Spørgsmål 205:”Vil ministeren kommentere henvendelsen fra PNOWB om støtte til privatsektorens udvikling i Afrika syd forSahara, jf. URU alm. del – bilag 180, og svare på de i henvendelsen stillede spørgsmål?”Svar:Jeg hilser det meget velkomment, at Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNOWB) nusætter fokus på privatsektorens udvikling i Afrika. Der er ingen tvivl om, at Afrikas vækst skalkomme fra privatsektoren, dette har jeg ikke mindst fået bekræftet på min nylige tur til Uganda,hvor både Ugandas regering og erhvervsliv understregede dette.PNOWB’s spørgsmål fokuserer på indsatser til fremme af erhvervslivets rammebetingelser,investeringer i infrastruktur, landbrug samt faglig uddannelse og træning. Spørgsmåleneafspejler netop den internationale opmærksomhed på at øge privatsektordrevet vækst i Afrikasyd for Sahara, som er helt i tråd med regeringens udviklingsprioriteter og indsatser.Indledningsvis vil jeg derfor give et kort oprids af Danmarks øgede fokus på fremme afprivatsektordrevet vækst i Afrika, der jo har baggrund i Afrikakommissionens anbefalinger, oghvorledes dette er direkte afspejlet i den udviklingspolitiske strategis prioritetsområde for Vækstog Beskæftigelse. Her understreges, at danske indsatser til fremme af vækst og beskæftigelseplanlægges og gennemføres i tæt koordination med partnerlande og øvrige udviklingspartnerefavnende organisationer som Verdensbanken, fagbevægelsen, virksomheder og NGOer.I besvarelsen af spørgsmålene er flere af Afrikakommissionens internationale initiativer anvendtsom illustrative eksempler. Eksempelvis at Danmark via den afrikanske udviklingsbank støtteretablering afSustainable Energy Fund for Africa,der har til formål at stimulere og udvide detvoksende energiforsyningsmarked Afrika for små og mellemstore virksomheder.Endvidere omtales udvalgte danske indsatser gennem den programmerede bistand, særligterhvervssektorprogrammerne, og erhvervsinstrumenterne. Der gives eksempler på, hvordanDanmark bidrager til at fremme små og mellemstore virksomheders adgang til finansielleydelser, bidrager til udbygning og forbedring af veje og elforsyning, skaber markedsmulighederfor producenter af fødevarer gennem kvalitetsforbedringer og investeringer ilandbrugssektoren, samt hvorledes Danmark gennem nye initiativer støtter unge afrikaneresfaglige træning og uddannelse i tråd med den private sektors efterspørgsel.

Denmark’s reply to Parliamentary Question on Private Sector Development in Sub-

Saharan Africa

Private sector development was established as a priority area for Danish developmentcooperation with the launch of the strategy for Denmark’s development cooperation, publishedunder the title ”Freedom from Poverty, Freedom to Change” (May 2010). The strategy reflectsand brings forward the work and recommendations of the Africa Commission, which wasinitiated by the Danish Government in 2008. The Commission included Heads of State andGovernment, politicians as well as representatives of civil society organisations, the businesscommunity and academia, mostly from African countries. In its final report the AfricaCommission made a number of specific recommendations (Africa Commission, May 2009),and five international initiatives were initiated with Danish development assistance. Therecommendations also provided a firm basis for Denmark to make strategic choices on futuresupport to further growth and employment creation. “Growth and Employment” is now oneof five priority themes in Denmark’s strategy for development cooperation, and the DanishGovernment has committed to doubling Denmark’s annual support to private sectordevelopment in Africa by 2014 from 1 billion DKK to 2 billion DKK.A strategic framework for Growth and Employment (February 2011) describes in more detailwhich tools and approaches the Government will utilise to turn strategy into action over thecoming five years. Specific activities and interventions will be planned and implemented inclose collaboration with the partner country and with other relevant development partners. Theportfolio will be adapted to the opportunities identified and the actual conditions prevailing ineach country. Denmark will build its development efforts in cooperation with many differentnational partners. These may include ministries and public authorities, private enterprises inprioritised sectors in the formal and informal sectors, banks, service providers, business andlabour market organisations, institutions of higher education, and NGOs. In addition,Denmark will strengthen its cooperation with selected multilateral organisations, where theseare found to offer added value to the development impact.An outline of some of Denmark’s experiences and priorities, collaboration with internationalfinance institutions and examples of interventions at various levels strengthening private sectordevelopment follow below.

How is the Government planning to support, in cooperation with International

Financial Institutions, improvements in the business climate, including facilitating

business establishment and operations?

Improvement of the business climate is the corner stone in the Danish Business SectorProgramme Support in Mali, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. Experience from thebusiness sector programmes uniformly shows that there is a need to lift business policy and theinvestment climate up in the political hierarchy and to systematically raise the topic in dialoguewith partner governments. Denmark’s experience in providing access to financial servicesranges from working with access to microcredit at the household level, over credits and loansto micro-enterprises, to support and development of the established financial system with a

view to enhance the possibilities for financing small and medium-sized enterprises. Denmarkwill in the future target much of its assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises, inrecognition of their potential contribution to economic growth and employment creation. Lastyear Denmark entered a strategic partnership with International Finance Cooperation (IFC) toprovide better access to finance in fragile states in Africa such as South Sudan. Moreover,Denmark provides financial support to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) tocontinuously work for development of efficient and transparent financial services for the poorin close collaboration with donor partners, including the World Bank.Based on the Africa Commission recommendations, the Danish government has, inpartnership with the African Development Bank, established an African Guarantee Fund(AGF) that will provide guarantees to African banks and financial institutions lending to smalland medium-sized enterprises. AGF has been established as a self-sustaining, independentfinancial institution in Africa working on commercial terms, and the first guarantees areexpected to be issued within 2011. Denmark, Spain and the African Development Bank haveagreed to invest the first share capital of app. USD 50 million. The aim is to attractcontributions from other donors and private investors too, so that the Fund’s guarantee capitalwill grow to up to USD 500 million in the course of a few years.Lastly, the Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) should be mentioned. IFUacts as an advisor and active co-investor for Danish enterprises that wish to establishthemselves or expand their activities in a developing country. IFU operates on a commercialbasis and offers partnerships by raising equity capital and/or providing loans for investmentprojects. As part of the strategy for increasing growth and employment, IFU will undergo atargeted renewal.

