Honorable Bihi Iman Egeh Minister of Finance Somalia Statement for Africa Group 1 at the 113th Development Committee Meeting - April 16, 2026

Jul 19, 2026

Statement by Honorable Bihi Iman Egeh, Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Somalia, delivered for the Africa Group 1 constituency at the 113th Development Committee meeting on April 16, 2026. It highlights unprecedented strain on the global development compact, urges World Bank Group alignment around job creation, and stresses the economic toll from disruptions in the Middle East, including shipping and input price pressures. It argues for dedicated financing to address fertilizer dependence and food-system fragility, while outlining priority actions to accelerate job creation through infrastructure, human capital, and business-environment reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

Introduction

Job creation focus and regional engagement

Middle East crisis impacts and financing needs

Accelerating Job Creation in Africa

Demographic pressures and job quality gaps

Jobs Agenda pillars and infrastructure investment

Business environment: finance, MSMEs, and franchising

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors ofthe Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries) ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH MEETING WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 16, 2026 DC/S/2026-0008 April 16, 2026 Statement by Honorable Bihi Iman Egeh Minister of Finance Federal Republic of Somalia For Africa Group 1 Constituency Statement by Honorable Bihi Iman Egeh Minister of Finance Federal Republic of Somalia For Africa Group 1 Constituency 113th Meeting of the Development Committee April 16, 2026 Washington, DC A. Introduction 1. The global development compact is under unprecedented strain. Against this backdrop, we appreciate the World Bank Group’s (WBG) efforts to position job creation as its North Star in responding to today’s interconnected global crises. That focus could not be more timely or necessary. Fragility is deepening, climate shocks are intensifying, and inequality is widening, with Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) bearing a disproportionate share of the burden of the compounding pressures. We therefore commend the WBG’s enhanced engagement with the region, including through flagship initiatives—such as Mission 300, IFC 2030, AgriConnect, and health platforms—designed to mobilize private investment, expand jobcreating agribusiness, and scale energy and digital solutions. 2. We are deeply concerned that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is exacting a heavy toll on African economies. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted shipping, driven up energy and fertilizer prices, and constrained access to the agricultural inputs on which the continent’s farmers rely. For import-reliant and low-income economies the consequences are immediate: costlier production, dearer transport costs and faster inflation, all at a time when governments have constrained fiscal room to respond. Without swift action, these shocks will undermine hard-won development gains, exacerbate poverty and vulnerability, and weaken growth prospects across the continent. Noting that this is the third major supplychain disruption in six years after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we urge the WBG and IMF to treat Africa’s fertilizer dependence and food-system fragility as structural vulnerabilities requiring dedicated financing instruments, rather than recurrent emergencies to be managed after the fact. We therefore call on the Bretton Woods Institutions to expand crisis-response financing, strengthen food and energy security, bolster supply-chain resilience, and support reforms and investments that would leave African economies less exposed when the next crisis of similar or greater magnitude upends global markets. B. Accelerating Job Creation in Africa 3. Demographic pressure has turned job creation into an urgent development imperative. Africa’s rapidly growing population, especially its youth and women, needs productive, dignified, and sustainable jobs. The gap between demand and supply is stark: SSA must create 15 million jobs each year to absorb new labor market entrants, yet only about 3 million formal jobs are generated. 4. The challenge is not only one of job quantity but of quality. As of 2025, an estimated 96 percent of employed youth in Africa are in informal work, and one in three young workers remains in extreme poverty despite being employed. Young women are especially affected. They account for 61 percent of those not in employment, education, or training and bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid care; 28 percent of women outside the labor force cite care responsibilities as the primary barrier to employment. 5. We underscore the centrality of the three-pillar, five-sector Jobs Agenda for Africa as the primary vehicle for translating growth into more and better jobs. On foundational infrastructure and human capital, scaling resilient, affordable energy, transport, digit

FAQs

Why does the statement emphasize job creation as a central response?

It argues that the global development compact is under unprecedented strain and that job creation should be the World Bank Group’s guiding focus to address interconnected global crises, especially given Africa’s demographic pressure.

What economic effects on African economies are highlighted from the Middle East crisis?

The statement points to disruptions to shipping and rising energy and fertilizer prices, which constrain access to agricultural inputs and worsen costs, inflation, poverty, and vulnerability.

What actions are proposed to accelerate job creation in Africa?

The statement calls for advancing the three-pillar, five-sector Jobs Agenda, prioritizing resilient affordable energy, transport, digital connectivity, and health systems, and scaling infrastructure investment while improving the business environment for MSMEs through finance and enabling policies.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Emma Wilson