Dammam West Independent Sewage Treatment Plant: Another Step to Realising Ambitious Infrastructural Projects in the KSA

The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture is embracing a new approach to strategic projects, contracting the country’s first independent sewage treatment plant project to the consortium led by the Metito Group and comprising of the companies; Metito, Mowah, and Orascom Construction.

The Dammam West independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP) — the first ISTP project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — has been awarded to a consortium led by the Metito Group on a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) basis.

This is in-line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and the wider initiatives approved by the Cabinet of Ministers to encourage private-sector participation in economic development initiatives.

His Excellency Abdulrahman Al Fadley is Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and chairman of the Water And Electricity Company. He is also the chairman of the supervisory committee for privatisation in the environment, water and agriculture sectors. Al Fadley awarded the sewage treatment agreement (STA) for the plant serving the western region of Dammam, with a designed capacity of 350,000 cubic meters per day, and an initial capacity of 200,000 cubic meters per day.

"We are confident that it will serve as a model for other similar projects in the Kingdom and further afield."

Signing the agreement was an integral part of the plan set by the ministry to tender similar projects to investors in various KSA regions. The project aims to upgrade services, make them more sustainable and increase capital spending efficiency by making the best use of the private sector experience in the environment, water and agricultural sectors.

The National Centre for Privatisation and Public-Private Partnerships, led by CEO His Excellency Turki Abdulaziz Al Hokail, supports and enables the privatisation programme in the kingdom to develop and efficiently operate public-private partnerships (PPP) projects. This initiative is the second privatisation initiative in the water sector, signed in less than a month. The centre is working closely with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture to complete similar projects.

Khaled bin Zwaid AlQureshi, CEO of the Water and Electricity Company, said that the project is expected to begin operating early in 2022. Deciding to develop the project under an STA aimed to secure more benefits, making the project more sustainable and eco-friendly through the use of technological solutions to reduce odours and noise, and cut energy consumption.

Metito Group chairman and CEO Mutaz Ghandour said major infrastructure developments were taking place in the kingdom. “The Dammam ISTP is a true landmark,” he said, “being the first of its kind to be developed. We are very proud that the consortium led by Metito has been awarded a project of this size and importance in one of the most dynamic markets in the World.

“We are confident that it will serve as a model for other similar projects in the Kingdom and further afield.”

Sami Alrayes, Mowah chairman and CEO, said: “We are proud that the Metito / Mowah / Orascom Consortium has been awarded this contract.

“The objective of the privatisation projects is to achieve 2030 Vision targets by boosting service levels, improving capital and spending efficiency, and to benefit from private sector experience and participation in finance and investment.”

Osama Bishai, CEO of Orascom Construction, said the initiative was a continuation of efforts to build a solid portfolio of water-related construction projects.

Contributing to a greener footprint, the project is being developed on the smallest area of land required for a plant of this capacity. It uses the most advanced technologies in the treatment process, reducing power consumption.

The quality of the treated effluent is one of the highest in the KSA, and the sludge quality is an EPA Class A, which can be used for landscaping and irrigation. This is truly turning waste into wealth, and the plant is equipped with a biological scrubber odour-control system to keep the surrounding area unaffected.


Ghana Get You: African Nation’s IT Experts are Filling the Skills Gap

Ostec is Ghana’s leading IT Infrastructure and managed services company, providing a single source of technology, skills and expertise to help IT departments realise greater value from their technology investments.

[caption id="attachment_14081" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Jonathan Tawiah - Ostec[/caption]

For Ostec founder and CEO Jonathan Tawiah, it began with a bank queue on a summer holiday to Accra in 1999. While Accra was advancing in many ways, there was a lack of efficient technology to drive the economy. After queuing for an hour at his bank to withdraw the equivalent of $50 (because the ATM, at the time, did not accept International cards), Jonathan had his “aha” moment.

After a few more visits to the bank, he realised two key factors were influencing the situation. One was the prohibitive cost for new technology, and the other was a lack of expertise to manage the current technology.

[caption id="attachment_14082" align="alignleft" width="300"] Ostec Management Team[/caption]

“London was not the same on my return,” he says. “With a passion and fondness for technology, I wanted to make a difference, and improve the speed and efficiency of the way business is done in Ghana.”

Barely 12 months after his disappointing experience in Accra, Ostec was established and begun offering entry level IT managed services to the financial services industry in Ghana.

Nineteen years on, Ostec is building and managing some of the largest IT infrastructure in Ghana — and across West Africa — for Fortune 500 companies, governments, and SMEs. The company’s ability to scale-up or -down to accommodate a customer is an inherent part of Ostec’s success.

Knowing the customer is central to Ostec. “We develop lasting relationships with clients that are built on trust and care,” says Tawiah. “Our support and managed services division has garnered a reputation as the best in the country.”

Jonathan’s passion for technology and his obsession with delivering the best possible service is reflected in his team, a 150-strong workforce from across Africa and beyond.

“Our culture is such that talent is recognised and our employees are known to progress through the ranks,” Tawiah said. “I am keen on an open-door policy, where ideas and solutions are encouraged among team members.”

Ostec encourages and provides a diversified environment; the company also champions women in technology and is developing an internship programme to attract more young women to the predominately male field of IT infrastructure Design and Build. With more than 80 percent of the workforce being Ghanaian, the company provides jobs and believes in giving back to society by supporting charitable organisations.

[caption id="attachment_14083" align="alignright" width="300"] Ostec Tech Team[/caption]

With an increasing number of international business engagements across the West Africa region, Ostec embarked on what Jonathan Tawiah describes as “the critical catalyst to growing beyond your borders”.

“We did this by embarking on a journey to test our business processes and services against international standards. We invited external auditors to test the way we do business. We recently announced our certification for both ISO 27001 and ISO 9001.

“This is an important milestone in the continuing development, growth and success of Ostec. These certifications demonstrate our commitment to providing secure, quality service to our customers and partners. Ostec is the only indigenous technology company with both ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 in Ghana.”

Being proudly Ghanaian and with a key role in changing the African narrative,

international competition does not bother Tawiah. “The future for Ostec has already begun. We want to change the mindset of how technology is viewed, and express the importance of evolving Ghana’s technological needs with the rest of the world.”


Arbah Capital: Netting ‘Firsts’ and Paving the Way for Islamic Investment firms in KSA

Arbah Capital is the first Islamic boutique Investment firm, which was established in the Eastern Region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

[caption id="attachment_16133" align="aligncenter" width="900"] London: Regent Crescent[/caption]

It started its business operations in 2008, and was licensed by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in the KSA as a Closed Saudi Joint Stock firm. It is headquartered in Dammam with a paid-up capital of 220 million Saudi Riyals ($58.7m). The firm prides itself on being fully Shari’ah-compliant.

Arbah Capital has the complete spectrum of investment services, and has been granted licences to operate in Dealing as Principal, Agent and Underwriter, Managing Investment Funds and Discretionary portfolios, as well as Arranging, Advising and Custody Services. The firm’s principal activities include asset management, real estate investment, private equity and corporate finance, brokerage services, wealth management, custody and advisory services.

"Arbah Capital successfully raised £26.5m mezzanine finance for the development of 18th Century masterpiece, Regent Crescent, in London."

The firm has steadily grown by acquiring various prime assets and activating new business lines. The firm’s management possesses the set of traits required for any investment firm to accomplish its aim and register persist growth even against all the odds.

Since establishment Arbah Capital has persistently strengthened all its revenue generating arms. The innovation has remained the continuous process for the firm. Over the years, Arbah Capital has successfully adapted to environmental changes, accepting all challenges with vigour — and effective responses.

Arbah Capital’s objectives align with the investment needs of clients. The widely accepted “IWM” processes are used by Arbah Capital are holistic, and take into account the investor’s financial viewpoint while adhering to Shariah standards.

The company is on an ambitious and visionary mission to offer outstanding investment solutions, with strategies tailored for clients and all efforts directed towards impressive risk adjusted returns. It manages goals which are compatible with client profiles and financial ambitions.

Arbah Capital was one of the first investment firm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to launch an IPO fund, which has outperformed similar funds over the years. It has been recognised as the best IPO fund of 2015 and the best IPO fund over three-year period.

A Discretionary Portfolio Management service is provided through sophisticated structured mechanism; advanced financial tools and best industry practices ensure that the objectives of investors are met. Arbah Brokerage Services has been one of the most stable revenue contributing segments of the firm, providing global capabilities with the concept of “Access the World from anywhere”.

[caption id="attachment_16134" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Glasgow: Sauchiehall[/caption]

The real estate investment arm was activated soon after the incorporation of the firm. Arbah Capital initiated exclusive real estate deals, encompassing project acquisitions and development. The real estate investment focus now has global exposure. A recently acquired iconic property, Sauchiehall Glasgow — worth £59.5m — was a milestone achievement. The acquisition is in-line with the firm’s strategy of targeting quality assets to establish broad base of income yielding real estate assets. The Sauchiehall Building is the anchor building in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, UK. Sauchiehall Street forms part of the ‘Golden Z’ of the 3 most prime retail streets in Glasgow City Center, and has the largest footfall of 16 million p.a.

