Latest news with #Boston Consulting Group
Al Mayadeen
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Mayadeen
US-'Israel' plan to displace Gaza residents under humanitarian pretext
The Gaza government media office has denounced a covert US-Israeli scheme designed to forcibly relocate Palestinians, using the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and the Boston Consulting Group. It warns that those complicit in this scheme will be held responsible for any crimes committed against civilians. The government media office has accused the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation of involvement in a US-Israeli scheme aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinian civilians under the deceptive guise of humanitarian aid. The office issued an official statement referencing an investigation published by the Financial Times, which exposed details of a secret plan called "Aurora" involving a financial model designed to demographically empty the Gaza Strip by forcibly displacing more than half a million Palestinians through externally-funded "resettlement packages" that would be financed by foreign parties. The statement asserted that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, established with US-Israeli backing and overseeing what it described as "death traps in Gaza," serves as the operational front for this scheme, claiming to provide humanitarian aid while causing the deaths of 751 civilians, injuries to 4,931 others, and the disappearance of 39 citizens. 130 international humanitarian organizations have refused to cooperate with this foundation, accusing it of serving as "a cover for Israeli military objectives," the media office emphasized. According to the statement, the report showed the project had secretly received financing along with support from US private security companies while carrying out aid distribution activities that contradicted humanitarian norms. It highlighted that the exposure of these schemes caused multiple BCG partners to be expelled. These operations cannot continue rebranding ethnic cleansing as charity work, the media office emphasized, noting every entity supporting the initiative shares liability for resulting civilian harm. The schemes' humanitarian facade changes nothing about their illegality, they added, promising a forthcoming reckoning through international legal channels. The statement concluded by affirming that "our great Palestinian people, despite all the war crimes, starvation campaigns, genocide, and forced displacement, remain rooted in their land," and will never relinquish their inalienable rights until the end of Israeli occupation across all Palestinian territory.
Zawya
03-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank awards $1 million grant to support green skills development for South Africans, with focus on youth
The African Development Bank ( through the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), has awarded a $1 million grant to South Africa's National Business Initiative (NBI) to strengthen efforts to build a dynamic, demand-led skills ecosystem that enables South Africans, particularly young people, to access emerging job opportunities in the green economy. South Africa continues to face significant challenges in youth employment, with StatisticsSA ( reporting that 46.1% of young people aged 15 to 34 were unemployed in the first quarter of 2025. The funding will support the country's Just Energy Transition Skilling for Employment Programme (JET SEP), led by the National Business Initiative in partnership with the management consultancy Boston Consulting Group. The initiative coordinates private sector efforts to prepare the workforce for the energy transition, in tandem with the government's JET Skilling Implementation Plan, focused on inclusive workforce development and sustainable job creation. Specifically, the grant will finance the programme's first phase, including feasibility studies for the design of skills development zones and capacity building within the public technical and vocational education and training system. Skills development zones will anchor the delivery of inclusive skills and foster local economic growth during the country's just-energy transition. Launched in 2024 and endorsed by the JET Project Management Unit under the presidency of the Government of South Africa, JET SEP has garnered support from over 30 influential South African CEOs, public sector leaders, and civil society leaders in the past year. Of the grant, Kennedy Mbekeani, African Development Bank Director General for Southern Africa, said: "By linking a strong private sector coalition – the engine for job creation – with government, academia, and NGOs, the FAPA grant will play a catalytic role to support informed policy decisions in skills development and labour market programmes. It will also strengthen skills development efforts for the growth of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the creation of jobs for youth in South Africa's green economy." The grant builds on the African Development Bank's significant investment in South Africa's energy sector. Since 2007, the Bank has invested $3.4 billion to support energy infrastructure, including renewable energy. The current grant will support the government's efforts to identify the skills needed for the sector, with a particular focus on renewable energy. Shameela Soobramoney, CEO of the National Business Initiative, said: 'This grant from the African Development Bank is a critical step toward turning vision into action, strengthening the national skills system, and ensuring that all South Africans are equipped to seize new opportunities in the green economy. We are proud to continue working alongside our partners and stakeholders to build an inclusive future-ready workforce and to stimulate local economies in a way that leaves no one behind.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Media contact: African Development Bank: Emeka Anuforo, Communication and External Relations Department, media@ NBI: Siphokuhle Mkancu, IRM Engagement&Communications Manager: Economic Inclusion, SiphokuhleM@ +27 76 1292 511 About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information:
