Author: Caroline Muriuki

Gambia’s economy is losing $83 million a year due to the effects of child undernutrition, according to a new study released in Banjul yesterday. The loss is about 5.1 per cent of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to a study by the multi-agency Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) increased healthcare costs, additional burdens to the education system and reduced workforce productivity are the ways through which losses incurred each year. “It is alarming that we are losing 5.1 per cent of our National GDP annually because of the consequences of child undernutrition on school performance, health…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and UNICEF announced a new partnership aimed at increasing access to quality education and protecting children from climate change. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by EIB Group President Werner Hoyer and UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the two institutions are committed to jointly investing in quality education and skills training for the most vulnerable children. Community-based climate adaptation initiatives in schools and health facilities will be scaled up by both institutions. “The social agenda of this European Commission aims for a more certain future for our children…

Ride the wave of the African Continental Free Trade Area, African Development Bank (ADB) president Adesina Urged United Kingdom investors. Speaking at the UK Parliamentary Symposium, Mr Adesina said Africa is on the cusp of unmatched economic transformation and the United Kingdom must engage in a partnership of change. “The Africa of the 21st century is very different. The Africa of the 21st century is new and more confident,” he said The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Africa with the Royal African Society, Oxford Brookes University, and the Trade Justice Network organized the symposium under the theme UK-Africa Trade and Brexit.…

Equatorial Guinea has kicked off a year of long investment 2020 campaign aimed at driving capital investment into the country’s bankable projects. In 2020, major United State firms have pledged to increase their investment in Equatorial Guinea along with Nigerian banking and financial institutions. The notable projects which are ready for investments include the construction of two modular oil refineries, a urea plant, an ammonia plant and a gold refinery. The first investment event to be hosted in the country will be the Africa Oil & Investment Forum & Exhibition hosted in Malabo from April 1st to 2nd. Also Read: Equatorial…

Egypt is among the top ten emerging economies worldwide, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Al-Saeed said on the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 in London. Saeed claimed that now is the best time to invest in Egypt, adding that the economic reforms undertaken by the Egyptian government are what helped the country to make the list of the world’s top-ten emerging economies. She explained that Egypt has a very large market, with 60 per cent being the youth and the whole world is looking at investment in human capital. Saeed added that Egypt has embarked…

President Yoweri Museveni got assurance on Uganda’s beef exports to Britain and a commitment of $19.6 million funding at the UK-Africa Investment Summit. The funding pledge is part of a $419 million UK Aid package for the 21 countries invited to the investment Summit. The funding is intended to start a new phase of financial sector development (FSD) across Africa, to increase the existing financial sector programmes, set up and scale up new FSDs in high priority markets, including Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and the West African Monetary Union. The State House of Uganda said that President Museveni held a…

Rwanda is eyeing an economic boost from its inaugural $40 million bond, which was issued at the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020. The  World Bank issued the Rwandan franc-denominated paper to finance government projects in the 2019-2020 financial year budget. The bond offers investors an annual coupon of 9.25 per cent which will mature on January 20, 2023. “The World Bank has a big portfolio of investors, which the country will be banking on,” said Celestin Rwabukumba, the chief executive officer of Rwanda Stock Exchange. The bond is the seventh in sub-Saharan African that the World Bank has issued. It is…

The Italian Development Cooperation contributed more than €4.55 million to two United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) projects in Egypt and Iraq. A signing ceremony to launch the projects took place at the UNIDO headquarters. The Egypt project was developed after an in-depth analysis of the Egyptian tomato value chain. Egypt is the world’s fifth-largest producer of tomatoes producing about eight million tonnes of fresh tomatoes per year. Suitable climate, dual seasonality and fertile lands attributed to the success of the crop. However, only three to four per cent of the tomato crop is processed, with the processing sector affected…

Israel began exporting natural gas to Egypt on Wednesday being one of the most important deals the countries have been signed since they made peace decades ago. Dolphinus Holdings, a private firm in Egypt will purchase 85 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, worth an estimated $19.5 billion, from Israel’s Leviathan and Tamar offshore fields over 15 years. Yossi Abu, CEO of Israel’s Delek Drilling, one of the partners in Leviathan and Tamar, said the landmark arrangement “marks a new era in the Middle East energy sector.” two Egyptian industry sources said that Israel will initially export 200 million cubic…

The United Kingdom and Egypt announced the establishment of an economic partnership to implement Egypt’s Vision 2030 initiative. Egypt and the United Kingdom are seeking to improve education and health care as well as promote trade and investment. According to the partnership, the UK announced it would provide Egypt with £13 million to help accomplish comprehensive economic growth, empower youth, social development, support the neediest groups and develop the business environment. Also within the framework of this partnership, to support financial inclusion, the Uk will grant Egypt £3 million and about £8 million to increase employment opportunities for young people…