Private Equity and Corporate Finance is relatively a new addition to the firm, but a rapidly growing one. It has made the successful acquisition of state-of-the-art projects and effective fundraising part of the equity package. Arbah Capital successfully raised £26.5m mezzanine finance for the development of 18th Century masterpiece, Regent Crescent, in London. The deal serves as the beginning of new era for Arbah Capital as it is the first ever deal of the firm outside the region. Arbah Capital will be looking forward to expand its footprints as its building block of the growth spree. The required momentum has been gained to further expand our portfolio through similar acquisitions.

Advisory services is emerging as a vital segment by strengthening the firm’s foothold. It has acted in the capacity of financial advisor to select clients and works with clients as an extension of their management to advise them on complex investments, credit arrangements, profitability analysis, monitoring of portfolios and recommendations on organizational restructuring.


Megalabs: Brand-new Brand with Innovative Values and Penchant for Perfection

[caption id="attachment_16138" align="alignright" width="300"] Megalabs[/caption]

Megalabs is a leading branded specialty Latin American pharmaceutical company, committed to healthcare, strategically oriented towards innovation, and dedicated to affordable therapeutic solutions.

It combines experience and innovation in its trajectory, but maintains a strong vision of the future, supported by its production capabilities.

“We are a brand that reflects current and future trends,” says Megalabs , “transparent and fresh, proud of what we do. We have created a flowing line through the brand; ‘Megalabs’ is a unique word, written in upper and lower case, friendly and easily understood.”

In the transformation process, the former isotype logo — the Southern Cross of Mega Pharma — became a star. “A star that is made up of the diversity of all of us, which expresses the cultures of Latin America,” says

The different shades of green in the Latin American landscape make sense of the colour identity, a brand committed to life.

Through constant research and innovation, and acting under ethical and accountable standards, Megalabs aims to strengthen its leadership position — and expand its presence in new markets.

Megalabs integrates Latin American charisma with a global vocation for innovation, applying cutting-edge techniques to R&D, production, marketing and distribution of its therapeutic solutions.

The company has undergone brand changes to bring unity to its relations and operations at an international level. “Now we can introduce ourselves as a unified group. This allows us to make our activity in different areas more transparent, and take full advantage of the potential of the joint work we do in the 18 countries in which we operate.”

The new Megalabs brand expresses the reality of a pharmaceutical company that stands close to the patient and goes far beyond standard Quality Assurance. “Our commitment to excellence leads us to explore paths in our continent, that no one has ever ventured before.
To meet efficacy and safety requirements we strive to provide: Bioequivalence, Interchangeability, Biosimilarity, Pharmacovigilance, Clinical trials and Updated documentation”.

How does Megalabs achieve these goals?

Using cutting-edge technologies in product development and manufacturing.

Fostering integration with academia and highly specialized research centers.

Systematically training multidisciplinary teams.

Keeping at the forefront of biomedical research.

“With our rebranding we expect to achieve improvements in the regulatory field, allowing the geographical interconnection of our products. From the point of view of the operation, it will simplify the actions to integrate all these aspects behind an identity that reflects our potential as a company, our vocation for growth, modernity and investment based on a promise of producing accessible and high-quality products.

“We are involved with our communities and aspire to be a fundamental ally for all health stakeholders.”

Megalabs brand values:

Credibility

Closeness

Multiculturality

Innovation

Excellence

Transparency

Honesty

Global vocation

Regional support

“We have always worked with honesty to build credibility in all our stakeholders, and we are very aware of that legacy. We embrace multiculturalism and offer products that apply to the real needs of our communities.

“Megalabs is committed to being a key player in a regional context, so we work towards constant improvement in our strategies to be the ideal partner for accessing Latin America.

“We transform the potential of our business — and the capabilities of our people — into realities that allow us to build a future.”


Valores Unión S.A.: Breaking Into the Bolivian Stock Market Made Easier and Simpler

Valores Unión S.A. Agencia de Bolsa (Brokerage Agency) has participated in the Bolivian Securities Market since 1994, carrying out stock exchange operations.

[caption id="attachment_16142" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Valores Unión: The Team[/caption]

With 25 years of experience in the Bolivian Stock Market, the brokerage has become a reference for longevity and expertise. The firm has contributed to the development of the Grupo Financiero Unión (Financial Group), as well as that of the national economy.

Valores Unión S.A. has taken on the important role of supporting the country’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), advising private individuals on access to the stock market, and informing its diverse client base about stock market benefits.

Contributing to the economic and social development of the country, and democratizing access to financial services for all Bolivians, has been the premier objective of Valores Unión S.A. over the past decade. The Valores Unión S.A. team has extensive experience within the stock market. They are committed to developing the country and maximizing customer satisfaction. The team provides timely and personalized advice to clients, and is always looking to bring efficiency and quality to each of the firm’s processes.

They share a common objective to provide a simple and satisfactory stock market experience to its various clients, while focusing on the common welfare to achieve a high social — as well as economic — impact.

The team has extensive experience, specialized knowledge and technical skills in areas that strengthen the agency’s operations — investments, finance, structuring, accounting, legal, risks, and technology — and these diverse skillsets merge to reward their daily labours. The team’s backgrounds and expertise have led to the firm being honoured for three consecutive years with recognition from the Bolivian Stock Exchange as the Best Securities Exchange Agency. This serves as a great incentive for the entire team, which strives each day to for efficiency.

Valores Unión S.A. Agencia de Bolsa has been providing clients for more than 25 years with quality stock brokerage services in a warm, timely and efficient manner.

Valores Unión S.A.
Agencia de Bolsa
25 years of trajectory and experience


Valores Unión S.A. Agencia de Bolsa: Quarter-Century of Dedication and Experience in Bolivia

Valores Unión S.A. Agencia de Bolsa (Brokerage Agency) has dedicated the past 25 years to managing stocks and bonds on the Bolivian stock market and over-the-counter trading market.

The firm provides the community with comprehensive services and a business model that offers customers efficient, tailored solutions. Technological and IT development at Valores Unión evolves according to the needs and nature of its customers. The agency’s human capital allows it to carry this out with professionalism.

The mission of Valores Unión S.A. — part of the financial conglomerate Banco Unión S.A. — is to contribute to the economic and social development of Bolivia by democratising access to financial services via capital markets to all Bolivians.
Its noteworthy values include:

Ethics: Work with transparency, honesty and integrity according to the interests of the Grupo Financiero Unión (Financial Group).

Innovation: Create ideas and solutions that improve service offerings and customer satisfaction.

Responsibility: Fulfill commitments and assume responsibility for actions.

Commitment: To believe in the mission and put every effort into achieving the objectives set by the Unión Financial Group.

Solidarity: Understand and support the needs of customers, colleagues and the country.

In 2017, Valores Unión S.A. became the first Bolivian brokerage to carry out the structuring, registration and placement of equity bonds for a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise. It supports Bolivian SMEs with long-term stockmarket financing featuring standardized, simple and swift procedures.

In 2018, the agency managed to surpass its record in volume traded on the Bolivian Stock Exchange (BBV), reaching $6.62bn — an increase of 25 percent on the previous year. This represents 19.47 percent of the overall volume traded in the BBV, both in fixed income and equities instruments. Valores Unión has marked the greatest movement in the stock market and obtained — for the third consecutive year — the award for Best Stock Exchange Agency in a Secondary Market.

The firm has a lot of history and experience invested in the Bolivian Stock Market. It is fortified by a team of professionals dedicated to financial and legal advisory services and committed to customer satisfaction.

The firm also has extensive experience in structuring, recording, and placing financial instruments on the securities market, including bank bonds, corporate bonds, equity bonds, and promissory notes.

[caption id="attachment_16147" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Source: Boletín Informativo Bursátil y Financiero[/caption]

Banking entities represent one area of the agency’s diverse client list. One challenge for management is the search for new customers, both for the development of stock instruments and for financial intermediation. The firm is always looking to innovate in the stock market in support of the national productive sector.

Valores Unión S.A. offers a full suite of services to a wide range of customers. When it comes to financial advice, the team assesses and evaluates companies’ current situations from different perspectives, and defines optimal portfolio structures according to stock market conditions. The team will also recommend financing alternatives by structuring financial obligations through instruments on the Bolivian Securities Market.

The Investment Advisory team also provides advice for decision-making in the purchase and sale of securities in all modalities complying with current Bolivian regulations. An investment portfolio allows clients to maximize the return on liquidity surpluses for institutional investors, banks, investment fund management companies, and pension fund managers.

Anyone who wants to participate in the securities market through discretionary and non-discretionary accounts can create a portfolio that reflects their needs and objectives.

Valores Unión S.A. also provides a National Securities Market Intermediation Service. At client request, the Stock Exchange carries out buy-and-sell operations with fixed income and equity financial instruments for all its modalities on the Bolivian Stock Exchange.

In the area of treasury, each client is different in terms of portfolio needs and objectives. Valores Unión S.A. collaborates to structure each portfolio according to the current securities market. In turn, it performs the management of liquidity surpluses, in order to maximize its performance.

