The Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa

In July 2016, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution proclaiming the period 2016-2025 as the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDAIII). The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) was tasked with leading the implementation of the Decade, in collaboration with a range of partners.

Building on the success of this, a side event was held in Vienna on the margins of the seventeenth session of the UNIDO General Conference to discuss how best to move forward with the operationalization of IDDA III.

Taking stock of the progress made so far by various stakeholders, the IDDAIII side event, entitled “Helping Africa leapfrog its industrial development” also provided a platform to discuss key elements and best practices for partnerships to enhance Africa’s industrialization within the IDDA III framework.

Speaking at the opening of the event, UNIDO Director General, LI Yong, said that, “through a blend of existing, new and innovative development intervention measures, IDDA III is expected to become a game changer, which can radically transform the structure of Africa’s economies and jumpstart them towards industrialization.”

The importance of global value chains and strengthening SMEs was highlighted during the discussions, as well as the key role of data and the need for results-based management of inclusive and sustainable industrialization in Africa.

The creation of decent jobs, broad-based and dynamic partnerships, and regional integration are all central to IDDA III, which seeks to lift the level of development of African economies through sustainable structural transformation. Only by “working hand in hand” will this transformation become a reality.