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Africa
- Angola has become Africa Trade Insurance Agency’s (ATI) 21st member state by paying $25 million in capital subscription fees.Â
- ATI’s gross exposure in Angola currently stands at $467 million.
- The membership was funded the Angolan National Treasury and proceeds from the landmark BITA water project.Â
Oil-rich Angola has become the 21st African member state joining pan-African insurer, Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) after paying $25 million in subscription fees. The deal will also see Angola become first Lusophone member country in the underwriter.
ATI was established in 2001 by seven Comesa countries and with technical and financial backing of the World Bank. The agency’s core mandate is to provide insurance against political and commercial risks. This is considered necessary in order to attract foreign direct investments across member states.Â
Luanda’s membership was funded by the Angolan National Treasury resources and proceeds from the landmark BITA water project. BITA …
- The Horn of Africa has been grappling with the most severe drought in 40 years since late 2020.
- Rain-fed agriculture in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia worst hit as harvests drop to 70 percent of normal standards.
- A United Nations-backed conference raised $2.4 billion on May 24th to address famine in the Horn of Africa.
The worst drought in a-half-century is causing severe economic hit on economies in the Horn of Africa. This is due to the economies’ heavy reliance on agriculture, and other climate-vulnerable resources.
Drought has led to reduced rainfall and water, severely reducing agricultural production. Crops failed, and pasturelands dried up. As a result, millions of heads of livestock died due to a lack of water and fodder. Millions of farmers are experiencing significant crop losses and decreased livestock productivity. Consequently, huge populations are grappling with thinning incomes and food shortages.
Agricultural losses, food insecurity
Rain-fed …
- As temperatures keep rising and emissions soar, the planet, too, continues to break (dangerous) new records.
- Climate change is a shared problem that the global community must solve by working together.
- With a strong partnership between Africa, Europe, and the rest of the international community, Kenya, can make significant contributions to the global transition to a net-zero economy.
NAIROBI – Last year in Berlin, the great Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge broke the world marathon record, clocking 02:01:09 and beating his previous time by 30 seconds. His success has made him a legend not only in Kenya but globally. It offers a useful lesson for everyone involved in the fight against climate change. Kipchoge’s winning strategy is rooted in the science of running (as well as 120 miles of hard work every week), and our own approach to the climate crisis must involve the same level of commitment and …
- Standard Bank has developed the Africa Trade Barometer, a tool that blends qualitative and quantitative data across African markets.
- The Africa Trade Barometer is instrumental in solving access to information, a significant non-tariff barrier in Africa.
- Â It provides a near real-time view of trade openness, access to finance, and macroeconomic stability data among others.
Standard Bank, the biggest lender by assets across Africa, has thrown its weight behind the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) saying it is a key opportunity to alleviate poverty, drive economic activity and achieve prosperity.
By eliminating trade barriers, AfCFTA aims to lift about 30 million Africans out of poverty by increasing incomes across the continent by seven percent by 2035. Once implemented, AfCFTA will be the world’s largest free trade area ever rolled out.
Standard Bank wants to power AfCFTA take-off
Recent global supply chain woes suffered in Africa illustrate the urgent need of …
- Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange posted drop in capitalization in April due to investor flight.
- Other poorly performing bourses were Uganda, Mauritius, Namibia, Morocco, Tanzania, Rwanda and Tunisia.
- Zambia, South Africa, Ghana and Egypt remained positive railing Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Zimbabwe has maintained the lead in the African equity markets returns by recording the highest gains at 112.33 percent year-to-date, the latest data shows. In the period under review, Malawi recorded the highest month-on-month value of 10.96 percent.
At the same time Kenya posted the highest drops both on year-to-date and month-on-month, Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) monthly barometer indicates, which stood at negative 15.56 percent and minus 3.52 percent, respectively.
Other poor performers across Africa were Uganda, Mauritius, Namibia, Morocco, Tanzania, Rwanda and Tunisia. In West Africa, Nigeria performed poorly on the month-on-month index but remained positive year-to-date. Zambia, South Africa, Ghana and Egypt remained positive railing Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Kenya’s …
- Mozambique has been given two years to improve Anti-Money Laundering Framework or face bans on international financial transactions.
- Mozambique was placed on the grey list of the FATF for non-compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
- If Mozambique fails to comply with the FATF standards, it will be backlisted under non-cooperative countries and territories (NCCTs).
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has given Mozambique two years to improve its framework to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Authorities in Maputo will suffer wide sweeping bans in international financial transactions if they fail. Currently, policymakers in the country have their feet on the gas pedal, sealing leakages in Mozambique’s financial flows.
Under pressure, the government has set up an executive committee led by LuÃs Cezerilo to seek Mozambique’s removal from Grey List. The listing has placed the country among the most vulnerable to crimes of money laundering and terrorism …
- Africa is home to 65 percent of the world’s uncultivated fertile land, but millions sleep hungry daily.
- Amini Corp seeks to address the scarcity of data in Africa as well as facilitate capital investment.
- The scarcity of high-quality environmental data prevents others from building climate solutions such as farmer insurance schemes.
Amini Corp, a Kenyan-based climate tech startup, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding which it plans to channel into developing an environmental data platform for Africa. The funding was secured through an oversubscribed round led by top European Climate Tech Fund, Pale Blue Dot.Â
Other investors in the venture are Superorganism, RaliCap, W3i, Emurgo Kepple Ventures and angel investors from the global tech community.
Amini Corp seeks to address the scarcity of data in Africa as well as facilitate capital investment. The company also promotes climate resilience, and helps accelerate economic development opportunities in the region.…
- Africa’s average GDP will stabilize at around 4 percent in the course of the next two years, notes AfDB.
- The continent needs alternative sources of imports and new export markets to counter disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.
- Economists are urging African economies to look at expediting intra-African trade to stave off global shocks.
A significant number of African nations continue to show economic resilience in the face of tougher global challenges. The latest update by the African Development Bank (AfDB) on economic review says the continent has a stable outlook in the 2023-2024 financial year.
Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook report provides an up-to-date assessment of the continent’s macroeconomic performance and a forecast of expected performance on the backdrop of global economic challenges.
Africa average GDP to stabilise at 4 percent
The lender estimates that Africa’s average GDP will stabilise at around 4 percent in the course of …
- Kenya is among the top three countries receiving the most international remittances across sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria and Ghana. Overall, the US, Saudi Arabia and UK account for nearly three-quarters of total annual inflows into Kenya.
- Kenyans living abroad sent home $357 million in March 2023, a 15.5 percent increase compared to February.
- As a whole remittances from the African diaspora are estimated at $95.6 billion annually, making it a key foreign exchange earner.  Â
Diaspora remittances have risen to become Kenya’s largest foreign exchange earner, surpassing the country’s key exports such as tourism, tea, coffee and horticulture. According to Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data, diaspora remittances rose by 8.34 percent to $4.027 billion in 2022. In the same period under review, tea exports earned the country $1.2 billion, horticulture $901 million, chemicals $521 million, coffee $301 million and petroleum products $77 million. The widening disparity highlights the crucial role …