If the situation calls for it, the agency provides the possibility of leverage through the securities market. Other services offered include portfolio valuation, securities custody and the collection of economic rights. Among benefits offered to clients is the publication of weekly reports of stock trades to clients, including relevant information about the securities market. This report is an important complement to making any investment decision — an added value to the brokerage service as a whole.

The institution has marked major achievements in recent years, including:

Creditor for past three consecutive years, recognized with the Best Stock Exchange Agency in Secondary Market award from the Bolivian Stock Exchange, recognizing the high volume of operations carried out by the agency.

Recognition for performing the first operation on the SMART BBV electronic platform in 2017

Recognition in 2018 as Best Stock Exchange Operator, awarded by the Bolivian Stock Exchange.

To stay ahead of challenges, Valores Unión S.A. ensures its technological innovation is in line with market changes. It prides itself on being a benchmark of the Bolivian Securities Market, and aims to support more Bolivian SMEs with stock market access.

Esta entidad es supervisada por ASFI.


Fortman Cline: Are Boutique Investment Banks Here to Stay?

The financial crisis of 2007 spawned a proliferation of boutique investment banks as larger institutions started laying-off staff and eliminating proprietary trading desks.

[caption id="attachment_16158" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Fortman Cline Team[/caption]

Most investment bankers have from time-to-time questioned what talents — other than deal-making — they possess. Those unable to think and act laterally begin to question their skill sets. The smaller banks themselves began to wonder: did they lack a brand identity, or an association with a bulge-bracket Wall St firm?

These doubt have been eliminated by the success of firms such as Evercore and Moelis and other boutique institutions which have captured at least 20 percent of market share for M&A fees.

This recent phenomenon has given career bankers inspiration: it is possible to become entrepreneurial without having to make sudden career shifts. In 2007, a boutique investment banking firm called Fortman Cline Capital Markets, based in Hong Kong, was formed by Daniel Ibasco and Gary Cheng. The pair had spent many years with large investment banks, including Bear Stearns and JP Morgan.

They started out with a mission to serve the needs of the owner-managed, or entrepreneurial, segment of the South East Asian market. They were determined to provide service in areas not covered by large investment banks.

Those larger banks required bigger deals and higher minimum fees. Fortman Cline had a significant market opportunity: servicing clients where funding needs where less than $100m, and where fees were not of sufficient scale to meet the overheads of the large institutions.

This market opportunity, combined with a strong customer service component, allowed Fortman Cline to capture the moment, the target entrepreneurial market it intended to serve — and large corporations as well.

“We started with very little capital and hired 15 smart kids fresh out of college,” says Ibasco. “We trained them ourselves, edited their work in terms of financial models and grammar, and within three years we had created a talented team.

“Pretty soon, those former college kids were closing large, complicated transactions. We had created a distinct corporate culture of hard work and co-operation. It was, and is, a workplace of fun where people are paid for doing what they love.”

Ibasco compares it to a FIFA World Cup event, where major teams such as England have star players. “We were like Germany, that had a lot of young and unknown players but made the semi-finals and finals.”

For Fortman’s, success is not about being smarter than the competition. “It’s just plain-and-simple customer service,” Ibasco says. “Customer service means objectivity in advice, a quick response time, post-transaction services and treating clients as partners.

“We love to make millionaires billionaires. As they can no longer sustain organic growth, we help them with transformational transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, or the right strategic partnerships.

“As family businesses mature, we help in the whole monetisation process. There are always things we can add, at each stage of a business life cycle.”


Containers Printers: A Word in Your Ear… via Your Eye! The Fine Art of Communicative Packaging

This is something that Containers Printers CEO Amy Chung understands only too well as a basic principle of marketing. Her Singapore-based company looks to technology to provide more product control for clients, and value-added gains for shareholders.

Chung has been leading the product-packaging company since 2014, and she has a clear vision for its direction. “I want to drive the company from what can be considered a conventional industry to something more technological,” she said. “We are therefore upgrading our capabilities beyond conventional packaging solutions to be able to do functional printing and smart packaging.”

The modern manufacturing machines lining the company shop floors produce eye-catching results. Packaging comes in two materials (metal and flexible laminates), both of which can be customised with unique textured effects.

Containers Printers is in the process of further digitising its operations. Chung intends to extend the company’s digital capabilities into the clients’ space by offering cloud-powered product traceability and authentication services.

The company is a leader in Singapore’s digital transformation initiative, and has been nationally recognised for its approach to innovation and technological advances. The company’s global reach —and potential to upscale — attracted the attention of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, which tapped Containers Printers to participate in a programme matching top global brands with local companies to forge profitable and productive partnerships.

“Last year we were selected by our Economic Development Board for a special programme,” said Chung, “where they tie us to global multinationals to gear us up in our capabilities, and to meet the strict requirements of these global multinationals. We were able to perform to their satisfaction, so with this programme we are now being selected and shown to the Minister for the manufacturing industry in Singapore.”

Chung is proud of Containers Printers’ selection for the programme, in which it took its first foray into the medical industry. The process was demanding, with tight deadlines and stiff benchmarks to meet, but it was a success. Chung and her company were praised for their performance. “We took the challenge and rolled the dice,” Chung said. “We were told that we were one of the most successful partnership that came out of this.”

The company’s success garnered more local attention, and Containers Printers was selected to participate in a skill-sets development programme, overseen by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower. Containers Printers was showcased in a session with the country’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong.

“I jumped immediately into the Manpower Ministry's programme, which the government has been actively promoting in Singapore,” said Chung, whose company has been classified in the space of small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

The programme aims to drive the industrial adoption of digital transformation strategies.

Containers Printers was invited to participate in the programme for its proactive and innovative implementation of the latest tech advancements. Highlights for Chung included the programme’s lean-manufacturing training courses, which detail tech-enhanced manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and reduce redundancies.

According to Amy Chung, the company’s operations are aligned to the “Three Rs” principle (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle), and sustainability is built into its corporate culture. Containers Printers sources and selects benign materials and employs solvent-free manufacturing processes where possible. The company’s latest sustainability initiatives will be operable by mid 2019, when its two manufacturing plants will be topped with solar panels. “I think that’s really working towards a corporate philosophy where everyone starts thinking about sustainability,” said Chung.

“We cannot enforce and impose, but we can build up a corporate culture and values, so that slowly everyone practices the three Rs as though it’s just something that they do — it’s natural.” i


Gender Specifics of Brain Function: a Path to Improved Health Balance

[caption id="attachment_14096" align="alignright" width="563"] Co-founder & CEO of WBP: Antonella Santuccione Chadha[/caption]

In terms of structure, female and male brains differ only marginally. But new studies on brain function — and pathology — are challenging the medical community to take a closer look at the gender specifics.

Switzerland-based doctor Antonella Santuccione Chadha, along with three colleagues, co-founded the Women’s Brain Project (WBP) with a mission to drive scientific research in mental health. Since its launch in 2016, the WBP has led a campaign of awareness and collaboration, contributing to the growing body of research and advocating for positive change across all levels of patient care.

“Several brain and mental diseases disproportionally affect women,” said Santuccione Chadha, citing research from the World Health Organisation and the latest epidemiological studies. “This is the case for Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, anti-NMDA receptors encephalitis, migraine, multiple sclerosis, and many more.”

Her passion project is Alzheimer’s, a puzzle she’s determined to crack. The disease affects nearly 50 million people worldwide, two-thirds of whom are women. The medical community has many theories on the reasons behind the prevalence, but the topic requires further study.

“Most likely, both biological and social factors contribute to this phenomenon,” Santuccione Chadha said in an interview with the European Academy of Neurology. “The WBP is engaging with the entire ecosystem — scientists, policy makers, drug developers, regulators, funding agencies, health care professionals and, more importantly, patients — so that these differences are studied and understood. While a global approach is fundamental in neuroscience, WBP believes that sex and gender differences might hold the key for several disease mechanisms — and therefore, potential treatments.”

Santuccione Chadha and her fellow WBP co-founders — chief scientific officer Maria Teresa Ferretti, president Annemarie Schumacher Dimech, and chemist and public affairs leader Gautam Maitra — are leading the discussion, and the charge, to better understand gender differences in brain disease and mental disorders. Funding discrepancies contribute to the challenge, with pence on the pound spent on dementia research compared to cancer. According to an Oxford University study, for every £10 spent caring for those with dementia, only 8p has been spent on researching new treatments — whereas £1.08 goes to cancer.

Compounding the situation, the few clinical trials that find funding often lack accurate or balanced gender representation. Whether the trials call for human volunteers or lab rats, the overwhelming tendency has been to rely on male-only test groups. The Women’s Brain Project aims to rectify the imbalance through a social awareness campaign and strategic regulatory pressure. Santuccione Chadha believes the campaign has the power “to positively impact the society on a large scale”.

“The lesson learned was derived from the cardiovascular field, where a massive preventive campaign during the last decades, mainly targeted to the male population, highly reduced the number of cardiovascular events,” she explained.

Precision medicine is another avenue for improvement the WBP is targeting. Santuccione Chadha recommends that the next generation of neurologists carefully consider the sex and gender differences in brain and mental disease when conducting scientific research and providing patient care. Experience has shown that neither medicine nor medical care is a one-size-fits-all solution.

