Agenda 74 Organisation
Mission for COMESA
Care to Change the World
The Launch of SDEP
The Mission for COMESA marks the foundational implementation of the Social Development and Empowerment Programme — known as SDEP. It was here that the abstract ambitions of Agenda for Social Equity 2074 were given form, where vision translated into operational reality. Initiated following an introduction by the African Development Bank, the mission opened the first true corridor for structured, cross-border action.
COMESA offered fertile ground: a multilateral platform with a mandate for regional integration, agricultural transformation, and inclusive development. Through a strategic alignment with ACTESA, COMESA’s technical agency, we initiated a 24-month deployment that sets in motion the systems, technologies, and institutional capacities required to seed long-term social equity.
What Is SDEP?
The Social Development and Empowerment Programme — SDEP — is a continent-wide implementation model designed to operationalize social equity in practice. Rooted in the long-term vision of Agenda for Social Equity 2074, SDEP transforms high-level goals into localized, actionable initiatives that respond to the real needs of communities across Africa.
It is a framework for capacity-building, skills development, and inclusive growth — built around technology, vocational training, local governance, and cross-sector partnership. SDEP is not a grant programme; it is a systemic shift toward agency, ownership, and long-term resilience.
The Core Pillars of SDEP
SDEP rests on five foundational pillars:
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Workforce Empowerment – Vocational training aligned with national priorities, delivered in cooperation with local ministries, institutions, and employers.
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Technology & Systems – Implementation of ECHO for project logistics and FlexSus for oversight, accountability, and predictive governance.
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Social Infrastructure – Establishing physical and digital hubs for implementation, including community centers, offices, and digital access points.
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Policy Alignment – Integrating national plans and international frameworks, including Agenda 2063, Agenda 2074, and INFF models.
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Public-Private Delivery – Coordinated implementation via subcontractors, PPPs, and regional councils under the governance of GSIA.
What Implementation Looks Like
At the heart of the COMESA deployment lies a set of clear, actionable components. First, the programme introduces a dual operational model — combining localized implementation in each member state with central support and coordination from Sweden. Country-specific task forces have been established, and local project offices are being set up to ensure national anchoring, stakeholder visibility, and institutional legitimacy.
Technology plays a foundational role. The ECHO platform functions as the digital backbone of the implementation — linking data, contracts, operations, and communication. Complementing this, FlexSus is deployed as the decision-making and monitoring system, designed to support transparency, real-time reporting, and high-trust environments for both funders and implementing partners.
Vocational training programs form the social pillar of the mission. These are built around scalable training-of-trainer models, aligned with national workforce strategies and co-developed with local ministries and regional partners. Where needed, the programme integrates digital learning and modular pathways to meet learners where they are — not where policy assumes they should be.
Governance, Compliance, and Partnership
SDEP is not a standalone initiative. Its success is rooted in the architecture we’ve built around it. The Global Social Impact Alliance (GSIA) provides the governance and compliance framework, ensuring that implementation is accountable, de-risked, and financially transparent.
Institutionally, we are in active collaboration with actors including UNDP, FAO, AfDB, and SIDA, with each bringing sectoral insight and in-country legitimacy to the table. These partnerships allow SDEP to integrate with — rather than duplicate — existing systems, ensuring that our efforts align with national development strategies and regional priorities.
As a complement, the integration of INFF principles (Integrated National Financing Frameworks) ensures that each country’s implementation has a budgetary and fiscal base, allowing donor financing to flow in line with both public sector systems and private sector expectations.
From Execution to Strategy: Laying the Foundation for the Future
While the mission is deeply operational, it also carries strategic weight. It represents the initial vehicle through which COMESA’s agricultural and development ambitions can be updated and expanded — particularly through the mandate transformation of ACTESA, which will gain a more dynamic and implementation-ready role.
At a higher level, the mission feeds directly into the institutional growth of the Unity Center of Excellence (UCE) and the Unity Academy Center of Excellence (UACE), where capacity-building and research activities will evolve alongside field operations. Furthermore, it provides the legitimacy and evidence base for launching the Council for Global Social Advocacy — the policy voice tasked with pushing forward global equity frameworks grounded in real implementation experiences.
The mission also carries a direct financial consequence: it underpins a regional funding package, approved in principle, to the scale of $300 billion. This capital is designed not only to fund infrastructure and human capital but also to scale trade, food systems, and digital inclusion — all within the boundaries of climate-smart planning.
The Next 24 Months
The near-term focus remains sharp and logistical. We are building out project offices, recruiting field staff, training trainers, finalizing deployment schedules, and linking systems across ministries and stakeholders. FlexSus dashboards are coming online. ECHO is onboarding contractors. The first learning cohorts are being prepared. The framework is alive and moving.
Simultaneously, we are coordinating with COMESA member states to prepare the model for handoff — so that national agencies, once capacitated, can take increasing responsibility. It is not enough to build structures; we must also prepare for continuity.
Where It All Began
This mission was the spark. It began with a single introduction — from a multilateral bank to a regional bloc — and grew into a coordinated, long-term vision for how equity can be institutionalized. Not just through words, but through budgets, tools, systems, and human capacity.
From this mission, the broader power of SDEP becomes visible. It is not a single program. It is a replicable engine for development that can be adapted, scaled, and sustained — within COMESA and far beyond.
The Pan-Continental Power Play
From the beginning, our mission has never been limited to one region, one bank, or one political bloc. The Pan-Continental Power Play was created as a strategic response to a common realization across three continents: the systems required to drive equity, productivity, and sustainability are not just possible — they are overdue.
This initiative now connects Africa, Asia, and the Americas through a single architectural strategy for social transformation, economic inclusion, and regional resilience. Each continental Power Play is shaped by local realities but grounded in a unified methodology: Agenda for Social Equity 2074.
The African Power Play began in the COMESA region with the ACTESA-led mandate and the rollout of SDEP — backed by a $300 billion commitment designed to unlock implementation. From that model, replication is already underway. In Asia, regional blocs and national ministries are exploring similar frameworks for vocational training, trade facilitation, and infrastructure equity. In the Americas, initial entry points are being designed country-by-country, guided by partnerships with development finance institutions and innovation clusters.
Each Power Play acts as a sovereign space of design and action, but all are linked through shared systems, joint accountability, and common reporting mechanisms. This includes digital platforms such as ECHO, monitoring systems like FlexSus, and frameworks such as Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) and compliance standards derived from our public-private governance structure.
The Power Play is not about exerting pressure. It’s about creating momentum — a structured offer that empowers local actors, strengthens institutions, and de-risks impact-driven investment. Every mission leads to the next, and each success makes the next country more ready.
We are not here to experiment. We are here to deliver — and the Pan-Continental Power Play is how global action becomes continental progress
