Author: Kang'ethe Njoroge

A total of six banks from the Middle East and Asia have raised a combined $625 million in syndicated loan to finance Africa’s infrastructure under the African Finance Corporation (AFC). 

Through the AFC, Gulf Bank, National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah, China CITIC Bank Corporation, Qatar National Bank, Doha Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea Limited joined the syndicate as first-time lenders throwing their weight behind the leading infrastructure solutions financier in Africa. …

Safaricom has partnered with the Kenya Water Institute (KEWI) to deploy Smart Water System in the water sector. Through the partnership, Safaricom will deploy the system at the KEWI’s Nairobi and Kitui campuses to facilitate practical training. The giant telco will additionally co-create and run a Smart Water Management curriculum for students at the institution.…

• The deal will revamp the financing of imports of oil, sugar, wheat, cement, construction equipment, vehicles, and consumer goods. 
• It will also support the purchase, processing, storage, and transportation of fisheries and mining products for export.
• IFC will also provide advisory support to Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM), strengthening its corporate governance capacity.

Businesses across Mauritania are set to receive enhanced financial support following the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) move to provide the Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM) with $10 million a trade credit line. 

The trade facility will help BPM scale up lending to businesses to finance imports of oil products. Further, importers of sugar, wheat, cement, construction equipment, vehicles, and consumer goods will benefit. 

IFC loan to revamp export trade

The facility will also support the purchase, processing, storage, and transportation of fisheries and mining products for export.

Despite having vast natural resources, Mauritania faces challenges such as …

• President Yoweri Museveni is optimistic that Uganda’s oil revenue will finance mega roads, railways and other infrastructure projects.
• Uganda expects to ship the first consignment of oil in 2025.
• The government will hasten the acquisition of the right of way for the construction of Standard Gauge Railway. 

Uganda’s oil revenues will finance roads and railway among other key infrastructure projects to revamp the country’s productivity. 

Uganda has significant oil reserves, particularly in the Albertine Graben region, which is located in the western part of the country.

The country discovered commercially viable oil deposits in 2006, and since then, exploration and development activities have been ongoing. According to estimates, Uganda’s discovered oil reserves are around 6.5 billion barrels. These reserves consist of both crude oil and condensates.

There have been efforts to establish a legal and regulatory framework to govern the sector and ensure transparency, environmental sustainability, and equitable distribution …

• Kenyan imports from Saudi Arabia grew three fold to $228 million in March on increased orders of diesel. 
• This was the highest import value compared to  China’s ($217 million), India’s ($194 million) and the UAE’s ($99 million). 
• Kenya is using a new procurement system designed to cut pressure on forex demand by adopting 180-day credit from payment on delivery.

Saudi Arabia is currently Kenya’s largest source of imports, underscoring the significance of recent oil import deal according to data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). 

The Middle Eastern country overtook China, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to become Kenya’s biggest single import market for the first time, driven by increased diesel orders. 

KNBS data shows that goods imported from Saudi Arabia grew three fold to $228 million in March on increased orders of diesel from $60 million a month earlier. 

This was the highest import value …

• The Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project will be AfDB’s first private sector operation in landlocked Rwanda.
• The initiative covers the installation of a new water treatment plant, the building new wells and rehabilitating existing ones.
• It is also providing pipelines, storage reservoirs, pumping stations and water points in various parts of Kigali city.

The African Development Bank (AfDB)-backed water distribution project in Kigali, Rwanda, will benefit about 500,000 people. Rwanda, along with various development partners and agencies, has prioritised investments in water infrastructure and implemented reforms to enhance access to safe and reliable water sources.

Currently, water supply in Kigali is managed by the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC). The entity is a public utility responsible for water production, treatment, and distribution. WASAC has been working to expand and upgrade the water supply infrastructure to meet the growing demand in the city.

Kigali yet to offer universal water

• Out of 54 states, 34 have either passed a law banning plastics and implemented it or have passed a law to tackle the plastics menace. 
• Plastic pollution is a global crisis and governments need to collaborate in a more coordinated approach to end this crisis.
• Legally binding agreements will deal with plastic pollution from production to disposal. 

Africa has come a long way on the journey to tackle plastic pollution with as many as 34 countries out of 54 passing a law banning plastics. However, these countries have a long way to go in implementing these rules that create a plastic-free continent. 

“We have seen countries such as Rwanda taking the lead in the quest to find a global binding instrument to deal with the plastic crisis. Others like Morocco, whose consumption of the raw material used in manufacturing plastic bags dropped by 50 per cent since its plastic …

• Most countries in North Africa are struggling with searing poverty and economic vulnerabilities.
• Work opportunities in the region are limited especially for the women and youth. Most workers are engaged in low-productivity informal jobs. 
• The World Bank’s Built to Include: Reimagining Social Protection Systems in the Middle East and North Africa report argues that social protection policies could help.

One of the root causes of poverty and vulnerability in North Africa is the decades-old system driving youth and women exclusion in the labour market, a new World Bank report reveals. 

According to the World Bank, most countries in North Africa have been struggling with poverty and vulnerability for decades. Increasingly, work opportunities in the region are getting limited, particularly for women and youth. Across the economies, most workers are engaged in low-productivity informal jobs. 

Safety nets to mitigate youth and women exclusion

The report, Built to Include: Reimagining Social Protection …

• Kenya’s new loan will be disbursed through an instrument called Development Policy Operations (DPO). 
• The loan will support key policy and institutional reforms that will help Kenya institute financial solutions in the short-term. 
• Kenya is expected to institute reforms creating fiscal space, improving agricultural competitiveness, and improving governance.

The World Bank Group has approved a $1 billion loan to Kenya to support its budget as East Africa’s largest economy ploughs through one of its toughest economic conditions. The new financing will be disbursed through an instrument called a Development Policy Operations (DPO). The credit will support key policy and institutional reforms in the country. The planned reforms will help the nation institute financial solutions in the short-term. 

Kenya is expected to institute reforms in her fiscal space, improve agricultural competitiveness and streamline governance. The East African powerhouse qualified for financing under the DPO in 2019 and has since received four …

• TradeMark Africa (TMA) seeks a further reduction of trade costs while increasing efficiency in an expanded Pan-African market. 
• TMA goal is to increase Africa’s share of exports as a percentage of global trade by 4 percent. It also wants the value of its exports to the rest of the world raised from $500 billion to $650 billion. 
• The seven-year plan dubbed Strategy 3 is anchored on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

As part of its 2023-230 strategy, TradeMark Africa (TMA) is raising $700 million for its green and digital trade initiatives across the African continent. The move follows over 13 years of the organisation’s support in trade facilitation initiatives across East Africa, Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa.

Over the seven-year period, TMA seeks to contribute to a further reduction of trade costs and increase efficiency in an expanded Pan-African region. 

TradeMark Africa eyeing