“We should put the patient at the centre, rather than the disease,” she said. “It is time to do precision medicine also in neurology and invest resources in identifying patients’ subgroups with specific needs — such as women at different pathophysiological states of their life.”

At a TEDx Talk last year on gender differences in brain disease, Santuccione Chadha opened the session with some observations on Sophia — the first social humanoid robot to ever be granted citizenship or bestowed a United Nations title. The robot “understands” that it technically has no gender, but identifies as being feminine and doesn’t mind being perceived as a woman. Santuccione Chadha questions the wisdom of Sophia’s stance, given the health statistics.

This year Santuccione Chadha invited Sophia to the second annual International Forum of the Women’s Brain Project to discuss topics ranging from artificial intelligence and machine learning to the evolution of robotics. Decades of experience in the medical field have made Santuccione Chadha a global expert of clinical pathology, neuroscience, and psychiatric disorder — now she hopes to leverage the power of AI to reduce gender bias and deliver better, more personalised solutions.

“Our main objective is to improve the way science is designed, and to optimise its final outcome (drugs, AI-based solutions, social care, policy) to benefit the end-consumers: the patients.”


Turning Promises Into Reality – The Business Case for Gender Equality in Achieving the SDGs

By Paula Tavares and Otaviano Canuto

[caption id="attachment_14105" align="alignright" width="300"] Otaviano Canuto[/caption]

As world leaders gathered this month for high-level talks at the 74th United Nations General Assembly, pressing global issues were at the forefront of discussions, including progress toward the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While taking stock of how far we have come in realising commitments in key areas, including to end poverty and hunger, expand access to health, education, justice and jobs, promote inclusive and sustained economic growth, and protect our planet from environmental degradation, heads of state and government convened at the SDG Summit also faced heightened pressure to increase actions and implementation efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda goals and concrete targets agreed upon in 2015.

Four years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, countries have made efforts to align national development plans and strategies with the SDGs and address the different challenges, with positive results in some areas. Notwithstanding, the 2019 Sustainable Development Goals Report shows slow progress in many indicators: at current rates, 6% of the world’s population is predicted to still be living in extreme poverty by 2030, global hunger is increasing, and vulnerabilities remain high, with inequalities in wealth, incomes and opportunities increasing in and between countries. Additionally, environmental degradation and climate change continue at rates that bring potentially disastrous consequences for humanity.

As the world enters the 10-year countdown to making good on mutual commitments on behalf of a sustainable future for the planet, achieving Goal 5 of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is on the front burner of most governments, the business sector and civil society. Indeed, as stated in the 2019 SDG Report, gender equality is a key area for action to ensure progress across targets, including poverty alleviation, reduced inequalities and in particular, economic growth.

Gender Equality and the Economic Outlook

Nonetheless, progress on gender equality and reaping its potential impact on inclusive growth has also been limited. In parallel, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook, warning signs of a potential slowdown in the global economy are multiplying, with a large share of developing countries struggling to achieve sustained growth in per capita incomes and productivity.

Increased debt vulnerability and challenges faced by both emerging and developed economies, combined with rising income and wealth inequality, risk undermining efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, as predicted in the World Situation and Prospects 2019. Moreover, even where greater expansion has occurred, inequality remains high and not all are benefiting from improved economic conditions. The persistence of low economic growth at the global level and the potential crisis looming over the world may further thwart efforts and add to the negative impacts.

In this context, urgent and concrete measures are needed to redirect the global economy trajectory toward a sustainable path, which calls for sound macroeconomic policies and strategies adopted by countries for boosting the economy. This includes ensuring a strategic focus on issues of inclusive growth, employment and inequality, through addressing issues hindering gender equality and creating conditions for shared prosperity and sustainable growth.

Why investing in women matters

No country or economy can achieve its potential while critical gaps persist between men and women. As half the world’s population, women have an equal role in driving economic growth and sustainable development. However, their contribution remains far below its potential, thwarted by gender-specific constraints.

Women’s full participation in the labour force and earning potential is limited by formal and informal gender-specific barriers in nearly every country today. This includes legal barriers to employment and earning opportunities affecting over 2.7 billion women globally, as Women, Business and the Law data and research shows (chart 1). According to a recent IMF staff study, despite progress, female labour force participation remains lower than that of men’s, with no advanced or middle-income economy having reduced the gender gap below 7 percentage points. ILO research shows that women are less likely to participate in the labour market and more likely to be unemployed in most parts of the world, with significant potential GDP growth across the world if participation rates were closed by a mere 25% (chart 2). In addition, gender wage gaps are high, and women are overrepresented in the informal sector and among the poor.

[caption id="attachment_14101" align="aligncenter" width="1219"] Chart 1: Gender equality in labour law is associated with more women working and earning more relative to men. Source: World Bank, Women, Business and the Law[/caption]

As a result of gender-specific barriers, World Bank estimates show that women account for less than 40% of global human capital wealth, with global losses amounting to $160 trillion in wealth because of differences in lifetime earnings between men and women. Lagarde and Ostry (2018) also argue that this uneven playing field between women and men comes at a significant economic cost as it hampers productivity and weighs on growth.

[caption id="attachment_14102" align="aligncenter" width="1184"] Chart 2: Potential GDP growth if women participation rates were increased by 25%. Source: ILO[/caption]

Research by McKinsey (2016) additionally shows that the share of women’s care work which goes uncompensated amounts to an estimated value of $10 trillion, or 13% of global GDP. Evidence from another report further documents that the lack of parity for women in the workforce, including in wages, career growth opportunities and in leadership positions, also hurts business and economic growth.

There is ample evidence, including by the IMF (2013), that when women are able to develop their full labour market potential, there can be significant macroeconomic gains. The employment of women on an equal basis would allow companies to make better use of the available talent pool, with potential growth implications. Closing gender gaps to women’s economic participation by reducing barriers to women in the workplace would significantly boost welfare and growth (chart 3), while equal access to inputs would raise the productivity of female-owned companies. Agénor, Canuto & Pereira da Silva (2014) and Agénor & Canuto (2015) approach several channels through which gender equality affects macroeconomic growth.

[caption id="attachment_14103" align="aligncenter" width="1033"] Chart 3: Economic gains. Reducing barriers to women in the workplace significantly boosts welfare and growth (percent). Source: IMF staff calculations (2013)[/caption]

Note: See “Economic Gains from Gender Inclusion: New Mechanisms, New Evidence”, IMF Staff Discussion Note No. 18/06 for explanations of the calculations

In designing macroeconomic policy for promoting growth, gender-specific constraints should be taken into account, as policy goals can be thwarted if gender effects are not taken into consideration (Seguino, 2019). This could further enhance the potential impact of policy in boosting economic activity through increasing women’s economic participation.

Equality of opportunity is key to women’s economic participation

Ensuring equal opportunity in access to jobs and entrepreneurship and enabling improvements in the productivity of their work is key to boosting women’s economic participation. This includes removing gender-discriminatory laws and creating a regulatory framework that enables women’s labour force participation and business ownership.

Access to opportunities is a major source of gender inequality (Klasen 1999) and as research by Gonzales et al shows, restrictions on women’s rights to inheritance and property, as well as legal impediments to undertaking economic activities, are strongly associated with larger gender gaps in labour force participation.

According to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law, women in many parts of the world still face discriminatory laws and regulations at every point in their economically active life. Globally, over 2.7 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men and in 59 economies no laws exist on sexual harassment at work, leaving over 500 million women unprotected. Additionally, in 75 economies, women’s property rights are constrained; and in 5 women are not allowed to register a business in the same way as a man. Women’s financial inclusion is also impacted by such legal barriers; in 62% of countries worldwide, no laws exist to prohibit gender-based discrimination in financial services. And still today, the research shows that women are accorded only three-quarters of the legal rights that men enjoy globally, constraining their ability to get jobs or start businesses and make choices that are best for them, their families and their communities.

On the other hand, where women have equal opportunities to access jobs, more women work and earn relative to men, and where they have access to property, they can leverage finance to start and grow businesses. Over the last ten years, considerable progress has been made in improving laws and regulations to promote women’s economic inclusion. This includes, for example, 35 countries that implemented legal protections against sexual harassment at work, protecting nearly two billion more women than a decade ago, 22 economies that removed restrictions on women’s work, reducing the likelihood that women are kept out of working in certain sectors of the economy, and 13 economies that introduced laws mandating equal remuneration for work of equal value. But much faster progress is needed if gender equality is to be achieved in the next ten years. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2018 makes a stark projection: at current rates of progress, it may take another 202 years to close the economic gender gap globally; the impact of which will be felt on the global economy as a whole.

Bottom Line

Ultimately, it is clear from the evidence that inequality, both income and gender, impede growth. Given that barriers to women’s economic participation are somewhat mitigated in countries that have achieved higher levels of gender equality, issues remain regarding those that are potential candidates to falling into the middle-income trap (Canuto, 2019). This is especially true for low-income countries.

Comparative evidence from the IMF (2016) shows that income and gender inequality, including from legal gender-related restrictions, arguably impede growth mainly in countries at earlier stages of development. Nonetheless, the adverse effect of legal barriers to women’s participation in economic activities remains significant for countries at different stages of development.

