Publications & Strategic Documents

AGENDA 2063 is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. It is the continent’s strategic framework that aims to deliver on its goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance The genesis of Agenda 2063 was the realisation by African leaders that there was a need to refocus and reprioritise Africa’s agenda from the struggle against apartheid and the attainment of political independence for the continent which had been the focus of The Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union; and instead to prioritise inclusive social and economic development, continental and regional integration, democratic governance and peace and security amongst other issues aimed at repositioning Africa to becoming a dominant player in the global arena.

As an affirmation of their commitment to support Africa’s new path for attaining inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development African heads of state and government signed the 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the formation of the OAU /AU in May 2013. The declaration marked the re-dedication of Africa towards the attainment of the Pan African Vision of An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena and Agenda 2063 is the concrete manifestation of how the continent intends to achieve this vision within a 50 year period from 2013 to 2063. The Africa of the future was captured in a letter presented by the former Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlaminin Zuma.

The need to envision a long-term 50 year development trajectory for Africa is important as Africa needs to revise and adapt its development agenda due to ongoing structural transformations; increased peace and reduction in the number of conflicts; renewed economic growth and social progress; the need for people centered development, gender equality and youth empowerment; changing global contexts such as increased globalization and the ICT revolution; the increased unity of Africa which makes it a global power to be reckoned with and capable of rallying support around its own common agenda; and emerging development and investment opportunities in areas such as agri-business, infrastructure development, health and education as well as the value addition in African commodities

Agenda 2063 encapsulates not only Africa’s Aspirations for the Future but also identifies key Flagship Programmes which can boost Africa’s economic growth and development and lead to the rapid transformation of the continent.

Agenda 2063 also identifies key activities to be undertaken in its 10 year Implementation Plans which will ensure that Agenda 2063 delivers both quantitative and qualitative Transformational Outcomes for Africa’s people

Agenda 2063 was adopted by the 24th Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa in January 2015 under Assembly/AU/Dec.565(XXIV). The Agenda embodies the aspirations of the African people, framed in a collective ambition thus: “The Africa We Want in 2063”. The Agenda is operationalised through a series of five Ten-Year Implementation Plans, with the first plan straddling 2014 to 2023 and the second spanning 2024 to 2033. The second decade of Agenda 2063 places emphasis on the acceleration of implementation, building on the first that primarily focused on convergence.

Valuable lessons learned from the first decade of Agenda 2063 have been featured in the Agenda 2063 biennial progress reports and the evaluation of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan, among other documents, which informed the design of the successor ten-year plan. Key among the revelations was the perception widely held by African citizens that Agenda 2063 is as relevant to the continent’s development discourses as it was in 2013.

Another fundamental revelation is the value accruing to concerted efforts and investments deployed in pursuit of common ambitions operationalised through a set of priority interventions and targets. Relatedly, and in light of the megatrends, transitions, and externalities, subsequent execution plans of Agenda 2063 should incorporate resilience measures to cushion the continent’s development gains from external shocks.

Furthermore, the revelations point to the need to place a premium on effective domestication, including awareness creation among a critical mass of citizens as a prerequisite for successfully implementing Africa’s development blueprint. Effective implementation of subsequent ten-year plans will also require that the plans are costed, funded mainly by African governments and citizens, and effectively monitored and assessed – with mechanisms for corrective action and incentives for enforcement strengthened. Agenda 2063 implementation plans should also make provision for the responsiveness of programmatic interventions to the dynamic and complex development environment and embody mechanisms for the surveillance of risks and leveraging opportunities presented by global trends and transitions such as digitization and climate change.

The Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan embodies, amongst others:

• An outline of Africa’s ambitions in the second decade that will guide development efforts of African citizens, Member States, AU Organs and Structures, and development partners;
• A Theory of Change that defines how results will be achieved and provides guidance on the Moonshot interventions and catalytic priorities, targets, and indicative strategies that strongly embed resilience; and
• A description of the governance and management arrangements for executing Agenda 2063 Second Ten-Year Plan.

Guided by the AU Vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena” and inspired by the need to accelerate implementation, the continent will pursue seven ambitions, referred to as “Moonshots” over the next ten years (2024 - 2033). The seven Moonshots are inspired by the seven aspirations of Agenda 2063 and are outlined below.

By 2033,

• Moonshot 1: Every AU Member State attains at least middle-income status.
• Moonshot 2: Africa is more integrated and connected.
• Moonshot 3: Public institutions are more responsive.
• Moonshot 4: Africa resolves conflicts amicably.
• Moonshot 5: African culture and values are explicit and promoted.
• Moonshot 6: African citizens are more empowered and more productive.
• Moonshot 7: Africa is a strong and influential global player.

While presented as discrete, the Moonshots are interlinked, with African citizens as the central focus. Each Moonshot has a set of catalytic priorities, corresponding targets, and indicative strategies. Furthermore, the Plan highlights three significant pathways that will guide the implementation, namely AU continental frameworks, regional frameworks, and national development plans.

The Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 also enumerates a set of enablers for effective implementation of the Plan. These are:

• coordination;
• communication and advocacy;
• partnerships;
• financing;
• monitoring, evaluation, data, accountability, and learning;
• domestication of Agenda 2063;
• harnessing appropriate technologies in the implementation of the STYIP; and
• capacity development.

In addition, the main assumptions and critical success factors for implementation of the Plan are outlined. They include strongly embedding resilience in the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan (STYIP), active participation and engagement of all key stakeholders, strong alignment of National Development Plans with Regional and Continental Plans, strong human and institutional capacities, and full ownership and responsibility for implementing the STYIP by AU Member States.

A compendium of technical guidelines and normative framework documents will be prepared as an integral part of the implementation architecture. The compendium will be informed by the results matrix and the new knowledge and experiences in Africa’s development ecosystem.

The January 2013 African Union Summit adopted Agenda 2063 – “The Africa We Want” – as Africa’s blueprint and master plan for sustainable development and economic growth of the continent. It is an affirmation by African Heads of State and Government of their commitment to transform Africa into the global powerhouse. To fast-track implementation of Agenda 2063 over the 50-year period, the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan spanning from 2014 to 2023 was developed and subsequently endorsed at the June 2015 Summit of the African Union. In line with the Union’s results-based approach to development, high importance is attached to reporting on the implementation of Agenda 2063 as a prerequisite for facilitating peer learning and mutual accountability, and thus realising the continent’s developmental goals.

It is against this background that the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) were tasked with coordinating continental-level progress reports towards achieving Agenda 2063’s First Ten-Year Implementation Plan. This report is a consolidation and evidence-based assessment of country and regional-level progress reports on Agenda 2063, complemented with interventions and results achieved at the regional and continental level. It serves as a rallying point for all stakeholders, including national and sub-national governments, regional bodies, civil society, academia and development partners to collectively accelerate implementation of Africa’s development blueprint.

It is our sincere hope that the values and imperatives that framed Agenda 2063 will inspire all of us to strengthen our resolve and heighten our efforts towards realising “The Africa We Want”.