Executive Secretary

Electronic trade rekindling sales for African businesses during COVID-19

Addis Ababa, 15 May 2020 (ECA) – Imagine using one second to sell three thousand (3000) bags of a coffee produce which lay fallow hitherto in storehouses in Rwanda for months due to freighting stand-stills caused by the COVID-19 global lockdown!

This is what happened on  14 May 2020 during a livestream by coordinated by the Alibaba Business Group to position small-scale world brands on the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), a the six-year-old initiative  which facilitates business-to-consumer (B2C) sales.

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Africa’s responses to COVID-19 must be gender responsive

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 13, 2020 (ECA) - UN Women and the African Union, in partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), on Tuesday hosted the inaugural meeting of African Ministers for Gender and Women’s Affairs to discuss the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) with a special focus on how to mitigate the impacts of the crisis on women and girls.

Held under the theme “COVID-19 Response and Recovery” - a gendered framework”, the meeting discussed key lessons learned and good practices in gender-responsive crisis management and mitigation.

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Coronavirus pandemic won’t affect Africa-EU relations

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 30, 2020 (ECA) – The coronavirus crisis will not affect ongoing efforts to strengthen the relationship between Africa and the European Union, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Ms. Vera Songwe, said Wednesday.

Speaking during a webinar organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on whether COVID-19 was threatening relations between the two continents, Ms. Songwe said the relationship between Europe and Africa could only get stronger.

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Innovative tech and connectivity key to fighting COVID-19 in Africa

Addis Ababa, 23 April, 2020 (ECA) – Dealing with the health and economic challenges of COVID-19 has made one point abundantly clear for African countries – “that we need broadband, faster, cheaper, and expanded to the last mile of our populations.”

UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Ms. Vera Songwe, echoed this point today during an exciting virtual high-level policy dialogue on ‘leveraging technology in assisting African countries in the fight against COVID-19’.

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