Creating local jobs, promoting transnational corridors to increase the mobility of goods and services, and developing innovative ways to finance infrastructure projects were top talking points at the annual Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa, or PIDA, Week.

In a quaint town nestled between the dunes of the Namib Desert and the Atlantic Ocean, some 300 development experts gathered in Namibia last month to enhance existing partnerships and emphasize the local job creation potential of regional infrastructure projects. Attendees from across the continent met with international stakeholders to reinforce commitment to continental infrastructure priorities.

Under the theme "regional infrastructure development for job creation and economic transformation," the December gathering drew representatives from the private sector, national governments, the African Union Commission, the European Union, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the African Development Bank, Power Africa, as well as the Japan International Cooperation Agency, among others, discussed the priority of filling Africa’s infrastructure gap to deliver power and improve mobility. Experts exchanged technical advice and project owners rallied financial support.

Read the full article about job creation in Africa by Christin Roby at Devex International Development.