesses. It was argued that digital tools and services can create more opportunities for underrepresented groups and contribute to gender equality and economic growth. This positive sentiment suggests that digital technologies have the potential to foster inclusive economic development.

Another point raised was the need for African economies to diversify in order to withstand tensions and pandemics. The sentiment towards this argument was neutral, indicating that while diversification is important, further actions and strategies are needed to promote diversification and enhance economic resilience in the region.

The importance of Visa as a global payments network working to uplift businesses and support women in Africa was also emphasized. The neutral sentiment towards this argument suggests a balanced view of Visa’s role and potential impact on economic growth and gender equality in the region.

Furthermore, the discussions emphasized the significance of digital inclusion, access to capital, and the removal of discriminatory rules and laws. It was argued that policy interventions are needed to sustainably maintain startups and enable their growth. These interventions also require the use of data to understand and implement effective policies in the informal sector. The positive sentiment towards these arguments indicates a recognition of the importance of supportive policies and data-driven decision-making in promoting inclusive economic growth.

In conclusion, the discussions revolved around various aspects of inclusive economic growth in African countries. The potential of mobile payments, adoption of AI, digital technologies, diversification, and policy interventions were among the key points discussed. The overall sentiment was positive, indicating an optimistic outlook for leveraging these approaches to foster sustainable economic development and reduce inequalities in the region.

Moderator:
I think we would like to start. So, first of all, a very, very warm welcome to everyone in the room. We appreciate you coming. We know we are competing with Arantxa González in the atrium. So, a special thank you to you. My name is Cedric Ayman. I work with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation here in Geneva. I work on digital affairs and trade. And I have the absolute privilege of being the moderator of a panel of our wonderful young African trade experts, Cecilia Malmström and Caitlin McDonald from Visa. But before I introduce them formally, I have prepared some very quick questions that you can see in the background, just to get us all started as a bit of a food for thought on the topic that we’ll be discussing today. I apologize for the quality. I thought we would see them a bit better. But I will open the answers already, and you just get points if you had it all correct. So, covered by the AFCFTA, we will have 1.3 billion people. By 2035, we’re expecting a 7% increase, which means $450 billion. As we’re talking about digital payments, in 2022, we had a registered number of $1.2 trillion, and 70% of it was in African mobile money accounts. Another very important element is, as we’re talking about harnessing digital tools for sustainable trade, we also have to talk about the people. That means also people in the… informal employment sector and as we’re talking in the African context and the Sub-Saharan African context, we’re talking between 83 and 85 percent working in that. And what’s more, the percentage of women in informal employment is 90 percent. So these are just some facts to settle us all and kick us off in this discussion. And before turning to our panelists, I would like to introduce, I will start in the order which we have here, we have Caitlin MacDonald who is the Senior Director, Head of International Affairs at Global Government Engagement at Visa. She has been in that role since 2021 and with Visa since 2015. And I asked all of our panelists a fun fact of how they got into trade and Caitlin fell into trade through the industry and has really learned to love the power of e-payments and the facilitation it has for economic growth and personal empowerment, also especially for women. We have Cecilia Malmström, Swedish politician having served, among others, as a European Commissioner for Trade between 2014 and 2019, member of European Parliament and I’m passing some positions. She’s currently a non-resident fellow of the Peterson Institute in Washington DC. Also a quick heads up, at 3.15 in this very same room, we’ll have a live session of the trade wins with Usha Dwarkar Kanalbadi who is the Ambassador of Mauritius and Mr. Alan Wolfe, also from the Peterson Institute. And her fact of how she fell into trade is, and what she loves about trade, is the interaction between people and the potential for growth that it gives. people. We have on the far side Sarah Frimpong, who is a PhD candidate at the University of Bielefeld, where she focuses on the informal sector of women in Ghana. She is also one of our wonderful young African trade experts, so this is part of a fellowship. We have brought four wonderful candidates this year to Geneva that will be at the public forum but also meeting with other key actors here in Geneva. So after the session, please don’t hesitate to meet us, meet with them, interact with them. We’ll be all over the public forum. Her personal effect of how getting into trade was her personal background. She is surrounded by informal traders, especially women, and also interested in seeing how trade can drive prosperity on the African continent. And last but certainly not least, we have Princess Puskis, who is a senior economist at the Central Bank of Botswana in the Modelling and Forecasting Unit, as well a young African trade expert, having published blogs with the trade experts as well. And her personal relation to trade was seeing how digital technology can enhance trade and provide sustainable economic growth for African countries. So now starting, I’d like with Princess Puskis, I’ll start with the question. You have written a blog that I highly recommend on the Trade Experts website, which is called Internationalizing Mobile Banking in Africa. And so my question to you is to see what would be the potential and

Princess Puskas:
expectation that you see in mobile payments? All right, good morning everyone. It’s a pleasure to have you all here. I hope I’m audible. Can somebody give me a thumbs up? Great, thank you. The potential that I see for mobile payments, Cedric, is Like you said, the inclusiveness, especially for our micro, small and medium enterprises, we have them come into the game and play and contribute to sustainable economic growth for African countries. So for me, it’s more on trying to have people who have previously been unbanked to come into the financial sector to be able to contribute, have their businesses started up, and then contribute to economic growth in the African countries. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. But when you look at these elements, we’ve looked into the, you’ve said inclusiveness and banking. How would you go about some of the language elements and seeing how there’s some challenges of the, I want to call it digital literacy in this area?

Princess Puskas:
Actually we’re in a session, like yesterday afternoon, the guys by the, is it the auditorium? Yes, they have the artificial intelligence trying to bring the informal sector, and we’re talking about that, that it’s going to be baby steps, you know, because like I said in my blog, to internationalize the mobile banking, you need to start small, with maybe the leading languages in Africa, and ultimately building up to include other languages so that this becomes one, it becomes one African bank, you know, where we are able to transact, to exchange goods and services. So I believe that you all start somewhere, it’s not going to be something that happens overnight, so we need to start somewhere where we start with the main languages and build on to include other languages, yeah.

Moderator:
Thank you. And maybe another element is, there are different opinions on that element, but one element that I found quite interesting was, if we’re talking stronger digital payments, some might consider that it will lower informal activity. And maybe just to have your point of view on this element.

