Annan: Access to funds and funding should be established

Entrepreneurs should be given the opportunity and access to funding and financing that they need in order to ensure their efforts to create jobs can be continued.

The former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel peace Prize winner, Kofi Annan said that funds and foundations around the world should give their attention to entrepreneurs- especially those in the African region.

Annan said this during a dialog session at the annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) in Monte Carlo.

He said after the financial crisis of 2008, developing nations successfully created jobs through small and medium enterprises.

However, developed nations such as European countries continue to face high youth unemployment rates with almost no support for entrepreneurs.

On top of that, banks failed to distribute more than 6 trillion dollars in cash help to the industries that need it the most.

Annan adds, failure to create jobs for youths will increase the divide between the poor and the rich.

“Youth unemployment will become a serious problem around the world if we fail to do something,” says Annan.

He says, if this problem is not resolved it will create social problems.

Annan urges funds and foundations with cash to give opportunities and help to youth entrepreneurs who will be able to create jobs.

Regarding Africa, Annan who is also the chairman of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), says that the main challenge now is to ensure natural resources in the region is channelled back to the people.

“We believe that the country’s natural resources belong to the people and should be used for the people. But this does not happen. This is due to a couple of factors such as fraud by the authorities and tax evasion by companies. The people of Africa get nothing,” he says.

He adds, initiatives that are taken by the APP include transparency in awarding contracts.

This, if done properly, will ensure Africa will have enough funds to develop its health, infrastructure and energy sectors.