As we enter a decade that will be decisive for both current and future generations, it is the world’s responsibility and within its power to make the next decade one of action and delivery for gender equality, sustainable development and inclusive growth. This requires urgent and focused policy-making that takes into account gender-specific impacts. Time is now for investing in women and ensuring countries and the world can honour commitments and achieve the Goals agreed upon to ensure a prosperous and sustainable world for generations to come.

Paula Tavares is a Senior legal and gender specialist at the World Bank with expertise in international development and comparative analysis focusing on gender equality, women’s economic inclusion and private sector development. Her work with the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law currently focuses on promoting gender-informed policy making, improving the legal framework protecting women from discrimination and gender-based violence, and enhancing women’s economic opportunities.

Otaviano Canuto is principal at the Center for Macroeconomics and Development, a senior fellow at the Policy Centre for the New South and a non-resident senior fellow at Brookings Institution. He is a former vice-president and a former executive director at the World Bank, a former executive director at the International Monetary Fund, and a former vice-president at the Inter-American Development Bank. Otaviano has been a regular columnist for CFI.co for the past seven years.


Ida, Data and Women’s Health: It’s Win-Win with the Clue App

 From investment opportunities to the pursuit and provision of venture capital, the purse strings of financial dealings are very often controlled by men.

Very often, but — as Ida Tin has proved — not always.

Convincing male-dominated boardrooms of the disruptive potential of period-tracking or pelvis-strengthening apps was a struggle back in 2013, when Tin sought support for her start-up, Clue. She founded the company to address the unmet health and wellness needs of women. Her app now helps more than 11 million women in 190 countries to better understand their bodies, and manage their reproductive health.

In honour of International Women’s Day, Tin published an op-ed in The Guardian in which she reflected on the UN’s theme for this year: “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change.”

For Tin, that means leveraging technology to advance gender equality. “We live in a world where I can be guided across the planet with just a few taps on the phone in my pocket,” she marvels, “and yet we still struggle to understand what is going on with our bodies”.
The data collected and analysed by Clue helps women make informed family planning decisions, affording them greater educational opportunities and financial freedom.

“For too long, technology has sorely lacked women’s voices,” she writes. “But a powerful technological change is happening, led by big data and of all that it is capable. With more data comes more insight, and with more knowledge comes more space to act.”
Clue has collected a dizzying amount of data over a short period, and Tin is dedicated to ensuring that the information is used for the common good. There market is crowded with “free” health-tracking apps that commoditise the most personal and private aspects of a person’s life. Tin finds that invasive.

She urges people to read the small print before giving apps access to their lives. In clear terms and simple language, Clue promises to safeguard users’ sensitive personal data. Quick corporate profits from shady third-party agreements don’t tempt Tin, and Clue has been partnered with carefully vetted educational institutions to use the data for academic research. In mutually beneficial, demonetised partnerships, Clue provides universities such as Oxford, Stanford and Columbia with anonymous data to deliver benefits for society.

“We have done it very cautiously because we want to make sure that when we share anonymised parts of our data set, it is truly to the benefit of users,” she said in an interview with Forbes. “Fundamentally, we want to do things that users consent with, and that they get value out of.”

She knows at first-hand the challenge of trying to get everything exactly right. “We have to try to restore faith that there can be good technology companies working with data — intimate private data — for the benefit of the users and not to make billions,” she says. “It can be done.”

Clue has grown rapidly since its inception. The Berlin-based company secured $30m in funding, which has given it the freedom to explore different business models — without being too hard-pressed to turn a profit.

Tin says Clue’s aim is “not necessarily (to) maximise profits”, because “we are in a long game here.

“And for us, it’s crucial that we find ways to make money that feels super-aligned with our vision and our values.”

Tin has laid a strong foundation, a business which has attracted millions of users. They can choose to download the free app — without an account, and with data stored only on the device, not on the cloud —or pay a monthly fee of a $1 for deeper analysis.
That foundation could be very handy in a market that is expected to boom, with some claiming it has the potential to reach $50bn a year by 2025.


Lord Waverley: Drone Industry Needs a Coherent Voice — and Some Interest From Investors

Drones are changing the way in which we interact with one another.

From commercial applications to lifesaving transportation, drones are a reality which cannot be ignored. The potential of these remote-controlled flying robots is unlimited.

But to unlock the full potential of this industry, a rapid change in perception and regulation is needed.

Drones are mainly thought of as toys and regulated as such. The technology arrived in the form of children’s playthings some 10 years ago. Ever since, we have been on a learning curve.

Business and industry have learned that toy drones cannot (yet) handle industrial tasks; they are too fragile. Negative public perception and a lack of interest is holding the industry back.

A recent PwC report concluded that by 2030, drones could increase UK GDP by some £42bn. Companies have been founded to produce drones for commercial use — and it is clear that we face a future which will include this technology.
The flying machines are being used daily to boost productivity and growth. In cities, global giants such as Amazon are changing logistics through domestic drone deliveries. In rural areas, farmers are using them as eyes in the sky to spot weeds, then deliver minimum levels of pesticides.

One can easily imagine the London Port Authority using the technology to undertake volumetric analyses and generate 3D scans of the Thames and the Thames Barrier.

Britain is a nation that exports standards. The UK, through H Robotics, has developed the first entirely modular, interoperable drone. Regardless of the application, the potential for productivity and growth is unparalleled. And yet this technology is still greeted with suspicion and alarm, rather than the needed intrigue.

Despite the relative youth of the industry, the technology has advanced beyond recognition. Drones are still limited by human input, but it is only a matter of time before they are powered by artificial intelligence.

AI has the potential to change life on a scale similar to that of the Industrial Revolution. Once drones have the capacity to make decisions and to function independently of humans, the benefits to business could be huge.
The military application of AI-run drones is a widely debated subject. Through its Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the European Union has funded an AI-based drone project to autonomously patrol Europe’s borders, identifying individuals and determining whether they represent a security threat. This was once the domain of science fiction; now it’s a reality that we must face.

Companies and governments need autonomous flight paths to be consistent, so data becomes comparable over time. Manual flying precludes good data management. Autonomously flown drones will be essential in the gathering of digital audit and evidence trails.

Professor Stephen Hawking once wrote in reference to AI drones: “Once this Pandora’s box is opened, it will be hard to close.” In the spirt of these words, we must now look beyond the negative headlines of drone misuse at airports and master the use of the technology before it becomes a threat.

As industrial use takes off, we need to change the way in which we think. We need to see bilateral co-operation between governments in providing a universal legislative framework which safeguards security but doesn’t stifle innovation and development.

The British police and fire departments currently rely on Chinese-manufactured toy drones. They have discovered that these drones are not fit for purpose. In addition, the Pentagon, the MOD and the White House have signalled data-integrity problems.

While governments are addressing the legislative and regulatory gaps, it could be argued that — as we have seen in other tech sectors — public policymakers are failing to keep up with the speed of the market. Rushing to fill legislative voids, without consultation or consideration of future applications, will suffocate this promising industry.

Drones could be used to better manage urban construction, large infrastructure projects, building inspections and more, but the law lumps toys and industrial tools in the same category.

The lack of a singular, authoritative industry voice is another stumbling block. In some sectors, drones have failed to meet expectations because of security and privacy concerns. An industry voice could provide details of the safeguards, training and standards needed.
Regulators could require that all drones have height and distance limiters. The airspace is becoming increasingly controlled by mandatory geofencing. But this lacks nuance. If a drone is flying on controlled autonomous pathways at, say, 100 feet above a local construction site, and is under the control of the building company concerned, it should pose no danger to air traffic.

In light of the negative perceptions held by the media, businesses — through fear of reputational damage — have put off investment. Ministers need to be much more proactive in promoting the commercial opportunities here. Policymakers have for too long focused on reacting to concerns, rather than providing practical industry-led policy solutions that encourage business growth.

One of the biggest challenges faced by the drone industry is the lack of interest in research and development. Here the policy leaders need to act to encourage skills development and assist in countering negative perceptions.

When it comes to commercial applications, it is universally acknowledged that fear of potential misuse is holding the industry back.

We are seeing innovation in the design and manufacturing of drones, but little is being done to train staff in the technology. Without investment in accredited training programmes, businesses will be unable to ensure maximum commercial output.

I am encouraged by some aspects of the UK’s Drones Bills, but I fear that if we continue down the path of reactive legislation, without international co-operation and with limited foresight of future opportunities, such legislation could prevent benefits from being realised.

The UK has a proud record as a global leader in emerging technologies. If policymakers and industry leaders can come together to provide the investment that is needed, and legislation can ensure public safety, the next important thing is a change in perception: the industry should inspire innovation and development. Then we may allow this evolving industry to improve our lives better and make our businesses more efficient in years to come.

About the Author

Lord (JD) Waverley
Member
House of Lords, London

Founder
SupplyFinder.com

Strategic Advisor
SmarterContracts.co.uk

jd@lordwaverley.com


World Bank on Social Protection in Africa: Can Safety Nets Close the Poverty Gap in Burkina Faso and Ensure Family Welfare?

