Author: James Wambua

• ECOWAS, AfDB Group hold consultations on West Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) 2020-2025.
• Consultations focused on current issues around West African integration, including challenges, opportunities, and prospects.
• Other pertinent issues such as economic affairs, human development, infrastructure, and politics were also discussed.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Development Bank Group have successfully concluded discussions regarding the mid-term evaluation of the West Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) for 2020-2025.

This strategic plan, approved by the Bank Group in May 2020, was designed to bolster regional integration efforts in West Africa.

With an initial investment plan totaling $4.52 billion, the West African RISP primarily focuses on enhancing resilient infrastructure and fostering the growth of regional businesses.

The meetings, spanning from September 5th to 15th, 2023, were held at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.

West African integration

During this period, both parties assessed …

• 2Africa consortium has laid the world’s largest submarine cable project off the coast of Muanda in the DRC.
• The cable will connect 33 countries and enhance internet connectivity globally, offering economic potential across Africa, Asia, and Europe
• Facebook parent firm Meta is a key stakeholder and partner in the project that is advancing digital inclusion and development in the region.

A huge milestone in the world of telecoms was marked on September 21st. This is the day when the 2Africa consortium, consisting of major telecom operators such as China Mobile International, Bayobab (formerly MTN Global Connect), Orange, center3 (formerly stc), Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, and WIOCC, successfully laid the 2Africa submarine cable off the coast of Muanda in the Kongo-Central province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

This achievement, facilitated by collaboration with Meta (formerly Facebook), heralds the arrival of the world’s largest submarine cable project, poised to connect 33 …

• Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, has shown strong performance in Nigeria and Rwanda during the second quarter of 2023.
• In Nigeria, Starlink outperformed traditional fixed broadband providers, delivering a median download speed of 63.69Mbps.
• Starlink’s internet speeds were substantially faster than the combined median speed of all fixed broadband providers in Nigeria at 15.60Mbps.

Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, has shown strong results in Nigeria and Rwanda during the second quarter of 2023, in the fast-changing landscape of internet connectivity in Africa.

According to Speedtest Intelligence data, Starlink has outperformed traditional fixed broadband providers in terms of download speeds in Nigeria, while making notable strides in Rwanda despite some latency challenges.

Starlink in Nigeria

Starlink made its debut on the African continent in Nigeria in January 2023 and has already begun to make its presence felt. The Speedtest Intelligence data for the second quarter of 2023 revealed that Starlink users …

• The African Development Fund has approved a grant of $19.98M to fund Mozambique’s Economic Acceleration and Governance Support Programme.
• This grant is the first of two budget support operations for FY2023/24, each valued at $20M.
• The program focuses on two key areas: improving the private sector environment for economic recovery and green growth and enhancing the efficiency, accountability, and transparency of public expenditure.

The African continent, with its diverse cultures, landscapes, and economic potential, has been on a journey of transformation and development. Mozambique, a nation nestled on the southeastern coast of Africa, is no exception.

Recent developments have shed light on an exciting opportunity for Mozambique’s economic rejuvenation through a grant of $19.98 million approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional lending window of the African Development Bank Group.

This grant will finance the implementation of Mozambique’s Economic Acceleration and Governance Support …

• World leaders meet at UNGA to address climate crisis and rescue Sustainable Development Goals.
• IFAD President emphasizes climate adaptation, food security, and resilience investment.
• G20 leaders support IFAD’s fight against food insecurity, and IFAD seeks funding to transform rural lives and combat poverty and hunger.

World leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), to rebuild trust, reignite solidarity among nations and rescue the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This includes rescuing Sustainable Development Goals for Zero Hunger and No Poverty. Alvaro Lario, President of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), warns of the dire and irreversible effects that the climate crisis will have on hunger and poverty if sound adaptation measures are not taken quickly.

Calls for climate change adaptation at UNGA 2023

“The climate crisis hinders our efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty. The growing global population is dependent on a …

World leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) are confronting the stark reality that progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is lagging and, in some cases, regressing. The United Nations adopted the SDGs, including eradicating extreme poverty, ensuring quality education for all children, achieving gender equality, and addressing climate change, in 2015 with great ambition. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “bold and transformative action” to fulfill these commitments and close the growing global inequality gap. While leaders have committed to accelerating action, specific plans remain limited.…

• AfDB and South Korea have signed two agreements worth $28.6 million.
• The funding will boost growth in Africa. It complements the $600M co-financing deal under the Korea-Africa Energy Investment Framework.
• AfDB-South Korea partnership focuses on energy, agriculture, and capacity-building in multiple African economies.

In a plan to boost Africa’s development agenda, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of South Korea have inked two agreements, collectively valued at $28.6 million.

This financial support aims to catalyse growth and prosperity across Africa, marking a milestone in the collaboration between Africa and South Korea.

The funding, a testament to the growing partnership between AfDB and South Korea, complements the $600 million co-financing commitment established under the Korea-Africa Energy Investment Framework in 2021.

AfDB and South Korea partnership

This framework plays a pivotal role in supporting African nations in enhancing their human capacity and developing their energy sectors, thereby bolstering sustainable growth.…

• 4G Capital joins US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman on the US-Kenya Business Roadshow in San Francisco.
• The Roadshow is an initiative with the US Government’s Prosper Africa programme.
• Over the past decade, 4G Capital has disbursed loans exceeding $390 million to SMEs in Kenya and Uganda.

4G Capital, a pioneering neobank at the forefront of fostering micro and small business growth in Kenya and Uganda, has been selected as one of the companies to accompany US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, on the US-Kenya Business Roadshow.

This roadshow, is an initiative with the US Government’s Prosper Africa, is going down on September 15th at the Mission Bay Centre, San Francisco.

Ambassador Whitman, a former CEO of eBay and Hewlett Packard, aims to highlight the significant and burgeoning investment opportunities in Africa. The continent is poised for significant growth, with projections indicating that 25 per cent of the global …

• Kenya’s appeal comes at a moment when East Africa has seen only one exit through an IPO in the past decade.
• 2022 marked the highest level of exit activity in the region in the past decade. Projections show that 2023 is poised to surpass 2022 performance.
• Private Equity investors typically opt for one of three main methods to exit their investments: selling to industry competitors, conducting secondary buyouts, or engaging in Management Buyouts (MBOs).

Kenya is urging private equity firms and venture capital companies to turn to the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as a platform to realize their deal exits.

The move is part of the Kenyan government’s broader strategy to deepen its capital markets and attract more private investments. “Once you are in, exit through our capital markets,” said Mr. Abubakar Hassan Abubakar, the Principal Secretary of the State Department of Investment Promotion in the Ministry of …

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says chaos in Africa’s Sahel leaves the area vulnerable to terrorism.
• Von der Leyen says the situation in the Sahel directly impacts Europe’s security and prosperity.
• The Sahel region has experienced eight coups across six nations, from Guinea to Sudan, in the last three years.

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pointed an accusing finger at Russia for orchestrating the roiling chaos gripping Africa’s Sahel region.

In her annual speech to the European Parliament in Brussels today, she noted that military coups currently plaguing Africa’s Sahel region have been a destabilizing factor, increasing the zone’s vulnerability to terrorism.

Von der Leyen made it clear that the European Union must significantly enhance its engagement with African countries, as the situation in the Sahel directly impacts Europe’s security and prosperity.

“We need to show the same unity of purpose towards Africa …