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- Saudi Islamic Development Bank to the rescue of Uganda with $295 million loan
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Africa
- The funding is designated for the construction of a bridge spanning the River Nile in northwest Uganda and the enhancement of roads stretching over 105 kilometers.
- Uganda has encountered obstacles in accessing financial support from international institutions like the World Bank, primarily due to policy differences.
- The loan holds the potential to stimulate job creation, foster entrepreneurship, and spur innovation
Uganda has finalized an agreement with the Saudi Islamic Development Bank (IDB), securing a $295 million loan to bolster infrastructure development, particularly road construction projects across the country. This landmark agreement, signed by Uganda’s Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija, and IDB President Muhammad Al Jassar in Riyadh, underscores Uganda’s strategic shift towards diversifying its sources of external funding amidst ongoing negotiations with traditional lenders such as the World Bank.
The financing agreement, which was formalized during Minister Kasaija’s attendance at the 2024 Islamic Development Bank Group Annual Meetings in Riyadh, marks …
- AfDB asks policymakers to put in place an orderly and predictable way of dealing with Africa’s $824Bn debt pile.
- According to AfDB, Africa’s ballooning external debt reached $824 billion in 2021.
- AfDB president says there is urgent need for increased concessional financing, particularly for low-income countries.
Africa’s immense economic potential is being undermined by non-transparent resource-backed loans that complicate debt resolution and compromise countries’ future growth, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said.
Adesina at the Semafor Africa Summit taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings, highlighted the challenges posed by Africa’s ballooning external debt, which reached $824 billion in 2021, with countries dedicating 65 per cent of their GDP to servicing these obligations.
He said the continent would pay $74 billion in debt service payments this year alone, a sharp increase from $17 billion in 2010. “I …
- Meg Whitman, US Ambassador to Kenya, highlights key investment opportunities in Kenya, particularly in the creative industry and clean energy.
- She noted that Kenya has the potential to become the Singapore of Africa through vertical business integration, job creation, innovation, and foreign direct investment.
- AmCham Business Summit 2024 seeks to strengthen bilateral trade and investment between the US, Kenya, and East Africa.
The fourth edition of the regional American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham) Business Summit, has officially kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme, ‘Catalyzing The Future of US-East Africa Trade and Investment’.
This year’s forum underscores AmCham Business Summit as the premier platform for strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the United States, Kenya, and East Africa.
Hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the two-day Summit has brought together delegates from the United States of America, East and Sub-Saharan Africa in efforts to deliberate and …
Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was on Monday, February 15 confirmed as the World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general.
Her appointment came after the last remaining rival candidate, South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, withdrew from the race, allowing her to become the first woman and the first African to lead the global trade body.
She will take up her post on March 1, initially for a term that runs until August 2025.
The Geneva-based body has been without a permanent director-general since Roberto Azevêdo stepped down a year earlier than planned in August.
However, as she takes over, much is expected from her.
Trade spats
Despite WTO being established in 1995 with the aim of promoting open trade for the benefit of all, the organization has struggled to prevent trade spats among member states, most notably the United States and China.
The organization negotiates and administers rules for international trade and tries …
Oil and gas projects are very complex due to a variety of challenges that need to be overcome. Risk management and financial burden are some of the hottest issues currently on these projects.
Now imagine you add Covid-19 and insurgent movements near the project area.
“The French oil and gas company Total is considering setting up a logistical base for its Mozambican operations, not only in part of Mozambique, but on the French Indian Ocean possession of Mayotte, according to a report (…)” as per the digital news portal Club of Mozambique.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise at all.
Being part of the French territory, Mayotte offers the best option for Total as a preferential hub for their project in Mozambique. France operates a military base in Mayotte, in the form of a detachment of its Foreign Legion, making the island a super safe place.
Mayotte is very well …
Africa is a budding continent. A resource-rich continent with a young population and one of the highest growth rates. The continent has a 1.2 billion large market and an increasing middle to upper-middle class. Conflict is not as prominent as yesteryear, and though still trudging slowly, democracy is on the rise on the continent.
The continental focus is on strengthening trade, improving infrastructure, health, and building on the past decade’s growth towards Agenda 2063. A part of Africa’s expansion is partnering through trade initiatives to overshadow the legacy of aid.
The United States has been a part of pushing this agenda forward. Holders of the top job in America have, in one way or the other created an Africa-specific program in infrastructure, health, and other developmental programs. Programs that extend beyond aid like AGOA and ProSper Africa proved to be a step in the right direction.
Continuing on programs such …
The largest global free trade area by countries is poised to transform Africa’s economic prospects and it could not have come at a more interesting time.
For reasons I won’t get into in this article, the world has witnessed a tremendous rise in populism, protectionism and nationalism. Popular choices in key economies have shifted the status quo bringing into question well-established political and economic powerhouses. With the arrival of the pandemic, trust in governments across the world has diminished and weak leaders in developed economies have found theirselves exposed.
In my view, these elements ironically created a perfect storm for the launch of AfCFTA, the African Continental Free Trade Area. Global trade is going through deep changes either for fears of infection or due to concepts of self economic preservation in smaller developed countries. Border enforcement across the world is shifting on a daily basis and there’s a real …
The Central Bank of Nigeria has banned all cryptocurrency transactions as of February 5th 2021 citing terrorism concerns. The central bank is of the view that cryptocurrency transactions are been used to fund terror groups.
As a result, it has ordered all banks as well as non-bank financial institutions and all other financial institutions that deal in cryptocurrencies or facilitate payment for cryptocurrencies to stop with immediate effect.
The development comes after the Central Bank issued a warning back in January cautioning against the use of cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrencies are volatile and risky since unlike in regular banking transactions, these are transactions that are irreversible. Further still, transactions are anonymous so you do not know who you are dealing with and also, there are no regulators for cryptocurrency dealings, it is all just you and a host of other people that you do not know trading online, to call it …
Tata International Africa’s Ghana operation has won a prestigious award.
The company was awarded John Deere Africa’s 2020 Dealer of the Year Award for the category of dealers outside the SADC region.
Jaco Beyers, Managing Director, John Deere Africa Middle East (AME) said that Tata Ghana winning the prestigious award did not come as a surprise following the commitment the Tata team had demonstrated towards the John Deere brand.
“The John Deere Dealer of the Year Award is presented to a dealer that performs over and above in various aspects of the business including delivering value to our customers. With the commitment the Tata team has demonstrated towards the John Deere brand and our customers, it does not come as a surprise that it has won the 2020 award,” says Jaco Beyers, Managing Director, John Deere Africa Middle East (AME).
Beyers noted that other key criteria for the award …
