diplomacy&development

Africa’s high entrepreneurship rates further underscore the continent as a potential global leader in youth-driven enterprise, innovation, and job creation. The 2025 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize launches its seventh annual competition today in search for Africa’s most promising young co-founders and founders across Africa who have launched businesses across Africa’s agrifood value chain “from seed to fork”. Judges will be looking for innovative, scalable, and impact-driven agripreneurs (aged 18 to 35) who have built tech-savvy, sustainable businesses tackling food security, job creation, and equitable economic growth. Applications are open from 3 April to 10 June 2025. https://GoGettaz.Africa In September 2025, GoGettaz finalists will pitch their businesses live on stage in Dakar, Senegal during the annual Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) taking place 31 August to 5 September 2025. Two grand prizes of US$50,000 each will be awarded to the most outstanding male and female-led agribusiness...

Les taux élevés d'entrepreneuriat en Afrique soulignent davantage le fait que le continent a le potentiel de devenir un leader mondial en matière d'entreprises dirigées par des jeunes, d'innovation et de création d'emplois. Le Prix GoGettaz Agripreneur 2025 lance aujourd’hui son septième concours annuel à la recherche des jeunes cofondateurs et fondateurs les plus prometteurs d’Afrique qui ont lancé des entreprises tout au long de la chaîne de valeur agroalimentaire africaine « de la graine à la fourchette ». Les juges rechercheront des agripreneurs innovants, évolutifs et axés sur l’impact (âgés de 18 à 35 ans) qui ont créé des entreprises durables et à la pointe de la technologie pour s’attaquer à la sécurité alimentaire, à la création d’emplois et à la croissance économique équitable. Les candidatures sont ouvertes du 3 Avril au 10 Juin 2025. https://GoGettaz.Africa En septembre 2025, les finalistes de GoGettaz monteront sur scène à Dakar pour présenter leurs entrepr...

The conference took place in March in New York, and brought together youth activists, civil society organisations and government officials from all over the world to share their experiences and develop policies to support development worldwide. As one of the alumni of the UN in Libya’s Ra’idat programme, Shahed El Kharraz, 24 from Misrata, was selected by the UN’s Youth Office to attend in person the Commission on the Status of Women to discuss with women and youth issues.  The conference took place in March in New York, and brought together youth activists, civil society organisations and government officials from all over the world to share their experiences and develop policies to support development worldwide.  “Walking into the United Nations and taking part in discussions on women's and youth issues was more than just an event on my calendar it was an eye-opening experience that deepened my understanding of global decision-making, and the vital role of civil society in s...

The CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Carlos Manuel Rodríguez will visit Stockholm on 1–2 April for meetings with Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa and Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari. In connection with the visit, meetings will also be held with the Riksdag’s Committee on Environment and Agriculture, the business sector, universities, civil society organisations and representatives of public authorities. On 1 April, Mr Dousa and Ms Pourmokhtari will meet with Mr Rodríguez. The purpose of the visit is to discuss Swedish priorities ahead of the GEF’s ninth replenishment, which will begin this year and conclude in the first half of 2026. The GEF is a key operator in global environmental efforts. It works to safeguard biodiversity, save endangered species, clean up plastic from the world’s oceans and phase out persistent organic pollutants that poison our environment. “I’m proud that the Government i...

In order to strengthen the work of the Joint Committee on Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation between Sweden and the People’s Republic of China, originally established in 1978 and updated in 2006, Sweden’s State Secretary for Foreign Trade, Håkan Jevrell, and Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, Ling Ji, on this day has decided to merge the “FDI Working Group” and the “Environmental Protection and Energy Conservation Working Group” into the “Working Group on Green Transition Investments”. The Working Group on Green Transition Investments will build on the experiences gained from the “Pioneer the possible” platform*. The Working Group will focus on four key areas of shared interest for Swedish and Chinese companies investing in the green transition:  • green energy and production, e.g. sustainable heating and renewable energy, • green mobility, e.g. low-carbon and smart transportations, • supply chain and circularity, e.g. increased transparency and innovative materials,...

Sweden, Norway and Denmark will cooperate to bring a halt to products that are harmful to health and the environment from operators such as Temu, Shein and Wish. “Within the EU, Sweden has been pushing for small packages, often supplied by operators like Temu and Shein, to be excluded from customs exemptions. We have also worked to ensure the impending producer responsibility framework for textiles will clarify the e-platforms’ responsibilities. The EU should take strong measures to halt the trade in these unsustainable and dangerous products, and the Nordic countries are now cooperating to protect our consumers from hazardous products produced in China. My view is that the Commission should focus even more clearly on this issue in the coming proposal for a ‘Circular Economy Act’,” says Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari. On Thursday, Ms Pourmokhtari met her Norwegian and Danish ministerial colleagues in Brussels to discuss the situation and ensure a more coor...