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The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) co-hosted a Think Tank knowledge sharing session on 24 July 2023 at the Africa Human Capital Heads of State Summit in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC). This summit, hosted by the Government of Tanzania, focused on accelerating Africa’s economic growth through addressing learning poverty and skill gaps. The discussions in this session were grounded on the findings from AERC’s collaborative research project on Human Capital Development in Africa project funded by the  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and ACET’s Youth Employment and Skills program.

The Think Tank knowledge sharing session, chaired by Dr. Dianah Ngui (AERC), featured two presentations based on the Human Capital Development in Africa project by Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Planning, Kenya and the immediate  former AERC Executive Director, and Prof. Germano Mwabu, a framework paper author and a project steering committee member of the project. Prof Njuguna noted that human capital (a)directly and indirectly positively influences economic growth, (b)matters for employment outcomes and is a vehicle for economic transformation, (c)supports poverty reduction and boost equity, (d)strengthens institutions, and vice versa, institutional quality affects human capital development and, (e) is an accelerator of social cohesion and reduces the drivers of violence, conflict and fragility. While noting this, Prof. Njuguna observed that the sources of human capital formation included investments in early childhood development, including prenatal and early child nutrition and cognitive stimulation, equitable access to quality healthcare services, equitable access to quality education, including high-quality basic education, higher education opportunities, and on-the-job training and adult education, and well targeted social protection programs to support human capital development, including protecting gains made. In his presentation, Prof. Mwabu observed that policies that improve health and nutrition are an integral part of interventions that address skill and learning deficits, while policies that improve teacher qualifications, school management, and availability of teaching materials are critical inputs into Human Capital Development (HCD).

The Policy Round Table distinguished panel moderated by Mona Iddrisu, the head of youth employment and skills at  ACET, featured the following speakers; Prof. Olu Ajakaiye, Chairman, African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building (ACSDCB), Ibadan; Dr. Marilys Razakamanana, Lecturer and Head of the Research Centre for Development (CRD) at the Catholic University of Madagascar, Prof. Germano Mwabu, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and Development Studies, University of Nairobi;  and Amabelle Nwakanma, Director of Programmes at LEAP Africa. The speakers noted that the strategy to close the future learning poverty and skill gaps should be an all stakeholder affair, including: providing guides to HCD institutions on the curriculum development, supporting the employers of labour on the need to provide opportunities for internships, attachments, staff training in their establishments, sensitizing the labour unions and CSOs on the imperatives of encouraging high productivity among members and resolving industrial disputes amicably through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and not through industrial actions.

During the Summit, the AERC had the privilege to attend a partner’s side event organized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Participants in this meeting discussed their efforts to support more and better investment in human capital in sub-Saharan Africa to identify shared priorities and opportunities for collaboration. Speakers representing governments, civil society organizations, and development partners included: Rachel Toku-Appiah, Director, Program Advocacy and Communications, Africa, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (moderator), Finda Koroma, Executive Director, HCD+, Luc Laviolette, Head of Secretariat, Global Financing Facility, Peter Materu, Chief Program Officer, Mastercard Foundation, Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary, Association for the Development of Education in Africa, Bobby Stansfield, Africa Human Development Group Head, Pan Africa Department, UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. The speakers emphasized on promoting foundational learning within the broader realm of education, improving health, and addressing gender inequalities that prevent women from investing in the human capital of themselves and their children.