Princess Puskas:
Lowering employment activity.

Moderator:
Lower informal economy. Sorry, lower informal.

Princess Puskas:
I’m glad you’re not saying no informal economy. It’s lower, right? Because right now, you look at the unemployment rates in the African continent, they’re really high, right? We have a lot of people not having income. So I love the fact that you said lower. And like I said, it’s going to take time to get to that point. But what is important is, you’re including people. Like right now, we have people that, we even have graduates who do not have jobs, right? We have people who are just in the market, not working. But by having these digital technologies brought into play, you’re able to have the youth, have everybody, women as well, included in forming up businesses to increase the customer base, right? And I want to believe, like in most African countries, you’d realize that, like for Botswana, we export diamonds, right? And maybe beef. But then there’s less diversification, right? And during times of, say, your pandemics, your geopolitical tensions, we are hit hard because we are not, we’re not diversified, right? So for us having the informal sector come in, it’s going to contribute significantly to making sure that your economy is diverse. You know, you are able to have source of income, you have mainstream source of income into your economy, and that is going to contribute to the sustainable economic trade, economic growth that we want to see. Thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. I am sure we will have many questions afterwards. And now I’d like to pass the floor to Caitlin and kind of throw the question a bit. Visa has been exploring this element of digital economy, women empowerment, especially in the African context, quite a lot, quite significantly. I won’t take away some of the pledges that have been done recently, but that I found very interesting and exciting. And so to bring in a bit of the private sector perspective and see what, in your view, are the potential and empowerment possibilities.

Cathleen McDonalds:
Thanks so much, Cedric. Good morning. It’s really a pleasure to be a part of this session today and particularly to hear from the young African trade experts who have such amazing on-the-ground experience and insights to share. So as Cedric mentioned, I look after international affairs for Visa based in Washington, D.C., and I’m sure all of you are familiar with the Visa brand. But if I may, I’ll just share a little bit about our company. So Visa is a global payments network. We connect more than 80 million merchants with 4.1 billion account holders all over the world. We operate in more than 200 countries and territories, so we really are a truly global operation. And services have really never been more important to the global economy, contributing to more than two-thirds of GDP globally, contributing to the most job creation, particularly for women and youth. And today I’d really like to focus on the inclusive nature of services and e-payments. I also just want to mention briefly the July report that was jointly produced by the WTO and the World Bank. That really made the case on services being the future of trade and having a really inclusive nature, particularly for MSMEs and women. And I think that provides really nice context for today’s discussion. So I want to share a bit about Visa’s presence in Africa and how we think about the African continent in the context of our global business. As a company, our corporate purpose is to uplift everyone everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid. And really central to that mission is facilitating access for women, for entrepreneurs, for MSMEs into the global economy. And with Africa, it’s just truly central to how we think about global growth, but also living out that corporate purpose. So I know we’re all very familiar with the opportunities in terms of demographics, the technological innovation in Africa. I did also want to mention of sort of unique relevance to today’s discussion is the really kind of untapped opportunity for small businesses in Africa. Estimates suggest that more than 40 million merchants across the continent are still operating exclusively in cash and don’t have access to digital payments. So looking at digital payments and what’s the opportunity for empowerment, I really wanted to focus on the gender lens. This is an area of great importance to Visa. And of course, women encompass such an important part of the informal economy in Africa. So I’d like to turn to some research that has been conducted by Visa’s in-house think tank, the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, that really looked at the impact of COVID and digitization on women-owned businesses and startups. And the trends are really interesting. We saw a big surge in women’s entrepreneurship. entrepreneurship as a result of the pandemic, and believe that, you know, the digitization acceleration that we saw during COVID created new opportunities for inclusion for women and MSMEs. And I’ll point to a couple of the findings of some surveys we conducted around the world. Very interestingly, our studies show that women-led firms that grew by 5% or more during the pandemic had three things in common. One, they were 25% more likely to use digital platforms. They were 20% more likely to use digital payments, and they were 60% more likely to export. So here we see a really strong correlation in how being digitally enabled helps to facilitate export opportunities for MSMEs, and in this case, for women-led firms. And lastly, I just want to spend a couple of minutes talking about, you know, what Visa is doing in African context to help facilitate MSME access and support women, because I think there’s really a unique opportunity related to entrepreneurship and advancements in technology in Africa. So while we’re a global network, our business is really inherently local. We work through local partners to provide highly tailored services and ones that are relevant to the local context. So a couple of things I want to point out, I’m sure you’re all familiar with M-PESA and, you know, the advent of mobile money really originating in Kenya, Visa partners with Safaricom to allow Kenyan citizens and small businesses to use M-PESA outside of Kenya. So it’s an e-commerce solution so that you can procure goods and services across borders, and it really helps to facilitate more intra-African trade, which, of course, is an objective across the continent. We’re also doing a lot with startups and fintechs. A couple of months ago we launched the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator and through this program we’ll select 40 startups each year to go through an intensive training program with Visa and also get access to networks and capabilities. We have a really talented pool of applicants so far and they’ll be announced next month so please stay tuned. And then lastly, just reverting back to global capabilities, a big focus of ours is ensuring interoperability of different payment models. So we’re very focused in the African context on Tap to Phone, which is a low-cost acceptance solution for merchants that allows them to accept payments from various domestic buyers but also from international sellers. So that’s been a huge area of focus for us across Africa. Thanks Cedric.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. Before handing over the floor, because we’ll also get into a bit of the challenges that companies and providers such as Visa might encounter, I would like to turn to Sarah to give us a bit of an overview of the role of the informal sector and also what you see as enabling factors of the African Free Trade Agreement and how that could really boost inter-regional trade.