[caption id="attachment_14240" align="alignright" width="396"] A beneficiary from the World Bank’s Youth Employment & Skills Development Project and added on Mobile Childcare project. Photo credits: Amina Semlali / World Bank.[/caption]

With focused and courageous policy decisions, Burkina Faso’s government can cover the country’s poor with an effective and efficient safety net. This end is achievable simply by realigning and better targeting existing expenditures. The reallocation of energy subsidies that mainly benefit the rich would further open fiscal space.

A social safety net is a set of programmes meant to catch you if you fall on hard times.

It is “poverty insurance”, and many countries have some form of non-contributory protection. If you fall below a certain poverty line, you should be eligible and get the benefits at no cost. These safety nets are usually a component of larger social protection systems that also include contributory social insurance, as well as labour market policies and programmes.

Predictable cash transfers to poor households — often in exchange for school attendance or for family health checks — have become one of the most effective global poverty reduction strategies. Investments in these programmes — especially those that target vulnerable children — generate high returns. Each year, social safety net programmes in developing countries lift an estimated 69 million people out of absolute poverty, and assist some 97 million people in the bottom 20 percent.

"There is a clear gap between the impact of current safety nets and the impact they would have if resources actually reached the poorest people. The exciting news is that with improved targeting the poverty gap in Burkina Faso could be eradicated! The size of the actual poverty gap equals 2.26 percent of GDP, which is close to the actual spending on safety nets."

Life in a rapidly changing world is fraught with complex risks, making social safety nets more important than ever. They help to protect households exposed to shocks from disasters such as droughts, floods, epidemics and illnesses. They are interventions that, in principle, help poor households manage risk and invest in their livelihoods. Without them, poor people are often forced to adopt negative coping strategies that can lead to chronic poverty.

A Central Part of African Development

In Africa, social safety nets have become a central part of development strategies and are being rapidly expanded. While there is substantial variation across countries, on average, governments in Africa spend about 1.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on social safety nets. That rate which is slightly lower than what transition economies spend (on average 1.5 percent).

Although these increasing levels of social safety nets expenditure are good news, the existing programmes fail to cover most of the people living in poverty. In fact, only 18 percent of the poorest quintile in Africa are covered.

Research conducted on social safety nets in Burkina Faso (and presented in the recent book The Way Forward for Social Safety Nets in Burkina Faso) show a similar pattern.

The Land of Honest People

Burkina Faso — the “Land of Honest People”, as the Republic of Upper Volta was named in 1984 by then-president Thomas Sankara — is a landlocked country in West Africa, surrounded by Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south-east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d’Ivoire to the south-west. The country has experienced sustained economic growth over the past decade, primarily due to its main export commodities of cotton and gold — but this growth has not benefited the majority of Burkinabe.

[caption id="attachment_14243" align="aligncenter" width="587"] Figure 1: Social safety net coverage by type of program and quintile. (Q1=poorest quintile, Q5=richest quintile)[/caption]

Although the poverty headcount ratio has declined, the absolute number of poor has increased and extreme poverty is rampant in rural areas. More than 61 percent of its youth are illiterate, the nation is one of the least developed in the world.

Social Safety Net Spending Has Increased

Overall, social protection expenditure in Burkina Faso has increased at a steady pace, which is positive. Expenditure on social safety nets increased from 0.3 percent of GDP in 2005 to 2.3 percent in 2015. This increase indicates a growing Government appetite for finding more effective methods of protecting the poor. Burkina Faso outspends other sub-Saharan countries on social safety nets relative to GDP, but challenges remain.

Yet Only Few Benefit

Social safety net coverage is not in line with poverty, with only 2.6 percent of the entire population benefitting. A notable example is that the fourth-richest quintile (Q4) benefits more from all safety nets than does the absolute poorest quintile (Q1). For example, scholarships benefit next to no poor people.

And Those Most in Need Are Left Unprotected

Coverage in Burkina Faso is not in line with vulnerability across the life cycle. There is an urgent need to use social protection expenditure to build human capital where it matters most: early childhood development, nutrition and literacy.

[caption id="attachment_14244" align="aligncenter" width="592"] Figure 2: Social safety net targeting, by share of benefits and beneficiaries.[/caption]

Looking at poverty headcounts by age groups and risks along the life cycle offers important insights on where public interventions should focus. Risks are not evenly distributed and are typically higher earlier in life. Children are the poorest and most vulnerable members of the population, yet only six of Burkina Faso’s main programmes focus on the 0–5 age group. Only two percent of the country’s children benefit from critical early childhood development programmes — the second lowest rate in the World after Afghanistan.

Poorer Regions Are Barely Targeted

Social safety nets are not aligned with poverty across the country’s regions, and mainly target beneficiaries on a geographical basis. Data show that the largest concentration of beneficiaries of cash transfers (34.7 percent) reside in the wealthier Central region, with only a few percent reaching the poorest regions.

Most Safety Net Benefits Are Accrued by The Rich

Distribution of beneficiaries and benefits (the latter is only available for scholarships and ‘other transfers’) also shows that most of the benefits are accrued by the richest quintile.

"Even though many beneficiaries are in the second poorest quintile (Q2), their transfers are small; while the large transfers are mainly collected by a few rich households."

Moreover, even though many beneficiaries are in the second poorest quintile (Q2), their transfers are small; while the large transfers are mainly collected by a few rich households.

…But the Gap Can Be Closed

There is a clear gap between the impact of current safety nets and the impact they would have if resources actually reached the poorest people. There is a need for better targeting and an integrated approach to assess socio-economic needs. Interventions must be aligned with areas that suffer from high poverty rates and low coverage.

The exciting news is that research and simulations show that the poverty gap in Burkina Faso could be eradicated without increasing current spending on social safety nets. The size of the actual poverty gap equals 2.26 percent of GDP, which is close to actual spending on safety nets.

The Richest Reap the Benefits of Energy Subsidies

Part of the social protection budget is allocated for energy (1.05 percent of GDP in 2015). But there is a fundamental problem with this: subsidies benefit the richer segments of society more than the poor. They are expensive and inefficient, failing to deliver value equal to the money spent on them.

...While Fueling Climate Change

Burkina Faso relies on extremely costly imported heavy fuel oil and diesel and buys a large share of its electricity from neighboring countries. Globally, energy subsidies contribute toward climate change by depressing the price of fossil fuels and thereby encouraging greater production and wasteful consumption – and thus carbon emissions. Moreover, energy subsidies discourage needed investments in clean energy. Burkina Faso has, for example, excellent solar irradiation, and solar energy could potentially become a low-cost source of energy.

The government is aware that there are more effective, less costly and more environmentally friendly methods for contributing to economic, human and social development. Energy subsidies have experienced a downward spending trend, with electricity subsidies weighing down the national budget over the past decade. In 2016, the government took steps to try to address this.

Fiscal Space Could Open Up

Simulations conducted for this review show that removing the gas subsidy alone would enable savings equivalent to 0.36 percent of GDP, which is the equivalent to one of the largest existing safety nets programmes (national school feeding). Savings from phasing-out subsidies and redirecting that expenditure toward social safety nets - and to a lesser extent renewable energy - would improve matters.

[caption id="attachment_14245" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Figure 3: Share of household income spent on energy consumption, by decile.[/caption]

Given rapid demographic growth, more resources will need to be allocated to programmes for the poorest and most vulnerable. Funding should be better aimed or the overall budget should be increased. Burkina Faso’s revenue sources are unlikely to create further substantial fiscal space. It is more realistic to reallocate expenditures from less efficient programmes before considering a budget increase.

The poor consume barely any electricity and it is important to educate the public about the benefits of safety net programmes before reducing energy subsidies.

…With A Few Corageous Policy Decisions

Research shows that with focused and courageous policy decisions, several issues related to the Burkinabe social protection system could be converted into opportunities. By regaining the fiscal space, the government could cover the country’s poor with an effective and efficient safety net. This end is achievable simply by realigning and better targeting existing expenditures. The reallocation of subsidies and scholarships would further open fiscal space, some of which could also be directed toward renewable energy.

Safety nets are affordable, while the social cost of not having them is high and disproportionately borne by women and children. It is a precondition for sustainable growth and social inclusion.

This important lesson from Burkina Faso could benefit a global audience of policy makers determined to reduce poverty (and carbon emissions).

About the Authors

Amina Semlali is a human development specialist that works on social protection issues for the World Bank – specialising in labor markets, skills development and social protection policies. She currently works on donor relations and on social protection in the Africa region. Prior to this, Semlali worked on senior leadership development and helped the World Bank articulate organisational strategy. She has conducted applied research on poverty and inequality and provided policy advice to numerous governments in the Middle East. She is an expert on strategic communications and led the communications work for the Bank's Social Accountability Practice. Semlali holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Uppsala University, Sweden.

Rebekka Grun von Jolk is an economist with 20 years of experience working on the design, appraisal, implementation and evaluation of policies. Grun has worked with the World Bank since 2005, currently as team leader for Social Protection in the Africa region. Before that, Grun was an advisor to the World Bank president, and led her sector’s re-engagement in the Middle East/North Africa after the Arab Spring. She has guest-lectured at Stanford and Georgetown, and received awards for her research and policy design work. Prior to joining the bank, she worked on the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and consulting. Grun holds a PhD in Economics from University College London and a lic.oec. from St. Gallen.

