Author: Joakim Oduor

• The GDP growth projection is based on easing inflation, which is falling faster than expected in most regions.
• Global headline inflation is expected to decrease to 5.8% in 2024 and 4.4% in 2025, with the 2025 forecast revised down.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, growth is projected to increase from an estimated 3.3 percent in 2023 to 3.8% in 2024 and 4.1% in 2025.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects global GDP growth at 3.1 per cent in 2024 and 3.2 per cent in 2025, with the 2024 forecast being 0.2 percentage points higher than that in October of last year.

This is due to greater-than-expected resilience in the United States and several large emerging market and developing economies, along with fiscal support in China.

However, the forecast for 2024–25 is still below the historical average (2000–19) of 3.8 percent. Elevated central bank policy rates to combat inflation, a withdrawal of fiscal …

• Unilever’s country heads in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Francophone Africa, and Uganda are set to report to Kenyan Ben Lang’at.
• Lang’at aims to focus on driving sustainable growth, fostering innovation, and building resilient businesses with strong brands in both East and West Africa.
• He has held several key positions at Unilever over the years, including those of financial director in Kenya and Ghana, as well as a leadership role at the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in Nigeria.

Global fast-moving consumer goods company Unilever has announced the appointment of Ben Lang’at as the Executive Vice President and Head of the recently combined East and West Africa region, effective January 2024.

His appointment means all country heads within the regions of Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Francophone Africa, and Uganda will report to him directly.

Ben will use his extensive experience and strategic leadership to oversee the regional business operations in this new …

• EAGC funding seeks to tackle trade challenges directly by removing trade impediments and building food export capacity in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
• This is across export value chains such as Maize, Beans, Millet, Sorghum, and Rice.
• Further, a core part of this is to increase the ability of grain producers to export both regionally and to the rest of the world.

Food export competitiveness in East Africa

Through USAID’s Economic Recovery and Reform Activity (ERRA) program, the United States government has awarded a three-year grant worth $2 million to the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC).

The funding is geared towards strengthening the competitiveness of export-oriented staple food value chains in East Africa.

ERRA program is delivered by TradeMark Africa (TMA), with funding from Feed the Future. Via its five-year $75 million program, USAID and TMA are driving transformative trade and investment reforms in the East and Horn of Africa.

This …

• Africa’s low electricity access stresses the need to double more than the efforts to meet SGD 7.1 by 2030.
• In Kenya, data by the lender shows 71 per cent of the population had access to electricity in 2021, compared to about 14 per cent in 2000.
• World Bank further identifies a stark divide in global access to electricity between urban and rural areas.

Sub-Saharan African states have made tremendous progress in electricity access in the past two decades, with the access rate rising from 25 per cent in 2000 to 48 per cent in 2020.

However, according to the World Bank, countries must double their electrification efforts to bring electricity to all by 2030, meeting Sustainable Development Goal Seven.

“Global access to electricity is increasing at a slow pace, with the progress towards achieving universal access to electricity being slow over the last 20 years,” …

• The IMF anticipates a peak in interest rates at the beginning of 2024, following a slower climb in 2023 across major economies.
• This will likely exert pressure on already struggling currencies across Africa.
• Notably, the US Federal Reserve is expected to witness interest rates reaching around 5.4%, with plans for rate cuts in Third Quarter.

Pressure on the weakening local currencies in African economies may persist for much of this year, with further depreciation against major currencies anticipated until the third quarter.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), their latest interest rates forecast update for major economies covering the period from 2024 to 2028 projects a peak in interest rates at the beginning of 2024. This comes after rates continued to climb at a slower pace late last year.

US Federal Reserve interest rate

For instance, the US Federal Reserve is expected to witness interest rates peaking around 5.4 …

• Kenyans in the diaspora increased the money they sent back home for the 12 months ending in December 2023 by $0.16 billion, reaching $4.19 billion.
• Inflows for December 2023 increased by 5 percent to $372.6 million from $355.0 million in November.
• December marked the second month, after July, to record the highest amount sent back home by Kenyans during the year.

Kenyans living and working abroad increased the money they sent back home for the 12 months ending in December 2023 by $0.16 billion, reaching $4.19 billion. This marked a 4.0 percent increase from the $4.03 billion remitted in 2022.

The rise in remittances could be attributed to the weakening shilling, as projected by Western Union. In its inaugural Global Money Transfer Index in March of the previous year, the corporation had anticipated an upswing in remittances, driven by the weakening shilling, which has now surpassed the 160 mark against …

• The World Bank attributes the downgrade to the recent conflict in the Middle East, which has heightened geopolitical risks and raised uncertainty in commodity markets.
• Growth for Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to accelerate to 3.8 per cent in 2024 and firm further to 4.1 per cent next year.
• The lender has upgraded Kenya’s GDP growth to 5.2 per cent due to easing inflation.

Global growth is projected to slow for the third consecutive year, decreasing from 2.6 per cent last year to 2.4 per cent this year, according to the World Bank.

In its January 2024 Global Economic Prospects report, the lender states that following a sharp slowdown in 2022 and a further decline last year, global output growth is set to decrease slightly this year.

This is occurring as global economic activity continues to soften due to the impacts of tight monetary policies, restrictive financial conditions, and weak growth …

• Africa’s economic growth in 2024 is expected to be upward with the real GDP projected to grow by 3.2 per cent, up from 2.6 per cent in 2023.
• East Africa, encompassing Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and the DRC, will again power the continent’s growth prospects.
• Despite the projected continental growth, the intelligence unit faces substantial risks, including security threats, political instability, and debt repayment burdens.

Africa’s economic growth 2024

According to the international research unit, Economic Intelligence, Africa is expected to grow at the second-fastest rate among major regions globally in 2024. The unit ranks behind Asia, which China and India will propel.

Except for Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, whose economies appear destined to decline this year, most African governments are predicted to report good growth stories.

The real African GDP is expected to rise by 3.2 per cent in 2024, up from 2.6 per cent in 2023, …

• Safaricom recognized for its outstanding people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity and inclusion, and employee well-being.
• The telco first received the Top Employer certification in 2022 and has retained it for three consecutive years.
• The certification comes just a few months after the company was ranked the third-best employer in Africa by an American business magazine, Forbes.

Kenya’s leading telecommunications company, Safaricom PLC, has, for the third consecutive year, received recognition as a top employer in both the country and across Africa.

The most recent certification for the year 2024, awarded by the Top Employers Institute (TEI), underscores the Nairobi Securities Exchange listed company’s HR policies and people practices.

The TEI program certifies organizations based on their participation and results in a comprehensive HR best practices survey covering 20 topics across six HR domains. These domains include people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity and inclusion, and …

• Market insights firm Stears says Kenya might not be attracting sufficient fintech investments due to the near-monopoly of tech giant Safaricom PLC.
• On average, Kenya accounted for 8 percent of fintech investments made on the continent between 2019 and 2023. At the same time, Nigeria got 39 percent, Egypt’s 16 percent, and South Africa’s 20 percent.
• Historically, Nigeria has led fintech funding on the continent, enjoying special attention from investors.

Kenya has not been prioritized by fintech investors as much in the last five years compared to other key African markets such as Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa.

These revelations are highlighted in a report by Stears, a market research company headquartered in Nigeria that specializes in African investments.

According to the report, Kenya, on average, represented only eight percent of fintech investments in the continent between 2019 and 2023. In contrast, Nigeria accounted for 39 per cent, Egypt …