Sarah Frimpong:
Thank you very much Cedric and thank you everyone for being here this morning to listen to our session. And while Princess and Kaitlin were speaking, I was very glad to hear them make a lot of reference to women, women, women, women, yes, because that is really what it is. When we look at the informal sector in Africa, You realize that, first and foremost, the economies in Africa are distinctively dualized into the formal and the informal sector. And we all agree that the informal sector dominates the formal sector. When you look at the GDP contribution, you realize that the informal sector even contributes largely to African GDPs. So the informal sector should be front and center when we have conversations concerning the African continental free trade area. And it is just clear that women and then the youth form the largest part of the informal sector in Africa. When you consider the micro, small, and medium enterprises, one thing I also want to highlight here is that the informal sector is so complex and very difficult to describe. We have this umbrella of micro, small, and medium enterprises describing them, but it is largely informal than we think. The sector is very difficult to put into proper perspective. And with respect to digital tools, you realize that the micro, small, and medium enterprises are able to make use of some of these. But then there are players in the informal sector who do not even have the literacy to make good use of these mobile money payments. For instance, when you go to the markets where I’m coming from, you realize that some of our mothers are not even able to save contact on their phones. They don’t even know how to save phone contact. So what they can do is sometimes, you know, they’ll call a child, can you look for this number for me? I want to place a call to this supplier. So all they do is use their phones to make calls. So the informal sector is more intricate than we can clearly put into terms. And I think that these digital tools are very important with respect to the mobile money platforms. But we should also look at simple interventions for some of these market women. Some of them, all that they need is… what do you call it, the telephone credits to make calls. So we should also look at making these calls very affordable across Africa. It will interest you to know that when you are in Ghana and you place a call to someone in Togo, it’s more expensive than when you are in Sweden and you are calling someone in Germany. So you realize that Togo and Ghana are like back doors. Someone can live in Ghana and have their backyard garden in Togo. I know most of you know the, what do you call it, the footballer Emmanuel Adebayo. He lived in Togo, but he was schooling in Ghana. That’s how close Ghana and Togo are. But making a call from Ghana to Togo is very expensive. So I believe that as we are looking at how we are going to do all these platforms, we should start from the basics, making telecommunication very affordable for these women to also take advantage of. Then there is also the challenge of access to markets. Market access is very challenging when it comes to informal trade. Most of these women have to cross borders to go into neighboring countries to source their commodities. I think it is high time the policymakers of the African continental free trade area look at means of aggregating the market women. They are trading very much so on the micro side in that they have to always go into the neighboring countries to buy things. But in Europe, we realize that we have platforms where entrepreneurs can stay in the comfort of their offices and in the comfort of their homes and place orders and have them delivered to them. But in Africa, it is not so. If you need to sell tomatoes and you do not have enough in Ghana, you need to go all the way to Burkina Faso. And what do these women face when they have to cross the borders? They are subjected to harassment, they are subjected to extortion, they are subjected to various… harsh treatments because they don’t even know what their rights are. But we have the African Continental Free Trade Area, which has a lot of rights that these women need to know that these are my rights. When I’m bringing tomatoes from La Côte d’Ivoire or from Burkina into Ghana, I do not have to pay this, but they don’t know. So then they are the mercy of the border officials who subject them to all forms of treatment and extortion. And that brings me to one of my main points, that the language that we put these trade agreements in are sometimes too complex for those who are to implement them to understand. So if trade agreements are so technical, of course we appreciate that trade is very technical, the language needs to be technical, but the implementation is done by people at the grassroots. So the language should then be broken down into a form that is easily understood by those who are implementing them at the grassroots. And it will interest you even to know that the market women don’t even know about the African Continental Free Trade Area. And I’m saying this based on observation and interviews that we’ve conducted. The free trade agreement has been in operation since 2020, but how many people know? Let me not take you far. Let me take you to Ghana, where we have the secretariat. When you speak to the market women, they don’t even know there is something called the African Continental Free Trade Area. And like I said, they don’t even know their rights. They don’t know their privileges as provided by the free trade agreement. So that is when these digital tools come in. We have so many creative ways that we could make this information available to the women. We used to have these information service vans that could go to the villages, the remote areas, to tell them about developments, policies that the government, in languages that they will be able to understand in a way that they will be able to appreciate, given their skills level. So I believe that payment systems are very important, but also ways of transmitting information. We should also look at that, because they all tie into bringing everybody into play, because I believe when we inform them, we are involving them. So if we want to involve the players at the grassroots, then we should inform them. We should make sure that the language is understandable. It’s good to be technical, but then to what extent? If we are too technical so that we cannot appreciate and implement it, then what are we doing? I always say that the African continental free trade area has two arguments. There are those who believe that it is too ambitious and just wishful thinking. They are right. And there are those who also believe that the African continental free trade area is the key to open the economic prosperity of Africa. They are also right. But the middle ground is implementation. What is left is implementation. If we do not implement it well, those saying that it is wishful thinking are right. If we implement it well, those saying that it is an agenda for African prosperity, they are also right. So it lies in implementation. And is it just those who are the technical people who are going to implement it? In the context of Africa, it is not the technical people. It is the informal traders, because they are the majority. And they need to understand what it is that we are doing. They need to understand what their rights are. They need to understand where we stand and where we want to go to. So it is a grand agenda, but everybody needs to be informed and involved. So to conclude, what I would like to say is that the African continental free trade area, it has great power to open up markets to Africans, both within the region and outside the region. But we should look at implementation. We should embrace these digital tools. But we should rightly segregate the informal sector. The micro, small, and medium enterprises, they are those There are some of them who can make good use of these digital platforms. For those, we can concentrate on them and make sure that we package these in a way that they will be able to understand, the interface will be user-friendly, they will be able to do whatever it is that they are able to do with it. And for the market women who are not skilled enough to take advantage of this, there is something that we can also do for them. Make sure that telecommunication products are affordable so that with their limited knowledge they will be able to take advantage of these things. And before I land, we were talking about mobile money, mobile money, mobile money. We have a lot of research on the continent that points to government interventions and policies attached to these mobile money payments. Of course, we acknowledge that the grand agenda of these digital tools is to bring the informal sector into the formal brackets. That is a given. Everybody is aware of that. But how? The manner in which governments are doing this are rather making these interventions counterproductive. For instance, when you look at Ghana, I make a lot of reference to Ghana because that’s where I’m doing my research and also I’m from Ghana. In 2022, that is in May, the government of Ghana introduced a 1.5 tax element on withdrawals, forgetting that these women are passing their capital and not necessarily their profits or the government just didn’t care where the money was coming from. Once you are withdrawing money, we are taxing you 1.5%. And it was counterproductive. Nine months after the introduction of this tax, research shows that mobile money transactions dropped by 20% compared to pre-tax levels. So I believe that governments should not be so much in a hurry to, you know, bring these women into the formal brackets. It is very important. That balance needs to be struck somewhere, but government should be deliberate and government should be more collaborative in their efforts. These women are very powerful. They are vulnerable given the kind of arrangement that they need to work under, but they are very powerful because they have a voice. So government should rather go the collaborative approach to make sure that they bring everybody on board and with time they will seamlessly transition into their formal brackets and then everybody will be happy. So that’s just a little bit.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. So instead of me doing the questions, I think I would rather in this case turn to Princess to bring her in because in one of her publications I know that she brought some of the elements of information because I think that’s one thing that we’ve just heard that the lack of information of the AFCFTA, the rights they have, that is something that you had mentioned and if you would outline your idea. And then I would also open our second, I’ll call you the digital expert, Caitlin, on if in some of the programs that Visa is doing, if you’ve seen what you’ve managed to do to get that information out there because you have a lot of applicants for these programs so you are doing the empowerment and what may be tools that you have found to be most successful in that way.