Frieda Vandeninden is a development economist with a specialisation in social protection policies. She has worked with the World Bank since 2012 on a wide range of social protection topics, including providing Government technical assistance, organising trainings, social protection policy dialogue, field data collection, and the management of the social protection global database ASPIRE. Vandeninden is the author and co-author of reports on social safety nets assessments and expenditure reviews. Alongside this work, she conducts academic research focused on the evaluation of social protection policies and aid effectiveness at the University of Liege and the United Nations University in Maastricht. Vandeninden holds a PhD in Economics from Maastricht University.

It should be mentioned that the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) financially contributed to the Burkina Faso Social Safety Nets Review, for which the team is grateful. The Review was made possible with the help of funding generlously provided by the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program (ASPP).


UNOPS: Quality Infrastructure is Central to Sustainable Development

By Grete Faremo Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNOPS

As human beings, we go through our lives using infrastructure without really thinking about it. From roads to electricity, water and waste management to telecommunications, the quality of our life depends on the smooth running of infrastructure. It makes it possible for communities to function and thrive. It’s key to providing human dignity and improving everyone’s well-being.

[caption id="attachment_14261" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] UNOPS is encouraging more women to work in the construction industry as part of a road infrastructure project in The Gambia. Photo credit: ©UNOPS[/caption]

The organisation I lead, UNOPS, has a mandate in infrastructure. We know, from our experience and research, that infrastructure plays a key role in sustainable development. Last year, research by UNOPS and the University of Oxford found that 92% of the targets that underpin all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), rely on quality infrastructure.

Because of its longevity, infrastructure can influence development far into the future, both positively and negatively. If not designed, built and maintained appropriately, infrastructure can lead to adverse social and environmental impacts, be vulnerable to natural disasters or leave communities and countries with unsustainable debt.

Estimates suggest that more than $90 trillion in global infrastructure investment is needed by 2040 to support sustainable development. This is a huge investment. The world has a moral as well as financial responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure we build is inclusive, sustainable and resilient.

Infrastructure systems do not exist in isolation

No infrastructure system exists in isolation. We should not view infrastructure as individual buildings or networks, such as a hospital or power distribution system, but as part of a system that together have great potential to deliver on our global goals.

Take as an example SDG 3, to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. To access health services, and to be able to carry out medical research, development and training, communities need reliable networks of energy, water and digital communications infrastructure. To limit the spread of diseases, and decrease the risk of maternal, neonatal and child mortality, we need sanitation services through clean water provision and waste disposal.

In rural or remote communities, we may need roads and transport infrastructure to access health services. In an increasingly connected world, digital technologies can help share knowledge, records and results, assisting in recruiting and training health workers, helping manage medical conditions, or quickly getting the information needed to reduce health risks from natural and man-made hazards.

In Ghana, for example, UNOPS works to combat maternal and child mortality. With 36 under-five deaths per 1,000 live births, and a maternal mortality ratio of 319 per 100,000 live births, Ghana is behind global targets to reduce under-five and maternal mortality.

One of the main barriers to improving child and maternal survival rates in Ghana is a lack of access to skilled health professionals, as well as well-functioning health infrastructure and medical equipment. To address this, UNOPS partnered with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to construct and equip a new midwifery training college in the Keta Municipality.

An inclusive approach ensured that the finished facilities met the unique needs of a wide range of people. The project supported livelihoods through the contracting of local workers, firms and suppliers whenever possible. Community perspectives were encouraged at every stage of the planning and implementation process to ensure a sense of national ownership. Today, over 300 students attend the college, a valuable addition to the health facilities in the region.

[caption id="attachment_14262" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] UNOPS works with partners to reduce maternal mortality and strengthen healthcare services in Kenya. Photo credit: © UNOPS / John Rae[/caption]

Infrastructure cuts across SDGs

The SDGs are complex with many themes integrated throughout the goals. Gender equality is one such theme. SDG 5 specifically aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. But gender equality goes beyond SDG 5 and relates to all dimensions of sustainable development.

Infrastructure is key to achieving gender equality. Much of traditional infrastructure is gender-blind, and can create inequalities that last for a long time.

Transport infrastructure designed without attention to women’s needs can expose them to safety and security risks, such as sexual, verbal or physical harassment. If women do not feel safe travelling on public transport or if they feel unsafe in transport stations because they are not adequately lit, they may try to avoid harassment by skipping travel altogether. This could mean losing access to education and job opportunities, potentially limiting their economic growth.

In Pakistan, for instance, lack of safe transport affects women’s employment and education opportunities. Less than a quarter of Pakistan’s women work, and the lack of safe and secure public transport is a reason for this. There, with support for the government of Japan, UNOPS provides women-only buses that help women access education and jobs.

Gender equality considerations should be at the front and centre of development projects. This means considering women not just as the users of infrastructure projects, but as the workforce too. Existing gender stereotypes mean that infrastructure is often viewed as a male-dominated industry. Yet when women work on infrastructure projects, in contexts as different as Afghanistan or The Gambia, our projects have the opportunity to not just provide livelihoods and training, but also challenge stereotypes.

To support infrastructure projects in maximising opportunities to advance gender equality, UNOPS has developed, SustainABLE, a free online tool that identifies and recommends actions to ensure that infrastructure projects are gender-sensitive.

Inclusive infrastructure can open up opportunities
Practical actions, such as those outlined in SustainABLE, are key to ensuring that infrastructure identifies and responds to the needs of all its users. For infrastructure to be inclusive, these actions need to be taken during the planning, delivery, operation and maintenance of projects.

Engaging with all the stakeholders at each phase of an infrastructure project is key, so we can identify everyone’s needs, including those of the most vulnerable users. This can help influence the design of the infrastructure, to ensure that it caters to diverse needs.
Quality infrastructure that is inclusive has the power to open up opportunities for the marginalised and excluded populations, reduce inequality and grow economies.

The extent of the world’s infrastructure needs are huge. With only a decade left to achieve the rightly ambitious SDGs, we have a collective- and urgent- responsibility to ensure that this infrastructure investment does not leave anyone behind. i

About the Author

[caption id="attachment_14263" align="aligncenter" width="431"] Author: Grete Faremo Photo ©Torgeir Haugaard[/caption]

Grete Faremo is the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNOPS - the UN’s infrastructure specialists. She previously served in the government of Norway and led four ministries in her time there. Prior to joining UNOPS, Ms Faremo was also Director of Law, Corporate Affairs and Public Relations at Microsoft’s Western European Office.

About UNOPS // unops.org

UNOPS mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. We help the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, and deliver sustainable infrastructure and procurement in an efficient way.


Ostec: Best IT Infrastructure Solutions West Africa 2019

Ostec is a front-runner of Ghana’s IT sector, and offers infrastructure solutions, managed services and consulting sessions to help clients extract the biggest bang from their tech investment buck. Ostec applies an industry focus to a comprehensive portfolio that targets banking and finance, telecoms, consumer and government products and services, and resources. It delivers industry-tailored solutions that are flexible, scalable, and crafted with a thorough understanding of the evolution and applicable technologies of each sector. Ostec urges clients to resist tech fads and instead take a more measured approach with a process of continuous tech updates. Ostec gives clients space and freedom to grow within the scope of their needs, scaling tech services as required. The company builds and operates data centres that clients trust for the protection, processing, and storage of their data. Ostec helps companies overcome crises with its Disaster Recovery Solutions operation, equipped with technology, connectivity, and a specialised support crew. Over the past two decades, the company has been key to Ghana’s growing reputation for top class tech infrastructure and has enabled its clients — from SME to blue-chip — consolidate their IT performance. As the company continues to fulfil its leadership role in the Ghanaian market, it envisions expansion into neighbouring countries such as Nigeria and Cameroon over the next five years. The CFI.co judging panel is pleased to present Ostec with the 2019 award for Best IT Infrastructure Solutions (West Africa).


Digitalisation and 4IR in MENA: Augmented Intelligence from Data and Self-Learning

[caption id="attachment_14327" align="alignright" width="300"] Bashar Kilani (left) talking to CFI.co[/caption]

Bashar Kilani oversees IBM business in the Gulf Countries and the Levant, working with clients and partners across industries.

Kilani has a passion for thought leadership around Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Cloud. CFI.co met with him in Dubai for a conversation and tour de force of thought leadership on new technology and applications in the region.

In these times in the Middle East several forces are coming together: the young population, the focus on women empowerment and also the strong drive for digital transformation that is really helping both the faster developing countries and the slower developing countries at the same time.

"When I got back from the World Economic Forum in Jordan earlier this year, the theme of the conference was the fourth industrial revolution in MENA.

“The first point is on the special demographic setup in the Middle East, it's a very young population. These are educated people who are qualified to participate in the fourth industrial revolution.

“The second theme was the focus on women’s employment; this is an area where there's huge untapped potential because in this part of the world about half of university graduates are women but only 15 percent are active in the workplace.