What investments have been allocated to strengthening local infrastructure in sectors

such as infrastructure and electricity?

Through bilateral sector programme support Denmark has over the years given priority toinfrastructure improvements such as minor roads, water supply and decentralised powersupply. At present Denmark have infrastructure sector programmes in Mali, Mozambique andUganda and road sector programmes are being phased out in Benin, Tanzania and Zambia.Larger infrastructure investments are supported via the multilateral organisations, World Bank,regional banks, the European Union or with soft loans.By way of example, in Tanzania, Denmark has for many years supported the development andimprovement of local and national roads. In addition to the road sector programme, Denmarkis via the Danida Business Finance scheme (or soft loan scheme) financing the Rehabilitation of219 km of the TANZAM Highway in Tanzania with a contract value of approx. 115 millionEUR. The contract is the third contract Denmark is financing on TANZAM Highway whichconstitutes a vital link between Dar es Salaam and the Southern Highlands in Tanzania and toZambia, Malawi and DRC.

With regard to electricity, another priority sector for the Danida Business Finance, Denmarkis financing the Reinforcement and Extension of the National Power Transmission Grid inMozambique with an estimated contract value of 105 million EUR. The objective of theproject is to improve the power supply in the country by providing increased transformercapacity and extending the transmission network.Lastly, through the African Development Bank, Denmark supports the establishment of aSustainable Energy Fund for Africa, another Africa Commission initiative, which aims atstimulating and expanding the emerging African energy market for small and medium-sizedenterprises as producers, distributors, suppliers and consumers of climate friendly energy.The objective of the initiative is increased production of and access to sustainable and reliableenergy services, primarily in rural and sub-urban areas, through a market based approachthrough financing for the preparation of larger bankable energy projects and co-financing ofminor energy projects. Total Danish support to the Energy Fund will be 300 mill. DKK.

How is the government improving the climate for private agricultural investment in

the region?

Current sector programmes in Denmark’s partner countries focusing on creation of growthand employment in Ghana, Mali, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique and Tanzania all implyactivities to improve the investment climate for private agricultural investments. In addition,support is provided to improve framework conditions within the Ministries of Agriculture inBurkina Faso, Niger and Mali.Agriculture and other use of natural resources constitute important elements in overall valuecreation in Denmark’s partner countries. Many value chains have the potential to generateproduction and other sustainable economic activity, and thus create employmentopportunities. Hence, Danish development assistance will increasingly target different levelsin the value chain, including production, processing, transport, distribution, and export, etc.to strengthen the organization of and investments in commercial agriculture.For instance, as part of the Danish support, the Uganda Growth sector programme has anAgribusiness Initiative that supports enterprise development, market- and productdiversification applied through value chain approaches initially focusing on coffee, maize, oilseeds and export horticultural products. It includes financial services and supporting thecapacity of firms to be able to accommodate international standards and quality requirementsin the food sector creating export opportunities. The Danida Business Partnershipprogramme also supports upgrading of local farmers/agro-business companies throughtechnology transfer from Danish companies as well as training and investments inenvironmental improvements by providing support to establishment of commercially drivenpartnerships contributing to growth, local jobs and a catalytic role in mobilizing foreign directinvestments.

What steps will the government take to ensure an educated and well trained labour

force to sustain the development of the private sector ?

As part of the strategy for fostering growth and employment, Denmark is determined tostrengthen the links between education and employment in the private sector. In practice,interventions may vary from Danish support to informal training to more formalised andstructured education and training programmes.Two interventions currently being planned for 2012 as part of business sector programmes canillustrate this; In Tanzania support is provided to the development of a Graduate InternshipProgramme at Dar es Salaam Business School with the aim of securing at least 250 graduateinternships by the end of 2012. In Ghana, support is granted to establish a Skills DevelopmentFund under the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training. The fund willbe demand driven and cater for developing and improving both public training institutions andprivate companies.A range of activities supported by Denmark focus on improving women’s access to labourmarket and training and technology on equal terms as men. These are included in sectorprogrammes, in multilateral cooperation - for instance with the International FinanceCorporation (IFC) - and through training at the enterprise level through Danida BusinessPartnerships.Finally, the Africa Commission initiative “unleashing African Entrepreneurship”, implementedby ILO encourages youth to pursue entrepreneurship opportunities as one of the few feasibleoptions for young people to create employment for themselves and others in the formal orinformal sector. The initiative is implemented in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, activelyengaging governments, youth organizations, educational institutions, business developmentservice providers and micro-finance institutions in a range of activities aimed at fostering anentrepreneurship culture among the young people. This includes introducing entrepreneurshipeducation in schools, providing access for existing and potential young entrepreneurs tosupport for business development, establishing a Youth-to-Youth fund, and promotingevidence-based advocacy.