Cathleen McDonalds:
All right. Thank you, Cedric. Like as I had mentioned earlier, the digital technology is actually a catalyst for financial inclusion and economic growth and it is important that The informal sector is also made aware of such available opportunities in the economy. And the manner in which you share this information is also quite important because you’d realize given an example from home, I mean, I believe even in our respective countries, you would have your newspapers, right? You would have the radio. You would have your Facebook. But you need to be aware that even people in rural areas, they have limited access to some of these, especially those that are technical, right? So in trying to have this, I feel that even, I don’t know if maybe some of us have them in our respective countries, like the trade affairs. The trade affairs, they would be where you have all these people coming in to teach you. So I feel having to disseminate such information through the newspapers that you know for sure these newspapers are able to reach those in the rural areas. It would help them to be able to come into play. And also, it is quite important that given being able to reach out to the informal people and those in the rural areas, you’re also able to use your various, say your radio stations because you know for sure that they were able to use such, right? Like Sarah was saying, the language that you use is also important to be able to have them included. Especially, it would be important to have your mother tongue to communicate this to those people that may need such information to be able to include them as you expand on your digital technologies. Yes, thank you. Well, I’ll jump in. Thanks, Cedric. And I guess what I would maybe want to focus on is the way that Visa is thinking about how to support digitization and make sure that trade and digital really becomes inclusive of all of us. And I think that’s really important. Thank you. Thank you. inclusive for women in SMEs and we think about a framework that refers to opportunity, skills, and building trust, and the three of these elements are really mutually reinforcing. And before I go into what they are, I would just comment, I love to hear both Princess and Sarah sort of make reference, I think, to elements that really relate to these three areas that Visa’s focused on, so that’s certainly validating in terms of our approach. So the first is opportunity. How do we increase access to digital tools and services, and importantly, to markets? And from where I sit, you know, a big focus is how do we facilitate access to new markets through high-standard digital and services trade, and I’d be happy to go into a bit more detail about what we consider high-standard from the Visa point of view. Secondly on skills, there’s a tremendous opportunity to support women in small businesses in learning how to use digital tools and access new markets, and the research shows that, you know, women, of course it’s not for lack of aptitude, but just lack of training, tend to use digital tools and services less than their male counterparts. So for Visa, this is a huge area of focus in terms of skilling. We have initiatives that are both focused on financial inclusion, how to access banking services, how to leverage payments to, you know, seek a better credit rating, a lot of different opportunities there, but equally important on the digital side, how can small businesses leverage digital tools and services to grow their business, make their business more resilient, diversify their offerings, reach new suppliers, and that initiative from Visa is called Practical Business Skills. We have it available. in many different languages. It’s conducted both in person and online and in really different formats so that we can reach end users that have different needs. And then the last is on trust. So we just can’t talk enough about the importance of building trust in these digital tools and solutions. We saw COVID as a rapid accelerant. We have so many more MSMEs and women interacting with the digital economy for the first time than ever before. And while there’s great opportunity there, it also presents new risks. In the payment space in particular, we’re very focused on fraud and cybersecurity and how can we really support both a policy environment that ensures that people’s data and money is safe, but also just, again, kind of the appropriate skills and knowledge to help build trust and how to use these different tools and services. So I would just reiterate, we think about it as opportunity, skills, and trust.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. And now at this point, I would like to turn to Cecilia. Cecilia has been a staunch defender of women empowerment. And I think this is a very important discussion as we’re talking about the informal sector. I think all three panellists have mentioned the disproportionate effect that the informal economy has. And so I’d like to bring you in, Cecilia, on this and what you see also in the trade element of it.