“The third point was digitalisation; and digitalisation is possibly the largest economic opportunity in the next few years. Maybe the most obvious one is retail and you can see that retail is moving into online and digital faster than other industries. If you look at the numbers that we have today between 2018 and 2022, in the UAE online retail will double and inside Arabia it's going to be similar to that. That's a big transformation and you've started to see big players like Amazon make inroads into smart retail, for example.

“You've seen some home-grown organisations like Noon offering digital transformation and online shopping. This is going to be driving a lot of GDP.

“In the UAE all the major banks will be launching digital-only banks. You are also starting to see airlines looking at the complete journey not only airport to airport but city to hotel or home to hotel, the whole journey around digital transformation and that's a big play.

“In the UAE we're very lucky to have a forward-looking government that is actually setting the pace. Maybe in other countries you'll see the private sector leading but in this part of the world there's a huge drive on digital transformation. You can see that in government, the first AI appointed minister is in the UAE and of course that creates a huge expectation, but it also creates a drive for the growth of artificial intelligence.

“There's a lot of training going on, there's a lot of enablement going on, there's a lot of partnerships going on around making artificial intelligence and digitalisation one of the big industries that this part of the world will become known for within the next 10 years. There was a study recently which concluded that by 2030 15 percent of GDP will be driven by AI.

“It will create value because you will have new tools and capabilities that will make people more efficient and effective, you will see productivity going up, you will see a better understanding of how to handle data and analytics, how to create economic value out of data, how to discover patterns and so on. This is going to have a direct impact on GDP across the region and that's the reason there's a lot of focus on education, enablement and attracting start-ups and talent.

“This region is unique because you've got the AI and blockchain focus but at the same time you've got challenges with digital and financial inclusion, and that's the beauty of this part of the world. You travel out of Dubai, and within two hours you're probably in a completely different world, while the opportunities and challenges you have in Dubai are around a society that has hyper-connectivity, huge penetration of mobile phones and high education standards. I would say a level of digitalisation that's probably one of the best in the world.

“If you go to Pakistan or Egypt for example, you will find a very different situation, you will come across very different challenges, including low standards of education and healthcare and low levels of digital and financial inclusion. Digitalisation is a great tool to help elevate these.

“I'll give you a statistic from Jordan; 50 percent of all university graduates are women, 25 percent of all university graduates in Jordan have an ICT focus. You will find similar numbers in other parts of the Middle East. IT and digitalisation are a huge enabler, especially for the young and for women. If you look at the start-up scene in the Middle East, you've got a lot of talent coming out of this part of the world.

“Careem is an example, the ride hailing app, which was just acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion dollars. There are three founders, one Pakistani, one Saudi and I think the third one was Swedish. Three of them came together and they revolutionised transportation. They created jobs, they empowered people, they helped in solving congestion issues.

“That's all coming together with the fourth industrial revolution and I think you will see the impact in terms of GDP growth, improvements in healthcare and education standards will have a more dramatic impact on the economy and well-being than you will probably see in other parts of the world. It's just happening all together at this point.

“We're doing things in the region that are probably on a par with, if not better with than elsewhere, especially because the government is so forward-looking and you can actually engage in things quicker and easier than you would be able to do in a traditional European or American environment.

“Healthcare and education are a big emphasis for us. I think no areas have been changed by data and analytics and have a potential for AI like healthcare and education.

“We've got digital studios in the UAE that are state of the art, we've got a local blockchain node that is also state of the art and if you look at what we're doing with some of these initiatives, it's really innovative. You can have your blockchain network locally in the UAE, so you don't have to send your data outside the UAE, this is very convenient for many government or banking organisations. We've got one in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi, they run on very solid technology as it comes from the mainframe business that we have.

“For certain industries or clients there's a requirement for data not to leave the UAE. In some cases, there are regulations covering this. For these reasons we’ve chosen to have two nodes in the UAE, it's called the IBM Blockchain Platform.

“You can start seeing a lot of people using this in supply chains, tracing medicines and of course in banking. There's a famous saying; the blockchain will do for digital transactions and for trading digital assets what the internet did for information.

“All our exchanges in the future will be done with digital assets that we can freely use in blockchain transfer. There's the concept which is very active now called digital twins, so when you digitise a process or an operation you create a digital twin. There are many examples of creating digital twins for processes in banking and for government. IBM has worked with one of the ports in Europe, I think it's Rotterdam, to create a digital twin for that port so you can simulate in a digital virtual world; the tide, the docking, loading or unloading and undocking of ships.

“All the mundane stuff, collecting data, analysing data and discovering patterns will come from AI driven systems. The same applies for management and engineering, so today in IBM we have AI tools to help managers with some HR related tasks. For example, if you have a budget and you're looking at distributing certain pay increases, you get recommendations based on people's performance, experience and skills and Watson gives you these kinds of recommendations.

“The APIs or the technology interfaces make up the artificial intelligence engines within IBM and these engines are being developed in our research labs, a lot of it also is done in partnership with our clients and partners because a lot of artificial intelligence depends on the data that you have, how you train the system on the data, what kind of efficiency and effectiveness are you getting out of it and so on.

“With a data lake, these systems become self-learning, they do machine learning, so they understand these data patterns and they start to become more accurate in their predictions and they start to become more efficient and effective in analysing the data. It removes a lot of the un-needed, unnecessary data, it focuses on data that is important for them and then of course you can add different types of data.

“There is what we call dark data, there is deep data. Dark data is the data that is not available searching the internet, it is data kept within organisations and enterprises. For example, if you are in the medical space, you can look for people’s vital values like blood pressure and so forth, this is also deep data because it is related to time. You must go deeper in time in order to access that data. Public data is the 20 percent that's accessible and the 80 percent is dark data. All the data that we have today is less than one percent of what can be measured once we digitalise our world, once we start trading digital twins.

“It's a common application especially in sales. People in sales use these kinds of tools to understand their clients, they collect the data from different sources, they look at, for example, financial reports that have been published to understand trends. They also access platforms like LinkedIn to understand the people, the organisation and the culture.

“They probably also look at the social data from platforms like Twitter and so forth. Again, we're talking here about augmenting intelligence. Today an AI engine can do it at a fraction of the time to far greater accuracy.

“We call it IBM Cloud Private for Data. We are moving into a world where everybody is a data scientist. I think a key skill that everybody needs is to become a data scientist in his field. You need to know how to use these technologies and you also need to know what you're looking for. If I'm a doctor and I'm looking for certain patterns around some certain cancer cells and so forth, then I need to use my medical knowledge with data science to do this.

“And we can move on from one industry to another because everything is digitised, and we work with all these digital twins that use the IoT to give us a lot of data and we will have to make judgements on what to do with it. Therefore, we need AI. Fifteen percent of GDP in 10 years from now will come from AI, because data will be the new oil and AI will be the electricity that powers it and gets value out of it.

“The UAE is very well positioned because it has a very wide set of cultures and backgrounds living in the region. We've got more than 200 nationalities, they speak many languages, they have a lot of cultures so the type of data that you collect in the UAE is very diverse, it's very spread, it's inclusive and if you use this data to train artificial intelligence engines, it will become better, more effective than if you use data that comes from just one culture. The data you get in the UAE is probably of higher quality than the data you would get in other parts of the world that have a single culture and background.”


Wey to go! Education Group has Interests of Students at Heart

Wey Education solves the problems of the one-size-fits-all education system.

It challenges the outdated bricks-and-mortar buildings and mandatory PE lessons with the flexibility and autonomy of online learning. Times are changing, technology is changing; now is the time for the education sector to draw level.

Using state-of-the-art digital technology, Wey Education operates two established divisions. InterHigh, a non-selective fee-paying online primary and secondary school, provides students with the flexible balance between school and other commitments, enabling them to thrive by offering everything that a traditional school can — and then some. Wey also supports students with special learning needs through its alternative provision platform, Academy 21, a B2B division serving other educational providers, schools, local authorities and public bodies.

For the outstanding work it does, Wey Education has won the award for the Best Online Educator — Global 2019 for Centre of Excellence Awards. It illustrates the strides the firm is making in the sector, and recognises the opportunities that their schools provide. Describing Wey as “a class act”, judges commend the business for establishing an independent academic advisory board to cut through the white noise of commercial concerns, enabling them to make recommendations based on the pursuit of education excellence.

Wey Education was also celebrated for putting children’s learning experiences at the heart of everything it does.

Wey Education CEO and co-founder, Jacqueline Daniell, was driven to start the business when she noticed how some young people were experiencing difficulties. She noticed that the traditional education system no longer supported all young people, especially those who are struggling to find alternative learning styles.

Through this understanding and gap in the market, Wey Education was formed to help learners reach their full potential. From that moment, the business has progressed into a successful online education platform.

Despite challenges of first bringing the idea to the market, with far less technology and a majority of people still using dial-up internet, Wey Education has developed one of the UK’s leading online schools, InterHigh.

It has done so by staying true to its core values of providing all students with the best possible education prospects, regardless of where they are in the World or what else they have going on.

Wey Education presents a viable and proven alternative to traditional education. The inroads into online learning being made are profound and unmissable by those in the education sector — and this is just the beginning.