Cecilia Malmström:
Thank you very much, Cedric. Good morning, everybody. I’m truly honoured and so glad to be in this panel with you. I took a lot of notes. I learnt a lot. And you’ve all been referring to the differences. between men and women in trade. And this is not only anecdotal. We know that that is the case. We know that trade liberalization affect men and women, but not in the same way. And we also know that women, when they are involved in trade and business, they spend a higher degree of their income on food, on education, on health for their children. So that is also a way of fighting poverty in developing countries. But for instance, women’s clothes have higher tariffs than men’s clothes, which is ridiculous. But we need to involve women in trade in a more systematic way and get rid of the obstacles. And you all testified of these obstacles. There are pure discrimination in laws, but also it’s much harder for women to get financing, both in small companies and in bigger ones. There is more difficulties to get to the right networks. We know that SMEs are not sufficiently supported. We know that there is a lack of knowledge and skills, as you said, especially in the rural areas. And there’s a lot of prejudices. And all this is making it harder for women to engage in trade in the same way as men. And as I said, research shows that countries with more women entrepreneurs are more competitive than others. But women have at least 80% participation of the labor form participation, the formal sector, only in 14 countries of the world. So there’s a lot to do here. So when women are held back as women leaders, as business leaders, as entrepreneurs and employees, this is not only bad from a sort of justice point of view. It’s bad for the economy. And there’s a report by McKinsey Global Institute showing that if all women, all countries, improved equal access to trade and labor market, like the ones doing the best, those 14 countries, global GDP would improve with $12 trillion. US dollars until 2025. That is 12 zeros. That’s a lot of money. So there’s an economic case for involving women as well. In the OECD, about 70% of self-employed women work in services, and we saw some figures from Africa as well. So, of course, there is a lot to do here. When I was working as trade commissioner, we started looking at this, and we published a strategy called Trade for All, where we sought to include, in a more inclusive way, citizens in trade and making it more transparent, focusing on values, focusing on small and micro companies, medium-sized companies, and on efficiency. And we discovered also that actually there were big inequalities when it came to women in trade, and this is something we tried to highlight. So what can you do? I mean, we heard some good examples here, but you need to, I want to emphasize what Caitlin said, you need to wear your gender glasses when you are engaged in trade, and also when you negotiate. And recent data by ICC, WTO, OECD, UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank, have arrived lately, and they all have increased public knowledge about the situation, because, of course, if you want to do something, you have to have the figures and the data. So what we in the European Union did was to include gender provisions in some of our free trade agreements, and that can be done. We have it with Canada, we have it with New Zealand, and we have general references in all of them, so that you commit with your partner that you will exchange best practices, you will share statistics, you will share data, you will engage in different projects, it could be everything from financing to training to coaching and mentorship, and that you will sort of check it regularly to see what are the results, how are you doing this. And, of course, in all trade agreements, I think most of them in the world, there is a reference to the importance of fighting discrimination and promoting equality. gender equality. Some member states of the WTO have included gender in their trade review mechanism, and that’s a very good way also to see how are things progressing. Ministers met for the Ministerial 2017 in Buenos Aires, and there was a joint declaration on women in trade. It was signed by 125 countries. That’s a lot, and they all agreed that more needs to be done to include women in trade on all levels. And a lot has happened. There has been a lot of workshops, of training, and conferences, and coaching, and programs, and exchange of experiences, but more needs to be done, and too little has happened. And we need to increase that, and at the last Ministerial, not much happened on this area at all. There were a few countries who were really pushing in the working group, Botswana, El Salvador, and Iceland, and they issued a joint statement, but it was not possible to have a broader agreement by the membership at that time. But I think many other countries were disappointed and are trying to do this. And to come back to the small companies, women, as we know, all over the world, not only in Africa and the developing world, are more likely than men to work in small companies. So support for small and medium-sized companies is support for women. That’s the best thing you can do. Increase in small companies raises women’s wages and increases economic equality. And in Africa as a whole, in the continent, 58% of all the small companies, as small as it means, are women-owned. But these companies lag behind compared to the ones that are owned or run by men, according to a study by the World Bank. And the biggest constraint here is finance. So this is something that needs to change. to be done. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest level in the world of women involved in entrepreneurial activity. And Botswana, Ghana, and South Africa are the three leading countries. You know that, of course. So everything you read and hear about women entrepreneurs in Africa boils down to funding. Not only funding, but funding is extremely important. And that is, of course, very much true also in the digital sector. So in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, this is a huge potential. You mentioned some figures in the beginning, and you also all refer to it. So of course, spreading the knowledge that is there, but also using the trade agreement. And there has been a lot of research and recommendations here. The United Nations have looked at it, and lots of other research organizations have provided suggestions on how to use the trade agreement in a more gender-inclusive way. Because also trade in Africa, of course, is biased in favor of men. And to take a figure from another country that has not been mentioned, in Rwanda, 74% of those engaged in cross-border trade are women. So the case you made for making it easier for phone call across the border, and making it also easier to transport, making it easier to have customs standards, standards overall, rules of origin, and so it’s so important for women. So you need to use the African Free Trade Continental Agreement to improve the financial literacy and access to capital for women, and also the digital literacy, of course. And inform the institutional framework and the regulatory environment to remove barriers, especially for women. You need to promote inclusion and participation, and you need to invest in girls’ education, because that’s, of course, where we. it start, and you need to remove the obstacles for services, and you need to look at labor rights. So there’s a whole list of what can be done, and I was just, before boarding the plane to Geneva, I was looking at the website of the Secretariat of the African Free Trade Contract, and I see that there’s so many initiatives, there’s actually a lot going on, and there’s a lot of proposals, and there are lots of different organizations and networks who are trying to work with it. So the potential is there, I think the awareness is there, we just need to put it in action, and I think the importance of having this dialogue between those who are really on the field working with the micro-micro-companies in the villages all across Africa, not only in the villages for that sake, and the Accra Secretariat and those who make the decision is very important. But I’ve seen only this short time that the agreement has been into force, of course we had COVID, but a lot of time was lost for everybody, there has been a lot of progress, because trade and trade agreements can actually be used as a leverage for women, but we need to be very aware of having the gender glasses on all the time, and this is a fantastic possibility. So thank you, Cedric, and to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for trying to highlight this problem for a more systematic way.

Moderator:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much for these points. I would, before turning to you, dear audience, I hope you also have written some questions and points that you would like to share with us. Take the benefit of asking one more round of quick questions. So one that goes a bit to you, Cecilia, but also to Sarah, because there was one thing that you mentioned right at the beginning. it is hard to grasp the informal sector and so from a policy perspective how, so the question to Sarah more specifically would be if you have any tips and pointers because you know your work, you’ve done research on it, how for policymakers it could be made easier to know how and who they’re trying to make the policies for and to you Cecilia maybe if we’ve seen in some of the empowerment policies if there’s, I’m reflecting on what Sarah will hopefully share with us, kind of have as an idea of pointers for policy interventions that could really help because I like the statistic that you mentioned about women entrepreneurs, it’s the highest number globally in Africa but I also unfortunately a lot of them fail very quickly of these startups of these entrepreneurs and how we can sustainably keep them in the spirit of sustainable trade and trade for people, keep them and enable them. Thank you. Okay

Sarah Frimpong:
thank you very much Cedric. With respect to the informal sector I’m just going to sing a very popular song that we sing when it comes to research concerning Africa, data, data, data. The challenge lies with data and I believe that it is important to actually conduct extensive research into the informal sector to be able to put into proper perspective what the various layers are because Cecilia mentioned that there are a lot of interventions and programs and initiatives that have been designed for the implementation of the African continental free trade area but one challenge I see is that we seem to have put the informal sector into one bracket. and what works for an aspect of the informal sector might not necessarily work for another aspect because their needs are different, their levels are different, their skills and capacities are different, even though we’ve picked one big brush and painted all of them as the informal sector. So we need to critically look into what the informal sector is. It is very intricate. Bring the pieces apart, know what the individual needs are, and know what interventions would work for one and what interventions would work for another. So we need to do the hard work of collecting the data on the informal sector to be able to put everything into proper perspective and then kind of diagnose their problems to design the right interventions for the various levels. So that’s just.

Cecilia Malmström:
I think this is key, data, data, data. We need that all over the world because, of course, the informal sector is so broad and is so unknown, and it differs so much not only between countries but also within countries because there are different circumstances and different possibilities and so on. So it’s really hard to design general policies when it comes to that, apart from what we need, everybody knows. I mean, it’s digitalization, training, access to capital, removal of sort of formal discriminatory rules and laws and attitudes. That can be done. Of course, we can also hear in the WTO building. I mean, if we had a plurilateral agreement on e-commerce, for instance, we could do something to standardize e-contracts and e-signatures. I mean, this would be helpful for everybody, but the actual assistance for each and every company is very hard to design, and for that, we need a lot of research, such as the one you’re doing now in your PhD and others, to see what can happen. So I think that on a policy level, abolish the formal obstacles and make sure that you broadly engage. in leveling up the knowledge and the accessibility and, of course, access to capital. There have been experiments made now, of course, microcompanies are very, very small, so they’re not very much engaged in bidding and public procurement, but only by anonymizing applications on public procurement projects, and we see that all over the world. The amount of projects that goes to women increases all over the world, because there is some sort of hidden discrimination, you see it’s a man’s, okay, that’s probably more high quality. So, if you anonymize, these are lots of things you can do to sort of facilitate and to do this, but yes, data, data, data.

Moderator:
Wonderful. Thank you very much. Caitlin? Sarah? Princess? If you have some additional points that you might add to that, otherwise, I will open it to the floor, if you have some reactions.

Princess Puskas:
Not really, but I think as they are talking about the data, data, data, it is important to have a balance between the regulation and the supervision, right, because it’s through this and the regulation and supervision of the financial technologies, because this would be able to enable innovation and it will as well safeguard the financial stability, because that’s what every country needs, and then it also would contribute significantly on ensuring consumer protection. So, I believe that in a conclusion, that is also important, because that’s when we would be able to achieve the single digital market, if each economy works together, you know, in Africa, we would be able to ultimately have the single digital market for Africa. Thank you.

Cecilia Malmström:
And I’ll just jump in quickly, Cedric. I wanted to maybe lay out what we view as sort of best practices from a digital services trade perspective, and I think this is a message really for the AFCFTA. Because I think what we’ve discussed today is, you know, the undisputed sort of case for digital and how it helps to facilitate, you know, economic growth, diversification, inclusion of women, entrepreneurs, small businesses into the economy. And the pandemic, you know, again, has really accelerated digitization, crystallizing the importance of having high standard digital trade and services rules that can ensure that the benefits of digital tools and new markets really reach those who can benefit from them the most, women and MSMEs. So I wanted to just outline a couple of ideas as we think about how to open markets and create greater access to digital tools and services. First, high standard provisions for data flows and disciplines on data localization across sectors, including financial services. Secondly, prohibitions on requirements to localized facilities. I think this is critically important from the trust perspective that I spoke about a bit earlier and ensuring that services really benefit from best-in-class cybersecurity fraud prevention tools. Third, the use of internationally accepted standards to help facilitate interoperable technologies across borders. This goes back to the small business acceptance use case I spoke about in terms of small businesses being able to leverage low-cost technologies to accept payments, you know, from domestic buyers or international ones. And also, nondiscriminatory treatment of different service providers so that you can really see different types of solutions and services flourish. Of course, I come from traditionally the card industry, but we’ve seen mobile payments play such an incredibly transformative role in the African market. context. I’ll leave it there, Cedric. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. So now

Moderator:
I would like to turn to you, dear audience. You’ve been listening to us for the past almost hour and some. And if you have some questions, please raise your hand. I will try to take a quick round of three questions. I will start in the back. I have you that I see right there. I have you as well. Wait just a quick moment. And then we’ll take three and then we’ll come

Audience:
next for the next round. It’s more of a comment, you know, because India offers many of the discussions which you have already been discussing and problems highlighted with respect to language, digitalization, financing. Oconfor, which is recently being introduced, is an MSME financing solution. So it’s O-C-E-N, Oconfor, which has been tested out for the last two years, pilot study done, and they find it very successful. And it will be online going soon, I think, any time in a couple of days. So that’s one solution which India can offer. And you could always extend your consultation with Indian officers and persons involved in the activities. See, there are various other options also, digitalization, because we have also started this UPI scheme, United Payment Interface, which actually does mobile transfers of money. And you know, it’s like almost like no payment or zero payment. So the transaction fees are very low. So there are multiple solutions which India as a country can offer to the WTO and the participants here who are looking for solutions. So I’m from Centre for WTO Studies as an introduction, Murali Kallumal.

Moderator:
Please. No, you. Yes. Thank you.

Audience:
Thank you, and good morning to everyone. I’m happy to say thank you to our panelists who have really delved into the real situation happening, the fact that they talked about the African continental free trade and what it has to offer, especially to women, the SMEs. And I’d like to share a few thoughts on what Ghana is doing. Ghana, on the basis of the National Trade Facilitation Committee, has created what we call the Trade and Gender Committee, with its terms of reference. And what it does is to be in contact with the women, one, sensitization. First of all, if they do not know about the African continental free trade, they will not be able to assess what is there for them. So it was very important for us to sensitize them in the form of training to expose them to the African continental free trade and what they can benefit from it, because it was very important. Then the second thing we did was to sensitize the border agencies, especially for the cross-border trading, because not all the border agencies are gender sensitive. So we have identified the problems that they experience at the borders. So we have sensitized the border agencies and created what we call gender champions. These gender champions were selected on the basis of how they interact with the women traders, and how they will appreciate and help them when they are finding it difficult. Because one of the things that the women do find difficult is documentation. We have created what we call… simplified trade regime, that women with less than $5,000 worth of goods should be made to pass through easily, without any difficulty. And with the border champions, what we are trying to do is to sensitize them and train them on what is gender, what is gender-based violence or harassment, and how they, as an institution, for example, we have the customs, we have the immigration, we have the food and drug standards authority, and all those agencies, government, both the regulatory and the private sector. So that when the trader comes, a woman trader, an SME, small, medium-scale entrepreneur, you assist that person to go through it simply. And the next stage that we are trying to do is to bring all of them, the trader, the border agency, and then the logistics and transport users, I mean, providers, so that together we can sit at one table and discuss it thoroughly. That is coming on later in the year. But these are some of the things that we have put in practice, and it’s working fine. With that, we go back to, as it were, review and monitor what we’ve done, the training we have done for the traders, and to see how they have imbibed it and how they are using it, because we believe that the training is very important. So let me say thank you.

Moderator:
Thank you. Thank you very much. Very impressive. I have you in the back, sir, and then I’ll collect the question from you and then bring it back to the panel.

Audience:
Hello. My name is Ruben Alendo. I’m from the United Kingdom, but I have Congolese heritage in me. And what I really want to discuss is young people. people in politics and in power, essentially. Because one of the things that you did mention was that the government should be very collaborative to make sure that they bring everyone on board. And as you’ve mentioned, that there’s discrimination in regards to women, but there’s mostly discrimination in regards to young people in general. With the lack of representation of young people, I was at the London School of Economics Africa Summit, and they really showcased the lack of youth policies in regards to African countries and how the youth are really being neglected around this area. And I was having a discussion with someone yesterday, and I saw that what they said is that young people have to create their own tables in order to be noticed and to also be shown some sort of respect. So my question is, essentially is, do young people have to create their own table so that their voice can be amplified? And how are you going to target young people in general? Thank you very much.

Moderator:
Thank you, and then we’ll collect the second question and bring it to the panelists.

Audience:
Oh, hi, my name is Nelly Cheboy from Kenya, and I work on digital inclusion. So I’m training people in the village how to access remote work, how to work for Upwork, how to, and what I’m constantly seeing is that someone can build a website, but when it comes to hosting their website, they don’t have a visa card, so they can’t host their website. Someone is working really hard on Upwork, they have made a lot of money, probably like $400, which is transformation of our money, all of a sudden their account is blocked. So I think the problem is that, so the people on the ground, they have the tools, they have the tenacity, but what is constantly happening is that they’re being blocked, either by not having access to visa cards, or they just earn money and their account is just frozen for some reason. So I don’t know if that is in your forte, Caitlin, but I’d love to hear what you think about that.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. I have the two comments, if any of you want to react, and also two questions, one creating the own table for the youth, and seeing some of the, I’ll very broadly call them technical and hard issues on mobile payment, such as visa in that case, specifically.

Cathleen McDonalds:
If it’s okay, maybe I’ll just jump in first, given the specific question, and thank you for raising some of the challenges that you’ve seen, because I think that sounds like not a very good customer experience, and so it isn’t quite within my wheelhouse to understand what might be happening technically, but I’d love to catch you after the session here a little bit more, and see what we can do to be supportive. And then I would just acknowledge it was really interesting to hear from the government of India and government of Ghana what you’re doing to help facilitate digital financial inclusion. I think in the case of India, in your G20 host year, we saw a huge focus on this element and the concept of digital public infrastructure, and how that could be scaled, so congratulations on such a successful G20 host year, and look forward to seeing how that carries forward. And in the case of Ghana, it sounds like you’re working on interventions that really spoke directly to some of the elements that the young African trade experts mentioned. And on the youth element, I would just congratulate the trade experts for their real focus on bringing young women into the conversation and elevating their voices from those who are seeing the world from a fresh perspective. Thanks.

Audience:
Just to clarify really quickly. Sorry. My question was, I think to, let’s say like if you want to have a card, you need a bank, and most of these youth are on mobile payments. So how can someone with mobile payments, with M-Pesa account, not really a bank account, be able to have a Visa card? That was the question. Sorry if it wasn’t clear.

Princess Puskas:
Just in the interest of time, why don’t I connect you offline. Thanks. Okay. All right. Thank you so much. I guess, like for example, although she’ll take you offline, I’ll give you an example that we have Orange Money, right, that is also one of the mobile payments. It has a card. You know, it’s only that currently because they are limited services, the costs are a bit too high. It’s something that we’re advocating for, that let’s have less costs because, and as much as it’s a good thing because you don’t need an account, a bank account, it has its own Visa card, right? So you can actually pay, you can transfer money, you can buy electricity. You know, it’s actually a good thing. So I guess because it’s a starting point, ultimately we’ll all get there to a point where you can actually have a Visa card and not necessarily without having a bank account. And going on to the first speaker about the OECN in India, I guess you mentioned forming the United Payment Interface and helps with lowering transaction costs. I feel that’s very commendable, like Kausalyn said, given that that also is contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, TARGET 10C, which aims at reducing costs by 3%. So I feel that you guys are on the right track and it’s actually commendable on what you’re doing. And relating to Ghana, I feel still it’s commendable and not wanting to take away the fact that the African Export-Import Bank had partnered with the EFCFTA that we keep on talking about. And what is important that I feel maybe did not come out is having them launch the Pan-African Payment Settlement System. that is actually helping develop and to boost intra-African trade by transforming and facilitating clearing and settlements for cross-border trade, as you had mentioned what you are doing for Ghana. So I feel that is also commendable. Lastly, we need to sit around the table and have our voices heard, because we live in a time where things are not done the way they were done in the past. So in as much as we may have the elders back then to come and help, they could guide us, but the youth need to sit down. We need to have our voices amplified, because we understand what is happening right now. So we need to actually even guide where necessary, because we are the future. So if we allow for that gap to happen, who is ever going to fill it? So I feel it is about time where we sit down and have our voices amplified, get to look at what is happening and how is it that we can improve the digital technology space. So I feel you have a valid point, and yes, to the youth, we keep on saying women, women, women. We are actually having a conversation, I think yesterday, with the ambassador of Germany. Like we are saying women, and my colleague here has said, it is like, what do you call it? It is not balanced, right? So we keep on saying women, women, women, women, but don’t you have a balance between the males and the females? It is not like we are living out the males in this case, and I love the fact that you put it on the broad perspective that it is the youth, they are also part of it. It is only that we realize there is more need to lean towards the women, because we see that there are problems there, right? But that does not mean we are living out the other agenda. Thank you so much.

Audience:
Thank you very much for answering my question.

Moderator:
I will take a last round of three questions. I have one over there. I have Hannah who has been waiting, and if I have a last question, otherwise we will take… Over there in the back, so I will start in that order if you want to start on the right and then or from my right.

Audience:
Hello there, wonderful panel, thank you. So we have heard today of many instances of women businesses and entrepreneurship, which is wonderful. But my question has to do with, has consideration been made for women laborers and how would digital trade and finance impact women workers who are not entrepreneurs?

Moderator:
All right, thank you very much.

Audience:
Thank you so much for that, Cedric. My name is Hannah Norberg and I am the very, very, very proud initiator and the president of the Trade Express. And so I have one comment and one question for the panel. So we are talking entrepreneurs, we are talking women, we are talking youth, and that is all really, really great. And we are talking about all the knowledge that is out there. But we also have to make sure that this knowledge is embedded in the coming leaders. And so that is why the Trade Express last year launched Yates, the Young African Trade Express. And we really, really, really hope that we can continue doing this. We are a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization. And so we want to find ways of doing that going forward. But this is really a testament to how much you can do, not only in getting women a seat at the table, youth at the seat of the table, entrepreneurs at the seat of a table, but you have to get them ready for that seat. it’s not easy to just be thrown in there so the best description that i have gotten about the trade experts is that we shortened the road to the podium and i think these ladies have just been in this program for one year last year it came here on shaky legs on their first trip to geneva and they’re owning it now uh… i think that’s a really really important uh… position to know here right and that they’re on a freaking panel with the feeling i’m from right like nobody get to do that and in that so uh… that really i’m so proud of you lately my question and i do have one uh… is about the e-commerce moratorium which is a project that we need to express have been of angling with um… the e-commerce moratorium uh… in danger uh… so for those who might not know it it’s about that we don’t pay tax paris on digitally delivered services and we haven’t done that for the first twenty five years to get out of a misnomer because it sounds like amazon goods but it services digitally delivered services and we went around the world and um… collected stories about how that works but i would love to take the opportunity uh… to get the uh… input from the fifteen panel at from caitlin and princess and sarah on that but you’re seeing that the e-commerce moratorium have done and uh… if it was scrapped what that would mean uh… on the ground in africa

Moderator:
thank you and we have one final question of the day

Audience:
my name is jay so my question is how could we make it to become more practical because in a way for me from kenya it looks like the company is already moving mpsa is here everything is here but policy is still stuck in our own world right and then we come later we want to make rules for them but how could we pick these success stories which already exist and make them into data and then scale up and make other organization become more sustainable. Thank you.

Moderator:
I’ll squeeze in exceptionally one quick question and then hope that we don’t get

Audience:
thrown out of the room. Good morning, my name is Mohamed Tamoura, managing partner at LPF Council in the Kingdom of Morocco. It’s a law firm and arbitration boutique and I would like to comment on a sister from Kenya issues of payment. I have experienced in the past that GAFA suspended the payment by visa top-up card and I think we need to work with the GAFA on having local partners in order to enable African to pay in local currency and also to access to paying services directly without going through a hard currency or mobile visa payments because GAFA are thinking that the only way of paying such services that are sold worldwide is through the the normal visa cards but we do have other type of visa card that are unfortunately not accepted. So I think there is a work to do on that to enable African to get access to such services.

Moderator:
Thank you. Thank you very much. So a broad range of question. The consideration of women laborers and we have the moratorium, the endangered moratorium I shall call it and also a bit of the if you want to react to the gatekeeping I will call it to GAFA to use the EU term for it. Do I have volunteers for any of the questions?

Cecilia Malmström:
Thank you for your question on women’s labours. It’s a little bit outside today’s topic, but it doesn’t mean that it’s less important. And what we see in most modern trade agreements is that that is actually included, that there is reference to the ILO core conventions giving rights for women and men to unionise, certain non-discriminatory, the right for wage negotiations and so on. So that is in all of the European Union’s trade agreements, for instance, and it’s also in the CPTPP agreement, and it’s coming more and more in other agreements as well. So that is being highlighted. So that, of course, what could be done on the general level, then it’s to the different companies to implement it. But from the European Union side, we work a lot with ILO also on the ground to try to highlight when there are systematic abuses and so on. It doesn’t mean that all is fine and fancy. We’ve seen terrible violations of this in Rana Plaza in Bangladesh 10 years ago. But that also led to an awareness that I think at least something is moving. So it’s a super important question, but it was slightly outside the scheme of today.

Sarah Frimpong:
Okay, Cedric, may I attempt to answer Hannah’s question? Okay, from all the hard work that the trade experts have done with respect to the moratorium, I think that we should take cognizance of the fact that renewing the moratorium, the cost that comes with renewing it is minimal comparing it to the gains that would actually be made if we renew the moratorium. So in the interest of women and even the discussions that we’ve had, the gains that we stand to make, I think that I am of the view that putting African women and considering African women and even women in general, renewing the moratorium tends to include women in the trade specter and we get to gain more than we lose.

Moderator:
Thank you very much. Yes, if you want to jump in.

Cathleen McDonalds:
Sure, I’ll just jump in quickly and I think the theme of the panel has been how access to more services and digitally enabled services is a net benefit for economies, for diversification and particularly for women and MSMEs, so I think Sarah put it quite well, but in terms of the moratorium, we certainly would view, if it were not to be extended, that that could have a downward negative effect on the offerings and availability of certain digital tools and services that are so key to inclusion. And just maybe to quickly respond to the comments on payments, one, I would just note that in a number of jurisdictions, including in the African continent, we do offer what’s called Visa Net Settlement Service, which means our services are provided in local currency when domestic services and I think couldn’t agree more with your observation that perhaps more competition in payments is a good thing and that is certainly something that we like to see. It helps make us stronger, helps us focus on investing in innovation, security, drives down costs and importantly, provides a greater suite of options to consumers and small businesses and others that are interacting with the digital economy through payments. Thanks.

Moderator:
All right. With this, I would like to invite you to join me in thanking our wonderful panelists and also thank you for attending this session. I hope you will stay true to us and please be in touch with us, come and see us. Let’s follow, and that’s what I wrote down, let’s keep the conversation going. So thank you very much for joining and have a wonderful WTO public forum.